


Once Bitten, Twice Stupid

by Ashratherose



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: ... I mean, BOM are hunters, But Keith is full idiot, Character death warning ahead for 135, Comin’ at ya in bite sized pieces, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fluffy bits, Fluffy dumbarsery with some tears, Hunk is 24, Hunk is a scaredy cat, Hurt and comfort, Idiot Keith, Idiot Lance, If pining was an Olympic sport these fools would share gold, In case you missed it Mpreg themes, Keith is 26, Keith is a special flower, Keith is smitten by Red, Keith’s got issues, Klutz Lance, Lance has a black cat named Blue, Lance is 44, Lance isn’t like full vampire, Lance might be a vamp but it turns out he’s useless, Lance’s mum’s name is Miriam, Langst, Lawyer Lance, M/M, Not betad, Oh, Okay. A bit of violence added for chapter 125-131ish, Pidge is 22, Shiro and keith are adopted brothers, Shiro is 30, Updating tags to include mpreg themes, Vampire dynamics are a bit whack, bottom Lance!, but he’s got trauma to work through... that’s why he’s repetitive, enemies to idiots, klangst, mentioned mpreg, mentions of men making babies, papi is Jorge, paranormal investigators Pidge and Hunk, shiro and lance are low key bros, slow build because they’re stupid heads, smutty bits happen, vamp lance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:01:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 184
Words: 634,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26063914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashratherose/pseuds/Ashratherose
Summary: Lance has lived a pretty simple life since being turned into a vampire. He’s got his house, his cat, and his two besties that have no idea he’s a vampire thanks to his awesome acting skills... He thought he was happy, that things were fine, that he wasn’t drawing too much attention to himself... and then he met Keith.Big, dumb, hot, emo, stupid Keith. Keith that went and flipped his life upside down, because, seriously, Keith really was a special kind of stupid.Vampire Lance x Vampire Hunter KeithYou'll find the Tumblr MasterlistHERE🦇🦇🦇Art by the amazingSssabotagee
Relationships: Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron), Klance focus, Lotor/His Ego, Matt/Rieva, Shiro/Curtis
Comments: 1579
Kudos: 688





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I blame UnderZeWeather for feeding my AU need for a klutz vampire Lance.
> 
> Soooo... Welcome everyone! Thanks for joining me, I hope you’ll not hate this 😅

People sucked. People truly, madly, unequivocally, completely and totally sucked. That’s why Lance had brought his farmhouse outside a the tiny speck of a town barely found on most maps. He hadn’t lead a particularly long life, at least not when compared to others suffering from the same condition as he had, yet in his short time, he’d come to hate people. Don’t get him wrong, he didn’t hate everyone. He had two best friends that meant the world to him, Pidge and Hunk. Both paranormal investigators, and both blind to his unusualness. No. What Lance held issue with was the continued hunting of his kind by the Vatican. His “ancestors” may have bathed in blood, and sacrificed virgins, all that kind of hooky-huha that one reads in scary stories, but before he’d been made a vampire, he liked to think he’d been a happy enough well liked kid, and he liked to think that even these days he still carried an air of that charm whenever he was forced from his home.

Garrison was a tiny town 50kms away from Platt City, founded during the Third World War, the city held plenty of ghostly secrets which had drawn both Hunk and Pidge to the area. Boasting a single Main Street, the highlights of the town were limited to tourist traps and three pubs on the Main Street. It was while studying at Platt University that he’d met both his best friends, twenty years his juniors, yet thanks to his unwanted immortality his body had stopped maturing roughly around the age of 18, making it easy to join the crowded university with a few falsified papers. His intention was to refresh his legal skills in order to keep up with the time’s. With the help of his Mami, he’d moved somewhere small and private, to a dead beat town that accepted weirdness as an everyday occurrence thanks to the tourists that came to see the ghosts of soldiers passed. When he’d been a kid, he’d always dreamed of being an astronaut, yet had chosen law to help those less fortunate in some kind of redemption for his condition. Being immortal meant keeping up with the times, though his house retained much of its old “Victorian” charm. Plus, with Platt being so close, it made for an easy drive up there every three weeks to pick up new blood bags. He was in no way a stereotypical vampire other than his need for blood. He wore glasses, because his eyesight was so good his mind couldn’t process everything he was seeing. This came with the unfortunate side effect of being clumsy as hell. He’d come from a Catholic family, meaning he believed in the presence of God. He’d also never drunk from a human, and never taken a human as pet or a lover like some did. When he wasn’t tagging along with Pidge and Hunk to ensure they didn’t accidentally summon something nasty, most of his time was devoted to providing low cost family legal advise. 

Perhaps because he hadn’t been born a vampire, he’d retained many of his human ways. Sunlight didn’t turn him to ashes. Garlic gave him pretty bad stomach cramps and indigestion, which could be fobbed off with the excuse of an allergy. Silver gave him hives, again, something that could be passed off as an allergic reaction. He refused to harm animals for blood. He refused to bite another human, despite the fact a bite wouldn’t turn one anyway. They needed to be drinking his blood for that to happen, and after how he’d been turned, there was no way he’d ever do that to a mortal. He showed up in photographs, though his eyes always came out red instead of their usual bright blue. Mirrors weren’t exactly his friend, but not because he couldn’t see himself, instead because he hated seeing himself. They didn’t magically show his “vampire face”, instead they reminded him he’d never grow old. At the ripe age of 44 he looked 18. Even when he turned 100, he’d still look 18. It was thoroughly depressing. Unlike some vampires he didn’t have a coven, or a pack. His house only held him and his cat Blue, who he’d found as a tiny kitten under the steps leading up to the porch. She’s was black, fluffy, and an absolute princess in his eyes. Other than the general upkeep of his house, blood costs and the very occasional splurge on new clothes, most of the money he made went to spoiling his little princess. He wasn’t sure if Blue was part vampire, her teeth had always been sharp, as kitten he’d dug her out by the scruff of the neck, her tiny little teeth were far too cute as they buried themselves into his hand. She’d never acted like she was, but she also preferred to stay inside and had a personality that rivalled some of the most twisted “Queen” vamps he’d met. Then again, everyone knew cats were temperamental arseholes, so maybe Blue was simply being the snobby cow she was born to be.

All in all, Lance had nothing to complain about in his life. He was happy, content, safe in the knowledge no one about to ruin that anytime soon.

*  
Pulling into the parking lot of their usual dive, Sal’s burgers wasn’t the most popular place in town, making it the perfect place to hang out. Located 10kms out of town on the road to Platt City, seemingly an inconvenience the locals, most of Sal’s customers came from tourists needing to stop because their kids needed the toilet. A few of the older locals had dedicated seats at the service bar, and maybe one or twice a week people spiced it up from their usual coffee shops on Main Street, but all in all, the lack of customers is what Lance loved about it. The whole place looked as if the 50’s had left it behind, from its pastel pink exterior to the cheesy green and silver breakfast stools at the c go heck board service bar. From his parking space he could already see Pidge and Hunk waiting for him in their usual booth. Hunk’s head thrown back as he laughed at something, probably at Pidge’s expense. 

Cutting the engine, Lance grabbed up his wallet, phone, and gloves. He wasn’t exactly the warmest of people to begin with, but this freezing weather was likely to turn him into an undead popsicle. Already dressed in his favourite khaki jacket, Lance did a quick double check pat down before climbing out his battered blue four wheel drive. She was old, had one too many rust spots and didn’t like starting on days like today, but he’d had her since he’d graduated college the first time around. His Mami was always nagging at him to get rid of her, to use some of his money to buy something better, something that didn’t have roll down windows and a dodgy CD player. His first car was his first real taste of freedom after being turned. They’d been through a lot together, leaving him unable to say goodbye to her. That’d be like cutting him own arm off.

Sal gave him a wave as Lance walked in, the man was a teddy bear under his perpetual 5 o’clock shadow and greasy apron. His policy seemed to be that if someone couldn’t respect him like this, they weren’t worth his respect in return  
“Hey’a there, Lance. Pull up a seat and I’ll bring your usual over”  
“Thanks, Sal. You’re the best!”  
Sal grumbled, Lance pretending he didn’t hear every low word about him. Bringing up that Sal secretly liked him well enough would only leave the old man flustered. For the sake of their “friendship”, he played along with Sal’s mumbling translating into how much of a pain he was. With a bounce in his step, Lance headed over to Pidge and Hunk, throwing himself into the booth as he wrapped his arms around Hunk  
“Lance!”  
“It’s soooo cold! Warm me up!”  
Hunk hugged him back  
“I’ve got you, bro! You’re freezing...”  
“And you’re late. You were supposed to be here half an hour ago”  
Lance sighed dramatically as he rolled his eyes at his favourite tech gremlin  
“You know how she gets in cold weather”  
“Who? There better not be anything and wrong with my Princess”  
“Pidge, you should know by now that when Lance talks like that, he’s talking about his car... right?”  
Lance grinned  
“Of course I’m talking about my girl. And my Princess is perfectly happy. Blue was curled up under my blankets when I left”  
Pidge pouted at him  
“You could have brought her with you. I miss my Blue cuddles”  
“You could try coming by the house. She was in a mood when I left”  
Lance had a backpack carrier for her, but Blue would have frozen her perfect little toe beans out in the weather today. He’d left the heated blanket on a timer for her, unable to keep from spoiling his princess. Pidge’s hand left her laptop keyboard to grab her mug of coffee  
“But your house is soooo far away. Anyway, we’re here to talk about work. I was on this forum last night, and someone swore they met a werewolf. Can you imagine? Hunk told me to stop scaring him”

Hunk... Hunk was the biggest ray of sunshine Lance had ever met. The poor man got every single form of motion sickness know, but that never once stopped him. He was terrified of ghost stories, not the best constitution to have when one is a ghost hunter... No, paranormal investigator. He’d been told there was a difference, but honestly it all sounded the same. People loved to think of the unknown, that world existing just out of their everyday mundane lives. Having been in that world for as long as he had been, Lance would happily pay for a boring mundane life  
“I wasn’t scared... I’m... cautious”  
Pidge clucked at Hunk, Hunk flipping her off. Laughing at him, Pidge wasn’t easily swayed  
“You’re a chicken. What about you, Lance? Do you believe in werewolves?”

Werewolves were dicks. He’d bumped into a few over the years, and they’d done nothing to persuade him that they weren’t. The only thing they had going for them was their commitment to their mates and family, other than that, they were testosterone filled morons with claws.

“I don’t know... I feel like they’d all be too stupid to hide their existence”  
“Wolves are incredibly smart... Fine, let’s put that one the back burner. Now, about work, there’s a group of tourists that want to come through the old hospital. The visitors centre in town gave me a call about it. Apparently they pay reeeeeeally well”  
They’d have to. The old hospital was “cursed”. It’d been converted into a professional centre, but three years after the renovations they closed the building down thanks to the high number of injuries. If there were ghosts there, it was doubtful they’d care to bother with the employees. They all had their own issues. Lance held the opinion it was more a spate of psychosomatic symptoms resulting from the first accident. The building had been handed back over to the town, where it’d sat empty until it reopened as a military museum. With a bored sigh, Lance resigned himself to the fact that Pidge had already gone ahead and decided this was happening. Patting Hunk on the arm, the big man let him go  
“When is this all supposed to be happening?”

Pidge’s eyes twinkled with mischief. Lance loved that about her. The top of her head barely came to his chin, but her pint sized stature didn’t stop her. She was always up for a laugh, and frightfully adapt with all things technology based. One of their first conversations came about because Lance had dropped his phone down the stairwell, smashing the screen as it bounced. Seeing her notice pinned up at the campuses cafe, he’d reached out to her with no idea they’d still be besties so many years later. From memory she had an older brother who was as much of a nerd as she was, while her mother and her father both worked in some private sector. He’d met them once over a family dinner Pidge dragged him to, seen them half a dozen times on their front steps as Pidge fled from their parental yelling, and finally been stuck in a very awkward conversation with Pidge’s father, Sam, when he’d found Bae-Bae, the missing family dog who Pidge had brought along on one of their ghost hunts  
“Tonight. We’ve got permission to start once the museum shuts for the day. The tour starts at 8, so we’ll go in, set up, have something to eat, then scare the shit out of them at 8”  
“You didn’t tell me it’s tonight!”  
Poor Hunk. His poor heart had no time to come to terms with this. His worrying only made Pidge smile wider  
“Relax, it’ll be fiiiine. Lance is coming with us. He’ll protect you from anything spooky”  
“Why do I have to protect you? What are you going to do? Sue the ghosts for giving you the heebie-jeebies? Sorry, that’s not my specialty”  
Pidge slid her glasses down to the tip of her nose as she puffed her chest out  
“Ha, he, ho, I’m Lance and I have a fancy law degree! Those ghosts better think twice before looking at me”

Lance laughed way too hard, tears leaking out the corners of his eyes, his black frame glasses nearly falling off. Pidge pushing her glasses back into place as Sal brought over Lance’s pancakes and coffee. The man simply placing them down before backing away without a word  
“Oh my god, Pidge. That was awful”  
“It wasn’t that awful. So, Hunk, you’re in snacks for the night. Lance is in charge of driving, and I’m in charge of the tech. What are we forgetting?”  
“That we value our lives and don’t really want to do this?”  
Pidge sank lower in her seat, a soft thud coming as Hunk gasped in pain  
“What was that for?!”  
“Being a chicken”  
“I’m not a chicken”  
“Are too...”  
Picking up his fork, Lance calmly cut in on their fight  
“Children, don’t make me seperate the pair of you. Hunk, you’re big, brave, and very manly. Pidge, you’re so fucking short you couldn’t even covertly kick him under the table. If we’re going out, I need to stop by home on the way. Blue needs her wet food for the night, and no, she’s not coming tonight. It’s going to storm as it is”

Crossing her arms, Pidge slumped back in her seat  
“You just want to keep my Princess all to yourself. Hunk can leave his car here and we’ll take yours”  
“I thought my house was too far away to visit?”  
“It’s not when you’re the one driving. Hurry up and finish your pancakes, I wanna go already”  
Lance looked down at the forkful he’d been about to load in his mouth, purposely cutting the stack in half to annoy Pidge. Scoffing down Sal’s pancakes was an insult to the man who’d made cigarette ash in pancakes edible. The lack of hygiene may have been another reason why the locals stayed away, but when you’re immortal, standards kind of went out the window  
“Laaaaance. Nooo. What are you doing?”  
“Enjoying my breakfast. Order another coffee... actually, order some warm milk, I can see you practically vibrating from the amount of caffeine in our bloodstream”  
“I’ll have you know that the level of blood in my caffeine stream is just fine. Plus, you’re like the only person in the world who enjoys Sal’s pancakes!”

“Oi! I heard that, Katie Holt!”

Pidge ducked down further in her seat at Sal’s voice. A couple of regulars laughing at her embarrassment, as Pidge blushed  
“Now look what you’ve done”  
“Not my problem, Pidgeroonie”  
“Watch your back, I’m going to get you tonight, then steal away Blue”  
Lance shrugged, unfazed by her threat. Tonight would be another lame arse tour under the belt, the most exciting thing they could expect was some jump scare. 

Boy did he have no clue just what Pidge was getting them into.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance is good boi. He protec without physical harm

2

A wise man once packed up his whole life and moved to the country to escape people. That man lived happily, with his cat, his ford bronco, and high speed internet. That man didn’t entertain the notions of his two best friends, nor did he spend the night trapped at what had to be the weirdest bachelor party known to mankind. Who in their right mind decided to have a bachelors party in a haunted hospital? Rocking up in a party bus, the stench of cheap booze wafted from their sweaty skin, there were thirteen man sized toddlers to take care of. Pidge and Hunk both wore their regrets on their faces. Lance taking offence when the loud mouth of the group asked Pidge “Who pissed in her fruit loops?”, the man further daring to wag his finger in Pidge’s direction. Stepping between them, Lance knew his type too well. Daddy’s credit card had brought him everything he could ever want and need, other than brain cells. His arrogance was sickly sweet, stinging at Lance’s tongue as he took a calming breath. Vampires born vampires were supposed to have powers, all he had was the iron will of someone who was done with dickheads. Forcing his lips up to expose his teeth, he locked eyes with his target, hand coming up to take the man’s in an overly firm handshake   
“Hello, you must be tonight’s tour. We weren’t informed it was a party, or we would have arranged a little entertainment for you all. Now, we do have a few ground rules. First, please don’t touch any of our equipment. It’s all highly calibrated. Secondly, please don’t piss in the hallways. Thirdly, and most importantly, you ever take that tone with my friends, I will break both your finger and your balls. Now, I’m Lance, this is Pidge, and this Hunk. How about we try this again with some manners?”

The man spluttered. His mate coming up to clamp a hand on his shoulder. The moment between them broken, Lance letting the man’s hand drop. He’d never actually hurt a human. He had his own code he lived by, even when he’d mugged he’d never fought back. If anything he’d been more concerned for the people who’d jumped him. A vampires blood was a curse he didn’t wish to spread. No... No, it was much better to turn the other cheek with the physical stuff, then sob it out over a bad rom-com and some ice cream. His Mami would always tell him how proud she was that he didn’t ever let that other side show  
“Damn, man! You got told by a kid! Don’t worry, dudes, no trouble here. This dickhead’s...”

Lance blanked their names as fast as possible, fake smile in place as he nodded. His memory was unfairly good. An unwanted steel trap, where he refused to remember the annoyances before him. Maybe he was also jealous... It happened more than he liked to admit. He’d never gotten to be this kind of idiot, he’d learned too young about the things that went bump in the night. He wasn’t allowed the option of ignorance, sometimes things inside niggled at him, reminding him he’d never know nice it must be to be clueless. Ugh. Pidge had two jump scares planned for the group too... He already had Hunk’s heart to worry about, his friend too much of a teddy bear for this cruel world, and Pidge’s shenanigans. 

As the drunk party started whooping, walking away from their tour guides to look at the exhibits in the main foyer, Pidge threw her arms around Lance, Lance snapping out his inner mullings as he returned the hug  
“I’d forgotten you can be super scary”  
Lance snorted, if Pidge thought that was scary, she should have seen of the court cases he’d been through. Nothing major, but enough for people to recognise behind his appearance he held a sharp tongue  
“I couldn’t let them pick on my favourite Gremlin. She might go getting ideas of ditching me for them, then what am I going to do?”  
“Be useless and hopeless? Barricade yourself at home and cry over the loss of my brilliance?”  
“Mmm... all of that. Seriously, I know you can handle yourself, but don’t let people underestimate you”  
“I think it was you, that they were underestimating. I thought that guy was seriously going to shit bricks when you shook his hand”  
“He would have been cleaning it up with a toothbrush if he had. You ready?”  
Pidge looked up at him, flashing him a toothy grin at the thought of the mischief she had planned  
“Yeah. Let’s scare some idiots and take their money”  
“They didn’t pay up front?”  
“Maybe...”  
Lance groaned  
“Pidge, you can’t go hacking into their bank accounts. That’s not the kind of law I specialise in”

Pushing him away, Pidge pulled a face  
“Then what good are you? What’s the point of having a best friend for a lawyer if you won’t defend me?”  
Lance raised the back of his hand to his forehead, faking a swoon  
“Is that all I am to you? What about my totally radical driving skills?”  
“Your car’s as old as I am!”  
“You leave her alone. She’s a priceless family heirloom”  
“She’s a hunk of shit and you know it”  
“You wound me, Pidge. I’m utterly wounded. Hunk, back me up here. Are my skill not the greatest ever?”  
Hunk shuffled his feet, his friend having the habit of worrying his two pointers together even during banter like this  
“There was that time we got bog-...”  
“But did you die?”  
“Well, no...”  
Lance beamed  
“There we go then. Let’s get this show on the road”

Two jump scares, one phone drop, three scoldings for touching, and two and half hours later, they were finally starting to pack up. Pidge could complain all she liked about Lance’s beat up Bronco, but she couldn’t complain over the fact that it had more than enough storage in the back to load all their crap up. Hunk had fretted through the ordeal, while Pidge had grown bolder, she dished out sass like there was no tomorrow leaving Lance in silent stitches. There was something about the way she said things that turned the most mundane of passing comments into an insult. The girl so salty the world was in danger of running out limes and tequila. As Hunk passed him the last of the camera boxes, Pidge reset the alarm system, the tour bus already long gone from the main road. Sighing as he leaned against the side of the car, Hunk was the embodiment of relief  
“You okay?”  
Hunk nodded as he yawned, Lance felt a kind of parental concern and the urge to send Hunk home to bed. His best friend was normal a night owl, but the weather made it a perfect night for climbing under the covers as the rain pattered on the tin roof   
“Want to come back to mine for the night? I’ll drop you back in tomorrow after Pidge has processed the camera footage”  
“I don’t know, man. I think I’m going to be out as soon as my head hit the pillow”  
“I don’t mind either way, but you know Pidge is going to be calling first thing in morning if you go home now”

Hunk groaned. It wasn’t unusual for Pidge to call any hour she felt like it. More than once Lance had been woken in the wee hours to listen to Pidge rant about some new conspiracy theory. She was worse on road trips, she’d get so into what was going on, she’d literally jump into bed next to you, wake you up, then talk a mile-a-minute about whatever she’d worked out  
“I’ll come to yours. Just gotta text the folks and let them know I’ll be staying over”

Hunk’s parents were amazing. Lance instantly fell in love with the whole clan of them. His family was big, but they loved even bigger. Hunk’s mother baked some of the best cookies he’d had in his life, and instantly made him feel welcome when Hunk left him outside the house, having formally forgotten to invite him in. Lance wasn’t sure if he needed an invite to actually enter, but he’d wanted to respect whatever family conditions that came with Hunk having friends over. As for Hunk’s father, the man ran the local automotive shop. Most people took their cars to Platt for servicing, but Lance knew he had to build bridges with the locals if he expected to last in such a small town. That didn’t stop Hunk’s dad for continuing to undercharge him when it came to labour costs, so Lance usually left the man a large tip. Plus, he knew how temperamental his old girl could be. Originally Hunk’s family had been from somewhere else, his parents selling up to move somewhere quite before retirement, or so Hunk said. Lance didn’t like to pry, not when he had a fair idea of how much shit came with a decision like moving. Hunk had finished his senior year, then moved down to Platt for college, before falling in with Pidge. The pair of them were thick as thieves, but went out of their to never make Lance feel discluded. The three of them making up what Pidge liked to call “The Garrison Trio”. A connection like this was dangerous for him, especially given he was less than human, and he’d had no intention of being best friends with anyone when he’d made his move. He couldn’t help but love them as if they were siblings he’d known all his life... unlike his real siblings who were still a little iffy about his vampire status. With all the crap in the media, Lance couldn’t blame them, not when he was supposed to be a blood drinking night stalker. He’d never even fed off an actual real life human, but the stereotype was too ingrained in culture and after the death of his Papi, the only one he really remained close to was his Mami who now lived in an assisted living complex outside of Platt. Before he’d moved, he’d been her “carer” for the five years after his father’s death. His Mami was the one who insisted she go into a home, Lance pleading with her not to, but if there was one thing that ran in their family’s blood, it was stubbornness. 

Besides, the home was actually really nice. Mami has plenty of friends there, there were games and social events, outings into Platt out to places like the Zoo and the Aquarium. It wasn’t home like Cuba had been during his childhood, but if it hadn’t been so nice there was no way he would have allowed his mother to stay there. He also had a soft spot for everyone there. They all laughed over “Miriam’s hot grandson”, occasionally he was pinched on the arse or gently flirted with until he couldn’t help but feel his cheeks burning. He loved his Mami, so on weekends when nothing much was happening, he’d take her out for the day driving, wherever she wanted to go. At 82, his Mami was still full of life. Her eyes had always been kind, and her hugs the warmest in the world. No matter how many times he’d broken down over his curse, she’d tell him how much she loved him. Mami didn’t know that most of her living costs came from him. She was a proud woman who wanted him to spend his money on himself, to treat himself right and to be happy, but being with her was what made him happy.

“Dude, you okay there?”  
Lance shook his head to clear his thoughts   
“Yeah, man. There’s a bottle of Shiraz calling my name”  
“Should I be worried?”  
Lance chuckled. He couldn’t get drunk the way a human would. Mix in a little blood and then that problem went out the window. Mix in a lot of blood and he’d be recreating far too humiliating memories. Two glasses at night to relax, three if the day was bad. He kept himself in check, not wanting to let himself fall back into wallowing the weirdness of his life  
“Only that Pidge is going to make us do this again. I don’t think they appreciated our “razzle-dazzle”  
Hunk groaned as his hand went to his chest  
“I thought I could do it, man. We knew where the jump scares were and they still scared the bejesus out of me. I love Pidge, but she’s scary”  
“That’s because she’s our resident gremlin. I’m more scared of what she’s got planned for the footage of tonight”  
“Y-you don’t think we caught an actual ghost on camera... do you?”  
Lance played along, teasing his best friend felt a little mean, but seeing they most probably caught nothing but the sounds of the tour he shrugged as he said  
“I don’t know... tonight could be the night”

“Boo!”

The ever queen of the jump scare, Pidge cackled as Hunk jumped  
“Dude, you should have seen your face”  
“Don’t do that! You know I’m naturally jumpy”  
Punching Pidge on the shoulder playfully, Pidge laughed harder  
“I’m sorry, but I’m not. Are you two losers done yet? The alarms all set and I sent the curators a message to let them know it’s all locked up”  
“Yeah. Yeah, we’re done. You crashing at mine tonight?”  
“Dah. I thought that was the plan all along”  
“Then jump in already. Wanna make a stop for snacks on the way?”  
The town had two service stations, the trip out to the 24 hour was half an hour out the way, nearly half way to Platt, yet his Mami had always told him that house guests came first  
“Can I have a super large raspberry slushy?”  
“I don’t know, is it before midnight? I’m not supposed to feed or water you between midnight and dawn, right?”  
“For that, I’m having two. Oh, I dibs the front!”  
“No fair! I was here first”  
“You snooze, you lose, Hunkerino. Besides, Shay might be working”

Hunk blushed hard at the mention of “Shay”. The poor man had been crushing on her so hard that he’d failed to notice she was into him. Every time she’d ask him out, he’d say no as he didn’t want to inconvenience her. His best friend was as dumb as a sack potatoes when it came to getting a clue. Hell, Lance was sure Shay could scrawl her feelings across her face in red marker and Hunk still wouldn’t get the hint. 

“She’s a friend, okay”  
Pidge bumped her hip against Hunks, her voice sing-song  
“A friend you’re too scared to ask for her number”  
“I... but... she... I...”  
Hunk stumbled over the start of what he wanted to say. The poor dude had it bad. Stepping out the way, Lance pulled the back window down before snapping the trunk door shut. Patting Hunk’s shoulder, he sympathised with his best mate something chronic   
“Hunk, she’s into you, buddy. You are the best man that I know. You’ve got a whole lot to offer, and any one would be lucky to have you. I swear man. Cross my heart and hope to die, if I ever tell a lie”  
“Not you, too”  
“Look, all I’m saying is that from my point of view she seems interested too. I’m not trying to push into something you’re not ready for. I just want you to know I’m there when you are”  
Pidge blew a raspberry at him, ruining his attempt to be serious  
“You sound like such a dad. I swear you’re like some old fuddy in that body. Hunk, grow some balls and get out there”  
“I don’t want to grow balls”  
Hunk moaned at his own words. Pidge went into a fresh fit of laughter at his expense. Lance cringed in second hand embarrassment. He couldn’t love the pair of them any more than he did, even if he tried  
“For that, Pidge, you’re in the back. Hunk, I’ve got your back, bro”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here comes our next bite sized piece...
> 
> Poor Lance is feeling old

3

Balmeria Roadhouse was as it always was at stupid o’clock in the morning. Two road trains parked up in the back parking space. Another sitting at the diesel pumps, the driver sitting inside the roadhouse taking a much needed break. Pulling up at the bowser, Lance heard the click of the pump release, the roadhouse on the older side where a pin needed to be entered instore before you could use the bowser. Shay was definitely on, her brother Rax also worked there, but he’d seemed to take a real dislike to their group, making one of them go in and ask to use the pumps instead of being a normal civil person. Yeah, he fell into the people that thoroughly annoyed Lance, but Shay... Shay lit up the room. Her smile was bright, hair always dyed shades of blue, huge silver hoop earrings that surely had to hurt her ears, then topped off with an ensemble that threw back to the golden years of “emo”. When she joked about it, a little bit of him died on the inside. It was hard being 44 when his friends were young enough to be his kids.

Pidge climbed out after Hunk, as Lance started fuelling up. The rain was coming again, he could smell it on the air. Maybe making a run for snacks hadn’t been the brightest idea mid-storm, but you never knew what would happen. He didn’t want to pressure Hunk, not after the tour from hell, but seeing Shay might just be thing his friend needed to perk him back up. Leaning back against his car, he closed his eyes and let himself just be. He loved this life. Out of all his “lives” as Lance, this was the most peace he’d ever found... as a near on hermit.

Hearing the slow roll of tires over wet gravel, Lance paid it no mind. The pump handle clicking to indicate the tank was full. Shaking the last few drops out the nozzle, he set the handle back in the cradle with a sigh. It should be illegal that filling a tank cost $90. He could still remember when it was $1 a litre. Back in the good old days and all that. Heck, when he’d been 20 it’d only been 65cents a litre. His precious girl was killing his bank account... but he’d never say that out loud, at least not with Pidge in earshot. And not with his Mami in earshot either. She mistakingly thought he kept his girl around out of some sense of misplaced guilt over his condition, not because no other car made him feel quite the way driving his bronco did. Giving Shay a wave on the security camera, Lance double checked his wallet in his back pocket before shoving his hands in his jacket, then making himself jog over to the roadhouse door as if he was scared of getting wet. As he jogged he noticed that the people who’d pulled up were one of those “people” who park way too close to the front door with the bonnet hanging over the edge, making the walk way smaller than it was supposed to be. From the look of it there were two of them in the black sedan, their car practically screaming for attention. Good luck with that, Lance was more interested in the road train by the diesel than two rich kids taking their car for a joy ride.

Letting himself into the warmth of the road house, Lance headed straight for the drinks at back. Grabbing two bottles of coke, he also snagged a bottle of orange juice for the morning. Carrying the drinks up to Shay, Hunk was spluttering over Shay’s flirting. Neither of them were aggressive enough to make that first move, Shay’s bubbly personality came from being in customer service, the “real” Shay was a shy blushing mess especially in the presence of Hunk  
“Hiya, Lance. How’s it going?”  
“Any day my glasses decide not to fog up is a win. How’s the night been?”  
“Slooow. Seriously slow. Must be the weather, all the smart people are staying home”  
Lance laughed as he nodded  
“Yeah, it’s the night for it, alright. Hey, we were thinking of having dinner at mine on Saturday night, can you swing it?”  
Shay shook her head, her gaze flicking to Hunk, then back to him  
“I’m working both nights this weekend”  
“It doesn’t have to be Saturday. Friday works too. Or Monday. Actually, any night works. One of the perks that comes with working from home”  
“I can do Friday... are you sure you don’t mind?”

Now Shay was sounding like Hunk. They’d be the sweetest couple  
“I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t. It won’t be anything too fancy, maybe dinner than vegging out in front of the TV. I mean, please don’t feel pressured at all to come, I won’t be offended. I was just thinking how nice it’d be to actually hang out outside of this place”  
Shay nodded quickly   
“That sounds fun. I’ll finally be able to meet Blue”  
With her blue hair, Shay had thought Lance was talking about her whenever he mentioned “Blue” to Pidge and, or, Hunk. His cooing over his precious princess making her uncomfortable. Shay remained in the dark until Pidge started teasing him mercilessly over Lance buying his baby girl a bigger and better cat tree to celebrate her first birthday  
“She’s a bit of a snob, just so you know. Oh, you totally don’t have to bring anything, but I know what parents are like, so if you drink bring a bottle of that and we’ll pretend it’s for me”  
Shay laughed. Lance felt as if the gift giving had slowly slipped from society, a bit like dinner parties  
“Sometimes you sound like my dad”  
Pidge slammed her palms down on the counter, excited to have someone agree   
“I know, right?! You should have heard him earlier, I could have died of shame when he was talking about being “totally radical!”  
“Much retro, so lame”   
Huffing are the pair, Lance grabbed a pack of gum to toss in with everything else  
“Remind me why I associate with all of you?”  
“For the laughs. Oh, we better move, they’re coming in”

Spying on the two guys from the flashy car, the group moved aside as the door chimed. Shay swapping tills so she wouldn’t have to start ringing up his purchases from scratch  
“You guys got everything you want?”  
Pidge nodded happily   
“Shay’s rung up my two slushies. I decided I needed one of each instead of two raspberry”  
“I really should have only let you get one. You’ll be awake all night from all that sugar”  
“Jeez, thanks, dad...”  
Pidge made the telephone gesture with her hand, raising it to her ear. She played along with her fake fall, humming and nodding a few times before holding her hand out towards him  
“The 1970’s called, they want their idiot back”  
Swatting at Pidge’s hand, Lance felt a bump against his back. No apology was forth coming as Shay served the two strangers, the taller answering Shay’s polite attempts at small talk. At least one of them wasn’t a total douche.

When the pair left, the group moved back over. Shay finishing off scanning the last few items   
“That’s $143.95 all up. Pidge said you were having a movie marathon when you got home?”  
Fishing his wallet out, Lance pulled out his credit card, handing over as he shook his head  
“She might be, but I’d hardly call it a movie marathon when she’s watching over what she taped tonight. Hunk and I are about ready to call it night”  
“That sounds like a good plan. The weather’s supposed to turn bad again”  
Entering his pin, Lance waited for “approved” to show on the reader, before taking his card back and sliding it away   
“I heard that too. That’s why I’ve got to get these two home. If you write your number on the receipt, I’ll add you and chuck a text to confirm. You know where my house is, don’t you?”  
Shay giggled, printing off the receipt like Lance has suggested  
“Seeing it’s the only house on the road, I don’t think I can go wrong”

When the door chimed again, Lance turned out of habit. He hadn’t seen the diesel drier leave yet, so had thought maybe the man was waiting for someone. Walking back in, the taller of two strangers was scratching the back of his head. Greeeeat. The guy wanted a favour. He could tell by the way he was forcing himself to appear casual  
“Hey, me again. My brother and I just tried our car but it doesn’t seem to be turning over. You don’t happen to know anyone around here that can help us out?”

That was what google was for. A quick google search would tell the man the towing service was shut for the night, unless he wanted to call someone in Platt.

Shay took the question in her stride, being a roadhouse she’d probably dealt with this kind of thing before   
“That depends. If you need to reach Platt tonight, then you’ll want to call a Platt number for a tow. If you can wait until tomorrow, my friend Hunk here is the son of the town’s mechanic”  
“We were actually hoping to stay a few days in town, you know, check out the old museum and that. My little brother’s really into photography. We’ve got a hotel room back in Platt, so I guess I need the number for that towing service”

The stranger scratched the back of his head again. Lance knew he was staring, but it was kind of hard not to when the man had a massive scar across the bridge of his nose  
“I’ll give them a call, but they might not want to come out with the storm rolling in”  
“Yeah, my brother was taking photos of the sky tonight, that’s how we ended up here in the middle of the night. I’d really appreciate it if you could”  
“No worries, you’d be surprised how often it happens. Do you and your brother want to sit inside and wait?”  
“No, thanks for the offer, but he’s not exactly a people person. I’m Shiro, by the way”  
“I’m Shay. Welcome to Garrison”  
“Thanks. I’ll just browse while you make that call. Thanks for this and for calling”  
“It’s fine. They love me there because I send them so much business. Go ahead and take a look around”

There was no way that Lance was leaving Shay with a creeper. Hot or not, he didn’t know the man. An ordinary person wouldn’t be running around with a scar like that, his mind unhelpfully pointing out it could have been the result of a car crash or some kind of accident where he’d smacked his face hard against a pile or a corner. Whatever it’d been, Shiro had done a really good job of it. He carried himself with an air that Lance couldn’t quite put his finger on. Like he was hiding something, but exposing himself all at the same time. Shaking himself out of those thoughts, he settled on the fact that though he’d never see the man again after this, he’d be unfortunately stuck remembering him and always wondering about that damn scar.

Shay was brisk on the phone, she laughed at lot, Hunk practically melting in pining over the sound. Two quick phone calls later, Shay hung up her phone, swapping back to her customer service face   
“Shiro, I’ve got some good news and some bad news”  
Replacing the magazine he’d been flicking through, the handsome stranger wandered his way back to the counter. Shiro laughed nervously, something making Lance’s skin prickle   
“I’m not sure I like the idea of bad news”  
“Well, there’s been an accident in Platt, the storm knocked a set of lights, so they won’t be able to send someone until tomorrow. The good news is that Hunk’s dad runs the local autoshop, he can take a look first thing tomorrow morning. The bad news is you’re either stuck waiting the next 12 hours in here or we can try getting you a room in town... you could probably call a cab out from Platt, but that’s going to cost about as much as getting a room”

Shiro sighed. Lance didn’t blame him. Being stuck sucked arse  
“Don’t worry, man. My dad will sort you out tomorrow”  
Hunk tried to comfort the stranger, Shiro looking at him properly for the first time  
“Uh, thanks for that. I’m Shiro...”  
Pidge stepped forward  
“I’m Pidge, that’s Hunk and this loser is Lance. We can give you a ride back in town if you need”  
Lance stepped on Pidge’s foot. He wasn’t a damn taxi service, for all he knew this guy and his “brother” could be serial killers  
“Really? That would be fantastic. You three are locals right, you wouldn’t happen to know of any good places to stay?”  
“Sure do. We know everything about Garrison. Hey, why don’t you crash at Lance’s tonight, then he can give you a lift in tomorrow when he drops us off?”

Lance ground his foot down. He didn’t want two strangers in his house. It was his house. Access was limited to people he actually knew and liked... a grand total of five including Shay  
“What? They’re stuck. It’s the nice thing to do”  
Damn Pidge and her “niceness”. Shiro scratched the back of his head again  
“I don’t want to put you out...”  
“Nonsense. He’s got enough rooms. And it’s only for the night. What kind of people would we be if we left you stuck?”  
“At least let me pay...”  
“Already taken care of. The only thing is you’ll have to ride in the back of the rust bucket out there. This one refuses to get a new car”  
Lance huffed  
“There’s nothing wrong with my car. She’s got four wheels and starts”  
“When she wants to. Go let your brother know what’s going on, while we finish up here”  
“I will. Thank you so much for this. You three really saved our butts tonight. So, the bronco, right?”  
“Yep, that’s the one”  
“I guess we’ll get settled then... Are you sure it’s no trouble?”  
“It’s fine, go on, we’ll be out shortly”

When Shiro left, Lance rounded Pidge. Tempted to keep his foot on hers, but scared he’d apply too much pressure and accidentally hurt her  
“What the fuck was that?”  
Pidge fluttered her eyelashes  
“What was what?”  
“Volunteering my house? We don’t know them”  
“Exactly! I saw you staring”  
“Because he’s got a big arse scar across his nose...”  
“And now we can find out why”  
Lance rolled his eyes, trying to keep his panic internal  
“And what if they’re both serial killers?”  
“You’re just being stupid. It’s a guy and his brother. Oh! Maybe they’re into ghosts, everyone who comes here’s into ghosts”  
Hunk groaned  
“Pidge... Lance is right. We don’t know them”  
“Too bad. It’s only for tonight. Consider it our good deed for the year”  
Shay giggled  
“I thought that was that tour of yours”  
Pidge jumped up and down on the spot excitedly, grabbing Lance by the arm and shaking him  
“Oh my god, that means two good deeds in one day! Karma, here we come!”  
Karma could fuck off. If there was any kind of karma in the world, he wouldn’t be what he was now. He wanted his cat, his bed, and not to have two strangers in his goddamn house. Packing their shopping neatly into a bag, Shay placed two slushy cups down on the counter with a clatter as the lids slipped off   
“Whoopsies. Anyway, I won’t keep you guys any longer. Lance, you’ll text me right?”  
“Sure thing, Shay. Pidge, get your damn slushies so we can go”  
“Do you think they want slushies? We should get them slushies. That’s the nice thing to do right?”  
“If they wanted slushies, they would have got their own”  
Blowing a raspberry at him, Lance knew that Shiro and his brother were getting slushies whether they liked it or not  
“Shay, two more cups please!”  
God, Lance was done. Grabbing the bag off the counter, he shot Shay a tired smile  
“Wish me luck”  
“Better you than me. Have fun”  
Like that was going to happen. With a wave, Lance wandered towards the door. Behind him Hunk had been nominated to help Pidge with her slushies. What kind of idiot just opened their home up to strangers? His Mami would be so disappointed... Actually, she’d tell him it was the right thing to do, which only made him feel worse.


	4. Chapter 4

4

Lance kept the rear view mirror on the two strangers in the back. The shorter one of the two was unfairly hot. Lance might never have had sex, out of fear of losing self control, the fact he was monster, and he didn’t know if he was going to knock some poor stranger up with some half vampire kid, but he knew well enough that the man was edging on his type. Untalkative, the man had his arms crossed, hand clutching the raspberry slushy Pidge had forced upon him. He looked as impressed to be in Lance’s car, as Lance was to have him there.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what is it that you three do that has you out so late at night?”  
Lance did mind. Thanks to Pidge these two strangers had been committed to memory for the rest of his undead life  
“Man, you don’t want to get Pidge started...”  
Hunk was also uneasy. He’d found his way into the bag of chocolate eclairs, the pile of wrappers now more than the chocolates left  
“Oh? Pidge?”  
“We’re paranormal investigators. You’ve heard all about Garrisons blood past... well, we’re going to be the first to capture it all on film”  
Shiro raised an eyebrow, Lance accidentally meeting his eyes in the mirror, quickly averting his gaze back to the road  
“Oh, but Lance is a lawyer... He’s the serious one who doesn’t believe in ghosts”  
Thanks for that Pidge, now Shiro’s attention was on him  
“You’re a lawyer?”  
“Yep. Got the fancy piece of paper and everything”  
“Wow. What kind of law do you practice?”  
“Family”

Yeah, Lance knew his manners were lacking, he didn’t need Pidge kicking the back of his chair like she did  
“Ah. That must be tough”  
“Some days are worse than others, but it is what it is. What do you two do?”  
It was on the tip of Lance’s tongue to mention the photography thing, but being a dumb human meant they didn’t always remember what was said  
“That’s right, you said your brother was into photography?”  
Aaaaand the attention was back on Pidge  
“Yeah, Keith likes to take photos, it’s more a hobby than anything. I’ll save you the details and just say I’m in finance. Not terribly interesting”  
Great. A finance guy right next to the registered hacker of the group...  
“Sounds boring”  
Shiro snorted a laugh. Lance cursing mentally that he now had Keith’s name in his head  
“It has its moments. So you guys are into the paranormal? Ever see anything?”  
“Not yet. But you never kno-ooow. Watch where you’re driving!”

Turning onto the dirt road that lead to his house, Lance could have probably been gentler on the ditch. Each year the council filled the damn thing up, only for it to all erode away with the first rains of the year  
“If you’re not used it by now, you never will be”  
“That’s because you can’t drive for shit”  
“It sounds to me like you want to walk home in the morning”  
“I’ll be good”  
Lance’s lips betrayed him with a smile. Pidge would never “good”, her rebellious behaviour was just another thing about her to love  
“Yeah, yeah. You’ve told me that a hundred times and I’m still waiting”  
“Oh, shut it, dad”  
“If I was your dad, you’d be grounded for life”  
“That’s fine. People suck anyway”  
“With no wifi”  
Pidge lunges forward in her chair, an arm coming around him in a hug  
“I’ll be good! Please don’t take my wifi away”  
“As if I could. You’re the one who set it up”  
“Oh, right. Guess I don’t need to be that nice to you then”  
Licking his cheek, Lance wrinkled his nose  
“You’re so fucking gross”  
“You love me”  
“That I do. We’re nearly home. Sorry it’s not much, I don’t really have visitors over. And I hope you’re not allergic to cats, Blue likes to shed all over the place”

In the back, Keith scoffed  
“What kind of a name is “Blue” for a cat?”  
How dare he insult Blue and her perfect little body of complete perfection. Blue was Blue, his number one girl, not a number one emo reject in the backseat of a strangers car because he hadn’t bothered learning basic maintenance   
“I don’t know, what kind of name is “Keith” for a mullet”  
When Shiro laughed, Lance was certain it was the man’s first real and genuine laugh for the night  
“He’s got you there”  
“Go fuck yourself”  
Pidge laughed as Keith sulked. If he wasn’t good at taking a joke, then he shouldn’t be dishing it out. Not that Lance was one to talk  
“Don’t mind him. He gets cranky when he’s sleepy”  
The wrinkles between Keith’s eyebrows deepened at his brother’s explanation   
“You’re the one who could have just got a hotel room”  
“And you’re the one being rude. Lance, and his friends, are doing us a favour”  
“Or they’re going to murder us in our sleep”  
“Nah, man. That’s too much effort. I’ll make you a deal though, you don’t murder us and we won’t murder you”  
Keith seemed even grumpier at Lance’s joke, Lance just anxious to reach his house already. This was terrible idea, a disaster in the making, and the plot of a pretty average b-grade movie. One thing was for sure though, he wasn’t wearing a matching bra and underwear, pretty much guaranteeing he wouldn’t be the first one murdered.

*  
Parking by the steps of the porch, the rain started pelting down as Lance cut the ignition. Relieved to finally be home, he could see Blue sleeping on the windowsill of the living room, having decided to ruin yet another set of vertical blinds in her search for the perfect napping spot. Seeing her was what brought the greatest relief, not the warm light filtered between the blinds, and the knowledge his house would be nice and warm with his bed waiting for his tired arse. Opting to leave the equipment in the car for the night, Lance figured he’d collect it once the other’s fell asleep. All Pidge needed was the camera cards, and her laptop, which she was small enough to climb into the trunk for. God. He really didn’t want strangers in his house, judging things, and even worse, touching things. He liked all his things and he liked them where they were. Routine was key to keeping his sanity, and familiarity helped his Mami whenever he brought her home for a visit.

Fleeing from the car, they all managed to get themselves wet despite the short distance. The rain didn’t bother Lance, not when he couldn’t actually catch a cold from prolonged exposure to the cold. It was his guests his had to worry about  
“Come on in. Leave your shoes by the door and I’ll grab us all some towels. Shiro, you and Keith probably don’t have a change of clothes with you, so I’ll lend you some robes now. You can chuck your stuff in the machine, then put it in the dryer before heading to bed. Hunk, wanna show them through the kitchen? I know we’ve got snacks, but I would kill for a glass of red”  
“You got it, buddy”  
The look in Hunk’s eyes seemed to question if he really wanted Shiro and Keith to know where Lance kept his knives. Hunk was too polite to blurt that out, not like Pidge who had no filter  
“Out the way losers, I’ve got a date with my princess”  
“My princess, is sleeping on the living room window sill. Don’t blame me if you get scratched”  
“That’s just her way of telling me how much she loves me”  
“Or how much you drive her insane”  
“Rude, much. I’ll meet you guys in the kitchen when I’ve got my Blue”  
Pidge pushed both her slushies over to Hunk, Hunk seemed nervous about left alone, but mentally rallied as he managed a smile   
“The kitchen’s through here”

With three robes and a bundle of towels, Lance returned to the kitchen where Hunk had started stress baking. The signs were obvious, from the flour next to the mixing bowl, to Pidge sitting on the kitchen bench with an unhappy looking Blue held in her lap  
“Sorry, some lazy arsehole didn’t sort the linen closest”  
It was lie. He simply, really, truly didn’t want to deal with his visitors. Passing Shiro and Keith a robe and a towel each, Lance went on to wrap a towel over Hunk’s shoulders, then throw Pidge’s at her. Catching the towel, she managed to keep Blue contained in her lap, despite Blue’s displeasure   
“Let me guess, that means you?”

Lance’s big blue eyes widened, shocked Shiro would make a joke   
“Damn, Lance. I think I might just like this one”  
“Oh, bite it, Pidge. Yeah. That lazy arsehole’s me. Even if there were more hours in the day, I’d still probably spend them sleeping. Did Hunk offer you guys a coffee?”  
“Already on it, man. I’m whipping up some butter cookies to go with the tea”  
Lance sighed to himself again, mentally of course because his mother would have smacked his arse had he done it out loud. He didn’t do guests for a reason. The feeding them thing was annoying  
“I hope you don’t mind, but can you show us where the bathroom is?”  
Right. They were wet. He was wet. He was supposed to be human, which meant sliding his robe on over his clothes, or rather starting too then realising it wouldn’t go on over his jacket. God. He was making an idiot of himself.

With his jacket over his chair, Lance flashed Shiro and Keith a smile  
“Yeah, through here. You guys can go ahead and take a shower if you want. I mean, seperate showers, or whatever, no judgment if you’re into that kind of thing. Sorry, I’m not used to visitors. Feel free to use whatever you find in the guest bathroom, most of it’s Hunk and Pidge’s stuff they’ve left here, but there’s fresh soap bars and spare toothbrushes in the second drawer”  
Someone needed to shut him up. Stitch his goddamn lips together, then bury him until his embarrassment worse off. Lance’s moves were still as he led his guests from the kitchen to the bathroom  
“Here we go. I’ll put you in the spare room down here, and we’ll sleep upstairs. There’s not much down here, just my office which is the end room. Your room will be the next door up, it’s got two twins in there, so plenty of space. Pidge set up a charge pad, because you guys probably didn’t bring your chargers either. If you go all the way the other way in this hall, you’ll reach the laundry. Everything’s out in the open, so help yourself. I know this is awkward as fuck, and probably is for you two, but there’s no saying no to Pidge once she thinks something is a good idea. Oh, yeah, don’t be afraid to take your time, if you get lost, give us a yell”  
Shiro thanked him, towing Keith into the bathroom by the arm. Lance not going to question that one. Not at all. Nope. Nooo... God that family had some good genetics though. Under all his brooding pouting, Lance had caught sight of Keith’s eyes... Eyes like two small galaxies had been captured and shoved in there. How they were so damn purple when he was human, Lance didn’t know, but fuck it was unfair.

When the bathroom door closed, Lance headed down to the office. Pidge couldn’t be trusted with electronic locks, leaving him the only option of dead locking the door. His explanation was that the cases he worked on deserved privacy, which his two friends respected. He’d let them in the office once to satisfy their curiosity, Pidge finding the sheer number of books boring. On the outside it appeared a normal office. Bookcases, filing cabinets, his framed diploma, laptop, printer, all those sorts of normal office things. His desk was organised around the clutter, that totally wasn’t his fault. He couldn’t help he had a weakness for quirky stationary. His current favourite pen was decorated with dancing cacti. The small things in life helped him deal with life’s less than pleasant things. Under his desk were the only two anomalies of the room. On the left, instead of drawers, was his wine rack. On the right, behind the drawers, was his fridge. Lance might be the worlds biggest klutz with his glasses on, but he wasn’t stupid enough to leave his blood bags where everyone could see them. Locked behind a heavy iron door, the previous fireplace of the room meant no one paid much attention to the outside protrusion where it once sat. He’d kept the decorative tiles in place, making a feature of it around his desk in order to keep the questions to a minimum. When it came to time leave his current set up, he was going to be devastated.

With precious minutes ticking down, Lance grabbed himself out the blood pack he’d started for the day. He never let himself go hungry, but with two strangers in the house it was better he let himself have a small feed just to keep his nerves in check. Grabbing down a wine glass and the closest bottle of Shiraz, he poured himself a double before pouring in a good double shot of blood. The bag was O+, not his favourite, yet not the worst. He wasn’t one of those blood snobs that only every drank one type. He was grateful for what he could get, and more grateful to the people who donated their blood under their own free will. Naturally they were compensated for their blood and their time, Coran who ran the blood bank in Platt wasn’t a man to be messed with. Lance knew Coran wasn’t human, yet he had no clue what race he was, nor did he have any idea the race of his niece Allura who often helped out. The pair of them were the coordinators for most of Platt city, and the surrounding area, providing safe blood for those not in a coven or forced from a coven due to whatever reason, with in reason... He knew they weren’t human, as neither of them had aged a single day in all the years he’d known them... which was a pretty long time when he stopped to think about it... which he definitely didn’t have time to right now.

Straightening up his office, Lance then headed back to the kitchen. Hunk busy with the cookies he’d just placed in the oven, while Pidge was sipping on her slurpy. Blue knew she wasn’t supposed to be on the kitchen table, yet gave zero fucks, Lance striding over to scoop her up and pepper her with kisses, after placing his glass down carefully  
“Who’s daddy’s good girl?”  
Blue shot him look that expressed how little she thought of him, done with his craziness and protesting of her less than regal treatment   
“Yes, I know. You don’t care, you just want your wet food and the blanket turned back on. It’s such a hard life”  
Stooping to let Blue down, she gave him a look of disgust before licking at her fur as if to erase his pats. Picking up his wine glass again, he took another sip, feeling the way the blood coated his mouth as it slid down easily  
“Well, that’s done. They’re in the bathroom now, doing whatever. I still can’t believe you volunteered my house”  
Pidge shrugged  
“I know if it was Matt who was stuck, I’d want someone good to help him out. I promise to pay for anything that gets damaged”  
“Damn, girl. How much they pay you for that tour?”  
Pidge shrugged again. They both knew she wouldn’t be paying, if she tried Lance wouldn’t let her  
“Enough”

Matt was a bit of a tricky topic. He was a firm believer in all things paranormal and supernatural. For all her enthusiasm and research, Matt dwarfed Pidge’s knowledge by a long shot. Apparently when Pidge was younger Matt had got himself in a bit of jam chasing ghosts, since whatever had happened, he’d left to track things all across the world. Pidge missed him fiercely, and was left constantly cranky with her brother at his lack of regular updates   
“Speaking of Matt, have you heard from him lately”  
Lance was glad Hunk was the one asking, he’d stripped Pidge bare of all her defences, keeping her secrets at the same time as keeping her grounded   
“Not for something like 3 months now. Dad said he was in Italy the last time he checked in with him. Mum worries herself sick when she doesn’t hear from him”  
“Pidge, if he’s anything like you, then he’s fine. You Holt’s are a touch bunch”  
Pidge sighed, Lance sympathising over how hard it could be not to hear from your siblings. There was nothing like the love and hate that came with having a sibling. Half the time you want to murder them in their sleep, but god help anyone else who messed with them. His whole family had changed after he’d been turned, they’d aged while he remained the same. Now he was getting depressed.

Sliding off the counter, Pidge threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him in a fierce hug  
“I just... really miss him”  
“I know you do. I’m sure he misses you, but he’s like you and once he’s off chasing something time looses all meaning”  
“Yeah. I mean, I know he is, but sometimes it really...”  
“Fucking sucks”  
Pidge nodded as Lance finished her sentence for her. She was just a baby, while he was an old man of 44  
“Have you messaged him lately?”  
“Everyday”  
That had to hurt even worse. 120 plus messages left on read  
“Until he comes back, you’ll have to be happy with the two of us”  
“I mean... if I reeeeeeally have to”  
Hunk turned from the oven, enveloping both of them in a bear hug  
“Group hug!”  
Pidge laughed, faking an attempt at squirming her way out. Hunk laughing too as he lifted them both off their feet for a moment. Lance’s poor wineglass barely surviving the ordeal  
“You two are stuck with me”  
“Yep. We sure are. And we’re the luckiest people alive”  
Well, Pidge was alive. His undead arse sure wasn’t getting any closer to living  
“Okay, that’s enough, losers. I’m gonna go set the tapes up. Hopefully we’ll see something good”  
“Or not. Not seeing anything is good too. Lance, go make sure she doesn’t edit the video in some way... I’m going to have nightmares tonight as it is”  
“I’ve got you, bud. Come on, Gremlin. Let’s go set up your videos”

Lance had nearly let himself forget there were two strangers in his house. He couldn’t actually forget, but he was trying his damn hardest as he let Pidge’s techno-babble wash over him. He’d never met Matt in person, but Pidge’s missing him was bringing up how much he missed his own siblings. Mami would let him know how they’re doing, keeping him in the family loop. It had to be Papi’s funeral when he’s last seen them all. Lance lying through his teeth that he was named after his father, Lance, to pass off his young looks. He missed his papi. His papi had worked hard all his life, a farmer through and through, with every analogy somehow farm related. Especially when it came to his tractor, that was the man’s default go to when explaining anything, or attempting to have a father and son chat. He missed him something fierce, like he missed his siblings. None of them had invited him to his papi’s wake, Lance felt like he shouldn’t even be at the service, but his Mami gripped his hand and kept him close the whole time. She was the only one who wasn’t afraid of him. Lance hated them all for leaving him, but he loved them all because when they were kids things were so much less complicated. Late night bonfires, hunting on the farm, surfing, dancing in the rain. Huge family Christmas’s where it felt like everyone in town showed up. Kids in and out the the house, not like Christmases now days where he’d spend time with his Mami in the morning, taking her to church for mass then out for a drive, blow off his friends, binge bad rom-coms come evening and cook a feast up for Blue. 

Smacked in the face with a flying TV remote Lance was forced back out of his self loathing shell. He had a good life, and even better friends. There was nothing wrong with the way he lived, and he had a sense pride in the work he did. Not all cases went his way, but he his head on better than most as far he was concerned  
“What the fuck?”  
“That’s for tuning out when I was trying to talk to me”  
“You hit me in the face”  
“Good. I was aiming for you chest, if that help”  
Lance rose a finger to poke at his eyebrow where the remote had hit, there didn’t seem to be any blood, so he supposed he could let Pidge off   
“You have my undivided attention. What did I miss?”  
“I was saying it’s good to go, whenever Hunk gets here”  
“You know he’s really going to have nightmares tonight”  
“Then he can crawl into bed with you”  
“What’s wrong with you?”  
“Uh, hello. I’m a girl, and Shay’s a girl”  
Lance rolled his eyes  
“Really? I hadn’t noticed”  
“I’m just saying, don’t wanna make things complicated”  
“There’s nothing going on between you two. It’s fine, you’ve shared a bed before”  
“But not when Hunk was this close to finally getting a girlfriend”  
Pidge held her fingers together, rather than the normal tiny gap  
“Fine, but he sleeps in your room and you sleep with the light on”  
“What are we? Twelve?”  
“Awww, did little Pidge sleep with the light on all the way up to 12?”  
“Oh, fuck you. You’re only like 2 years older than me. I bet you kept your night light on until you last night”

Pidge’s face said she was thinking over her words, knowing that something didn’t quite sit right in what she’d said, but if he was to point that out, he’d be hit for having the nerve   
“Yep. I’m completely hopeless. Who knows what lurks in the dark. What if the monster under my bed attacked my feet because they hung over? What would I do then?”  
“You’re such an arsehole”  
“Hey, Blue has a stage where my toes were her mortal enemy”  
“I’m going to tell Blue you’re going around telling everyone she’s a monster”  
“By definition, all cats are arseholes. She knows she’s the cutest little monster that’s too tiny to take me down”  
“Dude, she’s got you wrapped around her little finger?”

“Oh, so Lance has a girlfriend?”  
Caught up in Pidge, Lance hadn’t heard Shiro approaching. He damp near jumped out of his skin at the unexpected voice   
“No, this loser is unlucky in love, like the rest of us”  
“Ah...”  
Shiro sounded confused, Lance embarrassed   
“We’re talking about my cat. She’s a pint sized monster. She’s probably going to be cranky all night because I didn’t give her more wet food”  
“Ah, I see now...”  
The silence that fell was awkward as fuck... Right. He had to be a good host  
“We’re going to watch what Pidge filmed tonight, if you’re up to it. Hunk’s cookies should be done soon...”  
“Oh, I was thinking Keith and I might just head to bed. You know, get out of your hair”  
“Dude, you have to try Hunk’s cookies. They’re like a gift from god”  
Shiro gave a nervous laugh, not everyone got Pidge’s humour, or brashness  
“When you put it like that, how can I say no?”  
Pidge clapped her hands  
“Excellent. Now, the most important thing of all, do you believe in ghosts?”  
“I can’t really say one way or another. I do have a friend that’s into that sort of thing”  
“Then the next time you talk to them, you’re going to sound like a total expert. Sit down and buckle up, it’s time for an adventure into what lies beyond”

Pidge waved her fingers as her voice adopted a spooky tone for the “what lies beyond” part. Poor Shiro was coping Pidge totally nerding out. At least if she managed to scare him away, Lance wouldn’t have to worry about crossing paths with him, or his brother, ever again. Ugh. Being nice was exhausting.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Hello!  
> Another chapter, and if ya’ll interested were up to part 9 on tumblr (dammitadolfnomorecake) lol.
> 
> In case you can’t tell, it’s a slow build with these idiots. Keith is a prime contender of the Darwin Award.

5

Lance dragged his carcass to his bed way too late in the night that it had to be nearly sunrise. Blue annoyed she had to share “her” bed with such a pathetic excuse of a human, further annoyed as Lance wrapped his arms around her. Letting Pidge have sugar had been a terrible mistake for everyone involved. She’d talked through every second of every video, rewinding and pausing frequently to review anything that caught her eyes. Hunk screaming at both jump scares had been captured in the videos, Pidge thinking she was onto some kind of wailing banshee, until Lance had to point out it was Hunk. His poor bestie doing his best to melt into the blue couch cushions as his face burned. Shiro let Pidge talk as much as she liked, Keith sat there and glared when he finally came out the shower to join them. The idiot hadn’t even dried his hair off, throwing himself down next to brother where he shot Lance a look of what seemed to be pure disgust. The dude was a little ball of anger muffin, actually, Pidge was the anger muffin of the group, meaning Keith had to be... the anger loaf? The vampire was like 90% sure that wasn’t a thing, but with Keith being taller and more grizzled than his twig arse, Lance couldn’t do the brain to work out what he was, other than annoying. God, he was going to be dead in the morning.

The storm howled all night long, the latch on Lance’s window deciding to break, Blue sent flying under the bed after jumping squarely on Lance’s face, claws out as she did. A quick glance to his alarm clock confirmed the power had already gone out, meaning no lights, meaning not much point trying to fix the damn window until the sun came up. Except a normal damn person wouldn’t be sleeping away in rapidly cooling room. They’d be scared and all that... Pidge had said karma was coming their way, yet she’d failed to mention it was bad karma. 

Pulling on his robe, Lance left Blue under the bed to make her own way out. A scared Blue meant the claws were out. That was a job for a Lance who didn’t feel every bit dead as he’d been for the last 3 plus decades. Heading down the hall, he let himself into the room Hunk and Pidge were sharing. The lamp between the beds off, Pidge snoring away on her side, the side effect of having no power. She must have left her phone bank at home, or she’d probably still be working on her theories from the hospital. In his bed, Hunk was clutching his phone in his sleep. He’d left his fucking glasses in his room, and now it felt like too much effort to go back. Lance didn’t particularly want to crawl into bed with Hunk, but what did normal people do? Would Shiro and Keith think him weird? Fuck... he couldn’t sleep next to either of his friends. He didn’t want to do anything that wouldn’t be considered normal... a normal person... would sleep on the couch. He couldn’t very well magic himself up into a bat and sleep in the attic for the night. Ugh. He was over this. Thoroughly over this.

*  
The couch was cold and uncomfortable. There was a spot on the ceiling above it that’d started mocking him something after his third roll over as he tried to go the fuck to sleep. One spot led to two, then three... mocking his entire existence with their round unwanted circleness. The ceiling could probably use a fresh recoat. If he was going to redo the ceiling, he might as well update the rug under the coffee table... and then there was the latch to fix, how many other latched needed fixing... maybe he could put some fresh roses in the garden, the candy striped ones his Mami loved were already backed by white sprawling roses... he had abracadabras in for his papi... aaaaaand now his brain wouldn’t shut up. Maybe it was true about old people and their love for gardening. He really should spend the day tidying everything back up... He had the land and space, but everything other than the roses seemed to be neglected... maybe he could plant out his death soil? Put a nice little fountain there? Some violas and petunias? So much for sleeping. Pidge was going to love this. 

Lance gave it what must have been an hour, by his time, after the first rays of sun started to dye the sky in light. The weather drizzly, overcast, and cold. A bit like his mood. Annoyed to find the coffee machine relied on power, now on top of his craptastic night, he was going to have to deal with a caffeine deprived Pidge in the morning. Sure, he was already going about boiling water in a metal kettle on the gas stove top, but Pidge insisted she needed two large coffees each morning before she was ready to face the world. He’d only invested in a coffee maker for the sake of her and Hunk. He’d missed the boat on the human race’s race towards coffee addiction. 

Cracking a dozen eggs, Lance hoped he’d was making enough as he whipped up potato fritters and bacon... Then decided he wasn’t being a good enough host, adding fried tomatoes, fried eggs, a bowl of baked beans from a can he didn’t know he had, the finally fried bread thanks to the fact his damn toaster was electric too and he supposed people would want bread. There went his food for the week. Leaving the oven door down, Lance turned the oven on, sliding the plates and bowls in to keep them warm. Now he just needed his visitors to wake the fuck up and get the fuck out... 

Lured by the scent of breakfast, Blue came running in ahead of Shiro. Making straight for the kitchen counter, Blue let out a demanding squeaked meow, yes, he knew, she wanted her morning wet food  
“Good morning, my love. Breakfast will be ready in a tick”  
“Thanks, darling?”  
Obviously Shiro knew he was talking to Blue. Seriously, couldn’t a man talk to his damn cat without being attacked?  
“Shiro, you’re not fucking funny”  
Keith shuffled around the doorway, Lance feeling it’s should be criminal for house guests not to loudly declared where they were and which rooms they were entering, because damn, with his shirt hiked up that strip of smooth taunt belly between the hem and his jeans just wasn’t fair   
“You tell me that every day”  
“Because all you do is get older and less fucking funny. Where’s the coffee?”  
“The power’s off, you’ll have to make do without. Sorry, Lance, he’s barely human until he has his coffee”

Be nice. Be nice. Be nice. Big fake smile, he wasn’t as dead as he was body was, all smiles   
“That’s alright, Shiro. Pidge is the same. If she doesn’t have her two coffees she’s purely demonic. She’s been known to bite, scratch and kick. I used the kettle on the stove, not exactly cafe quality but as my mother would say, “if it’s good enough for your grandmother, it’s good enough for you””  
“I’m pretty impressed, not many people would think about boiling water on the stove top”  
“My family used to go camping quite a bit when I was a kid. As long as you’ve got a gas stove, you’re pretty much prepared for times the power goes out. Do you two want to eat first, or shall I go get Hunk and Pidge?”  
“Oh... we don’t want to intrude...”  
“You’re not. Everything’s already done, we’ll eat then I’ll run you into town. Sorry the power went out, your probably dying to know how your car’s going. Hunk’s dad always wakes up at the crack of dawn, so by the time we’re done, he should have some kind of update for you”  
“I’m that case, sure. Thanks so much for all of this. I know you weren’t terribly keen on us crashing for the night”  
“Well, you didn’t murder me in my sleep, and as far as I can see you haven’t killed Pidge and Hunk, so you pass with flying colours. I’ll be right back”

Lance fled as politely as he could, hitting his shoulder on the doorframe as he did. God, could he be more embarrassing? Who makes another murder joke when the time’s passed and it was now like he was flogging a dead horse. Pidge was right, he was lame as fuck... old age finally setting in... next thing came death... ugh, he really needed to stop with the mental joking. Insanity was a very real risk that came with living for too long. If he kept talking to himself like a crazy person, he was going to have to throw himself at the mercy of Coran with the hopes of a quick death. And fuck, he’d forgotten Blue’s food again...

Pidge didn’t want to wake up, a fist coming flying as Lance shook her shoulder. Hunk had spent the whole night with his hand on his phone, but was accepting of it being time to wake up. Pidge was not  
“Fuck off... I’m sleeping”  
“I have coffee”  
“Gimme the coffee, then fuck off”  
Lance snorted, too tired for anything other than a quick huff out his nose  
“You have to come to the kitchen for coffee. We have to drop Shiro and Keith off in town, remember?”  
“Let’em walk”  
“After everything you put me through, you don’t get to go back to sleep”  
“My house, my rules, fucker”  
“That’s Mister Fucker, especially seeing you’re in my guest bedroom. Hunk, help me out here?”  
“Nope. You poked the Gremlin. Do I smell food?”  
“I cooked. I channeled my inner Hunk and made us all breakfast. Eggs, bacon, full nine yards, and coffee”

Climbing out of bed, Hunk wrapped his arms around him  
“Best friend ever. Dude, you’re like frozen”  
“The latch broke on my window last night, tried crashing out on the couch but you know what it’s like when your brain won’t shut up”  
Hunk groaned at him  
“You should have come crawled into bed here, man”  
“I thought about it, but that seemed like effort. Didn’t wanna wake you up”  
“You’re frozen. Go take a hot shower, I’ll make sure we save you breakfast”  
“No, I’ll take a shower once we’ve dropped Shiro and Keith back in town. I’m dreading the state of my room, have to get my glasses out, but I’m scared it’s going to be a total mess”  
“That’s rough, man. Still, you probably should get out of your pyjamas before giving us a ride home”  
“I’ll have you know there’s no shame in wearing pyjamas shopping. I think they’re quite manly”  
“Lance, bud, light of life and best bud a man could ask for, you can’t wear your pyjamas”

Lance had no issue with wearing his pyjamas in public. Somewhere along the line he was pretty sure there was a good six month period in his life where he’d worn nothing but his pyjamas. He loved the deep blue satin with gold trim and a little lion up on his breast pocket. Plus he had the matching robe and slippers. He loved them so much he had three more pairs in blue, one in red which looked horrible against his skin tone, and another set in black on the off chance something happened to the other four pairs.

“But they’re comfy”  
“And you have to pretend to be an adult”  
Lance blew a raspberry, pushing Hunk away  
“Adulting is overrated. Back in my day you weren’t an adult unless you had two cars under your name”  
“Dude, you have a car and a mortgage. What else would you call that?”  
“An oversized kid with a commitment issue?”  
Hunk face palmed, taking a long breath, he released it slowly  
“Please, for me, will you at least change into something warmer?”  
Dammit. Hunk knew he was weak to his bestie asking for a favour  
“Fine. But know I do so under protest”  
“Noted. Are Keith and Shiro already awake?”  
“Yep, already in the kitchen”  
Hunk scrambled to straighten up his bed, for no obvious reason Lance could hear how fast Hunk’s heart was racing. What did he have to be so worried about?  
“Dude! Why didn’t you tell me? They better not have eaten everything”  
Food? He’d cooked enough food to cook a small army  
“I’d be surprised if they had”  
“I don’t know, man. Oh my god, what if they have allergies?”  
“Then I’ll have two dead bodies and all my karma would have gone up in flames. Relax, there’s a spread, I’m sure they’ll find something edible down there”  
“I better go make sure...”  
“Hunk, you’re making me sad. I promise I haven’t intentionally poisoned anyone in the last fifty years”  
“There’s always that chance... So many people have allergies these days”  
“And so many people now understand allergies better. Come on, man. They’re adults. Probably have two cars each and everything. Have some faith, man”  
Lance’s words meant nothing, Hunk was off worrying himself sick over two grown men. He wouldn’t be Hunk if he wasn’t, but he didn’t have to attempt to take care of everyone they met... no matter how much of a teddy bear, people pleasing, free lover, he was.

*  
Lance’s room had been torn apart by the storm. His window now broken, to match the broken latch. His bed was soaked, his floor was soaked, a stray branch had found its way onto his bed, and his damn glasses were cracked. The worst part was his blue slippers getting damp as he cross his room, stepping from “dry patch” to “dry patch”. More like “less wet patch” to “less wet patch”. Fucking storms, and fucking karma. He’d tried to be nice... he’d faked it as nicely as he could, that had to earn him brownie points. Now he’d be scrubbing the floors with vinegar to kill anything even remotely mould like that had the idea it was going set up residency in his house. They never warned you of the less fun things that came with being a homeowner. Had he know how much things would cost, he would have been campaigning for his mother start saving while he was still just an egg. Bring rural, someone had to come up from Platt. There was travel time, replacement time, having a stranger in his house, then there was the cleanup from their dirty boots.

Changing reluctantly into casual jeans, Lance piled on his thickest of jackets, with a scarf and beanie. Hunk had been suspicious of how cold he’d been, and with the weather still dreary, he needed to look the part, including forcing his feet into boots he hadn’t worn for at least two years. He hoped he’d looked okay, seeing he didn’t have an intact mirror to check. Lance also double checking he didn’t have any underwear hanging out his jeans, because he’d done that before today. Going to fuel up, he’d gone to double check his pockets for his wallet only to find a pair of black boxer briefs hanging from the back of his jeans. Thankfully no one had noticed as quickly stuffed them in his jacket pocket, before avoiding any and all eye contact when he’d gone in to pay. He most certainly wasn’t worried about his appearance due to the two handsome strangers in his kitchen... Nope. Not at all.

Heading down, Lance tripped on the stairs, then bumped into the banister. Every morning his eyes seemed to need an adjustment period thanks to his damn cracked glasses. They were only a cheap pair, but that wasn’t the point, it was something else he needed to replace on top of everything else going on. Back in the day he’d made some very dubious choices over his frames, thanks to the hipster rival he was now having the chance to rock the same shades as a much cooler person in a less judgmental time. Making his way down to the kitchen, Lance could hear Pidge prattling on about the paranormal, Hunk must have poured into a chair then poured coffee down her throat to keep her calm. She was honestly as bad as a starving vampire, Lance wouldn’t say he famished, but he would say his daily routine was out of whack. He would have been into his first blood pack by now, yet thanks to his guests and the lack of power the fridge needed to remain cold since he didn’t have a backup power system for the fridge alone.

Feigning casualness, Lance wandered into his kitchen, happy to see everyone except Keith was either. If Keith didn’t want to eat, then he could go goddamn hungry for all Lance cared  
“Whoa, man. What’s with the glasses?”  
Trust Hunk to notice right off the bat  
“You know how I told you the latch snapped in the storm, the whole window ended up shattering. Room’s a mess, and I need to call a glassier out from Platt”  
Trudging to his seat, he couldn’t take it thanks to Sir Mopesalot, his routine thrown off yet again as he was to sit between Pidge and Keith   
“That’s rough man, covered by insurance?”  
“Yeah, but I’d rather get a private quote too. If it’s less than $500 then it’s easier not to pay the excess”  
“Ah, good thinking. What do you want for breakfast?”  
There wasn’t that much left. Evidently he’d miscalculated everyone’s hunger levels  
“I’ll finish off the potato fritters. Everyone okay with that?”  
No one said no, so Lance helped himself to the last two. He was an excellent cook, if he did say so himself.

“So, Shiro. What’ll you do when your car’s fixed?  
Shiro washed down the last of his fried egg with a large gulp of coffee, before leaning his elbows on the table as he nursed the mug with both hands  
“Head back up to Platt. This was only going to be a day trip”  
“Yeah, I suppose that’s true. Lance is always telling me I ask too many questions”  
Lance brought his hand up, ruffling Pidge’s hair  
“That’s because you do. I’m sure Shiro is anxious enough over his car as it is”  
“He was talking just fine until you showed up. Plus, you forgot to feed Blue. My poor baby was screaming her head off for her food”  
“Ah, fuuu-... Thanks, Pidge. I remembered before, but forgot again”  
“I did it for Blue, not for you”  
“I know. Her and her toe beans appreciate it”  
“Glad to know someone appreciates me”  
Lance gave a shake of his head  
“I always appreciate you, and you know it. Like I appreciate the way you’re going to rinse the dishes for me after you’ve had your second cup of coffee. You’re still in your “Gremlin Mode””  
“If you’d just brought the coffee up, I wouldn’t have to be”  
“And if you just went to bed at a normal hour, like a normal person, you wouldn’t be so sleepy and cranky. Maybe I should call your mum so she can put you down for a nap when you get home”  
“And maybe I should hack back into your home security and set your speakers to play “Psycho” every time you get in the shower”  
“You couldn’t pick something I could sing to, could you?”  
Pidge kicked the back of his foot under the table, she was on fire this morning   
“Watch it. I’m not above motivation speeches for when you’re on the toilet”  
“I’m down for that”  
“You’re so goddamn weird”

Shiro started laughing, his right hand coming off his coffee cup as he shook it to say “ignore him”. Taking a moment to compose himself, he smiled over the rim of the cup  
“You three really get along well, don’t you?”  
“Yep. No offence man, I don’t know your friends or anything, but I feel like I’ve got the two best friends in the world”  
Lance felt a surge of pride over his friends. Had Shiro dared to challenge him, he’d be having some serious daydreams over what he could do to the man and where to dump the body when he was done. Not that he ever would, and not that he really let himself think that way too often. He was just way too overprotective of the ones he loved  
“It’s nice. To have friends as close as family, I mean. Do you have family in the area?”  
“He has a grandmother in Pla-“  
Lance elbowed Pidge, the question directed at him given Shiro was looking at him  
“Yeah. My grandmother lives in Platt. You know what that’s like, she always has all the goss about what’s up. I had wanted her to come live with me so I could take care of her, but she wouldn’t hear of it. Apparently I need to get out and live my own life, but that’s hard when most people suck”  
Shiro nodded  
“What would she say if she knew you picked up two strangers in the middle of a stormy night?”  
“She’d say I did the right thing. She’s been my number one supporter through everything. I could be murdered and she’d still want to hound my ghost over if it was a good host or not. “Lance, did you remember to feed them”. “Lance, I hope you didn’t have your feet on the coffee table in front of them”. “Lance, did you use the good silverware and china?”. Lance, I hope you showed them where everything was”. We’ve got like this massive family, so things were always chaotic. Church every Sunday, family dinners, that kind of thing”

Lance was being nice, but blurting out his life was taking it to the next level. Shiro continued to nod and smile politely as Lance spoke  
“Do you still attend church?”  
“Sometimes, but I always make sure to go for Easter and Christmas. I light a candle every year for my pop who died. I believe in god, but I also believe in evolution. Maybe because I spent so many days at Sunday school, it’s rubbed off on me”  
“That’s sounds nice”  
Lance hummed  
“Yeah. I like to take my grandmother too. Most of the family is catholic. The way I look at it, as long as your not a dick to me, I won’t be a dick to you, nothing else matters. People can believe in who or whatever they like, and that’s their own business”

“Lance, shut up. You’re doing the too many words”  
Lance agreed with Pidge, from life he knew sometimes people talked far too much when they were nervous. Shiro left him nervous, but as not nervous as his little brother. Keith hadn’t eaten a thing, even the mug of coffee in his hands had hardly been touched. But he hadn’t really been babbling, had he? He had a tendency to do that when he was sleepy, so always tried to keep a set schedule and sleep routine  
“And you’re doing the “not enough coffee in your caffeine system”, Pidgeon”  
“I hate you, you know that?”  
“Yep, as much as I hate you”  
“Fuck... You don’t hate me”  
“I love you, which means you love me”  
Pidge mumbled about being tricked, flipping him off as she rose her coffee cup to her lips.

Shiro smiled at their antics, Lance wishing he didn’t look like such a loser with cracked glasses   
“Well it’s lucky for us that you did. Breakfast was delicious”  
“I’m glad you liked it. I can’t cook like Hunk, but my grandmother would have killed me if I didn’t pick up a thing or two cooking with her”  
“You can let her know you did her proud. Is she...”  
Is she what? Ooooh...  
“Oh, she still alive. Yep, she’s in Platt and try to visit her when I can. Garrisons like the perfect distance away. I don’t have to live in the city, but I can visit when I want. I’m talking way too much. I must be boring you by now. We can head our when your done, and Keith’s finished with his coffee”  
“Oh, um, yeah. Right. Keith, you better drink up”

After all the worry over the car, how could Shiro possibly forget? Oh god... what if he was one of those annoying types that were seriously bad at taking a hint? Sure, he’d let them stay one night, but that wasn’t happening again. This was his house and the sooner they left the better it was for everyone. Keith cast Shiro a sullen look as he finally sipped at his coffee, Pidge was bad in the morning, but Keith took it to a whole other nonfunctional level. Lance was definitely not going to miss him leaving in the slightest. Seriously, he’d cooked his arse off and the arsehole hadn’t eaten a single thing, even treating the coffee as if it were poisoned. What a douche.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must start remembering that just because we’re up to 12 on tumblr doesn’t mean I’ve posted on here too 😂😂😅

6

When Keith and Shiro left, Lance breathed a sigh of relief. Hunk’s father had to order parts from Platt city, leaving the two brother to spend the night at one of towns inns. Dropping them off, with Hunk, at Hunk’s family garage had been the first relief, the second was dropping Pidge and all her crap off at her house, and third returning home to Blue and a nice bag of blood. Stressed from his lack of sleep and house guests, Lance had drained a whole bag without thinking, something he had done since the time his Mami had had a fall at the home. She scolded him for fussing over her far too much, Lance not wanting to leave her all alone, despite the fact she was only in hospital overnight with a sprained wrist. All his Mami’s friends at her home had been jealous when he’d returned the next day with the biggest bouquet of roses he could buy. Taught to share, each little old lady was given a rose and a kiss on the cheek, more than one aiming for a cheeky kiss on the mouth. His mother all smiles and laughter over the attention he’d received. His Mami had such a great support network there, and he’d really lucked out on her care.

With his hunger quenched, next came cleaning through the house. Shiro and Keith had left their room neat, beds remade and everything else in order too, like they’d never been there to begin with. Not that he was looking, but Lance didn’t find a single strand of stray hair on their pillows. Almost as if he’d housed two ghosts for a evening. Letting his room dry out, and actively avoiding the mess, Lance cleaned through the whole first floor before finally admitting to himself he was procrastinating far too much. Stupid blood. His fatigue had melted away, now he had far too much energy, having already walked into the wall, kitchen table, kitchen counter, accidentally lifted the whole sofa in on go instead of just the end to sweep, and tripped face first over his coffee table. All his movements and actions were amplified by the blood coursing through his system, kind of like how he imagined popping Ecstasy. It was like some cosmic joke really. The worst he could expect was severe flu like symptoms if he accidentally drank bad blood, maybe a day or two of cramping then right back to being stupidly healthy. Bruises, grazes, cuts and scrapes all healed within a day or two, depending on how much blood he’d consumed. His dumb arse had fallen down the stairs before, broken his leg, and taken three whole bags of blood to heal the damn thing. He couldn’t win with his glasses on, and he couldn’t win with them off.

Doing a quick tidy through of the top floor, Lance finally faced his trashed bedroom. What he really needed was a maid... except he didn’t want a stranger in his house, and he didn’t want a stranger in his how’d he touching his things. All his bedding needed to be washed, his mattress needed to be stripped of its waterproof cover then aired once the rain stopped. Blue had had a few “accidents” on his bed, his mattress protector was an idea he could proudly claim as his own. Waking up to entrails between his sheets and seeping into his mattress wasn’t his idea of a good morning, no matter how happy Blue was over her caught mouse. He simply couldn’t find it in his heart to be mad at her, she was only doing what came naturally, and he definitely preferred the mice dead to running around messing up his stuff. Shit, maybe he should just join a coven and make a nuisance of at some other vampires lair... only, he didn’t get along with other vampires for the most part, and shacking up with a werewolf was asking for trouble. He was 44, it was well past time to put his big pants on and deal with things like an adult.

*  
Wednesday was supposed to be a good day. He’d finished one of the family cases he was working on, his new window was installed with a nice new latch, he’d spoiled himself with a rather expensive bottle of red, and he’d assured Hunk that’d contacted Shay to confirm dinner was still on. He’d forgotten until that morning, almost spamming her to explain and apologise. Thankfully Shay was the awesome soul she was, understanding after he’d explained about his broken window.

Then it all went to shit.

Stuck on an “urgent” call, Lance had made a mistake. He’d been talking with a mother trying to get sole custody of her three children, online, offering her his business number so she could call and get some free advice. Not even five minutes in, he could already see why she was finding it difficult. No judge was grant her custody when she was more concerned about the next needle in her arm than she was about her children. On his personal phone he’d already called the police to request a wellness check after he’d explained the situation, but as he waited for a response there, he was stuck with a raving lunatic yelling in his ear about how meth didn’t make her a bad mother. She hadn’t even noticed he’d put himself on silent as he’d made the call. It wasn’t something that left him warm and fuzzy inside, he genuinely wanted to help keep families happy, with an emphasis on what was best for the children involved. This wasn’t his first making this kind of call, but it never got any easier. The mother needed help, she needed someone to reach out their hand and help her, but the system could only do what it had the budget for. He’d had a similar case nearly a decade ago where the mother had attempted to murder her children rather than share custody with the remarried father. She wound up commuting suicide, something that weighed heavily on his mind each time this kind of situation came up. It was nearly an hour later that the police showed up, Lance listening to the whole thing until it finally got too much, and he had to hang up. Snuggling up for some serious cuddles with Blue, the TV played in the background just so he didn’t feel that prang of pain... until it finally became too much. Spurring an unplanned trip over to Platt for some serious hang time with his Mami.

As always, his Mami was happy to see him. She could tell immediately something was weighing heavily on his mind, unable to even fake a smile or politeness to the other residents. Feigning exhaustion, he’d “helped” his Mami back to her room, crawling into bed with her and settling himself with his head on her chest. Sometimes he wondered if he hadn’t developed properly after being turned so young. He didn’t fit the stereotype for his age bracket, nor did he fit the stereotype for a typical 26 year old. His Mami didn’t push for an explanation, instead she stroked his hair and held him tightly. After being turned, he’d suffered screaming nightmares for months. His Mami would climb into bed with him, holding him just like she was now.

Whether she’d forgotten, because as much as Lance was loathe to admit she’d been doing that much more often of late, or whether his brother also felt the need for a spur of a moment visit, but when Luis entered the room, his brother wasn’t pleased at all to see him there. Luis had been the first to cut him off. Maybe because he was the oldest, he headed our first to carve out a life for him and his wife Lisa. Luis knew he had above normal hearing, mumbling about how he was a money draining blood sucker. A bit rich coming from a man who chucked a sook over his inheritance from their papi. For the sake of their mother, Lance just wanted to get along, Luis ultra polite in front of Mami as he fussed over her, making Lance feel he didn’t have a place by her side.

The drive back was depressing, not even his usual playlist managed to make it bearable. Rax was working at Balmeria’s, meaning he had to go in and ask for the pump to be turned on, the little shit further pissing him off as he mocked him for his down mood.

The goddamn cherry on his shit-tastic day was arriving home to find his front door wide open, with none of the lights left on. This was how people ended up murdered. He was going to end up murdered... but after the day he’d had, maybe a little bit of murder would be the best thing for everyone. At least his house was in order if he was to meet his demise... his only regret would be leaving Blue... and Hunk and Pidge... and his Mami. For a dead man, he harboured a lot of regrets over his imminent death. Saying a prayer, he wasn’t sure if God had time for his type, but he hoped that maybe he did. He’d been a good vampire, never drank human blood, never attacked a human, went to church and loved his Mami... now he was off to be murdered and his body dumped in a rolled up carpet somewhere in the back lands of Garrison. What a depressing thought. Fuck it, if he was going to die, his glasses weren’t going down with him.

Leaving his glasses beside the front door mat, Lance stepped into his doom.

*  
“Hello?! Can you please not murder me, I’ve had a shit day!”

Someone was in his house. He could tell from the smell alone there were two somebodies. His skin has prickled with goosebumps at the first sniffs of the scent.

“Look, I already know you’re here!”

Because talking to his murderers was just how he rolled. Following the scent to the living room, he found his room trashed. Great. Just. Fucking. Great. No power to the house meant no security alarm and no security alarm meant no alarmed Pidge, meaning no forthcoming rescue. No forthcoming rescue meant at least his friends would be safe, which was one small mercy. 

“We’ve got you, bloodsucker”

Lance raised an eyebrow. A fucking hunter was on his doorstep, well, not literally but he’d been good, he should have had a few more years of safety with his alias. What really made his eyebrow raise was that despite being decked head to toe in black, that voice very clearly belonged to the “Emo Edgelord” himself, sir “I’m too much of a douche to drink your coffee without protest”, Keith. Behind him clad in an equally depressing outfit was Shiro. Talk about bad fucking karma.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about”

“You’re blood sucking scum, and we’ve come to bring your reign of terror to an end”

Holy fuck, Keith must have pop-cultured hard. The kid sounded like he was straight out the lowest budget slasher movie known to man kind. Ignorance was bliss?  
“I’m not quite sure I know what you’re on about...”  
“Shut up!”  
“Look, dude. Take a chill pill. How about we talk? Look, the names Lance. I’m a lawyer, specialising in family law”  
“You mean you rip innocent families apart! You gain access to their children and bleed them dry!”  
“Um, no?”  
“Don’t lie to me! I know you’re kind. What happened to your friends? What did you do to Hunk and Pidge?!”  
What was he supposed to have done with them...?... right. Vampire. Dah... murderer, yep, right... pffft... He could laugh at how serious Keith was being if it wasn’t for the fact that they were indeed there to murder him  
“They’re at home? I dropped Hunk off with, so maybe I should be asking what you did to him?”  
“Don’t you turn this back on me, you abomination”

Lance crossed his arms in offence. He’d made them breakfast, they should be a little more appreciative  
“I didn’t ask to be like this”  
“So you admit it!”  
Shiro obviously hadn’t trained Keith about how adults used their inside voices   
“Stop yelling at me! Inside voice is just fine”  
“Shiro, he knows us. He’s admitted what he is. It doesn’t deserve to walk this earth!”  
“Keith...”  
“Fuck this!”  
Again with the yelling. Poor Blue was going to be scared with all the yelling   
“So we can’t sit down and discuss this?”  
“As Blades of Marmora, hunters of unwanted trash, our sworn duty is to destroy beasts like you! The holiest hunters of the Vatican, your blood will stain our blades!”  
“My what now?”  
“We saw your fridge of blood!”

Lance was starting to feel second hand embarrassment for Keith. He took stupid to a whole other level. He had the disadvantage when it came to the house layout, he had the disadvantage of being human, and he had the disadvantage of thinking with his anger and not his head  
“Hurrah. I get blood packs from Platt”  
Keith let out an angry snarl, lip raised... as if that could possibly be threatening?  
“I’m going to kill you, before you take more victims!”

Keith threw himself towards Lance, twin blades sliding from his from his suit into his hands, silver glinting as Keith’s hands wrapped around the handles  
“Whoa! Man, wait!”  
Leaping back, Lance leapt too far, snacking his back hard against the hallway wall  
“Scum sucker!”  
“Time out!”  
“Die!”  
Lance had time to think “Oh, shit!”, as he ducked and rolled, wincing as the blades were embedded into the plasterboard wall  
“Dude! My house!”  
Leaping backwards into the living room, Shiro seemed pretty damn content watching Keith attempt to murder him  
“Shut up!”  
“Or we could talk?”  
Keith snarled at him again, Lance really didn’t want to hurt the idiot. He was human... with a flick of Lance’s wrist he could snap Keith’s neck by accident. Holding his hands up, he backed up  
“Would you just calm down before you destroy more of my house?”  
The backs of his legs hit something, Lance tripping backwards like a moron  
“Whaaaa...!”  
Keith lunged forward, blades coming down at Lance’s face. With the most manliness of screams, Lance flinched at his impending death  
“Keith!”

Called by the man formally known as his brother, Shiro, Keith paused. Lance laying there like a moron  
“Let me do this!”  
“Wait a second, he’s not fighting back”  
“Because he knows it’s pointless!”  
Well, if it was that pointless, Keith didn’t need his blades. Wrapping his hands around the blade, he pulled both from him Keith’s grip, throwing them blindly behind him   
“Excuse me, I am right here! Why...”  
“Oh, shut the fuck up!”  
Dumb with anger, Keith swung at his face, hitting him fairly in his open mouth.

Lance didn’t know who was more horrified. Him for being punched in the mouth, or Keith who’d cut his damn hand on Lance’s fangs. As the blood on his teeth touched his tongue, Lance’s eyes widened in horror. He’d never... he’d never drank from a human before... he... it was... so fresh... and... god, what was that fucking awful after taste?  
“What the fuck?! He bit me!”  
“Me?! You punched me in the mouth!”  
And chipped his goddamn tooth by the feel of it. Stumbling back, Keith fell back onto his arse, hand clamped around the wrist of his bleeding left hand. Shiro rushed to his brother  
“Keith! Hold on, you’re going to be okay”  
“He bit me! I can’t... I can’t turn... I can’t be one of those”  
“You’re going to be okay...”

Panicked enough to vomit, Keith threw up next to himself   
“I don’t feel too well”  
“Keith!”  
Keith’s eyes rolled back, Lance spitting out the blood in his mouth in disgust  
“Yuck. What the hell is that?!”  
God... it tasted... like metal? But not the taste of blood... it was like he’d sucked on a fishing weight, his nose firmly wrinkled in disgust   
“What did you do to him?”  
“Nothing! He punched me in the mouth”  
Tapping Keith’s face, Shiro tried to rouse his brother... that wasn’t his brother...?  
“Keith? Keith, come on, it’s Shiro...”

So this wasn’t an act? Keith wasn’t faking everything to lure him close?  
“Is... is he okay?”  
“Does he fucking look okay?”  
Shiro was panicked. Ripping his mask off, the man’s face was ashen. For fuck’s sake  
“Take his mask off properly, let him get some air”  
Shiro did as Lance said, Lance cautiously climbing off the ruins of his coffee table and edging closer. With the mask off, he could smell sickness on Keith   
“Somethings wrong with him”  
“You fucking bit him!”  
It was hardly Lance’s fault that the Vatican couldn’t design a suit that withstood his teeth  
“No... wait, his blood tasted strange. What breed is he?”  
“What do you mean, “what breed?”, he’s human!”  
“If he’s human, his blood wouldn’t have tasted like shit”  
Shiro let out a groan, Lance shying back as Shiro started rifling through Keith’s pockets before drawing out a spent syringe   
“That idiot!”  
“What? What is it?”  
“Silver concentrate... with mercury. He must have injected himself”  
What a fucking tool. Normal, smart, people didn’t go around injecting themselves with silver! Let alone fucking mercury! The idiot had gone and poisoned himself  
“Well do something!”  
“I can’t! It’s in his bloodstream!”  
Holy fucking shit. Nope. No way. He wasn’t having a damn hunter die in his living room  
“Get out the way”  
“Wha-...”  
“Jesus Christ, fucking move”

Taking just a smidge or revenge, Lance tore Keith’s suit open, looking for the damn injection point. Shiro’s fingers moved to his own blade, at which Lance cast him a very disappointed look. He was obviously about to do something very goddamn stupid for sake of this dumbarse dead beat. Letting his eyes roam Keith’s body, he found the pinprick on his neck, able to see the slight amount of residue built up around the marking   
“Go get me a bucket!”  
“What?”  
“Or a bowl! Just hurry up!”

Shiro scampered off, Lance closing his eyes and saying a prayer. He’d never fed off a living human before, and thanks to Keith, he was going to for the first time in 36 years. 44 years if he was being technical. Shit. He was nervous as hell. The one taboo he’d never broken. For this... Lance’s stomach clenched, he’d been nervous about plenty of things, but this was whole other level nerves. Every cruel thing ever directed at him for being what he was... but Keith had gone and poisoned himself. Cringing, Lance sank his teeth into Keith’s neck, the taste in his mouth was rancid, he wanted to throw it back up and his damn mouth felt tingly. Pulling back, cheeks bludging, Lance tried not to spit out the disgusting sludge in his mouth. When Shiro finally came running back in, Lance ended up spitting blood all over him and not the bowl   
“You drank his blood?!”  
Ignoring Shiro, Lance forced himself to bite back into Keith’s neck, he couldn’t take another mouthful after this, his mouth would burn and blister, opening sores. Drinking quickly, he pulled back, spitting into the bowl this time  
“What are you doing?!”

Letting himself drop back onto his arse, Lance wiped his lips with the back of his hand. His body didn’t know what to do. Blood was supposed to be good... it was good. It was fresh... soooo fucking fresh... but revolting... and the way Keith’s flesh slid up his teeth... Clenching his fists, Lance forced a breath down to calm himself down, before spitting again. Yuck  
“What did you do to my brother?!”  
Shiro sounded like the worlds most disappointed father. No wonder Keith was such an arsehole, that tone went right through Lance’s heart. Being punched in the face would be kinder  
“I sucked out what I could... I think I did it right... I’ve never... I’ve never even drunk from a human before in my life... I couldn’t... he... he could have died... why couldn’t we talk?”  
Shiro’s expression shifted to something Lance couldn’t read... No, more like he didn’t want to read the surprise and pain all over Shiro’s face at his shocked babbling  
“You...”  
Lance was getting teary now, disgusted with himself. He was covered in Keith’s blood. Human blood...  
“Take him to the bedroom, use whatever you need... I... can’t do this”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Keith would be a prime contender for a Darwin Award. Now, I know our anger loaf is an idiot, but I promise he does get a clue... in about 6 chapters... and his persistence is trauma related...

7

“Lance? It’s Shiro, can I come in?”

Lance felt as if he was dying. Unable to remember how he got back to his room, he’d gotten the shock of his life, sure he’d looked like a bat when his eyes had flicked over his reflection in the window. He couldn’t turn this into a goddamn bat, he wasn’t that powerful. He was losing his shit because he’d gone and poisoned himself. Running a fever, his body felt uncomfortably warm for a change, sheets all gross and sweaty as his body burnt through the mercury and silver. 

Curled up in the foetal position, Shiro was the last person Lance wanted to see... after Keith. Keith could kindly go fuck himself sideways before exiting his home and never returning. Maybe in feigned sleeping, Shiro would take the hint, take his brother, then get the hell off his property. Only... Shiro didn’t. Lance cringing at the sound of Shiro’s footsteps across his floor, his senses hyper stimulated from the fresh blood  
“Lance?”  
Apparently he had to make some motions of still being in the land of living...  
“Ugh...”  
The word summed up every molecule that comprised him  
“Lance, it’s Shiro...”  
Someone give the man a damn prize for knowing his own name  
“What is it?”

Lance’s bed dipped, Shiro violating the sanctity of his bed. A cool hand went to his forehead  
“Shit, you’re burning up”  
No shit. He’d poisoned himself  
“I know”  
“Can I get you anything?”  
Lance couldn’t help but let out a rough bark of laughter. What was this? “Saint Shiro” to the rescue?  
“No”  
“Oh... Um... Keith’s awake. I didn’t tell him...”  
“Take him and leave”  
“Lance...”  
“Take him and get out of here”  
“I... Lance, I need to know, did Keith turn. He says he feels different”  
Because Keith embodied stupidity. He wasn’t a damn vampire, Lance hadn’t given him any of his blood  
“He’s fine”  
“Lance, please. He’s my brother. Look, I brought you up a blood pack. Please drink it. We need to talk”  
“Nothing to talk about unless it’s to say goodbye”  
“I’m trying to meet you half way”  
“Meet me half way?! I had to suck your brother’s blood like the nasty blood sucker I am. Human’s and vampires are two totally separate creatures. Just leave me alone”  
Shiro sighed at him  
“Please drink the blood. I promise I haven’t done anything to it. You’re the only one who knows what Keith is going through right now. I don’t know if I should say this, but Hunk messaged your to confirm tonight...”

Tonight... that was supposed to be... ugh, he’d lost a damn day thanks to Keith. Shit, he wanted to die. His teeth hurt so much he wanted to cry. When he’d turned all his teeth had fallen out, feeling like shards of glass pushing through his raw and bleeding as they’d regrown. That hadn’t been fun at all. Worst was when his Mami couldn’t touch the blood, or help him with his teeth problems thanks to painkillers doing jack shit. Fuck. Now he needed to drink the blood, or Hunk would worry himself sick over Lance’s health. He could always say he caught a cold, but tonight Hunk and Shay would be hanging out somewhere outside the roadhouse, and that came far, far, far, in front of Keith’s temper tantrum over a bite, that wasn’t even a damn bite. He’d wracked his brain to the point he swore it hurt to think. Keith had broken his teeth, but his lips seemed fine.

“I’ll, let you be, but please. I know my brother isn’t the nicest of people on the outside, but don’t hate him for doing his job”  
Seeing his job was to kill Lance, surely a little bit of hatred was acceptable. His very being had been stomped on by Keith’s nasty arse blood.

When Shiro left, Lance slowly sipped at the blood pack. Shiro was just a man looking out for his little brother. He should have educated Keith better, heck, these “Blades of Marmora” should have educated Keith better. Keith would know if he was turning, the fever alone would have been a dead give away. The fever, the pain, the agony... All memories he didn’t want to relive. Stupid Keith and his stupid mullet were forcing back the things best left in the past, and the damn wanker had no idea as he over exaggerated his dramatic lying arse off. God knew he didn’t want to get out of bed, but Hunk was coming... and Shiro... he had to talk to Shiro about getting Keith out his house. Fuck being an adult.

*  
Going through the motions, Lance forced himself into the shower where the water stung at his skin. He brushed his teeth, noticing the chipped tooth had fallen out with its replacement already starting to grow in. Then he bundled himself up into as many layers as he damn well could, including hit gloves and beanie, because his damn body was still sick as a dog. Trudging down the stairs, each step fell heavy, hopefully annoying Keith, but mostly because his body felt like lead.

Walking was reduced to a shuffle, Lance shuffling into his kitchen to find Shiro looking lost. Greeeeeat. He couldn’t even pretend to human in peace  
“What are you doing?”  
Shiro jumped, his hand going up to the back of his head to scratch nervously  
“I... thought I’d cook something for Keith, but I don’t know where anything is”  
Lord save him. Both of them were idiots  
“There’s soup in the freezer, but wait, I’m a blood sucker, it’s probably fucking tainted”  
Shiro’s chest fell, kind of like when your winded and that tightness settles there  
“Lance...”  
“Don’t pretend, it only makes it worse. I can tell you’re disgusted by my existence as it is”  
Shiro sighed  
“Lance, can we shelved the hostility for now. My brother is sick, and I don’t know what do. I’m not going to try make an excuse, I can’t promise that Keith won’t try to kill you again, but I have the feeling that maybe you’re closer to human than some other vampires. You said you’d never drunk human blood before, but we found bags...”  
Now he was being miss quoted. Shiro probably thought he knew better because he looked older, fucking wanker got to grow old and grow up  
“Because I get them from the resource centre. What I said was I’ve never fed on a human. An actual, real life, warm blood bag under my teeth. I was fine before you two turned up and now my whole life has gone to shit. Your brother is a fucking idiot. Charging in like that was reckless. If it wasn’t me he was attacking, a vampire would have snapped his neck in an instant. And his blood, I’m going to be sick just thinking about it. Don’t let him do it again”

Overcome with a wave dizziness, Lance stumbled to the closest kitchen chair, gripping the top a tad too hard as the wood began to buckle under his fingers  
“Do you need help?”  
“What the fuck do you think? I’ve got a dinner party tonight I haven’t even started cooking for, let alone shopped for. I’ve got two goddamn hunters in my house, one of which is the biggest idiot alive. I’ve missed out on two days work, and I feel totally and utterly dead”  
Lance wasn’t pleased when Shiro started laughing, his glare ice cold as he looked up towards the man  
“You feel “utterly dead”... that’s a good one”  
“If you’re going to make jokes, you can get the fuck out of my house”  
Shiro sobered his laughter, his face softening  
“Look. Keith’s new to all of this. He’s been with the Blades a little while now, but this was his first solo mission. I was supposed to remain in a purely supervisory role. He’s hot headed and he thinks he’s got something to prove. Yes, we set you up. We followed you back here with the intention of killing you that night, but the chance slipped away with Hunk and Pidge here. No. He doesn’t trust vampires, but he does have his reasons. You’re not like any of the previous vampires we’ve met...”  
“You mean to say you don’t think I’m “Bloodsucking vermon”? Geez, if only someone had tried to tell you that much, or you know, shown you hospitality when he stupidly believed you had no place to go. Keith won’t want anything touched by a vampire, so get your shit together, we’ll need to go shopping”  
“Are you sure...”  
Shiro trailed off, Lance not in the mood for bullshit  
“Am I sure, what?”  
“That you should be going out in your current condition”  
“If you think I’m going to rip the throats out of every human I pass by, I swear to god I’ll stab you with your stupid human blades. Honestly, the worst that does is a mild allergic reaction”  
Shiro raised an eyebrow  
“Now, what?”  
“Normally vampires react much differently to silver”  
“Normally vampires aren’t fucking turned against their goddamn will”

This snarked reply shut Shiro right up. Guilt clouded his handsome face. Yeah. That was right. He wasn’t fucking born like this. And if he could go back in time he’d rather be “unborn” all together  
“I... didn’t know...”  
“Then maybe next time research your goddamn targets. Your brother is the first only damn time I’ve fed on a human in my life. And now he’s gone and fucking ruined that. 36 fucking years for nothing”  
Shiro opened his mouth, Lance glaring at him again  
“What?”  
“I was going to ask how old are you?”  
“44. I’m 44. Sorry, not an old vampire, just a tired a one. Get my damn keys, there’s no way I’m letting you drive”

*  
Lance’s driving left much to be desired, Shiro gripping the “Oh, Jesus” bar above the whole trip. So the man could handle hunting down vampires and other supernatural beasts, but couldn’t handle a little aggressive driving? God. Give him a break. Parking his bronco with more of a stall than a park, Lance took personal offence to Shiro’s deep sign of relief. They wouldn’t need to go out if he and Keith hadn’t crashed his damn life  
“Lance?”  
Yeah, he was slightly over the lines, but that could be explained away to anyone asking by the fact he wasn’t wearing his glasses  
“Close enough is good enough. Look, I’m going to say this now, but I’m sorry I’m being such a shitty person. I’m lashing out and that’s not okay, because I’m freaking the fuck out, and I’m sick. I can’t cancel dinner because tonight is finally the night Hunk’s gonna ask Shay out, so everything has to be perfect. They’ve been doing this awkward dance for something like a year now. Hunk’s the sunshine of my life, but the man is as clueless as a potato. Him and Shay are pining for each other so damn hard that if you ruin this for them, I will castrate you. You and Keith popped in to thank me for the help and collect the camera Keith forgot, despite the fact you really didn’t have to come by as I would have driven it up to you. I invited you to stay for dinner because I’m not an arsehole. If Pidge asks, I had no power because one of the repair guys knocked a wire loose, keep it vague. They have absolutely no idea what I am, and I don’t want either of them hurt. I would rather you just murder me on the spot than have those two hurt. They know nothing about that world, other than the rumours. So you and Keith need to keep your shit together tonight and go back to hating me tomorrow. And fuck... you ruined my fucking living room...”  
“I’m sorry about that”  
“You’re not really, so don’t make like you are. Let’s get this done, I need to hide the evidence before it makes my friends worry”

Shiro kept his mouth shut as they entered the local supermarket. Lance wincing at the light, before something dark slid over his head. Blinking, he realised he now had sunglasses on, and rounded Shiro, to once again have a go at the man  
“Sorry, I noticed your sensitivity... I didn’t mean... shit... we really got off on the wrong foot”  
Fucking Shiro... he felt enough of a dick as it was. Taking a deep breath, he slowly released it. Why did Shiro have to be nice? He was already good looking, couldn’t he share the talents out?  
“Sorry. Okay. I know. I’m being a dick. I don’t mean to keep... god... English is so damn hard. Once the blood’s had time to do its thing, my mood swings should be better. I like you better than your brother, but forgive me if I’m not immediately jumping into yours and claiming friendship. I’m not used to anyone knowing what I am, nor am I used to being cared for. Thank you, for the glasses. It helps”  
“No. That you’d help us, even after turning Keith... it’s incredible”  
“Keith isn’t a vampire”  
“You bit him...”  
“He punched me in the mouth then threw a tantrum”  
“Are you sure?”  
“That he punched me in the mouth? My damn tooth is regrowing as we speak”  
“But...”  
“Whatever's going on with Keith, it’s psychological”  
“Would you know, if you did...?”  
“We’d all know. Now, grab a trolley. You’re in charge of feeding Keith. I don’t know what you both like and don’t like. Hunk will come over early to help, he always does”  
Shiro chuckled, patting Lance on the shoulder  
“You’re getting cranky again. It’s alright, Lance. We’ll get things ready in time”  
“Easy for you to say. Oh, man... Do you even know how to cook?”  
Shiro shrugged  
“I haven’t burned a house down... yet. How hard can it be?”

Lance deflated like a popped ballon, his hand coming to rub at his forehead in attempt to rub out the headache lingering there. Thank god Hunk was coming to the house early. Shiro and Keith were both going to pull their own weight if they expected him to help, starting with Hunk giving Shiro a crash course in how not to burn a house down using a gas stove.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totes feel like Lance and Shiro are totes low key bros. Even if Shiro babies Keith a tad too much.

8

Shopping with Shiro was god awkward. Being a local, everyone was too damn cheerful as they did polite thing and say hello, some asking who Shiro was, and another pondering the question which would lead to rumours at a later date. Lance didn’t like to brag, but he was pretty well known in Garrison for making a “haunted house” his home. There weren’t any ghosts there, only the long dead skeletons of rats and mice, and the occasional spot of mould. He was also well known as being a bit “odd”, 26 with no partner struck some of the older community as a bit strange, as did the fact that he’d live in such a large home alone. Still, Lance blended himself in as seamlessly as he could. Earlier in the year he’d thought about picking up a few shifts at a local bar, only to change his mind over the fear of somehow cutting him and cursing the local drunks. Plus, people really sucked when they were drunk. He was more than likely to blow a fuse if he had to be flirted with every single damn shift simply because he looked at the peak of his youth.

Sticking to his usual routine of picking random things that he knew he could make a meal from, he found himself schooling Shiro in the ways of bulk savings, and discount brands. Shiro didn’t know how to process that he was a vampire who ate garlic... other foods in general. He really wasn’t living up to his role as a vampire at all, yet, despite how hard he tried not to, part of him decided it had to go and like Shiro as a person, despite the fact he’d clearly vandalised his own car and lied through his teeth when they’d met. Buying way too much food, the dude at the check out pretty much had bug eyes when it came to loading up the belt, because Lance never brought as much he was right then, then paying for it as Shiro insisted on placing the bags back in the trolley, as it was “the least he could do, all things considered”. Lance kept trying to consider him a pain, but now he was actually wondering if this had been how his family felt when he’d suddenly come back home different to the rest of them. He wanted to ring his Mami and ask her advice over the whole matter, but the idea of her baby boy living with two men who kill vampires for a living would send into a fit of hysterics over his safety. 

Taking his keys from him, Shiro was good at insisting things. Insisting he needed his rest, and that he should cover his face so the sun’s rays wouldn’t burn up his skin. Shiro was fast feeling like a big brother that Lance had desperately wanted, but denied he needed. The fact that Shiro didn’t seem to want to murder him left him with all kinds of conflicted feelings that were too muddled to sort out. He was a vampire, Shiro was a hunter, that was the black and white of it, those damn shades of grey in between were making all of this far more difficult than it needed to be.

A tad too proud of an inanimate object, his bronco was a good girl, not starting for Shiro until the third time he tried to turn over the engine. Not used to the closeness of the H on the clutch, Shiro ground the gears more than once, then proceeded to bunny hop over that damn ditch in Lance’s driveway. Forget Shiro being the older brother, he was giving Lance’s younger self a run for his money, though his problem had been that even at accelerated speeds things seemed slower than the normal speed limit. His glasses helped with that, as had keeping the one car for his adult life. Bunny hopping to a stop in front of Lance’s house, Shiro shot him an embarrassed look, Lance quick to reassure him he wasn’t about to tell anyone over the mistreatment of his beloved girl. 

Getting the shopping inside was a whole other drama as he wasn’t allowed to help with that either. Sent to his living room, he found Shiro had made himself at home, cleaning up the trashed remains into something more put together yet nowhere near Lance’s high standards. He still needed a new coffee table, provided he’d be living long enough to enjoy it. With that room not needing dire attention, Lance found himself in his kitchen, not trusting Shiro to be near any open fire unsupervised. The clock already read 4:30pm, a little, lot, later than he would have liked the time to be. Lugging the last of the shopping bags in, Shiro hefted a sigh of relief before dropping himself down in the first available dining chair. Boy, if the man thought things ended there, he was in for a tough ride.

Waiting all of thirty second for Shiro to start relaxing, Lance clapped his hands, earning himself a groan   
“What are you doing sitting down?”  
“Wha...?”  
“The real work starts now that we’re home. We’ve got a dinner party to cook for, and don’t think your lack of kitchen prowess is getting you out of it. You’re staying under my roof, which means you’re helping out. Besides, “Sleeping Beauty”, is gonna wanna eat sometime before he expires of old age”  
Shiro sighed as he rose to his feet  
“You’re right. You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?”  
“If you’re asking if I’m serious about my friends enjoying themselves, then yes I am. If you’re asking about Keith, he’s got a nice enough face, but that’s as far as it goes. He won’t eat what I cook, unless you want to lie to him about it. So, you’re helping, that way you can tell him the nasty blood sucker didn’t taint his precious food”  
“That comment... it, um, it really got under your skin, didn’t it?”  
“It’d be like me slandering all you hunters as wild beast killing Barbarians. I’ve come across them before, it’s kind of hard not to when you’ve been around a while, they usually prefer to be more direct with their kills”  
Shiro nodded, his left hand moving to grab above his elbow on his right arm, as if Lance’s words had triggered him to remember some deep self-conscience secret   
“I guess it is. But for the most part we are”  
“Touché. I don’t want to admit this, but I don’t think I hate you as much as I should”  
“For a vampire you’re not that bad”  
“I could have told you that. Now, what does Keith like eating?”  
“Something quick and easy”  
“Thanks for that. Let’s put it this way, is there anything he’s allergic too?”  
“He’s a bit iffy when it comes to milk... I was going to try make him some soup”

Lance couldn’t count the number of ways that could have gone wrong  
“I can do soup. I got chicken today, so we’ll do chicken and vegetable for “Madam Dramatics”. You’ll be in charge of slicing things. I assume you’re skilled with a blade enough to know not to stab the vampire with pointy end”  
“I’ve been around a blade or two”  
“Good. Wash your hands then wash the vegetable”  
Shiro stared at him blankly, Lance groaning  
“Okay. I’ll wash the vegetables. You can work a peeler right?”  
“I don’t know...”  
Lance cast Shiro a serious frown. Vegetable peelers had come a long way since Lance was a child, but there were now easier than ever. Noticing the minute movements of Shiro’s lips, Lance wanted to smack him, yet instead he did the adult thing and used his words  
“You’re fucking with me, aren’t you?”  
“Maybe a little”  
“You know what, I take it all back. You’re not like an older brother, you’re like a dead beat father. Get to work on the vegetables while I start on the rest”

Having Shiro in the kitchen nearly ruined the joy of cooking forever. Lance didn’t really enjoy cooking the way Hunk did, but giving up on human food wasn’t an option when he was just another normal human being. He felt he’d be giving into his curse to give it up completely, and if he had the money, why not spoil his friends with some really good food? Asking Shiro to use the bones to make a chicken broth resulted in the bones being burnt. Then Shiro left the tea towel a fraction too close to the stove top and that started to smoulder. By the time the clock struck five, and that big beautiful best friend of his, also known as Hunk, walked through the kitchen door, Lance was nearly crying tears of frustration. He’d tasted Shiro’s soup, then promptly rushed to the kitchen sink to throw up, tiny flecks of metal stared up at him and Lance cursed Keith again. Walking up to Hunk, Lance wrapped his arms around him  
“Thank god, you’re here”

Patting Lance’s back, Hunk laughed nervously  
“Um, thanks, man. Hello, Shiro. Nice to, um, see you again”  
“Keith left his camera behind, he’s bad in the morning without his caffeine. Lance offered to let us stay for dinner. We came to collect it. You know how it is”  
Hunk knew how unhappy Lance was about house guests. His friends knew that staying in his house wasn’t an invite just any old random got, unless it came from Pidge  
“Man, it’s lucky that you left it here and not somewhere else. Not everyone is as kind hearted as Lance”

With his face so close to Hunk’s neck, Lance could hear Hunk’s heartbeat. He could see the veins that carried that fresh blood to and from Hunk’s brain. He’d never feed from him, but Lance was definitely having control issues. He needed blood, he needed to bring himself back under control. His body felt like he was wearing the meat suit of a stranger  
“Man, are you okay? You’re totally bundled up”  
“I’m fine, Hunkeroo. Just a bit of a sniffle, probably from that window breaking. Shiro’s volunteered to be your sous chef for the evening, thought I wouldn’t trust him with anything other than the chicken soup”  
Hunk nodded, Lance stepping back out of his hold. Thank god he was so thickly padded Hunk couldn’t feel him shivering   
“Wait, if Shiro’s here, where’s Keith?”  
Lance opened his mouth, but it was Shiro’s voice that piped up  
“Keith doesn’t like to admit it, but he gets pretty bad car sickness. He needed a nap before dinner to sleep it off”  
Hunk nodded sympathetically   
“I get that too. It’s horrible. I’ve got this new medication I’m on that really seems to help, I can give him the name if it’ll help”  
“I don’t see the harm”  
Shiro lied so naturally that Lance wondered if Keith did get car sick. Keith’s bad arse image was in tatters now. The next time the idiot tried to pick a fight him, Lance wasn’t going to hesitate in teaching his ego a lesson  
“Right, well. Shiro’s here to help, he can’t be left unwatched. This one has the skill of burning water in an off kettle. I need to check my work phone, and I want to check in with Miriam”  
Shiro questioned  
“Miriam?”  
Hunk nodded, already slipping into chef mode  
“That’s his grandmother. Sure, dude. Take your time, but you know, not too much time...”  
Hunk was taking a leap of faith, taking Lance’s “trust” of Shiro to mean he could take those tentative steps too. Hunk’s naturally loveable and huge hearted self didn’t need much of an excuse to love somebody. He prayed that whatever happened, Shiro would spare Hunk the pain of a broken friendship.

The door to Lance’s office had been left ajar. Making the most of it, Blue was curled up on his office chair, Lance softening immediately at the sight of his princess   
“Blue... hey, baby girl”  
Blue let out a “rowrr”, rolling over and stretching herself out in the chair, her head turning his way as it bobbed a little, like she couldn’t quite focus. With her precious little toes reaching towards him, Lance smiled down at his girl, not wanting to lift her off the chair where she was so comfortable. Walking over, he knelt down, scratching between Blue’s ears as she nudged up into the pats   
“So this is where you’ve been? Daddy’s sorry. I left you all alone, my baby”  
Laying his cheek on Blue, her fur tickled his nose, still too hypersensitive, but finding peace in Blue’s strong heartbeat. What was happening to him? All of this was strange, all of these heightened senses were scary. Disgruntled over being reduced to his pillow, Blue moved from beneath him, sticking her butt in his face in a half kind of squat as she licked her back, an accusing glare cast in his direction   
“You’re the one who moved. I didn’t want to disturb you”  
He swore Blue understood every word, his girl quick to jump off the chair and strut away out the door. 

Sighing as he was left alone, Lance hadn’t actually wanted to call his Mami. He didn’t want her knowing he was sick or stressed, but his list of go to people were short. With his body changing, he figured he should reach out to Coran for answers, but was scared off at the idea that Shiro or Keith might have bugged his office. Vatican sanctioned hunters were no joke. God’s love was found in the light, while his species were seen as unworthy night freaks that should be decapitated at the first opportune moment. It wasn’t like him to be so depressed, he needed to get his shit together and keep strong, so why was he letting himself spiral like this? He’d met hunters before, forced to flee long ago and barely in his late 20’s. He thought he’d done such a good job of blending in, of being likeable to everyone. Now he was just too damn scared to think of his next move. A truce between him and Shiro could surely not last longer than tonight. Shiro only agreed not to kill him due to his human friends. It wasn’t fair. He didn’t want to drink Keith’s blood in the first place, so why did he have to be punished when he’d pretty much saved Keith from himself.

“Freeze, bloodsucker”  
What happened to Keith being in bed? So weak he needed his big brother to fend for him? Turning his head, he rested his other cheek on the chair as he looked to Keith. Keith looked sleepy, yet unamazingly alive. A proper nap would fix up much of his appearance, as would a series of face masks to help with the whole “black bag panda” look he was rocking. Pointing a gun in his direction, Lance couldn’t even be surprised by it  
“Just so you know, Shiro and I have a truce at the moment because there’s a human in the house”  
“You think I care? You fucking turned me”  
Lance moved his head again, flipping back to the other cheek and staring at his desk  
“You’re not a vampire”  
“I am too! You bit me”  
“You punched me in the teeth”  
“You still turned me!”  
“Keith, fuck off. You’re not a vampire”  
“I am! I received a vampire’s bite”  
“Nope”  
“I’m turning. I can feel it. My body feels different”  
“That’s because you’re a dumbarse. Relax, you’re still human”  
“I’m not! You ruined my life, the least you can do is die!”

Before Keith could react, Lance was standing in front of him. Grabbing the muzzle of the gun, he held it up to his chest in line with his undead heart  
“You’re not a vampire. Fucking shoot me if you want to, but I never fucking turned you”  
It was interesting to hear Keith’s heart begin to race with fear. His eyes were something else, Lance staring him dead in the eyes, feeling like those eyes could steal his very soul  
“You turned me”  
“I didn’t turn you. Now, either you shoot me right here, or you go back to bed like a good little boy. Shiro’s worried enough about you as it is”  
“You have no right...”  
“I have no right mentioning his name? Is that it? Sorry to break it to you, but until tomorrow morning, and my friends have all gone home safely, your stupid arse is stuck here. Now, I’m going to have a bite to drink while you go back to bed. Neither of us are going to tell Shiro you pulled a gun on me while a human was in the house, and you’re going to get through you think mullet covered head, you are not a vampire”

Letting the gun go, Lance turned and walked back to his desk, making a show of calmly pulling down a wine glass and opening his safe. His blood supply had been fucking halved, probably by Keith, and Lance kind of hoped that the idiot would have taken a sip by now and see he was still the stupid human he’d always been. Feeling Keith’s eyes remain on him, Lance sighed  
“Can’t a man get a moment of privacy in his own home?”  
“How can I trust you? How do I know you aren’t planning on pulling out your own gun”  
“Because you fucking tossed my office already. If there a gun in here, your dumbarse would have found it. Now, shoo”

Keith did not “shoo”, either the whole encounter had taken so long Shiro got worried, or Hunk had mentioned Lance was headed to his office, whatever it was, Shiro didn’t take long to interrupt the one sided staring match  
“Keith! What are you doing out of bed?”  
With Shiro finally there to break the tension, Lance poured himself out a third of the blood bag  
“I’m not human any more, Shiro...”  
“Keith. I get that this change is hard for you, but we’re going to get through this together. Lance has people over tonight, we can’t make a move until they’ve left”  
“He’s a vampire and he fucking turned me!”  
All Keith needed to was start stomping his feet and he’d have impersonating a cranky toddler down pact  
“Keith, please. Whatever he’s done to you, I won’t rest until we have a cure. Right now, Lance is only source of information. I know it hard, but you need your rest”

Lance’s opinion of Shiro’s intelligence dropped. He’d told Shiro that Keith wasn’t a vampire. Yet there Shiro was, assuring Keith they’d find a cure. The only cure was death. The whole “kill the sire” thing didn’t work, the two who’d sired Lance had to have been killed off by now... unless they were born into the vampire way of life. Lance actually hadn’t the first clue about how a vampire was “born” and not from being bitten and turned. Perhaps blood in the infants milk? That was the only reasoning he could some up with. Maybe if he hadn’t clung to his human roots, he would have ventured out to learn more about the beast he was.

“Fine. Tonight, and only tonight, I’ll let you off, but come tomorrow, you better tell me everything I need to know before I kill you”  
Whooo hoo. One last dinner, at least it’d be with his friends. Keith’s carrying ons were enough to make his headache increase tenfold, bitter as he muttered  
“Go away already”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pidge has no mercy, and Shay could sass for days

9

Sipping his glass of wine, Lance sat at his dining table. Poor Hunk had been overwhelmed in making sure every detail of the meal was perfect for Shay. Pidge had driven Shay out to his house, she’d immediately started complaining that her security system was offline, and had left to fulfil her quest in getting it back up and running. Shay was in the living room with Hunk, Lance volunteering Hunk to give Shay the grand tour of his house. Lance was left with Shiro for company, his eyes trained on the man’s back as Shiro kept checking his chicken soup. With everyone there, it seemed pointless to go ahead and feed Keith separately. Shiro was making his brother socialise, probably to make sure he didn’t expire from being a baby. Lance had the feeling he’d missed something between Keith and Shiro, their bond deep, but Keith seemed off. Like he hadn’t expected Shiro to take mercy on his undead arse. Did it have something to do with Shiro’s nose? There was definitely a story there.

“Lance, I can feel your eyes on me”  
“What happened to your face?”  
Whoops. That slipped out, zero filter between his mouth and mind  
“Is that something that interests you?”  
“If I’m honest, I’m more curious than interested. I’m also curious as to why you’re acting the way you are”  
“Patience yields focus. I learned that the hard way, and got this scar for using my heart instead of my head”  
Lance sighed. Matters of the heart were always complicated   
“Before you continue, I’ve got a confession. I’ve never been in love, let alone had a partner. I can’t offer any advice there, but I can listen”  
Shiro glanced over his shoulder  
“You’ve never...”  
“Nope...”  
Lance popped the “p”, Shiro was listening to him, so he may as well admit his lameness out loud   
“... I never wanted to take the risk. Being what I am is a curse. I never fed from a human and I never slept with one either. I guess it’s stupid, but I always maybe hoped that one day I’d have that kind of love, but I refuse to risk ruining someone’s life like mine was. You know?”  
“I do. This isn’t that kind of love. I had a friend who got himself in trouble. He met a girl and fell in love, she was a werewolf, and Matt wouldn’t leave her to her fate. He was the one who introduced me to this world. It’s funny, when I was about your age we came through Garrison. Me, Matt, and his father. Back then the mobile coverage was poor, we ended up out of contact for a week... Matt’s mother and his little sister really laid into us when we got back”  
Any mother would. Who just went missing for a week, and why the heck hadn’t the father called through on a pay phone on the way? Talk about irresponsible   
“Shiro, I’m sorry to say, I’m older than you. I’m not 18, and I’m not 26”  
“Right. Sorry. I forget that. There’s a lot of things about you that remind me of Keith”  
“You said Keith had been through something. Was it to do with your friend?”  
“No... No, that one’s a little closer to home. I had a partner, and it didn’t end well”

“Oh”

Talk about being insensitive. Lance felt he should be apologising for whatever had happened to Shiro’s partner. Clearly it wasn’t something good.

“I left him for a hunt, he was killed while I was away. Keith didn’t take it well. He had a hard life, but don’t hold that against him”  
“He seems a little high strung”  
“You have no idea. He carries the weight of sins that weren’t his to carry”  
“Them feels right there. Shiro, can I ask you something?”  
“You haven’t already?”  
Lance bit his lip, looking down at his hands. The question he wanted to ask seemed like too big of a favour. No. He’d ask Coran, but Coran was bound by as many rules and laws as Shiro was  
“Never mind. It’s fine. Just... your friend, Matt... he was really lucky to meet you. Living on outside... it’s hard. I’m sure having a friend he could count on helped”  
“I wouldn’t be so sure. She bit him, turned him, and left. The last thing I heard he was travelling to find himself and find a cure”  
“And her?”  
“He said she didn’t mean to turn him. She left him with her heart broken, breaking his as she went. I don’t know her well enough to pass judgement. Like a vampire’s bite turns a person, a single scratch from a werewolf can too”  
Lance shook his head. A bite maybe, with saliva, a scratch not so much  
“I’ve met werewolves. It’s all about the blood. Your friend would have had to ingest her blood... I think. I try to avoid werewolves. It’s not my business to say anything. Sorry, just forget that I mentioned it”  
“You’re trying to understand”  
“It’s been 36 years and I still don’t. We should start setting the table. The others will be back soon”  
“Need help?”  
Lance raised an eyebrow. Shiro seemed semi domesticated, he’d probably had a hundred fancy dinners back with the other Blades  
“You know how to set a table?”  
“I know how to imitate setting a table. I do get a bit confused with all the fancy knives and forks”  
“That’s easy, you start from the outside in. I bet Keith’s all like “I only need one knife and one fork, let me eat like a Barbarian”  
Shiro chuckled  
“Pretty much. I don’t think he’d use cutlery if he could get away with it”  
“Great. He’s a cave man with a mullet. Fantastic”

*  
Keith was coaxed out his room by Shiro, sullenly sitting across the table from Lance on the opposing end. Shiro seated beside Pidge, with Hunk and Shay sitting on the opposite side. Dinners at his house were always loud events. Pidge had piled her plate high, armed with a just a fork like the heathen she was, she was all smiles. She’d really taken a liking to Shiro, maybe because she was talking the man’s ear off  
“I never thought you’d be here again. It’s a good thing you left your camera here. Anywhere else and it probably would have grown legs and walked”  
Shiro laughed as he grabbed himself a bread roll  
“Hunk said the same. We’re lucky Lance is such an inviting host. Normally we’re too busy to sit down for dinner like this”  
Stuffing her face with lettuce, Pidge nodded, the bond between her and Shiro already felt like two siblings reuniting. 

Chewing quickly, Pidge was stabbing at her stuffed potato before she swallowed her lettuce. For someone who required oxygen, she seemed to forget that with the speed at which she ate  
“Yep. Hunk’s got mad kitchen skills. Lance isn’t bad. Don’t tell my parents, but dinner here is much better than home”  
“Speaking of your parents, what do they do?”  
“Mum and dad are both professors in Platt. Mum insists on big family dinners, Italian background and all that. I don’t know why though, since my brother took off, it’s just the three of us at home for them”  
Shiro nodded along as she spoke   
“So you have a brother?”  
“Yep. His names Matt. Matthew Holt if mum’s in a mood. Full names always mean trouble. He’s been backpacking through Europe. Apparently he’s too good to contact us now”

Shiro choked hard on the piece of bread he’d just popped in his mouth. Quickly washing it down with his beer, Lance observed the very obvious change in his demeanour  
“Matthew Holt... hang on, are you Katie?”  
It was Pidge’s turn to choke. No one but Pidge’s mother ever called her Katie  
“How do you know that?”  
“I know your brother. I’m Shiro. Takashi Shirogane”  
Pidge’s eyes went so wide it was comical, gaping at the man sitting next to her  
“You’re Shiro! Holy fucking shit! No way!”

Across the table, Hunk looked to Lance, then to Shiro, then to Pidge, then to Shiro again  
“Care to share?”  
“Shiro was Matt’s best friend. Do you remember that road trip I told you about? Where Matt and dad totally went missing, Shiro was there too! Holy shit, man! It’s been... what? 5 years?  
For Lance the revelation made his stomach drop. Matt... Matt as in Pidge’s Matt, was a werewolf. A turned werewolf. A turned werewolf that was distancing himself from his family in the hopes of a cure...  
“8, since I last saw you”  
Pidge let out a whistle  
“Holy shit. Does Matt know you’re here? Like, in town? Dude, they were like besties in high school. Shiro and Matt were always off chasing ghosts, they wouldn’t take me with them though”  
“We never did find any proof”  
Dirty rotten liar. Shiro never should have said he knew Matt. He should understand what it mean to have someone that wasn’t human in the family, someone naive enough to think there could be a possible cure out there. “Everything on the planet had been gifted by God. Everything on the planet had a cure waiting to be found. It was through God that all things were made possible”. His Mami had told him that, she didn’t have an answer as to if God still loved him. A naive child’s question. Pidge pushed her chest out, sitting a little prouder   
“That’s because you didn’t have me. Seriously, have you heard from him? It’s like he’s dropped off the face of the planet. He said he was going to Rome, but that was weeks ago”  
“I haven’t heard from him in a little while either. I never thought the little Katie I remember in dresses would be you”  
“I never thought Matt’s best friend would be showing up with a scar across his face! Mum would flip her lid if she saw that”  
“Would you believe it came from fighting a werewolf?”  
Pidge laughed openly   
“Only if you believe I’m a ghoul, come to feast on your flesh!”  
“I’ll keep that in mind. So, now I know about Pidge, what about you, Hunk? How goes the world of a paranormal investigator?”

Hunk was too busy making “lovey“ eyes at Shay. Pidge happy to continue talking to Shiro   
“Hunk’s my wingman. It’s awesome because his dad lets us use the welding gear at the garage. We don’t have the money to buy all the fancy equipment so we build what we can”  
“Really? What out of?”  
“Car scraps mostly...”  
“You do know ghosts are repelled by iron...”  
Pidge gaped at Shiro, Lance wished he’d stop feeding her curiosity in the subject   
“That are? I read that was a myth”  
“Yep. Iron. Have you done any road trips cryptid hunting?”  
“Yep! Mothman was a must. We did that one the first year of college. Lance was the only one with his own car at the time. Took us days to get out there, then he got bogged. We did the whole Sasquatch thing too. Not to shoot it, because that’d totally be a dick move, but to take a look around. I keep trying to tell Lance he needs to open his mind and believe more. I mean, even the bible references spirits and tells us no to play with them. And God admits he’s not the only god out there... There’s so many myths and legends, they all have to come from somewhere. But there’s also soooooo much crap out there, and then there’s mistranslations, and people interpreting things their own way... I just wanna hunt ghosts”

“Oh, no. You went and set her off, Shiro”  
Shay giggled, Pidge shooting her a dirty look   
“You’re supposed to be on my side”  
“I am. I’m just saying that there’s no way a whole other world could exist just beyond our fingertips. If there was, science would have proven it. They say all these psychic videos exist that prove people like that exist, but, like, where’s the videos? Why are they hushing it up if it’s the next stage of human evolution. I think it’s even harder these days. The lines have been blurred with cultural misappropriation, and dumb people only wanting to steal stuff because they’re greedy morons. Like, if you’re not Native American, you can’t sage a room, and you shouldn’t be making and labelling any old thing a dreamcatcher, you dig?”  
Lance nodded at Shay. In an ever changing world, some things remained. Like stupid people were always going to be stupid  
“It’s always the quiet types. They open their mouths and out comes something unexpected”  
“I happen to like the way Shay thinks”  
Hunk jumped to Shay’s defence like he thought Pidge was insulting her, not impressed and pleased with Shay’s answer  
“Aw, I like the way you think too, babe”  
Shay winked at Hunk, who went bright red   
“T-Thanks”  
“You’re welcome. Tell me more about the work you guys do. I’ve always kind of wanted to see it first hand. Do you use a ouija board?”  
“Nope. Those things are dangerous we fuck. You can’t control what you reach, nor can you send them back safely. We like to go in and record. See, if a spirit reacts right away, it means they want you out of there like ASAP. Most spirits hide themselves, that’s why you don’t get good readings. I mean, like, if a stranger rocked up at your house, you’re gonna wanna hide from them, am I right?”  
“I guess?”

Pidge beamed, before launching into further details about her thoughts on the paranormal world. Lance felt sick. His stomach somewhere near his toes. Shiro had burdened him with a secret he shouldn’t have known. Pidge loved Matt but Matt was no longer the man she loved. She was so eager to be part of that world, she’d let herself be bitten if she ever knew the truth. Matt was doing all he could to keep his family safe from by staying away. He knew those feelings too well, and the internal wounds of being turned felt like as fresh as they did that day. He could almost feel the fangs on his flesh, here the laughter as blood was drizzled into his mouth. Waves of pain so intense they crushed the pain of his sires beating the shit out of him for fun. He’d screamed and begged, cried for his Mami and Papi, only to be openly laughed at. His stomach heaved, vomit barely swallowed back down. Pidge’s voice seemed to echo around his aching head as if she was equiped with a microphone and a thousand speakers.

“Lance, buddy, you okay?”  
Smile. He had to smile. This was Hunk and Shay’s night. They were finally going to start dating. Absolutely nothing could go wrong. He smiled at Hunk, picking his wine glass up in what he hoped was a casual move  
“Sure, just a bit tired from this flu”  
Lance hoped he was smiling enough. His complexion was most probably horrid. He should have slapped a layer on foundation on to give him a much healthier glow  
“Are you sure? You’ve gone really white”  
“Buddy, light of my life, brother from another mother, I swear you worry far too much about little old me. I’m okay. Honestly I started zoning out as Pidge got carried away with her theories again”

Beneath the table, Pidge kicked him in the ankle  
“Rude, much? Shiro’s interested, aren’t you Shiro?”  
Shiro scratched the back of his head  
“Totally. But, you lost me when you switched to alien encounters”  
Pidge wrinkled her face up in annoyance, the pout was strong as she crossed her arms  
“You all suck. Except for you Shay”  
Shay giggled  
“I know, I’m awesomeness embodied”  
“You’ve got that right”  
Hunk clamped a hand over his face, blushing beet red. Shay giggled again, leaning in and kissing him on the cheek  
“I can always count on you, Hunk. So, Lance, have you got any embarrassing stories about these two you can share?”  
“Well, the first thing that comes to mind is when we went hunting Mothman...”  
Pidge shot forward in her seat  
“Don’t you dare!”  
“It’s more cute than embarrassing...”  
“Lance, I swear I’ll stab you in the eyeball if you keep going”

Shay threw her head back as she laughed. Lance locked eyes with Pidge   
“See, Pidge was super excited. So excited that she...”  
Pidge raised her knife, Lance holding his hands up in surrender  
“I guess I better not finish that”  
Pidge had been so excited that she’s gone running off, slipped in a puddle, fallen face first in the mud with her beloved video camera. She’d been so pumped for the trip she’d packed everything but clothes. They’d had to buy really lame gimmicky clothes from the closest service station which had swum on her small frame  
“Good boy”  
“Damn, Lance. She’s got you trained”  
Lance nodded at Shay  
“Our little gremlin here can be pretty intimidating when she wants to be”  
“I’ll bet”  
“You should see her when she hasn’t had her morning coffee”  
“I can imagine the horror”  
“I don’t think you can. It’s like Satan has risen from the depths of hell to possess her”  
Shay kept laughing, Hunk was so smitten with her that Lance wanted to grab them both by the backs of their heads and make them kiss  
“Oh no!”  
Pidge blew a raspberry at him, not enjoying his teasing   
“Merp!”  
“Merp, yourself. You know you’re not the greatest person ever in the morning, but we all love you just the way you are”  
“I hate you. Why do I hang out with you again?”  
“Because you need someone who can drive and lug all your junk around”  
Pidge sighed dramatically   
“Dammit. Stupid fine print. You know, I can’t deny that”  
“Yep. Guess you’re stuck with me”  
“Until your uses run out”  
Lance pouted, clutching at his chest  
“I’m wounded. Years of devoted friendship and this is how you treat me”  
“Gotta be mean and keep’em keen”  
“Don’t think I won’t remember this. To very last breath I’ll remember how you wounded me”  
Pidge snorted with laughter, he loved it when she finally cracked. It was worth all the teasing   
“You’re suck a dork”  
Lance shot her finger guns, not feeling the least bit better internally  
“Takes one to know one”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! We went over 100 kudos! I was thinking of maybe making this a tumblr only thing, I told myself I get 100 kudos I shall keep posting here.
> 
> Thanks everyone! 😍

10

When the others finally left for the night, Lance was mentally jumping for joy. Hunk was driving Shay home, Lance had his fingers, and toes, crossed that his best friend would finally profess his feelings. His joy lasted until his stomach rolled, telling him it was time to purge the human food he’d forced down the evening. Bolting for his upstairs bathroom, he gripped the toilet hard as his stomach rolled and everything was vomited out forcefully. Keith’s stupid blood was still in his system. The effects should have been wearing off by now, not lingering around like his unwanted house guest. 

Hunched over as he heaved, there was a soft knock on the bathroom door  
“Lance?”  
Ugh. Shiro the goddamn hero. He was none too happy with him at the moment. Humans always made things so bloody complicated, no pun intended. Behind him the sink tap was turned on, the sound of the water hitting the basin was like a fucking waterfall again rocks, the noise coming to an end not a second too soon  
“Here”  
Gazing up with glassy eyes, Shiro was holding out a wet hand towel, Lance taking it from the man and draping it over his face. Thankfully Shiro had been kind enough not to turn the bathroom light on, though that hadn’t stopped him being stupid enough to put the damn cloth over his glasses   
“Are you okay?”  
“Fantastic”  
“Can I do anything to help?”  
“Yeah, you can keep your damn distance from Pidge”  
Shiro shuffled his feet  
“I...”  
“If she knows, she’s going to want that bite. Matt is doing everything he can to protect his family, but Pidge... Pidge is so goddamn smart. Do you know what kind of situation you’ve put me in”

Lance heard the rustling of Shiro’s clothes before he felt man sitting down beside him  
“I never thought she’d be Matt’s brother. It was stupid of me to speak out. Look. It’s not my place, but I know the look of someone haunted by the past. Speaking of Matt, that brought something up you’d rather not remember, didn’t it?”  
“Someone should give you a damn medal. Shiro, you’re not my friend. You don’t know me. There’s nothing you can do to magically help”  
“I can listen”  
“Yeah, so you have more evidence to use against me when you finally kill me”  
“It’s not like that...”  
“Then what’s it like? Feeling pity for the sick vampire? Keeping him alive purely to help your brother? Now I’m left lying to Pidge for however long I’ve got left”

“I’m worried about you...”

Lance would have laughed if he wasn’t so shocked. What did Shiro have to worry about?  
“... you’re not getting any better. You drank Keith’s blood to save him, and you’re still suffering from the effects. I don’t know what to do to help you”  
“There’s nothing you can do”  
“There has to be something”  
“There isn’t”  
“Then is there someone I can call? Someone who knows more about what’s going on?”  
“I’m not going to bring a hunter onto the doorstep of anyone”  
Shiro sighed  
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let Keith take control of the mission. We haven’t reported back to our supervisors one way or the other. Your name came up flagged under suspicion of being a vampire with no confirmation. I don’t know who reported you, and I still don’t know what to make of you. You were polite and kind to both of us, yet helping Keith has made you this ill. Right now, I don’t want to kill you. I don’t know what to feel. You bit and turned my brother, yet you deny it. You openly socialise with humans, keeping as close to human as you can. You turned into a bat, despite claiming you carried no powers. All of this is confusing. Then there’s Keith. He’s my brother. My only brother. The only family I have here. I need to do what’s right for him”  
“Then stop filling his head with ideas. He’s not a vampire. You enabling him isn’t helping anything. You guys can crash out in front of the TV if you want, help yourselves to whatever you want in the fridge. I’ll do the dishes tomorrow, so for now, let me just go to bed and be done with today”  
“Lance, I...”  
“If you say you’re sorry again, I can’t guarantee I won’t snap”  
Shiro gave a nervous kind of a laugh, his hand squeezing Lance’s shoulder   
“Alright. I get it. We’ll talk in the morning. Are you sure there isn’t anything I can get you?”  
“I’ll be fine once your brother’s gross blood passes”  
“That’s good to know”

*  
Lance could hear Shiro and Keith talking about him as he laid in bed with Blue. Shiro was attempting to reason with Keith, who’d broken down over being bitten. His mouth ached, arm between his teeth as he rode through the pain of it all. This wasn’t normal, not for him. He needed to go see Coran. Coran would know what to do and how to help, and laying about in bed wasn’t going to magically cure him.

Dressing, it was a little after two in the morning when he crept down his stairs. So many thoughts were trying to push themselves to the forefront of his mind, yet none were clear enough to reach out grab. Stepping off the last step, the light in the lounge room flicked on, Shiro appearing in the doorway, rubbing at his eyes like Lance had woken him up  
“Lance?”  
“Go back to bed, Shiro”  
“Going somewhere?”  
“To get some blood”  
Shiro saw through his lie  
“Dressed and with your car keys?”  
“Going to get some blood from Platt?”  
Lance cringed at his tone, and at his big mouth   
“Great, I’ll come for the drive then”  
“Shiro...”  
“You’re in no condition to drive yourself anywhere. It’d be irresponsible to let you go alone”  
“What about Keith?”  
“If you’re going to see some one about blood, then they have to know what’s going on with him... Your arm’s bleeding”

Lance looked down at the dark patch spreading across his sleeve. He’d bandaged his arm, but for some reason he was still bleeding  
“It’s nothing. Look, go back to bed and we’ll talk in the morning”  
“I can’t do that”  
“Leave me alone!”  
Shit. As if Shiro hadn’t caught enough of his bad mood of late  
“I’m sorry, Shiro. I’ll be back by morning, but I can’t take you where I need to go. You’re not one of us. They wouldn’t even let you inside the lobby”  
“Look, it’s late. I think you should go back to bed and we can all talk about this in the morning”  
And what if he flipped out in the mean time? What if he really was as bad Keith thought he was? He didn’t want to hurt Shiro... or Keith for that matter. Maybe shave Keith’s mullet off, but not hurt him physically   
“I can’t do that”  
“Why not?”  
“Because there’s something wrong with me and I don’t want either of you being hurt. Please, Shiro, I have to go. I promise I’ll be back as soon as possible”  
“How can I trust that you’ll be back?”  
“I’d never leave Blue. Plus Pidge would be merciless if I went missing. I can’t do that to her and Hunk”  
“Alright... just... stay safe”  
“You, too”

The drive to Platt passed in a blur, Lance doing well above the speed limit in the long straights of the road. The city it’s self never seemed to sleep, but the roads were clear as Lance slowed to the posted limits, the last thing he needed was a speeding fine, or to bite a cop. Parking in front of “Castle Altea”, the building front marketed itself as a 24 hour bookshop catering to the obscure. The whole block was actually owned by the organisation Coran ran, shop owners paid half the price of rent in the area, probably thanks to the complex that ran beneath their feet. Gripping his arm, he just about fell out the driver’s side, head swimming to the point he thought he’d vomit.

Passing through the bookstore, the woman behind the counter hit the button under the desk to let him straight through the back doors and into the elevator that’d take him down to Coran’s first level. There were only two buttons in lift, one up to the bookshop and one down to “VOLTRON”, the name of outreach network for Platt. Lance knew the “V” stood for “vampire” and the “L” stood for “lycanthropes”, and maybe the end “ON” stood for “outreach network”, but the others he’d been clueless on. He didn’t really need to know the name, only that he was going to the only truly safe place for him in his current situation. He couldn’t even tell how many metres the lift went down, but the more the better right now.

The doors open to bright lights of the reception, Coran pausing mid pace, before rushing over to him  
“Lance, what happened to you, my boy?”  
“Mercury... poisoning...”  
“Oh, my boy. You came to the right place. Here, lean on me. How’s your hunger?”  
Lance felt so awful he didn’t even know if he was hungry. Coran felt safe and warm, his arm slipping around Lance, deceptively strong as he took his weight   
“My teeth really hurt... all of me hurts... Coran, I’m scared”  
“Hush, my boy. We’ll get to the bottom of this. You’re safe here”  
“Thank you... I’m sorry... for turning up like this”  
“Nonsense. Let’s get you comfortable”

Taken down another two levels, the doors opened to the medical floor. Coran leading him to the first available examination room, and assisting up onto the examination bed. Whimpering at the lights overhead, Coran switched them off, leaving the lighting in the room to come from the computer in the corner and the lights under the bed  
“Hypersensitivity... Atypical for simple poisoning. Lance, can you tell me what happened?”  
“Hunter”  
Coran let out a small gasp  
“A hunter?”  
“Poisoned himself with silver and mercury... sucked it out of him... I’ve never fed off a human before... Coran.... what did I do?”

Coran smiled softly at him, brushing Lance’s sweaty fringe off his forehead  
“You did a brave thing. Mercury in blood makes it very potent. I suspect the trauma of your first feed and the metal have come together to make a rather nasty combination for you. How long ago was it since you bit them?”  
“Wednesday...”  
“Oh, my boy. Let’s do a full work up. You’ve been through enough trauma as it is. Have you had any blood since?”  
“A bag and a bit... it’s not helping”  
“Alright. Let me see what I can do. You relax, you’re safe here, Lance. This is a safe place”  
“I didn’t want to bring you trouble”  
“Hush now. No ones going to get you. Close your eyes and just relax”  
Lance felt eyelids start to grow heavy, Coran’s words a spell on his senses as he felt himself slump completely against the bed beneath him. Coran knew his traumas... Coran knew everything about his life. He shouldn’t have left Shiro and Keith at his house... but coming here was the right thing to do.

Allura came in as they waited for his blood tests. With practiced hands she set up an IV line, direct to a fresh bag of blood. Coran had helped him out his jacket, mortified he’d bitten himself to starve off the pain of his teeth  
“Lance, it’s Allura. I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m going to take a look at your arm”  
“Hey, ‘llura. Sorry for the trouble”  
“Nonsense. Coran said you had a run in with some hunters. We knew there were new guys in town, yet I hardly expected they’d go after to you”  
Why wouldn’t they go after him? He shouldn’t exist according to them  
“I bit a human... I’m going to be put down”  
“You’re not going to be put down. You’re not a typical vampire, but you’ve got a kind heart. You’d never hurt a human if you could help it”  
Tell that to his teeth... and Keith’s fist  
“I still did it”  
“Lance, you’ve always been kind and sensitive. I promise you that we’ll get this all sorted”

As Allura applied ointment to his wound, Lance let himself float. His mind that was, not his body. Shiro was wrong, he couldn’t turn into a bat. And he was handling being caught out rather poorly. If Shiro and Keith did hunt the big bad things in the night, then he should be grateful. They’d probably saved countless lies by not thinking twice, whereas he was laying here being completely useless. He’d never killed a vampire, not even when tempted by their behaviour. As she worked, Allura hummed along, her humming somewhat soothing his headache. He liked Allura. She was smart, pretty, funny, and brave. She had so many things going on, yet she wore all her pressures on his delicate shoulders with grace   
“Healing has already begun, it should heal without a scar. But do try to take it easy for the next few days”  
“Thanks, Allura. I’m still really sorry for how I showed up”  
“Nonsense. I would have been mad with you if you hadn’t come to us. Have you got enough blood at home to see you over?”  
“The hunter’s got to it. Trashed my house, waited for me to come home, the whole nine yards”  
“Do you need help with the repairs? Furniture replacement? Is your home safe to return to?”  
“Yeah. No, I’ll be fine. I’ve got somewhere to go”  
“If you’re not safe, you can stay here for as long as you need”  
“I’ll keep that in mind, but I’m safe for now. I’ll take some blood though. Healing this is has taken more than I expected”  
“Anything you add blood too amplifies it’s effectiveness. Being stabbed by a mercury dipped dagger has a much different affect than ingesting it”  
Lance hummed  
“I didn’t think about it like that”

The room to the examination room slid open, Coran letting himself in. Allura smiling at him, their conversation now dead in its tracks  
“Sorry to interrupt. Allura, how’s our boy doing?”  
“His arm’s started healing. He seems more lucid too. I would like to see him in three weeks for reassessment. I’ll be logging 21 bags of blood on his record, I don’t trust that his supply hasn’t been tainted”  
Tainting the blood seemed too much effort to be a Keith move. Shiro had the patience, but he’d brought him up blood to help him heal... poisoning Lance was a sure way to ruin any chance of getting information from him   
“Excellent. Now, Lance, I’ve got your results right here. Silver and mercury were found in your bloody, both in trace amounts. My advice would be draining what we can from your system, then rehydrating you”  
“How long will that take?”  
“Twelve hours, give or take. Then a nice nap in your grave dirt, for a couple of hours, just to make sure no hidden nasties are left in your system”  
“I don’t have time to do that”  
“I’m sorry, my dear boy. You’ll need to make the time. Your levels across the board are all over the place, and you’ve had quite the shock. Anything else could affect your will power to fight the curse. You could find yourself performing actions with no memory of the event”

Stupid fucking Keith. This is what he got for helping him, when he didn’t deserve it. They’d barely talked, not when the man hated him with the passions of a thousand suns. Now he was stuck being drained like a car having it oil changed. He’d be breaking his word to Shiro. He’d said he’d be back in the morning, now he was going to be stuck in Platt until mid afternoon at the earliest   
“Coran, I need to make a phone call... I need to let my friend know I’ll be back later than planned”  
“Sure, my boy. Do you know the number?”

Shiro’s number? That was a no. He knew his home phone number because he still had a land line. Pidge had laughed and called it “antiquated”, no one had house landlines anymore, according to her. Lance wasn’t about to take advice from someone who’d never he the displeasure of growing up with one family landline in the living room where everyone overheard your conversation. Lance didn’t know Keith’s number either, not that Keith would answer if he did  
“They’re at my house. They insisted on sleeping over in case someone came back”  
“Oh, dear. You must be worried about them. Give them a quick ring and let them know you’re all safe and sound”

Shiro didn’t answer the home phone when Lance rang, Lance leaving a message on the off chance Keith decided he snoop about in Lance’s office again, Lance quickly explained he needed to stay in Platt longer to sort the situation he was experiencing, and that it was best for everyone involved if he remained until the afternoon. Taken from the examination room once the IV had run through, he was taken to a much more depressing room that held a vertical board for a bed. Thick straps came off the sides, his head, neck, arms, legs and torso all strapped down, preventing him from escaping should he flip out from being drained. The device looked barely a step above something that’d be used to hold prisoners being tortured   
“Now, this is going to be quite painful and uncomfortable for you. I know you only ingested trace amounts, but the stress has made your system a bit, shall we say, whacky. We’re going to introduce a sedative to your system, before running a line from your jugular. You’ll be both awake and asleep for the procedure. The injection keeps the brain from registering and reacting. All very safe, all very well researched. We’ve had particular success with werewolves poisoned with wolfsbane”  
“Alright. Do what you need to do. I don’t want to feel like this anymore”  
“You’ll feel good as new when we’re done. Then we can have ourself a talk”

The bed behind him was stiff, the whole room white, and the straps cold against his skin. Cool air was pushed through the single vent in the room above the doorway, as Lance waited for the injection in the back of his neck to kick in. He should really be billing Keith for his time. From Wednesday until now, at douchebag wanker lawyer fees, the man would be pushing three grand for all the time Lance had wasted thinking about him. Was Keith fighting with Shiro as he “lay” here? Was he still going on about being bitten and turned while Shiro didn’t balls up and prove to him that he was still human? Keith should know better. Shiro should know much better. Those purple eyes that seemed to see his soul were bright and unclouded. A rare fire burned behind them, not the fire of a confident man, but the fire of someone who still very much alive in the human world. Keith had his whole life ahead of him, yet he must have his reasons for joining the Blades. If only Keith and Shiro could have both walked away, Shiro wouldn’t have lost his partner, and Keith could have a normal happy life without the bloodshed and fear of being turned. Why the fuck was he stuck now thinking on the man who hated his guts. Keith hadn’t even been willing to talk, let alone listen. He was hot headed and rash, leaping before he looked... Keith was going to be pissy that he’d skipped out on explaining things in the morning. Coran would fix Lance right up, only for Lance to go home and die. Letting out a sigh, Lance closed his eyes. When he’d been 18 he’d had to spend three months sleeping as he made his death soil. If a wounded vampire could get back to their death soil, most damage could be overcome... His death soil now sat in his garden, but he did have a shoe box of soil in his wardrobe, to remind him not to get too comfortable in his current life...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m a totes slut for good uncle Coran. You can probably tell if you’ve read my stuff before... I’m also a ho for Langst...


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith is still an anger loaf... maybe he should eat a snickers?

11

Coran kissed Lance on the cheek as they parted. The man was like an uncle to him, feeling more like family than a man going through the motions of his job. The transfusion had left feeling on top of his game, ego fed as much as his body from the fresh blood. Coran said to expect a level of vampire douchieness as a side effect, though he hadn’t quite phrased it that way. Lance’s senses were sharper than ever, he could hear the servos of the elevator all the way in the back off the bookshop, despite the heavy traffic on the street outside, where they were now  
“Now, my boy. Let me know if you suffer any other symptoms and I’ll pop right out to see you”  
“I’m fine, you’re fussing far too much”  
“You had a scare my boy. I’ll review your results and we can discuss them when you return in three weeks. If you have any more issues with hunters, please don’t hesitate to call us. You’re not alone out there”  
“With these guns, I think I can kiss my hunter issues goodbye”  
Flexing his arms, his muscle mass was pathetic, not much of anything happening. His ego was running rampart, no wonder Coran looked so concerned for him  
“Lance”  
“I know. Rest the arm. Keep the ego in check. We both know I’m going to be embarrassed as hell once everything settles down again”  
“All is forgiven, as long as you stay safe. Allura’s already packed your blood packs for you, and I’d recommend disposing of the ones left at home. You might hit a low tonight, thanks to the transfusion, make sure you take it easy. Lots of rest, no tussles with hunters”  
Coran wasn’t going to push on the hunter thing, if Lance had helped a hunter, he’d more than earned the right to be left alone by them  
“Thanks, Coran. I really owe you for this”  
“Nonsense, we’ve already charged you”  
Lance laughed far too hard. He was being such an arsehole right now that apparently everything was both beneath him and funny   
“Sorry. Sorry... that’s just too funny”  
“Remember that when you check your account later. Take care, my boy”

Lance should have gone straight home. He should have kept his ego in check. He shouldn’t have been left unsupervised inside the hardware store... He brought himself a new coffee table, which was a win, but with the new coffee table came there compulsion to repaint the ceiling, he was there, it’d be stupid not to pick the paint up for the job... and the paint rollers... and the drop tarp... and those roses for the back garden... and the fertiliser... then he found the cutest set of window pots that came in three different colours, and naturally he had to buy the three different sets in each colour... and then a rug to match. His poor bank card suffered for his vampire ego.

Stopping to fuel up at the Balmeria, Shay was giggling like crazy as Lance talked her ear off. Hunk hadn’t manned up, but they were going on a date on the weekend, up to Platt to see a movie followed by dinner. Lance gushed a million miles an hour over how sweet it was, Shay waving him off for being the idiot he was.

Regret came. Big fat fugly regret came as Lance pulled into his drive. Coran had said he’d experience a low, and damn if it didn’t happen all at once. Limping his bronco up his drive, Lance cursed himself. He was an idiot. Oh, god... not only with Coran, but at the hardware store and then with Shay... Maybe he buried himself in his death soil, it’d be best for everyone if he didn’t come out... No one would expect the previous owner of his house to have buried himself outside by the roses... It might be a bit of a nasty shock when they renovated the garden... God... his mouth hadn’t stopped... He shouldn’t be allowed out in public again...

Parking in front of his house, Lance eyed his front door. His feelings akin to when you had to drag a kid out of a birthday party and they didn’t want to go. He wanted to stay in his car... maybe forever... But no. He couldn’t. Shiro was opening the front door before he had chance to turn the key. Fuck... now Shiro was walking towards... and fuck... now he was at the window... and now he was opening the door  
“Lance...”  
“Mhmm?”  
“You going to come inside?”  
“Do I have to?”  
Shiro raised an eyebrow at him, crossing his arms as he did  
“I think you have some explaining to do”  
“Sorry?”  
“You should be. I was worried you’d died in a ditch somewhere”  
“I’m already dead”  
“You know what I mean. What happened to being back by morning?”  
Lance sighed  
“Keith didn’t check my phone messages?”  
“He did. That doesn’t explain why you were out all day, and why your cars loaded up with enough stuff to start your own store”  
“I may have gotten a tad enthusiastic... but on the plus side, I’m not that enthusiastic anymore”  
“Nice to feel appreciated. We should get you inside, so much time in the sun can’t be good for you”  
“Actually, I’m supposed to spend the next few hours sleeping... I suppose that’s not going to happen. I feel like Keith isn’t going to take too kindly to my return”  
“He may have been going to shoot your tires out, then remembered he can’t handle the sun anymore”  
Lance mentally rolled his eyes. Keith could go sunbake naked in the sun for the whole damn day and he wouldn’t be turned to ash... He might be a bit burnt around the edges, but he wouldn’t be all crispy  
“Thanks for thinking of my car. Fine, lead me forth to my doom... but first, let me grab my blood out the back”

*  
Sitting on his sofa, Keith was oiling his blade, like the lord of the damn house. Shuffling into the room, behind Shiro, Lance tried to make himself seem as small as possible. Keith with a blade was no safer than Keith with a gun  
“You!”  
Jumping to his feet, Keith pointed his blade at him  
“Hold on, Keith. You promised not to stab him until we’d talked”  
“That bloodsucker’s been loose all day! How many innocents did you kill today?”  
“I don’t know. How many brain cells did you kill styling that mullet today?”  
“That’s it! I’m going to kill you! Fight me!”  
“That’s enough you too. Keith, sit. Lance, you sit too”  
Keith narrowed his eyes, sinking back down on the sofa with a firm grip on his blade  
“My eyes are on you”  
“Aw, babe. I’m flattered, but I don’t date”  
“Shiro, let me kill him”

Keith turned red, Lance could almost see the steam coming out his ears. As Shiro sat on the sofa beside Keith, Lance dropped himself down in his recliner, happy that he’d found his way under Keith’s skin. Putting on an exceptionally convincing “dad” voice, Shiro started  
“Now, we’re all going to have a talk about what’s been happening here. Keith, you’ve said you felt yourself going through some changes. Lance has agreed to supply you with answers. Lance, I let you go all day, instead of the agreed upon time limit. I think for a starters you should explain where you spent the day”  
“I told you. I had to go see someone about the fact I wasn’t getting better”  
“You said you’d be back by morning”  
“And at the time, I thought I would be. I left you a message”  
“Did you get answers?”  
Lance shrugged  
“I got my oil changed”  
“Give is a straight answer!”  
“Fine. I spent twelve hours having the blood in body drained and replaced thanks to the fact your dirty arse blood made me sick”  
“You drank my blood, you sick fuck?!”  
“You should be thanking me. You poisoned yourself. No one goes around injecting mercury into their blood stream. You nearly killed yourself. You should thank your brother. I only helped you for his sake”  
“You fucking turned me!”

Lance was done having this fight. Leaning forward he opened up the esky Allura had packed for him. Pulling out a bag of blood, he placed one on his lap, and threw a second to Keith. With slow and deliberate movements, Lance twisted the cap off the pack, sipping deeply. Keith wrinkled his nose up in disgust, Lance pulling back, letting out a sigh as he dropped back in the recliner  
“Fresh blood. Picked up today. You should be feeling hungry by now, why don’t you go ahead and take a sip”  
“I’m not like you! I don’t...”  
Shiro patted Keith’s knee  
“Keith, I don’t blame you and I’m not judging you. This doesn’t make you any less my brother. You should try the blood, it’s sealed, and it might help you”  
“But...”  
“Keith, it’s okay. Just try it”

Keith was shaking as he twisted open the cap on the bag, Shiro kept his hand on his brother’s leg as Keith hesitantly rose the nub to his lips. Taking a shallow sip, Keith immediately spat the blood out, coughing as he tried to wipe it off his lips  
“What the fuck?!”  
“I told you, you’re human. I thought the smell alone would clue you in”  
Keith wasn’t having it, bellowing   
“You gave me bad blood! Is this a fucking joke to you!?”  
“You’re not a fucking vampire!”  
“Bullshit! My body’s changing! I can feel it!”  
“Because you’re a hypochondriac!”  
“You gave me bad blood, and you know it! Ugh! It tastes revolting...”  
Shiro babied his brother   
“Why don’t you brush your teeth? Get that taste out of your mouth?”  
“I swallowed it”  
“Brush your teeth, then have something to drink”  
“No. No, I’m going to do this. Give me the pack you’re drinking from”

Lance blinked at Keith. He wanted... Oh, Lord above  
“If you don’t like that one, you’re not going to like this one”  
“Give me the blood!”  
“You’re not going to like it...”  
“Stop fucking with me!”  
Keith was such a little anger loaf. It made Lance actually want to mess with him  
“I don’t know. It’s got my saliva on the nub, wouldn’t that be like an indirect kiss?”  
Keith went red all over again  
“Give it to me!”  
“Let me rub the cooties off first. Maybe we could go sleep in my death dirt together? Take a little dirt nap! Get it, a dirt nap! With a dead body... I crack myself up”

Keith wasn’t amused. Lance picked the discarded blood pack off the ground, happy to sip on it as Keith raised the blood pack he’d had to his mouth. His reaction was funnier the second time around. His whole body shuddered, nose wrinkled, eyes doing that thing like when you suck on something sour  
“Keith, how does that taste? Any better?”  
“No! He’s still messing with us!”  
“I’m not messing with you! You’re not a vampire. I didn’t bleed in your mouth. You sure as fuck haven’t turned, and if you had, you would have sucked that pack dry!”  
Keith’s anger turned to tears, Lance felt a genuine prang if sympathy for him. He really was dumb enough to believe his body was changing   
“Shiro... I’m changing, you have to believe me”  
Shiro moved to wrap his arms around Keith   
“I believe you. Maybe this was too much at once... I’ll go to Platt first thing tomorrow morning. I promise we’ll work this out. Lance, you should go”  
“Go... but this is my house”  
“Right now I’m so angry at you I could kill you myself. Get out of my face before I do something I regret”  
Shiro was angry at him!? He didn’t get to be angry at him! He hadn’t spent hours as a human fountain for fun!  
“Fine!”

Stashing his blood away, Lance stormed through his house and out to the garden. Fuck Shiro and Fuck Keith. Fuck both of them together. Grabbing his shovel from beside the wall, Lance’s anger manifested as he dug too deep into his death soil. Climbing in the hole with his shovel, he pulled the dirt over himself, making sure he was nicely covered, the mound topped with a stray dandelion that could kindly go fuck itself too. Why was it he was burdened with the two stupidest humans alive?! Any why did his dumbarse have to bury himself in his own backyard for a little bit of peace. Well fuck them. He could outlast the best of them. If they wanted him, they’d have to come bury him up, but the joke was on them, he had the only shovel he owned poking into his side. People bloody sucked.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun duuuuuuun

12

Dug up by Shiro, the hunter unburied his face. The ground was cold and damp, not regenerating or refreshing, but Lance stayed there out of sheer stubbornness. The image of Keith’s smug face drifted into his minds eye each time he thought about climbing out. Keeping his eyes closed, playing “dead” didn’t work   
“Lance, I’m heading into Platt today”  
Hurray! Good for Shiro!   
“I’ll be leaving Keith here. He isn’t getting any better and I don’t know how long it’ll be before I can come back”  
Nooooooo!  
“Lance?”  
“Error 404: Vampire not found”  
Shiro growled  
“This is serious!”  
“Your call cannot be connected. Please check the number and try again”  
“Lance!”  
“Sorry, Lance isn’t home... whaaaa!”

Shiro ripped him upwards by his shirt front, Lance impressed he could pull him up with the weight of dirt across his body   
“Why are you being like this?!”  
Shiro didn’t need to be so cranky, he just needed to listen with his ears, which Lance was beginning to suspect were for display purposes only   
“Because Keith isn’t a vampire”  
“I don’t know why you refuse to believe the facts”  
Him?! Him! He was the vampire here! He should know if he turned someone!  
“Because you’re both stupid! Keith isn’t a vampire! I don’t know how many times I can tell you!”  
“I don’t care what you have to do. Keep Keith safe”  
“I don’t know if I can, I don’t have kiddy locks on the dangerous stuff”  
“Lance. Please. Why are you being like this? Do you not remember what it’s like to love someone? Keith is my family. I’m asking you to guard my one and only brother. Please...”  
Jesus. Shiro made him feel like a bag of shit. He’d told the man he wouldn’t be in such a craptastic mood, yet he kept losing his damn temper. If he was in Shiro’s place, he’d probably be an idiot too  
“Okay, okay. I’m not going to let him get hurt. But if he hurts himself, that’s on him”  
“I need you to stop him from doing that. He’s not in a good place right now. I’m not saying he’d do something intentionally, but I’m not saying he won’t. You don’t have to be his best friend, but maybe if you’re honest with him, he’ll listen”  
“I’ve been honest with him... I’ve been so honest with him I had to bury myself to get a moments peace. I don’t think this going to end well”  
“For your sake, I hope that it does”

*  
Pretending he didn’t have a moping hunter in his guest bedroom, Lance showered before setting himself up in the office. Pidge had been blowing up their group trap, blaming him for the influx of memes she’d spammed the group with thanks to him not replying. Ensuring both his friends he was okay, he put his disappearance down to a cold, covering his arse by slipping in a little white lie about taking a trip to Platt to see a doctor and get the all clear. Seeing it was mostly truth and he wasn’t lying to hurt his friends, the niggle or guilt he felt was minimal. Keeping his replies short, Lance didn’t know what to say to Pidge anymore. The guilt he felt over Matt felt as if he was Atlas with the world upon his shoulders.

As Lance progressed to checking his emails, he found himself annoyed that Keith hadn’t been out to yell at him yet. He’d expected more from him. He’d expected to have a gun pulled on him again as he replied to email after email, confirming he was available to appear via tele-conference in a small time court case that was pretty much agreeing that both parents had signed off on shared custody of their children, and that he’d already submitted the paperwork to social services. He wasn’t charging the family as they’d both come to an amicable agreement and only sought him out to ensure things would run smoothly, after the dad had panicked thanks to a misunderstanding with social services. If only Keith could be as accomodating. Maybe if they could meet half way, all of this would be sorted out within the day, then he could go join Shiro. Having someone in his house was weird, especially when one would assume Keith was the vampire out of the pair of them. He had the sullen brood of pop culture down, as well as the good looks of a protagonist. Wait. Nope. Keith wasn’t that good looking... Great. Now he was having weird thoughts. Keith was nothing to him. He was less than nothing to Keith... he was simply feeling guilty because Shiro had asked him to take care of Keith.

Leaving his office, Lance walked down the hall to the guest bedroom. He summoned up his courage before knocking lightly on the door, not wanting to startle Keith, or wake him if he was sleeping. Getting no reply, Lance opened the door. Keith was sitting on his bed with his blade in his hands, eyes fixed on the weapon  
“Uh... Keith?”  
“What do you want?”  
“I thought maybe you were hungry?”  
“I am, but you won’t feed me properly”  
“That’s because you’re still a human”  
“I’m not! You’re enjoying this, aren’t you? Having the last laugh at my expense”  
“Keith, I’m not laughing at you”  
“Then why won’t you teach me! Why won’t you let Shiro give up on me?!”  
What now? That didn’t even make sense  
“Keith, you’re the one who believes you’re not human! I keep telling you, you are”  
“You can’t be trusted!”  
“And you’re a dumbarse!”  
“Fuck you! You made me a monster! A filthy bloodsucker like you!”  
“I sucked on your gross blood and saved your life! Is it really so hard to believe a vampire could help a hunter?”  
“It is when it’s scum like you!”

Lance snapped. Before Keith knew what was happening, Lance had snatched away his blade and thrown it across the room. With a snarl, he hoisted Keith up, throwing him over his shoulder   
“Put me down!”  
“No! Not until you get it through your head!”  
“I’ll fucking kill you!”  
“Not unless I kill you first”  
Keith pounded his fists against Lance’s back as he tried to free himself. Marching out the bedroom and through to the front door, Lance threw it open. In less than second he’d reached the edge of the porch, where he threw Keith out in the sun  
“Fucking stay out here until you get a hint!”

Keith curled into a ball, arms up to protect his face, screaming   
“It’s burns!”  
“The only thing that burns here is my cheeks in second hand embarrassment for you! Think about what you’ve done!”  
“It hurts!”  
“You’re a human! Huuuuuuu-man!”  
Pulling his jacket tighter around him, Lance headed back into his house. He’d give Keith half an hour out there, time enough to work out he wasn’t burning to death, then let him back in. Sure, he could go around in the sun if he wanted, but Keith and Shiro didn’t know that. He was always bundled up layers thanks to fact he perpetually freezing. Maybe he should get his own, strip down to his boxers and go for a walk in the sun just to see their shocked faces? No, that would convince Keith further that he was a vampire. 

It was a long half an hour wait, when Lance opened the door, Keith was under the doormat shaking. Grabbing his arm, he dragged the hunter inside   
“Are you prepared to listen yet?”  
“Just don’t put me out in the sun again...”  
“The sun is good for you. It raises your mood and you get your daily dose of vitamin D. Human’s need the sun to keep healthy”  
“I don’t want to die”  
“You’re not going to”  
“But I’m... one of you now”  
Lance sighed deeply  
“You’re not one of us”  
“I am! My body...”  
“It’s all in your head”  
“It’s not!”  
“That’s it. You’re going back out in the sun”

Hefting Keith up again, Lance carried him back outside again, dumping him further from the house this time  
“Cool your fucking head down and think about everything that’s happened since you claimed I turned you. You got sick because you poisoned yourself. I got sick because I drank your gross arse blood to suck the fucking mercury out your system. You’re welcome, by the way. Not that I should be helping your stupid arse when you want me dead. You’re not allowed back in the house until you finally come to the conclusion you’re not a goddamn vampire on your own”  
“I am! You turned me!”

Lance snapped. Grabbing Keith by the shirt, he snarled in his face  
“If you were turned you’d know. You’d be screaming as your blood boiled from the inside. Clawing at your own skin, trying to feel any kind of pain that isn’t your insides bubbling. Begging for death as you piss yourself in the fear and confusion over what’s happening to you. It’s not fucking fun to be turned and it’s not a joke. It hurts. It hurts so bad you scream until your coughing up blood. Your sires holding your down as they poor blood down your throat, as the kick the shit out of you because they can, as the laugh in your face. And the nightmares. The nightmares feel so real, and you’re stuck. You can’t wake up. You can’t call for help. You’re stuck there, with every bad thing in the night that you can think of all taking a piece of you away. You haven’t been turned. I never let my blood get into your system. Don’t make me keep reliving the worst day of my fucking life!”   
Dropping Keith, Lance stumbled back, yelling  
“Fuck!”  
Kicking the doorframe only served to hurt his toes. His hands going to his hair where he gripped firmly. Keith was looking at him... with such... god, he didn’t even know what the expression Keith was wearing was  
“Lance...?”  
“Just... stay away from me”

*  
Shiro had left on foot. Lance unloading his car as he tried to find a way back to keeping a calm head. He’d lost his shit at Keith. Completely and totally like some kind of freak. God. Why was Keith under his skin? He was hopeless, thick, and hot headed. He didn’t understand him, and he didn’t understand why Shiro had left him in his care. That wasn’t normal. Not that Shiro and Keith seemed normal when it came to hunters. 

Carting everything to the back of his house, the job was done too fast as he’d neglected to put his glasses back on after scrubbing himself squeaky clean, meaning he wasn’t keeping that side of himself consciously in check. Dirt naps were horrendous for his bathroom’s plumbing. His skin was screaming out for some TLC, he’d cleanse and tone tonight with a nice mug of warm blood and mindless cartoons. First thing first came retrieving his shovel from his shallow grave, the same fucking dandelion that’d ended up on top of the dirt mound now lay on the pavers mocking him, Shiro had left damn boot prints everywhere. His house wasn’t the greatest, but he didn’t need others making it look like a hovel.

Working himself into a sweat, Lance weeded the garden beds within an inch of his life. The manual labour felt good, his arm didn’t hurt at all, so he didn’t feel bad about disobeying Allura’s orders. As the sun was lowering, Lance felt eyes on his back, flicking his gaze over his shoulder, Keith stood in the doorway, arms crossed and grumpy expression on his face  
“If it isn’t the vampire wannabe. What did I do wrong this time?”  
“I want to fight you”  
Lance looked back to his pansies. They hadn’t appreciated being left in the car overnight. The poor things didn’t look like they wanted to perk back up  
“Pass”  
“You say I’m not a vampire, but something’s changed in my body. I want to fight you”  
“Nope. I’m good. If you want to start sweeping up, I wouldn’t say no to that”  
“Fucking fight me!”

Lance closed his eyes, starting to hum  
“Don’t ignore me!”  
Humming louder, Keith didn’t take too kindly to it. Striding over, he grabbed Lance by the back of his jacket and yanked him back to   
“Oi! Hands off the merchandise!”  
“Fight me!”  
He might as well humour him. Keith had limited brain cells as it was, the mercury wouldn’t have helped that   
“Why?”  
“Because I can’t understand you!”  
“Stop yelling at me! You don’t need to yell, I can hear you even if I don’t want to”  
“You’ve done something to me, and I need to know what it is!”  
“I’ve saved your damn life. Despite my own best interests. I tried to be a good host and you ruined my fucking life for it. I’d rather just sit here and play in my garden”  
“Either you fight me, or I’ll kill you”  
Lance couldn’t hide the smirk in his voice   
“That worked so well for you last time”

Keith kicked him hard in the top of Lance’s leg  
“Fight me!”  
“No”  
“Fight me!”  
“Nope”  
“I’ll tell Shiro”  
Lance gaped  
“How old are you? Is this your usual shtick? Running to Shiro. He’s worried as hell about you. He’s exhausting every resource he can to help you”  
“You’re the one who turned me, you have to help me”  
“The only thing I’ve done is apparently turn you into an idiot!”  
“Fight me and I’ll drop it”  
Lance jerked back as he pulled a face   
“What kind of logic is that?”  
“If I’m not as strong and fast as you I’ll know one way or another”  
“Can’t we be civil and talk this over, over a nice hot cup of tea”  
“Fight me!”  
God. This wasn’t going to end well  
“Fine. Just let me wash my hands first, and put the sprinklers on these poor babies”  
“Fine!”

Keith had gone all out, mask and everything as they stood on the back lawn. Both blades were in his hands, gun on his belt like he’d actually have time for it if Lance was fighting for real  
“How is this going to work?”  
“It’s over once I drop your sorry arse!”  
Lance was sorely tempted to drop his own sorry arse on the lawn and take a nap  
“And if you don’t?”  
“Then, I don’t know. Stop trying to put me off!”  
“If you don’t win, you have to eat whatever I cook tonight. That’s the deal”  
“Fine! Whatever! Come at me!”

It may have been slightly insulting to walk up to Keith. Flicking him in the forehead sent Keith’s face red  
“Don’t underestimate me!”  
Damn if this man didn’t like yelling. Leaping back nimbly, Lance faked enough to drop his stance like this was actually going to be anything more than Keith making a fool of himself  
“Come get me then”

Keith charged, Lance dodging every blow sent his way. The man fought without restraint, eyes narrowed as he tried to predict Lance’s moves, constantly on the offence yet trying to throw up his defence at the same time. Keith had some skill... which was probably okay when he was teamed with others, alone... well, he needed longer to develop those skills if he hoped to become a seasoned hunter. Giving him a few minutes of his time, Lance ended their first fight by taking Keith by the arm and throwing him down over his shoulder. Laying there with his chest heaving, Keith looked royally pissed  
“Score one for me. I hope you like steak, I’m in the mood for a nice steak dinner”  
“Again!”  
“What?”  
“Fight me again”  
“Look, that wasn’t the agreement. Now go wash up for dinner”  
“Just fight me again”  
“Tomorrow, if we really have to. You’re still recovering from the last dumb thing you did”  
“Don’t treat me like I’m a little kid! I can take it!”  
“Part of being an adult is knowing your own limits. You won’t get any better if you keep throwing yourself into an attack. Look, to be frank, right now I’m wondering how you ended up as a hunter. This isn’t an easy life, you’re...”  
“Stop talking like you know everything! Fight me”  
“Keith...”

What was he supposed to do with a hunter? Keith wasn’t his child. He was a grown man. Who’d failed the first mission he led. His ego probably wouldn’t let him accept a simple defeat  
“... tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll help you with your training. Just so you know, I’ve never been much for fighting. I’ve got a work call that I absolutely have to make, but, tomorrow I will make time to help you”  
“I don’t need help, I need to fight”  
“Shiro said to take care of you, letting you work yourself to point of collapse isn’t going to bring him back any faster, or make you feel any better”  
“You don’t get it...”  
“You’re right, I have no idea what’s going on with that brain cell rocketing around your mulletted head. But before you start screaming at me again, I think you need to sit down and have a good hard think about your actions. The bathrooms on a seperate water in supply. We’ll both get cleaned up, then you’re having dinner because that was the deal”  
“Fuck you! I don’t need your charity!”  
“Then you get your bony arse out my house”

Why he’d volunteered himself to help Keith was beyond Lance. The man hated him, so why bother? Stupid Keith and his stupid mullet needed to cool off and clean himself up. Lance prayed to god that Keith finally got the message that he wasn’t a damn vampire.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance is doing the try and Keith is doing the confused... he really is a mixed up little anger loaf

13

Keith came out the shower doing his best drowned rat expression to date. With the towel around his shoulders, Lance wondered if Keith was protecting his neck, or preventing his shirt from soaking through. Having already showered, Lance had a glass of blood wine in one hand, and his phone in the other, dinner plans having gone out the window while he was busy playing with Keith   
“Do you want the good news, or the bad news?”  
Keith crossed his arms, Lance having to stomp down his compulsion to go dry the younger males hair off with a towel  
“What?”  
“Well, remember my friends from the other night, yeah, Hunk’s going to be here in about 20 minutes to pick us up”  
“I’m not going”  
“You don’t even know where we’re headed to”  
“I don’t care. We’re not going”  
It didn’t escape Lance that “I” had turned to “we”. He figured the hunter wouldn’t trust him to go out alone, and if he hadn’t been totally awol from his normal life he would have been turning down the invitation for some serious self pampering time  
“Sorry, but you see, when my friends want to hang out, I don’t turn them down. You need to go get changed into something more bar appropriate”  
“We’re not going. We haven’t finished talking. You turned me, and I need to know more”  
With the number of times Keith had accused him, Lance felt like he’d know Keith far longer than a week and a bit... God, he couldn’t even remember if it had been a week, Keith’s idiocy was spreading   
“And I hear I was thinking you’d finally gotten a clue. We’re going, because I’m invited. I’ll go on my own if I have to, but I had the feeling you’d freak out and think your prey was running away”

Keith’s emotions flickered across his face, obviously arguing mentally about the fact he couldn’t say no, and nor did he have the power to stop Lance  
“Fine, but only so I can make sure you don’t turn anyone else. If you so much look like you’re going to bite someone, I will decapitate you”  
“Excellent. I think I should have something in wardrobe that’ll fit. I’m guessing you like black on black”  
“What’s wrong with my clothes?”  
“You’re wearing a black onesie. Some people might be into that, but at a bar, that suit’s a crime against fashion”  
“It’s not made to be fashionable”  
“No, it’s made so you can be all “bump in the night”. Blargh. Go change already”

Keith told Lance at least several times that wearing his clothes had been forced upon him. Lance wasn’t sure why, when Keith had chosen his own wardrobe out of what was available. In ripped skinny legged black jeans and a black silk button up, Keith looked passable. Lance chalking up the weird sensation of wanting to pat Keith’s butt to the fact he too was recovering from being poisoned. Keith was soooo not his type, never mind the fact the guy was a freakin’ human, Keith hated him with a passion. Nope. Keith didn’t look good in his clothes, nor would he look better out of them. Lance was just... going through a lot. That was it. He was not getting suckered in by those piercing purple eyes, or the way Keith’s collarbones peaked out of the shirt. The blood in his body had enough to deal with, without it deciding it needed to make a trip down south over absolutely nothing.

Leaving Blue feeding her face on wet food, Lance headed for the door, back tracking to grab Keith by the wrist and drag him along behind him. Keith was starting to object all over again, but Lance wasn’t having it. If he had to socialise around drunks, then the punishment should be shared by Keith for being so goddamn hot and stupid... mostly stupid with a dash of stupidly hot sprinkled on top, kind of like unwanted chilli flakes. Lance was feeling pretty confident in his own outfit, blue jeans, white shirts and cropped tan jacket, but Keith had one upped him without even trying. Maybe Keith would get laid and lose some of his prickliness? The anger loaf needed to let that anger go, and turn into that beautiful emo butterfly hidden inside his cocoon of douchery. Towing Keith out the house, Lance left the alarm off in case Shiro came back. Explaining Keith’s presence seemed a hard enough challenge as it was, explaining why Shiro was breaking into his house... that was a whole other kettle of fish.

*  
Lance had been lied too. There was no bar, they were in fact in Platt, running a rehearsal of Hunk’s date with Shay on the weekend. Picking up Pidge, she’d thrown herself into the back of the car, hand narrowly missing Lance’s junk in her rush. Oogling Keith, Pidge had elbowed him as she buckled herself in, all Lance could do was offer a shrug. Hunk’d already been shocked enough for the three of them, Lance lying his arse off saying Keith had offered to stay a few days and help Lance take photos of his house as he was thinking of repainting. The photos were for the online lab thingo where you could upload your rooms and pick colours there. Yep, those were the words he used too, technology was forever changing and he openly admitted he missed the days before social media... other than the cat videos and memes.

With Keith having no cash, Lance paid. Choosing gold class tickets meant the food was included, and the seating private. The hunter looked spooked by human interaction, Lance ordering steak dinners for the pair of them because damn if he wasn’t in the mood for some budget dead cow. Buying the biggest coke they had, Lance enjoyed the fact that the mix ratio was whack with more syrup than soda water, the straw ending up chewed on before they’d even made it into the screening room. Lance wasn’t sure about the movie selection but with Hunk and Shay going to see the one rom-com playing, Lance steered the group away from buying tickets for it so his bestie and Shay could enjoy seeing it for the first together.

Taking their seats, Lance wound up between Pidge and Keith. Pidge immediately started playing with the chair remote, and Keith sighed in annoyance. Leaning in, Lance kind of felt bad that they hadn’t wound up at a bar. Keith would have been able to have a few drinks and kick back, then find someone to take to the bathroom and work that aggression out. Just because he hadn’t done the do, didn’t mean Keith wasn’t a seasoned professional   
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know we were going to see a movie”  
“Whatever”  
“I’m serious. I didn’t know. I would have dressed warmer if I did, and would have insisted you put a jacket on”  
“I’m not a kid”  
“I know you’re not. I just feel bad. I was hoping you’d be able to relax a little...”  
“I don’t want to talk to you anymore”  
“Okay, but I really am sorry”

When dinner came out, Keith poked at until he finally gave in, pretty much wolfing it down, half an hour later Lance had to excuse himself to the bathroom, finding Keith gone when he returned. Taking his seat beside Pidge, Lance leaned in  
“What happened to Keith?”  
“He said he needed the bathroom. Didn’t you see him?”  
“No. How long ago did he leave?”  
“Not long after you... Dude, what’s your deal with him?”  
“My what?”  
“Your deal. What’s he still doing here?”  
“I asked him to take some photos of the house for me”  
Pidge crossed her arms  
“If you’re going to lie, at least make it convincing”  
“Who said I’m lying?”  
“You did. I know you, and I know when you’re lying. Something’s off with Keith, and you’re acting really weird”  
“I’m not acting weird”  
“Are you two dating? Is that why you’re being weird? You feel like you can’t talk to us...”  
“No! No, no, no, no, no... ewww. No. I’m not dating him, he’s a stranger”  
“A stranger you bring to a movie night with your best friends”  
“It was either leave him the house or bring him with me”  
“So he’s staying with you, like, staying staying?”  
“Only for tonight. Shiro’s going to pick him up. I’m thinking of repainting the living room closer to its original colours, and I figured having a fresh set of photos would work”  
“Why didn’t you ask me?”

Pidge’s words went right over his head, before looping back and slapping him in the face. Pidge had had her feathers ruffled by Keith “taking” what would have been her “job”  
“Because, my Pidgeon legged friend, you would start hunting for ghosts in my house, then try to steal Blue as you left”  
“You’re dodging the question”  
“I’m not dodging the question. I only asked him because he’s a professional. You’re still my number one tech guru. I’m sorry I’ve been sick and haven’t been able to hang out, but I’ve missed my gremlin. No one can replace my little anger muffin”  
“You’re a wanker”  
“So I’ve been told”  
“Has your cold when passed? You still look pale”  
“Yep. Clean bill of health from the doctor. Just the usual take it easy for the next few days, fluids, sleep, platonic dates with your best friends, the usual post cold instructions”  
“I’m still shocked you’ve got Keith staying with you”  
“I’m shocked too. But I keep telling myself it’s only for a few days and soon it’ll all be over”  
“Dude, he was wearing your clothes”  
“And?”  
“Lance, you know I’d never judge you for your sexuality...”

Lance laughed, him and Keith simply too ridiculous to even go there   
“It’s definitely not like that”  
“Are you sure? I mean... I’ve never seen you like this...”  
“What? Invaded by a photographer?”  
“No, not like that... I mean... like, he’s wearing your clothes, staying at your house... it’s not like you”  
“Keith didn’t have any clothes that weren’t a crime against fashion, or acceptable at a bar, which I totally thought we were going to, thanks to a certain someone. Nah, he’s just staying a couple of days then Shiro is going to pick him back up and that’s that”  
“Something still feels off”  
“Pidge, I promise I’m okay, and I promise Keith and I aren’t in some whirlwind romance, or whatever that brain of yours has thought up. I’m actually pretty sure he hates me, if that makes you feel any better”  
“Nope. It just makes it weirder... Should we be worried that he hasn’t come back?”  
“Nah, I’ll go see if I can find him. Dude’s got the social aptitude of a rockmelon. He probably peopled himself out and is having a sulk”  
“If you say so. Now go away, I’ve already missed part of this riveting plot”   
The plot wasn’t riveting. It was badly thought through and designed for the masses. Like most things...

Keith wasn’t in the cinemas entrance hall, nor the bathroom, Lance heading outside to search for him. Not at the front of the cinema, Lance was starting to get pretty annoyed with his missing idiot. The last place left to check was the parking lot, where he found said idiot cornered by three men. Great... just... great. He took his eyes off him for two minutes and he’d already wandered off into trouble. Walking over to stand just short of the three strangers, Lance eyes Keith who had his arms crossed, scowling at the group  
“Heya, fellas. Something wrong here?”  
“Who the fuck are you?”  
“You know, just a concerned citizen. You’ve got my friend cornered, so if you could just see it in your hearts to let him go...”

Lance stepped back, escaping being hit in the face as the stranger bared his teeth. What the fuck?! Was Keith dense as fuck? Or did he think he had the skill to take on three idiots  
“Your wallet or you life”  
“Seeing you’re getting neither, I suggest you run along home”  
“What did you say to me?!”  
They hadn’t even had to go to bar to find trash. Lance sighed as he pulled out his phone   
“Well, we are living in the age of technology. This miraculous little device lets me call the police when people like you start messing with people”  
“You won’t get the chance”  
“We’ll see”

Avoiding being attacked was laughable. His attackers had like zero grace, they must instead rely on numbers to look “intimidating”. Each swing that didn’t connect made them madder, their “leader” pulling out a small blade, as Lance danced around them. Putting the phone to his ear, he made as if he was calling the police and not his home phone  
“I’m going to kill you...”  
Raising his pointer to his lips, Lance hushed the man  
“Didn’t anyone teach you its rude to interrupt someone on a phone call?”  
If someone was watching, the would have found the way the three morons were falling over each other hilarious  
“Yes, hi, I’d like to report an attempted robbery at the front of Platt Pictures. There’s three guys that have bailed up two men...”  
Dropping down to dodge the punch thrown at his face, Lance swept the leg of the leader, snatching his blade out his hand as the man’s eyes widened for the millisecond as he fell  
“Yep. There still here... I’ll wait. You guys should probably run if you’re going to. Cops are on their way”  
The look in the leaders eyes was something feral, spitting like it made him cool, the man wiped his mouth  
“I’ll get you for this”  
“I’ll be waiting, but I won’t be holding my breath. Also, I’ll be keeping hold of this blade of yours. Evidence and all that. It’s amazing this fingerprint technology...”  
“Forget it, lets scram!”

When the leaders two goons split, the man pushed himself up, running off like the coward he was. Lance giving them a little wave as they did. Ending the call to his house, Lance slipped his phone back in his pocket, before holding out the blade to Keith   
“Here, a souvenir of our time together”  
“I could have handled that”  
Lance rolled his eyes  
“Never said you couldn’t. Anyway, take it. You seem to like knives and I’ve got no use for it”  
Keith frowned at the offered knife   
“But the police...”  
“Aren’t coming. Let’s just say I have a job where I need to keep my name squeaky clean”  
“What the hell?!”  
Lance sighed at Keith  
“What? Do you want me to call them? I totally can, I remember all their facial features”  
“You didn’t do me a favour...”  
“Never said I did. Oh, you totally skipped out on movie night. Do I want to ask why you’re not inside pretending to be scared like everyone else”  
“The movie was shit”  
“Finally, something we can agree on. But, Hunk and Pidge are trying to be friendly with you, so leaving is kind of a dick move”  
“They don’t even like me”  
“They might if you’re not out here hiding. Also, Pidge thinks we’re dating, so come on darling, we’ve got a movie to finish”  
Lance took Keith by the wrist. Socialising wasn’t about to kill him  
“What the fuck is wrong with you?”  
Dragging Keith’s along, Lance spoke as they walked  
“Well, that’s a long story. You see a long time ago a little boy was turned into a vampire. He grew up to become a lawyer, living as human like as he could, as he tried his hardest to give back to humanity so no other little kids got hurt. He never fed from a single person, took a lover, or like harmed any one more than what you just saw... You could say things were going well for him and he was happy. That was until two hunters crashed into his little corner of the world. He was forced to drink blood from an actual person for the first time in his life. Which upset him, because he felt he’d lost a little of the humanity he wanted. Now he’s trying his hardest for a stranger who wants him dead, and refuses to listen to him, because he’s some disgusting, revolting, beast that deserves that’s not even fit to be on the bottom of your shoe”  
“That’s just it, why are you trying?”  
“I don’t know, and that’s what’s getting under my skin”

Dragging Keith the whole back to their seats, they got there in time for the heroic ending where the main character saved the day. Hunk was sobbing, Pidge had gotten herself some skittles and was attempting to catch them in her mouth as she made a mess around her. Seeing they’d mostly missed the film, he and Keith remained standing there until the credits started and Pidge called “time to bail”. Ditching holding Keith’s wrist, because he’d honestly forgotten he had, Lance wrapped his arm around Hunk’s waist  
“Good movie?”  
“She was so brave...”  
“I know, man”  
Pidge cuddled up to his side until Lance looped his other arm around her  
“What did you think?”  
“It sucked. There were so many plot holes. I want my money back”  
“Aw, never mind Pidgeon. It’s over now”  
“That’s 133 minutes of my life I am never going to get back. You and Keith are arseholes. You missed most of the film!”  
“Are we arseholes, or are you cranky we escaped?”  
“You’re both definitely arseholes”  
“Now, to be fair, Keith hit his people limit of the day. You’d never know, for all his conversational skills, but he’s a lot like you, Pidgeroonie. He gets very tired of people fast, and cannot do the brain without the coffee”  
“That’s because people fucking suck!”

Pidge’s loudness caused the people walking near them to stare, staring was awkward forever one involved, Lance didn’t want the night to end awkwardly  
“Okay, that’s enough exposure to the public for one night. Why don’t we grab something and head home? I’ll even pay”  
“Yay! I want a super sized slushie. I should have thought of it sooner. I wonder if that slushie place with the weird flavours is still open”  
Hunk groaned  
“You’re making me do city driving?”  
“Dude, relax. It’s night time, meaning there aren’t as many people on the road. Consider it practice for your date”  
Hunk blushed, Lance laughing happily  
“Don’t be mean to him, I’ll drive. Pidge, you’re in directions. Hunk, music, naturally, Keith, you get to sit in the back with Pidge and make sure she doesn’t get up too much mischief”  
“What? Why?”  
“Because I said so”

*  
Keith opted to stay in the car and be a buzz killer as the three of them rushed to the slushie store. Minutes from closing, they were those annoying customers that all retail staff dread. Pidge was in heaven as she eyed the walls of flavour, Lance paying and limiting her to two without added energy drink. Hunk went for bubblegum flavour, Lance for strawberry. Keith hadn’t come in, but part of Lance didn’t want him feeling left out. With all the scowling faces Keith had pulled since they’d met, lemon was ruled out as a potential flavour, instead he went for iced coffee labeled as being lactose free. Keith might not be the nicest person in the world, but that didn’t mean Lance was going to be a douche over something Keith couldn’t control. He knew the man liked coffee, so it was the most logical choice. Pidge ended up unable to decide. One abomination made of orange, pineapple and mango, the second strawberry, bubblegum and coke. Making sure he’d left the woman behind the counter a very generous tip, Lance ushered Pidge and Hunk back to Hunk’s car, a little proud of himself when he got Keith’s door open with his foot in the door handle. Glaring up at him, Lance beamed in pride   
“I got you one”  
“I don’t need one”  
“Yes, you did. It’s iced coffee, lactose free. Consider it an apology for venting on you earlier, if you need an excuse to take it”

Handing Keith the drink, Keith eyed it in suspicion. The dude was seriously way too paranoid  
“Dude, it’s fine. Legit went from the machine to the cup then out to you. Pinky swear and all that. If you don’t want to drink it, I won’t get offended. I just thought it’d be nice to include you”  
“Whatever. Thanks... and stuff”  
Was that the hint of a blush Lance saw on his little anger loaf? He smiled as he pushed that feeling aside   
“You’re welcome. Let’s get you back home away from all these people so you can take a nap”  
Keith’s expression soured, Lance was sure he was going to have the iced coffee slushy thrown at him, so shut the door quickly. Keith wouldn’t be a big enough douche to ruin Hunk’s interior. Hunk was a human, someone Keith was supposed to protect, meaning hurting his feelings had to go against whatever code hunters were bound to. Being caught up in everything going on, Matt came to his mind as Lance opened the driver’s door, his heart sinking. He hadn’t thought about Matt all night. Pidge had probably spent the whole night missing her brother and wishing it was him at the movies with them instead of Keith. He didn’t want to seem down, but it was hard to perk himself up now that he’d remembered he didn’t know how to act around Pidge. Climbing into Hunk’s car only made his heart ache more as Pidge and Hunk bickered over her flavour combinations. There was a code of privacy within VOLTRON, so he couldn’t enquire into Matt’s status. He couldn’t do anything to help Pidge with her Matt situation except for maybe confirm he was alive, which Shiro had already confirmed. Goddamn Shiro. He was ruining his night and the man wasn’t even here.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya’ll should have been yellin at me. I’ve been trying to update every second day... we’re up to chapter 26 on tumblr......... I’m trying to stock pile chapters around doing that work thing 🙀

14

Hunk drove a very hyper Pidge home. Letting her mix flavours had been a bad idea, Pidge talking the whole drive home so fast that Lance was surprised she was managing to drink her slushies in between her words. Promising his best buddy he’d fill him in the following morning, Lance felt a little awkward as he let him and Keith into his empty house. His beloved bronco wasn’t back yet, Shiro extremely lucky Lance didn’t have his phone number to hound him about taking care of his baby girl. Hovering at the base of the stairs, both men stood their awkwardly. Lance feeling weird as he knew he needed to say something, but wasn’t sure what that something was. Playing it safe, he opted for an apology. Keith’s life had been thrown in turmoil, just like Lance’s, and the man clearly missed his brother, something Lance couldn’t make better for him. Maybe if they’d met when in college, he and Keith could have been friends. Keith’s anger clearly stemmed from trauma, his repeated fixation on thinking he’d been turned very clearly said that. Lance had the feeling is had something to do with whatever happened to Shiro’s partner, but he wasn’t in the position to pry.

“Hey. I’m sorry we dragged you out. I know I was kind of a pushy, and you can probably put that down to my people pleasing personality, but I hope some part of tonight was enjoyable. It’s no easy, or fun, being on the outside, but Hunk and Pidge are good people. I’m not just using them to blend in, it was never like that. They’re both special to me. I know we’re like strangers and it’s awkward as hell living together, but I think after tonight I like you a little more than I did. I don’t think you’re a fundamentally bad person, and I’m not going to push you to talk to me. I guess what I want to say is, that I swear on Blue I’m not in the habit of hurting people. That doesn’t mean much coming from a vampire, because honestly, most of us are huuuuuuge douche canoes. But as long as you’re under my roof, I’m going to treat you like an actual human being, and not as “Keith the hunter”. I don’t know how many times I can apologise for being what I am, but I’m too much of a coward to off myself. I thinking part of my emotional growth was stunted from being turned... and, well, yeah. I’ll let you head to bed or whatever. If you can’t sleep, help yourself to whatever. I would prefer you stay out of my office for the sake of my clients, but I know you can get in there anyway... yeah... anyway, I’m headed up to bed... I’ll see you in the morning”

Lance’s undead heart leapt when Keith opened his mouth, only to fall when Keith closed his mouth and looked away. He’d probably said too much again. He was trying so damn hard, and he wasn’t exactly sure why it even mattered. Until Shiro came back, both he and Keith were left in limbo... Lance still kind of hoped that Shiro leaving Keith with him meant the older hunter wasn’t about to come for his head in the middle of the night, and that some time apart would make it easy for Shiro to see his brother was very much the human idiot he’d always been.

“How old are you?”  
Lance nearly dropped the remnants of his slushy in surprise. Strawberry hadn’t been the smartest choice. Pidge had teased him about looking like a vampire for having red around his lips, and all over his teeth. Honesty was best when dealing with people in trauma  
“I’m 44. In human years”  
“Okay”

That was it. The limit of Keith’s vocabulary for the night. The hunter trudging towards his room, leaving Lance to walk up the stairs to his own. Stripping down and changing for bed, Blue let out a rumbled purr as she came running into his room and leapt up onto his bed to wait for him. He really must look like the lamest vampire Keith had ever met. Just a lonely vampire and his cat, living in the middle of nowhere. It was a good thing Lance didn’t mind being lame.

*  
Lance’s dreams were horrible. He’d woken half a dozen times unable to escape the feelings flowing through his body. His teeth hurt, cutting into his lip as he huddled against his bedhead. He felt flushed with fever, arm aching as if he’d broken it. The skin had healed over the wound, but it itched so badly Lance wanted to scratch until it bled. Shivering and sick, he’d fallen back to sleep around dawn, waking with a throat feeling as though clogged with his death soil. Blue hadn’t left him, though that might not have been her choice given the door to his bedroom was closed, instead of slightly open so Blue could come and go as she pleased. 

Showering only made Lance feel worse, he couldn’t get the temperature to cooperate and nearly tore the tap handle off it’s fitting trying. He ended up feeling like soggy cardboard, all wet and useless, as he towelled off and peered in the least cracked slither of mirror left. Today was definitely a day for make up. No amount of blood was going to bring back colour into his dulled skin. Being the youngest, he’d spent many a time as his older sister Rachel’s model. Mami had beaten her arse red on more than one occasion when Rachel had tried using nail polish as eyeshadow... his sister not the most skilled person to be giving anyone a make over, but his other sister Veronica had grown out of all of that kind of thing by the time Rachel had gotten old enough to be right into all frilly girly things, leaving Lance to be her victim repeatedly. After he’d turned, all of that had stopped. Initially his Papi would gently send everyone away from him, until his Mami took him by the ear and reminded him that though different, Lance was still their baby boy. When he’d been older his Papi apologised, but he never knew how good a vampire‘s memory was, that those days still stayed with Lance no matter how many years had passed. Today was not the day to be looking like a movie extra in a budget film, his whole face felt choked as he smeared his foundation on, before giving his lips a quick coat of waterproof lipstick, though humans had never really got the recipe for that right. Continuing his morning routine, he dressed as nicely as he could shirt wise, then opted for sweats on the bottom. It wasn’t like his conference call was going to be worried about his lack of proper attire when his shirt looked professional enough.

Coming downstairs, Lance darted through to his office, teeth aching all over again as he opened a bag of blood, messily drinking down the contents like he hadn’t been fed for days. Coran had said to expect a low, but this was nearing ridiculous. He wasn’t in any fit condition to entertain Keith with half hearted fighting, let alone provide legal representation to the clients trusting him in. Spilling blood across his laptop came as the final straw, Lance sinking to the floor where he balled himself under his desk, to scared to call Coran, and too scared to sit up and human. Instead he remained hidden there until his laptop started to ring, letting him know he’d spent a good three hours wallowing rather pathetically.

Before the family court, the matter took all of 15 minutes. Lance speaking smoothly, as he bounced his left leg, hands digging into his sweats hard enough that his nails had ripped through. Things would have been different if he’d known he could jump in his car and straight up to Platt, instead of this horrible feeling like he was a prisoner in his own home. The little voice in his head mocked him for not being able to pick up his phone and call Coran, paranoid over how Keith would act if Coran came running because he couldn’t keep his shit together. He didn’t want to die. Not while his Mami still lived. He didn’t want to break her heart, or prove the rest of his siblings right. He didn’t want Coran to be hurt, not that he thought Keith had the power to take Coran down... it was just... sometimes words left a wound that even the deepest blade was left dull in comparison. Keith was lashing out, hitting that target without aiming, like being caught in a spray of bullets. Coran didn’t deserve that with all the good for Lance and those like him. For Keith’s sake, Lance needed to keep all this shit secret. The hunter had signed up for his head, not his sob story.

Leaving the office, Lance headed into the kitchen. Keith at the kitchen bench trying to figure out the coffee machine. Dropping the pod in his hands, the hunter picked it back up without saying anything, but he didn’t need to. Lance knew how weak and pathetic he was, he could see it reflected in Keith’s brilliant eyes. Wordlessly he went to the cupboard, pulling out a can of wet food for Blue, Keith taking half a step away from him as he did. It stung. The not so covert action rubbed him the wrong way, not that he’d say so out loud. Pulling the ring tab back, Lance stubbed his toe on the counter as he reached for Blue’s dish. The act bringing tears to his eyes as he finally broke. Sinking down to the floor, he was showing Keith the most shameful side of him that he humanly could.

“Do you take sugar in your coffee?”

The question hung in the air, Lance’s face hidden behind his hands as he wept.

“Lance, do you take sugar in your coffee?”  
Keith had said his name. Without any malice or prompting... he didn’t understand why  
“I take three usually”  
Why was Keith talking to him?  
“Shiro says it too many, but I like three. You seem more like a one person”  
“A one person”. Keith, who didn’t even think of him as human, was there in his kitchen calling him a person  
“Am I really so useless that you’re wasting time on me?”  
Lance regretted the harsh tone in his words. Wiping at his teary eyes, he looked up at the hunter to find him looking down on him  
“Well you’re practically an animal, but... I think maybe I don’t hate you as much as I should”

Laughter bubbled up, Lance not blaming Keith for stepping back as his tears turned to laughter  
“You can go fuck yourself if you’re going to be like that”  
Lance’s laughter sobered, the vampire sniffling loudly. Okay. Keith was acting “Keithy” again, he could understand that  
“One. Two if Pidge and Hunk are here”  
Keith took a moment before a silent “oh” of realisation formed on his lips, turning back to the coffee machine as he tried to fit the pod in properly  
“I... I have nightmares too”

Lance cringed. Asleep he hadn’t been able to consciously hold back. Keith had probably heard him screaming the house down, now taking pity on his undead arse  
“I heard you calling for someone... friends or something. You were really fucking loud”  
“I’m sorry”  
“Who were they?”  
“People who don’t matter”  
They didn’t matter but that didn’t mean they weren’t always on his mind  
“Nyma and Rolo?”  
Lance shuddered at their names. They’d parted so long ago that it didn’t feel fair he should be forced to remember them  
“People you don’t want to meet”  
“I gathered from your screams. Are they the ones who turned you? Or were they friends?”  
“I don’t want to talk about it”  
“You say vampires never forget, does that mean you remember what happened with them?”  
Lance shook his head quickly  
“I don’t want to talk about it”  
“So they sired you?”  
Lance put his hands over his ears  
“Shut up”  
“If they did...”  
“Shut up! Just shut the fuck up!”

Screaming in anger, Lance hated Keith in that moment for pushing. Nyma and Rolo had been his friends. The keyword being “had”. He was allowed to have things he didn’t want to talk about. Those two were in his past, not is future. Letting his head dropped back, it smacked against the cupboard without enough force to be satisfying. He wanted to hurt. He wanted to break something. He wanted to tear himself out of his own skin. Nudged with Keith’s foot, he shot a look of rage up at Keith, the hunter holding out a cup of coffee  
“Drink this. Shiro said he won’t be back for a while, but he was sending someone out to watch over you until he could be”  
“I don’t need watching over”  
Taking the coffee cup, the handle snapped before Keith had let go completely. Pulling the mug back, the hunter cut his hand on the protruding porcelain at the bottom. Hit by the smell of Keith’s blood, Lance felt all his senses come alive with the need to feed. Both their eyes widened as they met, both in fear over the situation. Keith feared Lance was about to maul him, as Lance feared how good Keith’s blood smelt. 

Lance did the only thing he could do. He ran. Keith left staring as he bolted from the kitchen, his hand snapping through the bottom of the staircase railing as the grabbed it to use his momentum to get up his stairs just that little bit faster, tripping in his rush, but pushing himself on faster in the same heartbeat. Reaching his room, he slammed the door behind him, dragging his dresser over to barricade himself in. He hadn’t needed his phone in the office, so left it up on its charge station. Snatching up the device, he copped a glance of his reflection, disgusted at the sight of himself. His hands shook as he unlocked the device, calling the only number he could, Coran. With the first ring, he found he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t run to Coran for help. He couldn’t tell him there was something still wrong with him. His phone thrown in disgust where the force shattered the device on impact, and dented the floorboard it’d hit. He didn’t know what to do, but he did know he was a mistake.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith still has no clue. Lance is still done. Pidge and Hunk decided they needed a new friend... and Lance is even more done 😛
> 
> Xx

15

“Lance, it’s Keith. Are you in there?”

Hours. Lance had spent hours staring at his ceiling. He’d climbed into his wardrobe, grabbed his box of death soil, and cried himself to sleep. When he’d woken, he’d crawled over to his bed, his box of death soil sitting on his chest with his left hand resting on it as he stared upwards, simply laying there pretending the world outside didn’t exist  
“Pidge called the home phone, she saw you’d left your car in town... I don’t know if you want to arrange a pick up, but it’s there”.

Keith being nice didn’t feel right. He didn’t like it all. He appreciated honesty and and Keith honestly hated him. Him being nice meant he was lying through his teeth  
“Lance?”  
Answering Keith felt like too much effort. So his car was in town, then that meant all he had to do was go pick it up. He could do that. That would mean he wouldn’t have to be home with “Keith the Liar”... That wasn’t being fair. Keith hadn’t... he was making an effort. He was doing the best he could under the circumstances. Keith had human emotions, so trying to get on fell within that range, but if you care for someone that makes killing them all that harder to do. Lance didn’t want to burden Keith with his death, nor did he want to burden Shiro the same way... This was why mixing with humans just wasn’t a done thing. 

Climbing to his feet, Lance walked over to window, undoing the latch, a strong breeze filtered over his face as he looked downwards. Fuck it. Going out the front door wasn’t an option, so jumping out the window it was. It’d hurt, but he’d heal. The walk into town would give him space to breathe  
“Lance?”  
Yep. Fuck it. 

Rolling his right ankle, Lance had barely limped around the side of his house and onto his drive before his escape was interrupted. Night was starting to fall, the air growing moister as the cicadas chirped away. Walking at night had never lost its charms when it came to thinking. He didn’t believe that vampires some how gained mystical powers from the moon like werewolves did, but it definitely gave him a pleasant buzz enough kind of buzz  
“What the hell?!”  
Jogging up along side him, Keith sounded annoyed  
“Go back to the house, Keith”  
“Did you jump out your window to avoid me?”

Talk about being sprung, Lance pushed down the discomfort of his ankle, speeding up his step, which Keith annoyingly kept up with  
“Why would you jump out the window?”  
“Why does anyone go around jumping out windows?”  
“You could have come down the stairs”  
Lance huffed, wondering if Keith intended to walk the 10 kilometres to town with him   
“Then jumping out the window to avoid you would have been ruined... a bit like this”  
Picking his pace up again, Keith jogged forward, standing in front of Lance   
“Why are you being like this?”  
“Like what?”  
“This! What did I do now?”

Lance rolled his eyes  
“Why do you think this has to do with you?”  
“Because we’re the only two people in the house. If you’re upset, it has to be because of me”  
Fuck. What was he supposed to do with that?  
“And if I say it’s not you, it’s me, will you listen?”  
“You’re acting weird and I don’t understand”  
“You haven’t known me long enough to know when I’m acting weird”  
“I heard you on the phone this morning, then you were crying, and now you’re jumping out of windows. I don’t understand it”  
“Even vampires have shit days. You humans don’t have the monotony on that”  
“That was more than a bad day...”  
“You’re not being... you’re not acting right”  
“Oh, please tell me how I act? Could it be that you have no fucking idea what’s going on in my life and insist that you’re some goddamn vampire that I apparently sired? No eres un vampiro! Non sei un vampiro! I don’t know how many other ways I can fucking say it, but you’re a human. You’re a human I’m sending back to stay in town!”

Keith clenched his fists, Lance not sure if he was going to cry, or if the hunter was going to punch him in the face   
“That’s not what you said last night”  
Lance waved his hand dismissively   
“Blame it on fatigue or whatever excuse you need. You’re here to kill me. Don’t go blurring that line any more than you already have”  
“You’re the one blurring lines! I don’t understand any of this!”  
“Welcome to the club, sorry, we’re fresh out of jackets and medals, but I might be able to swing a free set of steak knives in used condition”  
“Fuck you! You don’t know me, you don’t know the shit I’ve been through! You weren’t there when Adam...”  
Keith shook his head  
“I don’t owe you anything. I can’t believe I was thinking there was more to vampires than what I’d see, but you’re all a bunch of dicks. Go die in a ditch for all I care”

Shit.

“Keith...”  
“Save it Lance. You don’t want to help me. You don’t want to explain anything you don’t want to talk about. You’re not the one going through changes. You’re not the one having nightmares and waking up in a cold sweat with your body aching. You’re not the one getting headaches and you’re not the one stuck feeling the changes I’m going through. No. You’re the one who lies to my face. Your just like every other selfish undead fucker who can’t keep their promises”  
“You’ve been sick because you poisoned yourself. You clearly have some kind of trauma thanks to Shiro’s partner Adam”  
Keith couldn’t hide the surprise on his face  
“What the fuck do you know about Adam?”  
“What Shiro told me”  
Not much at all. He’d done the math and now he was getting to the answer. Adam was Shiro’s partner that’d been killed, and for reason Keith felt guilty for whatever happened... maybe not guilt... maybe anger with anything less than human that’d do whatever had been done to Adam  
“If you know about Adam, you should understand”

Lance had the feeling if he said he didn’t know anything, Keith would clam up and leave him in peace. But being a grade A arsehole to Keith took up too much energy. He didn’t want to know Shiro’s secrets, but he did. He didn’t want to know Shiro’s secrets because Shiro had dropped the “Matt bombshell” on him, but he did  
“I’ve heard it from Shiro’s perspective, not yours”  
“It’s the same thing”  
It definitely wasn’t the same thing unless they were into that kind of a relationship  
“Shiro was in love. You weren’t”  
“What does that matter?! They fucking turned him! Shiro nearly lost his goddamn arm because Adam didn’t show his true colours! Shiro said he was... he was dead before he even got back... he dealt with it”

Keith’s repeated paranoia made sense now. Adam hadn’t been “noticeably” turned. Shiro had thought he was human, not knowing that Adam was no longer than man he’d once been. Keith was scared that he’d been turned and that he was headed down the same path as Adam. He was scared that he was going to lose his brother, and what would happen if his brother lost him  
“You’re not to blame for what they did”  
“I didn’t...”  
“You can’t be superman, Keith. You can’t be in a million places at once. You didn’t know. You couldn’t have known. If Adam was already turned by the time Shiro returned, death would have been a release. We vampires have egos. That’s why we don’t last. That’s why our kind goes insane. You live to watch everyone you love die. You form bonds, only to have to break them because you don’t want the people around you to think you’ve lied to them the whole time, to think none of it was real. It’s not fun and games being like this. We never forget. We remember turning. We remember every single second of it. Your brother lost his lover and you want someone to pay. You want to kill everything you can, because you want to spare others that pain. Well guess what, you’re in pain too. You carry those deaths. You’ve seen shit you never thought possible and you’ve seen the fucking worst of it. That’s why you’ve got a chip on your shoulder, because they hurt your family. I don’t know if Shiro lied to you. I don’t know if Adam really was alive, but if they starved him after the turn, the fact your brother is still alive is something amazing. This life fucking sucks, and for your sake, I hope you find your way out of it. I live in penance for my sins, the sin of being this thing. I try to help as many kids as possible not feel even one scrap of what I did when I was a kid. Ever since you crashed into my life I’ve been going crazy. I feel like I’ve been turned over again, because you’re the first person I’ve ever drank from, and if you weren’t dying, I wouldn’t have done that. I can see right now you want to deck me, so if it makes you feel better, throw that punch”  
“Don’t talk at me like you know my life!”  
“I don’t and I don’t want to! When you move on, I’m the one who’s going to be stuck here wondering you’re still alive! In 50 years I’m still going to be wondering because I can’t get you out of my head! You’re going to end up dead, Keith. Long before your time of you keep throwing yourself into things head first!”

Keith took half a step back, looking down to the gravel beneath their feet. Adam was a sore topic for the man, and he didn’t know what kind of parents just let their kid run off and do dumb shit like becoming a hunter, but Keith seemed the kind whose home life seemed rocky at best. Raising his head, the hunter locked his eyes on his  
“Then teach me”  
What the what now?  
“Huh?”  
“Teach me! You’re a vampire! Teach me!”  
Lance was the most unvampire vampire he knew  
“Teach you what?”  
“How to be stronger”  
The what now? Keith was already physically strong, it was the mental side of things he needed to work out. He needed to clear the fog of anger when he fought and to think about the bigger picture   
“I can’t teach you”  
“Bullshit!”  
“I can’t teach you”  
“I have to be stronger. I have to get stronger! I’m all Shiro has and you have to help me”  
“Then for Shiro’s sake, I’m going to recommend therapy. Your body isn’t the weak, it’s your mind”  
“Then fucking teach me!”  
“I can’t teach you!”

Lance didn’t get his rocks off working out. Training and teaching seemed like so much damn effort. He was old. He wanted to potter around in his garden and enjoy naps in the sun with his cat. He was starting to get another headache all over again, and for some unknown reason his heart felt like it was racing with the desire to do something  
“Then fight me! Right here!”  
“I don’t want to”  
“Why?! Why are you being like this?!”  
“Because I’m not to blame for your trauma. You have shit to work out in that thick head of yours. You’re so filled with anger that you’re going to get yourself dead. I doubt that’s the kind of life Adam would have wanted for you. I doubt Shiro wants to bury his brother because you let your anger get you killed”  
“I have to become better! I have to protect him!”  
“You can’t protect anyone if you can’t protect yourself first”  
“That’s why you have to teach me!”  
Lance shook his head  
“I don’t have to do anything, other than to get my car that your brother decided he couldn’t be bothered returning”  
“Shiro would have left it there so he wouldn’t be followed back to you!”  
“Then maybe you both should have left when I told you to. Now get out of my way”  
“No”  
“Excuse me?”  
“You heard me. Either you fight me now, or you agree to train me”  
“I’m not doing either. I’m going to get my car, then I’m going to drop your idiot arse off back in town”  
“Fine! I don’t need you, I don’t need anyone!”  
Lance sighed at Keith. What he needed was for someone to reach out and take his hand... but that someone couldn’t be him  
“Keith, everybody needs somebody. That’s how life works. You need someone who will lift you up and support you, like Shiro. You need someone who isn’t me. I’m nothing more than a vampire”  
“That’s why... that’s why I need you to help me. I need to be better”  
“Idiot. You’re already good enough. Try making some friends and you’ll see. Bonds and attachments hurt, but good things come too. Having friends is fun. It’s okay to rely on other people”  
“Like you rely on Hunk and Pidge. You haven’t even told them the truth”  
“Because the truth would put them in danger. My time with them isn’t a lie. I never thought I’d find two friends like them, no matter how long I lived. But our time as friends has a limit and until then I want to enjoy myself with them as long as possible. Go back to the house and cool your head”  
“But... I...”  
Lance wanted to reach out and ruffle Keith’s silky black hair. He wanted to do something to take away the heaviness of his words. But Keith forming some kind of attachment would only hurt both of them. It was better to sever the tie before it even began  
“I’ll see you later”

*  
Pidge and Hunk were waiting in his car for him. They’d set themselves up in the back, playing uno and getting crumbs from their snacks everywhere. Noticing him first, Pidge threw her hand down, clambering out the back to throw her arms around him  
“You fucking afk jerk! Where were you?!”  
“Busy. You know it is, just another fun filled day being a lawyer”  
“I tried calling you!”  
“I broke my phone. I’m okay now”  
“Good! You scared me. You didn’t even like call me back”  
Lance wrapped his arms around Pidge, resting his chin on the top of her head. He wasn’t sure how much trouble he could have gotten himself in the last 20 hours, but he’d obviously scared her  
“I’m sorry Pidgeon. I see you and Hunk let yourselves into my car”  
“What kind of idiot leaves his keys on the front tyre? That’s like asking for it be stolen”  
“I know. I’m the biggest idiot around”  
“You are. Now, where’s Keith?”

Pidge stepped out of Lance’s hold to peer around him  
“Keith’s back at the house”  
“Why?”  
“Because I had a few things to do in town? He’s stuck waiting until his brother can come pick him up”  
“Soooo, he’s like free tonight?”  
Lance groaned  
“Pidge, noooo”  
She was definitely scheming something he wasn’t up for  
“I think you mean, “Pidge, yes!””  
“Nope. I definitely said no. Whatever it is, no”  
Pidge crossed her arms with a huff   
“You haven’t even heard what I’m about to say”  
“That’s because I know you’re always scheming in that evil genius brain of yours”  
“I am not! But anyway, you know how they let us use the visitors centre... well, apparently someone saw an actual ghost there today! They called me and asked if we can come back”

Lance looked past Pidge to where Hunk was now shuffling the uno cards   
“Did she tell you?”  
“Yep”  
“And did you say no?”  
“Yep”  
“And she didn’t take no for an answer, did she?”  
“Nope”  
“Piiiiiidge. You’re going to give him nightmares again”  
“It’ll be worth if it we can capture it on film! Anyway, so, like, we’ll go back to your house, pick Keith up, then come back and get my stuff, then we’re all going to go film a ghost!”  
Because seeing Keith so soon wasn’t going to be awkward as fuck...  
“I don’t think Keith will be interested”  
“Of course he will be! He might as well have “I want to believe” tattooed across his forehead”  
Keith did believe... it kind of went with the territory  
“Pidge...”  
“Ah, ah, ah, nope. This is your punishment for making Hunk and I worry about you. And I’m totally driving”  
“Not in this life time. God... you really want to do this, don’t you?”  
“Yep”  
“And Keith has to come?”  
“Yep”  
“And you’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?”  
Pidge beamed, knowing Lance was such a pushover that she could basically ask him for anything her mischievous little brain thought of  
“Nope”  
“Fine. Fine. Tonight, only. If we don’t catch a ghost, you’re in trouble, missy”  
Pidge threw her arms around Lance again  
“You’re the best! Let’s go get Keith!”

Ugh... Nope... Lance hoped that whoever was keeping track of his cosmic record was noting down that this was under pressure and he thought it’d be best to leave Keith alone. He’d told Keith to go find some friends, but now it seemed his friends we’re pretty set on making friends with Keith, taking away the whole “finding” part. Personally Lance couldn’t provide Hunk and Pidge with any higher recommendations that didn’t sound really fucking creepy, bordering on obsessive, and stalkery, he knew the best points of both of them, and their not so best ones, but he didn’t want to go recommending them to Keith because they were supposed to be his friends, and he was supposed to be getting rid of Keith... Fucking humans made things so damn complicated.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pidge shall be feared! As Keith continues to be stupid

16

Keith was sitting on the front steps when Lance pulled into his driveway. Their meeting for a moment, before Pidge was leaning past him  
“Get in, loser! We’re going out!”  
Rubbing his ear, Lance didn’t appreciate Pidge’s loud voice abusing his eardrum  
“I’m fine right here!”  
“Don’t be like that. We’re going ghost hunting, get in the back!”  
“Lance was going to drop me in town...”  
“Why? Everything’s shut now apart from the bars. Stop being antisocial and come look for ghosts with us!”

That was how Keith ended up in the boot of Lance’s bronco. Lance could feel the tension from the driver’s seat, Pidge having climbed over into the back so she and Hunk could talk with Keith, who’d barely gotten two words in thanks to the pair of them trying their best to make him feel involved. Lance had seen it on Keith’s face when he’d pulled up. Keith looking up at him like he’d kicked him to the curb without good reason. If he stopped to think about it, Keith would fill that hole in the group that his eventual leaving with bring. Plus, Keith would be there to help Matt reconnect with his family whenever that eventually happened... A whole lot of roads seemed to be leading back to Keith, and Lance couldn’t put up stop signs fast enough.

Swinging by Pidge’s so she could collect her beloved camera, Lance stared up at the visitors centre before them. He’d had enough trouble last time they were here, and though there wouldn’t be any drunks this time, he was sure his friends would find a way to make trouble all over again  
“‘Sup, Losers?! This is the Garrison Trio, coming at ya with a new video. Today we’re talking another look at arguably Garrison’s most haunted address! Yep, that’s right, your favourite visitors centre, and mine, it’s the old Garrison Hospital!”  
Stuck in a silent “staring but not staring” battle with Keith watching Lance out the corner of his eye, he’d missed Pidge passing her camera off to Hunk so she could film her introduction   
“Tonight we have our usual favourites, Me, Hunk, and Lance, but we also have a guest tagging along to see the work we do! Pan to Keith”  
Hunk moved the camera, Keith not even noticing he’d been recorded. Lance had the feeling Keith wasn’t supposed to be being recorded. Anyone who saw his face online wouldn’t be able to forget him  
“Yep! Our little trio has become a foursome! The awesome foursome. Now, if you click the link below this video you’ll be able to read up on the chilling history and the role the hospital played during world war three! Let’s just say, a lot of people died in a lot of not so lovely ways. Let’s head in!”

As Pidge took the camera from Hunk, Lance took her by the arm  
“You can’t film Keith”  
“What?”  
“You can’t film him. It’s something to do with Shiro’s work. He works on things for the government, for like big bad multimillion dollar corporations that are up to dodgy things. I totally blanked on it, but Shiro will get in trouble”  
Pidge raised an eyebrow  
“I didn’t know you and Shiro were that tight”  
“I was taking selfies and he caught me”  
The lies hurt, but Keith’s face getting out their in there videos could bring trouble on all of them, not just Keith... Any vampires with a grudge would see their faces with his and they already knew where to come...  
“Oh shit...”  
Lance nodded, hoping his facial features portrayed the right emotions. Hunk was the one stole the role of genius from under Pidge’s nose  
“I think you’ve got a dusk mask in the glove box from that colour run we didn’t end up doing... he could wear that?”  
“Perfect. You two go ahead and I’ll get it. Don’t bring it up though, he’s super socially stunted”  
Pidge fluttered her eyelashes  
“Is someone getting protective of their “not boyfriend, boyfriend?””  
“No, but you’ll have to get protective of that camera if you don’t stop bringing that up”  
Pidge’s look turned to betrayal, then acceptance   
“Fiiiiine. Do what you have to do. Hunk and I will go ahead. Come on, Hunk”

Rifling through his glovebox, Lance found the branded face mask. The colour run had two components to it, first you did a 5km walk/run, then in some weird kind of sales seasonal thing, there was a kind of sideshow at the end with live music, games, and seeing it was around Halloween, a corn maze and a haunted house. They’d paid, skipped the run, covertly let themselves into the corn maze, beaten that, then hit up the haunted house. Pidge deciding they all needed souvenirs, the mask being one of them... not that it was overly spooky. It was a simple black face mask with splatters of neon paint across the front, a few “teeth” on the right side and the fun run logo underneath. It was actually kind of “Keith”. Not that he was going there.

Keith had hung back as Pidge and Hunk unlocked the visitor centre and dealt with security. Forced to do the talking thing, Lance held the mask out to Keith who eyed it  
“What’s that?”  
“Pidge films these things”  
“And?”  
“And she puts them online. I didn’t think you’d want your face out there. If anyone saw the videos then you’d have your cover blown in further missions, making it harder for you to help the people who need help. I told Pidge that Shiro did covert work for the government so you needed to keep a low profile. I’m not sure she got it, but with Matt and Shiro being tight I think she was willing to let it slide. It hasn’t been worn, and it should cover most of your face. You can use my jacket too if you want, just keep the hood up”

Keith took the mask, staring down at as he tilted his neck. Lance automatically finding his eyes trying to find where he’d bitten the man. He’d never bitten anyone before so he didn’t know the trick of healing a bite to nothing. His own marks from turning were still there for the most part. Keith’s neck was smooth, Lance unable to see any blemishes. God! What was he doing...?! Nope... Fucking Keith   
“Why are you doing this?”  
“Because you got dragged along by my friends deciding they’re also your friends”  
“I thought you said I was a useless hunter”  
“No. I said you had anger issues, like right now you’re getting angry at me. Do you want my jacket or not?”  
“No. This’ll be fine. She really believes, doesn’t she?”  
“Yeah. That’s probably why Matt has kept his distance. She wants to be part of this world, and I’m not about to let that happen”  
“So you sabotage her?”  
“No. Most of what humans collect isn’t real or it’s reflections. I come along not only to show I support her and Hunk, but so nothing happens to either of them. There’s death in that place and I don’t want something bad to happen. I also don’t plan on telling her about Matt, you, or Shiro. It’s not fun lying, but it does keep them safe. If she ever finds out the truth, I know she’s going to be angry, and I’m prepared for that. You better come along, both my friends seem pretty keen on you, meaning if you hurt them, I will hunt you down myself”  
“I’m not going to harm a human”  
“Good. Keep it that way”

Pidge was already explaining various exhibits in the visitor centre when Lance and Keith slipped through the front door. A shudder rolled up Lance’s spine, earning him a jab in the side from Keith. What was Keith getting annoyed about? People shuddered all the time for no good reason  
“What?”  
“You shuddered”  
“It happens”  
“Don’t fob me off like that. There’s something here, isn’t there? Where is it?”  
“Oh great, so vampires and werewolves aren’t enough for you now? You want to hunt ghosts to?”  
What was Keith going to do? Stab it? The mental image of Keith stabbing a ghost was too funny, a snort of laughter escaping  
“Look... if there’s something...”  
“Relax. Yeah, there’s death here but I don’t want to see it. I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to acknowledge it’s presence”  
“But you can see it?”  
Lance shook his head. That’s what he had his trust glasses for  
“Nope”  
“You’re lying to me”  
“I’m not lying. And keep your voice down, do you really want Pidge and Hunk to know about us?  
Keith shot him an unimpressed look. Lance could have worded that better  
“This isn’t over”  
It could be, if Keith dropped the subject and kicked away like a bottle cap under the fridge that you couldn’t be bothered picking up, so it laid there undiscovered for another 6 months, when it and another dozen finally popped up to remind you how lazy you were about cleaning   
“Oh, goody”

“Lance, come over here, you’re better at this side of things”  
Lance rolled his eyes at Pidge. She was doing a bang up job making the visitors centre sound like the must visit spot as it was. Walking over to her, he eyed the shackles in the display case with disgust. He couldn’t really justify the shackling of mine broken soldiers, though some had to be chained down to prevent them from taking their own lives. He’d gone through a stage like that, not that anyone other than Coran knew. He’d had a mental breakdown with the stress of final exams the first time around. He knew too many answers and didn’t want to score a perfect score, that would have made him stand out too much. He aimed for above average on all his tests and exams, but sometimes he slipped up and got too perfect a score that drew everyone’s attention to him when all he wanted to do was blend in. He’d been beaten by a bunch of jealous classmates for his trouble, then broken down, taking himself to Coran who helped piece him back together again. Yeah, Coran would always be his go to guy  
“Shackles...”  
Letting the narrative of fear roll of his tongue, he talked about the deteriorated mental condition of the soldiers and how things worked when it came to getting them help and the legal issues faced by their families. Lance was kind of sure no one wanted to sit through this, because he was pretty sure he was the only one who nerded out over the law these days. Keith had moved to stand behind Hunk, who was filming, his arms were crossed, feet shoulder width apart, with an amused look on his face that Lance felt like punching. 

“And thank you for that Lance, somehow you made all the legal stuff seem that much more boring than last time. Alrighty then, why don’t we go see if we can find us a ghost?”

Hunk was already skittering, letting out a squeak as Pidge motioned for him to follow her, leaving Lance to fall into step beside Keith. Great. He couldn’t just leave Keith in town once everything was over. Not with Hunk and Pidge on a mission to make the man their friend  
“Are you usually like that?”  
Lance had no idea what Keith meant. Sure, he might get a little technical, but it wouldn’t be the first time, nor the last  
“Like what?”  
“All technical? Doesn’t it turn viewers away? I mean, I don’t think they needed to know about the bylaws of Garrison”  
“Oh, shut up. We don’t get many views as it is”  
“You’ll get even less if you spend the whole time ranting”  
“I wasn’t ranting, I was explaining. A soldiers mentality doesn’t end on the battlefield. Most of them never wanted to die. Most of them never wanted to wrapped up in war to begin with. They fought for us and for what they believed in, and as a whole, we failed them. If we don’t educated people on the past then there’s not much hope for the future”  
“You, like, really believe in this, don’t you?”  
“I believe in the belief people hold. If that’s what you mean?”  
“I mean this legal thing... isn’t there anything else you’d rather be doing?”  
“Like ripping families apart so I can feast on their children?”

Keith groaned at him, Lance internally smirking. Yeah, he remembered and wasn’t going to forget any time soon. Pulling his mask into place, half a moment passed between them before Keith replied   
“In my defence, your lot are mostly scum”  
“And what about me? You listened in this morning”  
“I... don’t want to talk about that”  
“Why? Does it make me all that much harder to kill knowing I actually care about my clients?”  
“As you rob them in fees”  
Keith’s comment rubbed him the wrong way, Lance spitting in an angry whisper  
“Yep. I’m so horrible that I charged a family a whole $50 for hours of my time. You on the other hand, if I charged at douche prices, would be paying me something like $10,000 for taking up so much of my damn time. I know I’m a monster, you can lay off with the damn mocking”

Starting to jog to catch up with Hunk and Pidge, Lance wanted to go home to bed. His arm was aching, as was his ankle. He hadn’t had the chance to drink since jumping out the window and his lack of routine was really getting to him. Catching up to him again, Keith decided he still wanted to talk  
“Why law?”  
“Why law, what?”  
“You could have been anything”  
“I could have, but I don’t think you’d understand”  
“Try me”  
“Well, I don’t want kids out there to suffer. I don’t want to see them caught up in fights that should stay between parents. I want to stand up for them. Yeah, go ahead and laugh. I’m lame and I know it”  
“So your own childhood trauma pushed you down this path. What would you have done if you’d never made it into law?”  
Lance didn’t miss the way his words had thrown been back at him. Shrugging it off, he wasn’t letting Keith under his skin  
“I could have been a dancer. I did entertain the idea of being a hairdresser, but a vampire with scissors means risking a cut and an accidental turning. I like my job. Can’t say I don’t like the idea of yours, but it wouldn’t be my first choice of career choice”

“Will you two shut up? You’re scaring the ghosts away”  
Lance’s eyes accidentally met Keith’s, both of them snorting and looking away from each other. If only they were, then they could all head home early  
“Sorry, Pidge. Keith was telling me how scared he was”  
“I did not!”  
“Shhhh... didn’t you hear Pidge? Your big mouth is scaring the ghosts away”  
“Mine? You won’t shut up”  
“Both of you shut up, or you’re being sent outside to wait”  
Hunk raised his hand  
“Uh, can I go wait outside?”  
“You’re the camera man, grow a back bone!”  
Hunk gave Pidge a mock salute at her snap, which she flipped him off over. Lance made the motion of zipping of his mouth and throwing away the key. Keith gave a shrug. Apparently he didn’t hold a healthy fear of Pidge... well, that wouldn’t remain for long.

No. Keith barely lasted half an hour before he incurred Pidge’s wrath. Like a misbehaving school child, Keith was sent to sit at the top of the stairs, all because he accidentally tripped over the lip of the door frame. Pidge was sure she’d seen some kind of ghostly orb, sent fleeing by Keith’s stupidity. Making the mistake of snorting over Keith being taken down a peg, Lance was sent to sit beside Keith... both of them not looking at each other, to avoid bursting into laughter because being in a time out was ridiculous. There wasn’t anything there. The orb was a reflection of light from the camera, and that’s all that’d been to it. When Hunk moved, the reflected light disappeared, Keith didn’t deserve being yelled at... but fuck if it hadn’t been funny.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Miriam is savage.
> 
> Luis is a dick.
> 
> Keith has emotions.

17

Keeping up with the tradition, they all wound up back at Lance’s house. Keith and Pidge were bonding with Blue, his cat a ho when it came to pats... on her terms of course. Keith seemed mystified over what to do when a cat sat in your lap. Blue was a traitor, bunting up into Keith’s chin because she was a traitorous whore with no taste. In the kitchen with Hunk, Lance nursed a mug of warm wine mixed with blood, as Hunk baked. He couldn’t stop himself. He needed to unwind and Lance was happy to provide his kitchen for that  
“Did you really break your phone, man?”

Lance looked over the rim of his mug   
“Yep. Dropped it on my bedroom floor. It shattered on the spot”  
“You said we’d talk... I’m feeling kind of left out man”  
“I didn’t mean to make you feel left out”  
“Ever since Keith came along, you’ve been acting weird. I know sometimes Pidge can be full on, but I thought we were tight”  
“We are tight”  
“Then what haven’t you been telling me? I’ve told you things I wouldn’t think of telling Pidge”  
Lance felt as if Keith had gotten his wish and staked him through the heart  
“It’s not like that...”  
“Then what is it like?”

The vampire didn’t have a whole lot of options. He could confess he was a vampire and give Hunk a heart attack. He could keep lying, which was clearly hurting Hunk. He could claim Keith was threatening him, but then Pidge and Hunk would want to take things into their own hands... Fuck... He didn’t want to hurt Hunk. Lying really did hurt. His friends were so special to him that he hated having to distance himself... semi lies were as bad as the real thing  
“Okay... okay... the truth is I’m not really over being sick. I’m still feeling sick most of the time and I’m not used to having company all the time. I didn’t want to tell you because you worry about me so damn much. I’ll recover, good as new, but I’m supposed to have spent this last week resting up as much as possible. I can’t help myself, I love hanging out with you and Pidge, so when you invite me I can’t say no. I pushed myself a little too hard to fast, but I promise I’m working on getting better”

Hunk’s eyes immediately welled with tears  
“Why didn’t you tell me?”  
“Because all I need is to catch on some sleep. You and Pidge are my best friends. I want to make as many memories with you as I can. I also had a call that wasn’t great, so that’s been on my mind too”  
“A call?”  
“A work call. The woman was strung out of her mind, I had to call in a welfare check on her. It’s been exhausting, but nothing a few good nights sleep won’t cure”  
“Man... I wish you’d told me. We could have gone back home...”  
“It’s okay”  
“It’s not okay. If you’re sick, you need to be resting. I’ll tell Pidge while you get ready for bed”  
“Dude, I’m okay”  
“Please, stop being stubborn! Pidge and I both know you’ve never been really well. You’re always so pale. But you never tell us anything. We’re your friends, we want you to rely on us”  
He’d been told that by Hunk before, playing it off as a low immune had bought him about a years worth of silence on the matter   
“I do. I love you guys like family. That’s why... that’s why it’s so hard. We’ll watch what Pidge filmed, then head to bed”  
“Absolutely not. I’ll have dad come pick us up. Keith can crash at mine for the night”  
“You don’t need to do that”  
“I don’t need to, but I want to. Let me help”

Passing Keith off was a terrible idea. Keith didn’t mix well with others. If he snapped anything was likely to come out... but what Lance wouldn’t give for a night without having to worry about waking Keith  
“His brother Shiro should be swinging around tomorrow to pick him up. It’ll be fine, it’s only one more night. Plus, if we don’t watch the film now we won’t be able to watch it all together as a group”  
Sure, most of Keith’s face was hidden behind the mask but Lance could tell all his expressions from the way his muscles moved. His brain told him that at any rate. His imagination must have been filling in the blanks automatically based on what he knew of Keith’s personality  
“You need rest”  
“I’ll be resting on my chair. Nothing strenuous happening, other than being in trouble with Pidge for talking. We’ll watch the video, pick out what to keep and what to edit, then I’ll go straight up to bed”

Hunk sighed, picking up the closest tea towel off the kitchen bench as he did  
“You better. I’ll still have dad pick us up. And you need to answer your phone”  
“I only have my work phone and the home phone”  
“Exactly. Two other ways of calling”  
“I can’t promise I’ll hear them, but if I see you’ve called, I’ll call back. Deal?”  
Holding his hand out, Hunk took it, his handshake firm  
“Deal. Don’t go around worrying me like that, man. I’m still recovering from tonight. Did you see that grey stuff?”  
“It was the light off the camera. From having the viewfinder open and in night mode. That’s my bet. That combined with dust. Anyway, anything haunting that place would have made themselves scarce thanks to Pidge. I wouldn’t want to be a ghost and on the wrong side of her”  
“I thought she was literally going to blow steam from her ears. She was so cranky”  
“Especially when Keith tripped. I thought she was going to go turn him into a ghost on the spot”  
Lance snorted as he smiled. Keith would be the dopiest ghost. He’d probably actually turn into one, but go around thinking he was human  
“So did I. Our little gremlin is viscous. How long do the cookies need?”  
“10 minutes. Go on ahead, I’ll be in soon”  
“Alright, buddy. Don’t forget to use the dishwasher instead of doing the dishes by hand. Tonight was hard on you too. You deserve to kick back and relax”  
“Yep, will do”

Pidge had Lance’s laptop on her lap when Lance headed into the living room  
“Pidge! You’re not supposed to be on there!”  
Pidge jumped at being sprung in the act  
“I was ordering you a new phone. What kind of idiot doesn’t use a lifeproof case?”  
“Me when they’re not very lifeproof. You know there’s sensitive files on there”  
“Relax. All I did was open the browser. I don’t want to know about your cases”  
“That’s beside the point. How you feel if you were one of them. And, it’s not like I can’t buy a new phone from the post office”  
“You can, but I’m picking out a good one”  
“Nope. No. I just need a cheap one where I can message you guys, take photos of Blue, and watch cat videos”  
“Pffft. No. Trust me, you need to embrace the future, no more living in the past. Now, what colour do you want?”  
“I don’t care about colour”  
“You’re hopeless! Here’s one for $1500”  
“Absolutely no way. I can’t justify spending that much on a phone. No. I’m fine with a $120 cheapie”  
“You’re not fine and those things are an insult to technology. Help me out Keith”

Keith’s expression said he was in for trouble. Keith would do anything to mess with his life further, including taking revenge by making Lance pay out an unreasonable amount of money. Give it enough time and everything flashy would become standard for much cheaper  
“I don’t know if he’s allowed something, or if he’d just wind up breaking it”  
“Damn! Nice one. Okay, I’m ordering your phone now...”  
“Pidge!”  
“... and it’s done. You can thank me later with a shitload of photos of Blue. She’s such a diva. You should make her her own socials”

Lance didn’t love socials. He didn’t love the fakeness. He wished people could see and love the things in them that they might hate because society had made them feel like shit. He only had socials because of Pidge and his Mami. Most of what he posted was of Blue and her perfect little toe beans... with the occasional, less than lady like, tongue blep as she glared at him. He wasn’t putting pressure on Blue to be perfect for an audience   
“Seriously?”  
“Yep. A new case is coming too. This one should be Lance proof. Do we need to think about putting child safety devices in place?”  
“I don’t know, Pidgeon. Do I need to think about digging a shallow grave when I see the price?”  
“Maybe... is it for me, or for you?”  
“I don’t know yet”  
“Then I don’t know either. Hurry up and sit down already, you can have your precious laptop back. I don’t see why you need the desktop set up and a laptop. Both are practically antiques”  
“You did both builds last year”  
Pidge moaned  
“Exactly, antiques. A painful reminder of my youth”  
“Keith, do me a favour and punch Pidge in the arm for me. She’s being an idiot”  
Keith ignored him, scratching the base of Blue’s back where it met her tail, Blue purring. Everybody in the room sucked. If it worked and did what it was meant to, Lance was fine with it not being the latest and greatest  
“Ha! He knows better than to hit me”  
“Yeah, because he’s as scared of you as the rest of us”  
Pitch ditched a cushion in his direction, that missed him completely   
“Rude”  
“Merp”  
Keith simply snorted at the both of them, Blue was taking up too much of the hunter’s attention. Still, he was going to be the bigger man, no wet food for Blue until she came back and loved him again.

*  
The next week of Lance’s life passed slowly. Very fucking slowly in parts. His thirst wasn’t getting better, Keith wanted to fight every day, he didn’t have the energy to keep up with his work, feeling like he was letting all his clients down. Something in his gut was trying to tell him something, and Lance wasn’t sure what it was. He hadn’t heard from Shiro. Keith’s answer to that problem was that Shiro would come back when it was safe. But “safe for who?” was a totally different question. Lance had found that gradually he was getting used to Keith’s presence. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like this kind of uneasy peace. Keith grudgingly ate Lance’s cooking. The idiot had burned toast... in the toaster. It didn’t take a degree to be able to put two pieces in and pull down the lever, but somehow he’d done it. He’d set off the fire alarms, waking Lance, who immediately went into panic mode. Smacking his arm on the wall, he’d burst the blood blister building beneath his skin, smearing blood on the wall, as he swore. Rushing into the kitchen, the toaster was on fire, Lance ripping the cord out the all and dumping the lot in the sink.

Swapping the washing from the machine to the dryer, Lance closed his eyes and counted to 10 before opening them again. He could hear Keith shuffling around in the kitchen. He could hear his phone vibrating on the bench. The way his coffee machine slowly came to life told him he had all of 5 minutes before Keith would be all up in his face demanding that they fight. He could be in the middle of vacuuming and Keith would still pop up and demand to fight. He seemed to be working out a style for himself and organising his thoughts as he did. He still hadn’t decided on Keith, but he had to give him some credit. He kept trying and he kept getting back up... He was still to get an actual blow in that Lance hadn’t allowed. Maybe he was sick from Keith continually beating him up? And maybe he was kind of enjoying things more than he let himself believe. Or maybe his defences were lower than normal thanks to still being sick.

“Lance! Message!”  
So Keith was his answering service now? Where was that in the terms and agreements of having his house hijacked?  
“I know! I heard! Some dick didn’t bring all his washing out!”  
“That’d be you!”  
Like fuck it was. His lapses didn’t count when it was his house and he was going through stuff. Watching Keith try to wash and live in two sets of clothes was painful, so now he had three sets, plus underwear and socks of his own. He had a whole damn drawer in the spare bedroom, the Hunter basically moved in  
“Fuck off!”  
So much for his calming breath.

Heading into the kitchen, Keith had coffee made for the both of them. Yeah, Lance would have preferred tea but Keith seemed adamant on conquering the coffee machine  
“Who was the call from?”  
“I don’t know, I didn’t check it”  
Lance raised an eyebrow   
“I thought that was your thing, snooping on people’s calls?”  
“Very funny old man. You look worse than you did yesterday”  
“Isn’t that good for you?”  
“No. I can’t learn anything if you’re half dead”  
“If only I’d known that all along. I would have been off the hook long ago”  
“Ha ha fucking ha”  
“Shut up drink and your coffee”

Snatching his phone up, Lance’s chest went tight, his stomach dropped and his knees nearly went with it  
“What’s wrong?”  
Opening the message recorded, Lance held it to his ear as his hands shook  
“Hi, Lance, it’s Sally here. Your grandmother’s taken a bit of a fall. She was awake when we found her, but we’ve transferred her to Platt General hospital. I’m sorry to drop this on you. If you want to give them a call, they might have more information for you...”  
Lance’s phone slipped from his hand, Keith catching it before he could break another one  
“Lance?”  
“I’ve got to go”  
“What’s wrong?”  
“Nothing. It doesn’t concern you... fuck...”  
He was getting teary. His Mami wasn’t as strong as she’d once been  
“Hey...”  
Brushing Keith off, Lance started scrambling to get ready, his head already dreaming up worst case scenarios. Had his Mami fallen or had it been something more? Had something happened? Was she not telling him something?

Racing out the front door, he made straight for his car. The key didn’t seem to want to go into the ignition, Lance screaming at it in frustration  
“Move over, I’ll drive”  
Lance nearly told Keith to fuck himself. He didn’t know why he’d followed him out. Sliding across the bench seat, Keith climbed into the drivers seat  
“What’s happened?”  
“It’s... I need to get to Platt general”  
“You’ll have to give me directions. What’s going on? Who’s in hospital?”  
“My Mami...”  
Whatever smart reply Keith had for that died on the man’s tongue. Giving a nod, Keith got the key into the ignition, the old bronco starting with a rumble.

The drive to Platt was horrible. It passed in a blur as Lance prayed to whoever was out there that it wouldn’t be something major. Barking directions at Keith, Keith copped all his bad mood and worry, the hunter barely parked before Lance was rushing to get out the car. He hadn’t even bothered to clip in his damn seatbelt for the drive  
“Lance, take a breath”  
“Fuck you”  
“Your teeth are fucking showing”  
Oh... he was making a vampire face... fuck... he felt like he was about to throw up across his feet. He needed to see his Mami, and Keith’s presence was the only thing keeping him from completely losing himself. The hunter deserved a break  
“Do you know what ward she’s on?”  
“No. They didn’t say...”  
“Okay, we’ll find out together”

Lance should have known Keith knew all about his family. Keeping his hand on Lance’s good arm, to keep him from running off, Keith talked to the woman at the front information desk, finding his Mami’s room with more patience than Lance had. He’d been here before with his Mami, so he should have remembered the way up to the floor, Keith nearly getting them lost because Lance couldn’t stop the flood of tears rolling down his face over the fact his Mami wasn’t dead. Finding the right ward, the nurse at the desk looked up at them like she was perplexed by their presence, telling them that only family was allowed to see his Mami. With choked words Lance explained that he was her grandson and emergency contact, which was apparently Luis on the hospital side of things. It wasn’t supposed to be him. Lance lived the closest, and he was the one who always made time for his Mami. When the woman looked to Keith, Lance explained that he was Mami’s other grandson, Keith not at all comfortable with the sudden promotion to family. Signing in, the nurse led them to his Mami’s room. She’d fractured her hip in the fall, and done a bang up job on her face, Lance nearly face planting as his emotions grew further out of control.

Propped up on pillows, Lance let out a fresh sob at his Mami’s face. Keith telling the nurse he’d call if they needed anything. His Mami looked so frail, far too frail, her complexion washed out, but when she saw him, she was raising her arms towards him  
“Oh, Mijo...”  
Walking over to his Mami, Lance wrapped his arms around her the best he could  
“I’m okay. It’s just the silly head of mine. I got a little muffled”  
“I was so scared”  
“I know, you’ve always had a sweet heart. But you know it takes more than a fall to stop me”  
Lance snorted a laugh, well aware he was snotting on his Mami’s shoulder  
“I was still scared. Sally called to let me know”  
“She’s got a big mouth, that one. They say I’m off to surgery soon, time for the good drugs”  
“Mami!”  
His mother chuckled, her strength wasn’t what it was, so Lance reluctantly drew out of her embrace to sit beside her  
“Now, enough of that face. It’s a fractured hip, I’ve still got plenty of life in this old bird”  
“You’re not old”  
“Says you”  
“Touché... fuck... I felt like...”  
He felt as scared as when his Papi passed   
“You didn’t lose me just yet. My face is sorer than the leg. I’m a tough old duck”  
“That doesn’t make me feel better”  
“That’s because you worry too much. Now, who is your handsome friend here?”  
Right. Fuck... He didn’t know if his teeth were still showing... but this was his Mami and he’d never been that great at keeping secrets from her  
“This is Keith... he knows...”  
“Nice to meet you “Keith He Knows”... I’m hoping you did the driving and not Lance”  
“Uh, yes, Ma’am”  
His Mami laughed, her slight wince in the corner of her eyes didn’t go unnoticed by Lance. She had to be in a lot of pain, despite what she was saying and how she was acting  
“Gracious. Where did he find you. Miriam is fine, dear. Now, I know my son is a worrywart, so could be a dear and find him a cup of tea for his nerves?”  
“I think I can...”  
“Thank you. It’s nice to see Lance is making friends. He’s so insistent that he’s fine alone. I hope you’re a good friend to him”

Keith took the the opening to flee, Lance didn’t blame him. They weren’t friends... he didn’t know what they were  
“Mijo, I’m okay. Where did you meet Keith “who knows”?”  
“Does it matter?”  
“It does when my baby boy is making friends... or is there something you’re not telling you Mami”  
Lance groaned  
“You sound like Pidge”  
“Ah, she’s a smart girl. Sooo... you and Keith?”  
“Aren’t like that... He’s a human for one thing”  
“And?”  
“And a single drop of my blood could change all that, plus, I’m pretty sure he actually hates me”  
“Ooooh, my little Mijo is growing up!”  
His Mami must have been high  
“Mami, he’s a hunter”  
“I can see how that could make things difficult... Is he here to kill you?”  
How could his Mami sound so blasé about his death?  
“He wanted to. But things happened. Now he’s annoying houseguest”  
“I hope you’ve been treating him right”  
“Mami!”  
“Good chinaware and fresh sheets...”  
Lance groaned  
“Mami, it’s not like that. How can you be so calm?”  
“Because I can tell he’s not going to kill you”  
“How?”  
“Just call it a Mami feeling”  
“I think Mami’s feeling high”  
“A bit. A bit annoyed this happened before bingo. That Andy Jefferies always wins the good stuff. His walker might have to go for a walk”  
“Mami!”  
“I’m just saying... oh, never mind. Luis should be here soon”

Fucking Luis...   
“Don’t make a face like that, Mijo. He is your brother”  
“I know and someone changed me from their emergency contact here”  
“Well Luis and Lisa are thinking of making the move here...”  
“I’m already here”  
“I know you are, dear. But you can’t chase after your Mami forever”  
“I’m pretty sure I can. I mean, vampire and that”  
Lance injected scoff into his tone. He didn’t want to seem as jealous as he was. He’d always thought he’d had a special bond with his Mami, and the rest of his family all had families of their own... except for Rachel. She’d had a troubled life, thanks to him  
“You know what I mean”  
“I do, but you don’t get to think that you’re rid of me anytime soon”  
“I wouldn’t dream of such freedom”  
His Mami was viscous   
“Now, give me hug. This old body doesn’t always like cooperating”  
Lance rose, hugging his Mami as she’d requested.

“What are you doing to her?!”  
Speak of the devil and Luis appeared. Angry by the sounds of it. Emotionally raw, fresh tears flooded Lance’s eyes  
“Don’t be like that, Luis. Lance is stopping by to visit before the surgery”  
“More like he’s...”  
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence. He’s your brother”  
Lance didn’t know why they always had to fight   
“I’ll go. Keith has probably gotten himself lost. He has like zero sense of direction”  
“He’s a looker, if I was 50 years younger...”  
“Mami!”  
His Mami snickered. The woman was a terror  
“I’m only joking. And don’t you keep crying, I’ll be fine. You go see that lovely Coran and have a nice cup of tea. You don’t look very well”  
“I’m fine, Mami. Just bad dreams. I’ll be back tonight”  
“Don’t you dare. You go home and rest. I’ll be perfectly fine with Luis to run around for me”  
Luis... not him...   
“I love you”  
“I love you too, my little Lancey”

Luis took one look at Lance’s face and paled. Lance’s teeth must have been showing, his brother must have thought he was attacking their mother... like he always seemed to. Well where the fuck was Luis when his Mami had needed him? He’d fucked off back home to his picture perfect family. With his kids and grandkids... It’d been years since he saw his nephew and his niece... He’d loved them so much, so amazed by how small they were when they’d been born. Veronica had dropped off the face of the Earth. Marco was still travelling around... he’d always been too afraid to wander.

Covering his face with his hands, he bumped right into someone. His knees crumpling as he took in a deep breath of Keith’s familiar scent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter we get Keith’s POV... then it becomes both POVs xx


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to get back to posting on odd days!!!
> 
> As promised, Keefy! Keefy having the panics... and the feels. Soft boy is soft under his stupidity

18

Keith was freaking the fuck out. He’d dropped the styrofoam cup of tea, probably a good thing considering he didn’t know how to brew tea, and now Keith found himself with an armful of bat, and Lance’s clothes pooled on the floor by his feet. What the hell was Lance thinking transforming where everyone could see?! He’d been loosening up, but now what the hell was he supposed to do about this?

Gathering up Lance’s clothes, a shoe was dropped somewhere along the way as Keith fled into the closet bathroom. Lance was making all kinds of weird noises, and what the heck was he supposed to do about it? Shiro didn’t give him directions on looking after a bat! How...? What...? He was supposed to kill vampires, not keep them alive! Training didn’t tell them how to not kill a vampire or torture them. Lance had ruined everything with his stupid niceness. If Lance didn’t turn back, he couldn’t keep training with him. He needed Lance to get stronger. Shiro had lost Adam and Keith had been useless. He wouldn’t let Shiro lose anyone else.

Squeaking loudly, bat Lance fought as he tried to bury himself up near Keith’s armpit. His sharp little claws catching in Keith’s skin. First thing was first, this bat needed to chill the fuck out... in the form of being wrapped up in Lance’s obnoxious green jacket. The thing was deader than roadkill, clearly well loved and worn. The second thing was calling Shiro. Lance would have been annoyed with him if he knew he’d had a way of contacting Shiro the whole time. Shiro had told him to watch Lance. Not to be forced into being nice to Lance and his friends... which he’d annoyingly found himself drawn too. He couldn’t afford to have friends. Friends were weakness. 

Lance objected to being wrapped up, squeaking loudly   
“Oh, shut up. I’m calling Shiro”  
If a bat could cry, which Keith had no idea if they could, he’d have thought that maybe Lance was crying. The undead arsehole had too many emotions. Sitting on the toilet lid, he hugged Lance with his free arm, retrieving his phone out his pocket and raising it to his eye. A quick scan confirmed his identity, his phone unlocking to reveal the background of the Blade of Marmora logo. He’d worked his arse off to get into the Blade. Harder than any of the others, but it never seemed enough. Thumbing through his phone, Keith took a deep breath. He wasn’t supposed to call Shiro unless it was a dire emergency. Other hunters were aware of Lance. His safety couldn’t be guaranteed. He wasn’t... he was a lame vampire. No great house with servants. Just a weird cat that liked to attack Keith’s toes. 

Calling Shiro, the hunter let it ring half a dozen times before hanging up, Shiro calling him straight back. It was their code. If it was ultra life threatening, he didn’t hang up. If Shiro didn’t answer then Keith generally panicked himself into leaving an overly aggressive message, because he wasn’t losing his brother like they’d lost Adam. Ringing and hanging up was Keith’s “I need to fucking talk to you, you wanker. Call me back or I’ll stab you” approach to things. Not quite an emergency of epic proportions, not quite not an emergency of epic proportions   
“Keith?“  
“Lance-is-a-bat-and-I-don’t-know-what-to-do”  
“What?”  
“Lance is a bat. Like an actual bat. He said he couldn’t turn into a bat. But he’s a bat. Shiro, what the hell do I do with this?”  
“He’ll turn back on his own. Let him loose in his room, and keep Blue away”  
“That’s not very helpful! We’re not at his house. We’re at the fucking hospital. His mother had a fall and he’s been sick, like really sick, and now he’s a bat!”

“Whoa, kiddo. Take a breath”  
Keith glared at Lance, he wouldn’t be like this if Lance wasn’t so damn weird  
“Shiro. I need help”  
“I know, I heard you. Now, what do you mean Lance has been sick?”  
Keith didn’t know about daily vampire life, because normally his targets were dead by now  
“He’s drinking more blood. He’s having nightmares. He seems really lethargic. His Mami is in hospital and he was a wreck so I drove him. I don’t know what happened but he came out and turned into a bat”   
Shiro gave a heavy sigh. Keith wished he was right there next to him. He missed his brother so goddamn much. He didn’t blame Shiro for leaving him behind, but he didn’t have the people skills his brother had, nor did he know what to do now his body was changing into something else. He knew Lance was lying. He hadn’t felt the same as before his blood got into his cut hand   
“He turned into a bat after he fed on you. It seems to happen when he reaches his emotional threshold. I’m going to send you somewhere to get help. They’ll be able to help him, and you’ll be safe there too”  
“We’re not coming to you, are we?”  
Shiro sighed again  
“No. It’ll be another few days yet. You can do this, Keith. Keep your cool and I’ll be home as soon as I can”  
“I don’t know what I’m doing. His friends want to be friends and he’s like... he’s got emotions...”  
“You’ll be fine. Here, I want you to go to the address I’m about to send you to. It’s Vatican Ordained. Showing them your credentials will be enough. I’ve got to go. Remember, you’ve got this and I’m proud of you”  
“I...”  
“Patience yields focus. Never forget that”

Keith hated each time their phone calls ended. Lance was stupid, but he had a point. Yeah, he had enough trauma to sink a ship. And a boat load of issues to go along with it  
“Shiro’s sending us somewhere safe. Just... try not to kill me or bite me...”  
Stupid vampires. Why’d he have to make things complicated by not being a blood sucking family ruining beast?! Instead he was some... cranky stranger who kept either being weirdly nice or hostile for no good reason. Keith’s phone dinged with the address, thankfully it wasn’t across the city. Lance’s bronco was like trying to drive a damn tank. The second hand thing they’d been driving the night they tracked down Lance actually belonged to a lesser hunter, who’d been some kind of a friend of a friend to Shiro. He’d shown them how to damage the wires enough that they could drive but once they stopped that’d be it. In another life Keith had entertained being a mechanic, he loved pulling apart his bike in his apartment. Shiro had always worried he’d get himself into an accident, Adam had been planning on trying to talk to him about switching to something “safer” before he lost his life. Now was not the time to be remembering. He had a dumb vampire to save... Fucking Lance had flipped his world upside down... or was it the vampire in his blood responding to his sire being in danger? Fucking Lance.

*  
Pulling up in front of “Castle Altea”, Keith was sure Shiro had sent him to wrong place until he saw the Blade of Marmora sticker on the window. The place looked like some weird bookshop that was bound to be full of wannabe witches. Lance hadn’t wanted to settle the whole drive. He’d pretty much wriggled his way out of his jacket, now curled up and cling to Keith as he still made those god awful squeaks. Wrapping his jacket around the bat, Keith zipped it up enough to hide Lance in a very conspicuous bludge at the front. If the place belonged to the Vatican, then it should be safe. Sure, he technically worked for them, but it wasn’t like he’d ever met the pope, nor was he a regular in church. He’d stuffed up the night he’d met Lance. He was supposed to inject himself with synthetic adrenaline, but used the needle he had prepared for Lance instead. A very painful blunder to his name.

Letting himself into the bookstore, Keith headed over to the counter. The woman there looking at him in confusion. Right. Credentials. Pulling his phone out, he unlocked it again, before opening up his ID  
“I need to see someone about a bat issue”  
“Through the doors at the end”  
That wasn’t very helpful. The hunter couldn’t help but feel he was walking into a trap. More so when he stepped into the elevator and found it lacking in buttons. 

Riding the elevator down, there wasn’t even the cheap music there to distract him from Lance. The small body felt too warm to be that of a vampire. They were as cold as they were cold hearted. As the elevator came to a stop, Keith was nearly reaching for his blade hidden in his boot. The doors opened to reveal an overly bright office of sorts, a tall man with wild orange hair stopping mid pace to stare at him  
“You’re not Lance”  
So they knew Lance?! What kind of place had Shiro sent him too?!  
“You know Lance?”  
“I know you’re the second person to show up driving his car...”  
Shiro would have been the first...  
“I need help”  
“Come this way, my boy. I’m Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton the Third. By any chance, would you happen to be Keith?”

This guy was way too friendly. Keith stepping out the elevator   
“You know me?”  
“I had the pleasure of meeting your brother before. Now, what’s happening to our young Lance?”  
Falling into step with Coran happened too easily. Keith unzipping his jacket to reveal Lance’s head  
“He turned into a bat”  
Coran peered down Keith’s jacket, Lance still snuggled against him   
“He did what now? Oh my, that’s unusual”  
What?! Coran was supposed to help, not make it sound like a first!  
“Can you help him?”  
“Never fear, boy! We’ll get to the bottom of this, or my name isn’t Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton the Third. This organisation was built by my Pop-Pop!”

Wasn’t “Wimbleton” the name where those rich people played tennis? It didn’t sound like much of a middle name... who carried that name on? Coran was clearly some kind of non-human. He carried himself weirdly...   
“You... know Lance, right? You’re not... going to experiment on him, are you?”  
Coran laughed  
“No, no. No more than usual. I must say, you’re not what I was expecting”  
Keith had heard that his whole life. Usually when people expected more of him, the comment causing a knee jerk reaction to anger  
“What do you mean like that? Because I’m a hunter and not a monster?”  
Coran pinched the right end of his ridiculously groomed moustache   
“Not at all my boy. Lance was quite distressed having bit you. Suffered quite a bit. I don’t suppose you know how his arm healed up? Allura has been quite worried about him”  
“His arm?”  
And who or what was an “Allura”?  
“Yes. He’s had a bit of a struggle with his teeth. A few teething issues. Not used to a fresh feed, so to speak. Very traumatic for him”

Keith had called bullshit over Lance never having fed from a human. Vampires had zero impulse control. Then again, when he’d cut himself on the mug, Lance hadn’t tried to drink instead he’d run away. Lance had never fed... at all... from a human?

“He’s never bitten a human? How do you know that for sure? Surely he had to have”  
“Nope. He’s quite unique in that respect. It tore him apart that he had to bite you. He’s always been a soft and kind boy. Mercury, nasty stuff when mixed with blood. Ah well, best I stop talking about his secrets. Lance is quite the popular vampire here. He’d held onto his human roots quite tightly, never letting himself have much of anything”  
He had a nice enough house, maybe a bit old, but nice enough. It had four walls and ceiling, without leaks... so it did it’s job fine...  
“How long have you known him?”  
“Oh, must be on 36 years now. But that’s his story to share. Lance, you’re going to be okay. He seems very attached to you”  
“I wish he wasn’t. His claws are sharp”  
“Once we’re somewhere a little more comfortable, we’ll try removing him. I wonder if this is to do with the changes in his levels. Tell me, what has Lance been like over the last two weeks?”

It was probably okay to confide in Coran, but Keith barely knew the man. He didn’t know how he fit in with the Blades, or is he really was a friend. If he was, why hadn’t Lance tried to fly to Coran? But Coran clearly knew and liked Lance. This was where he needed a people person... This was where he knew Shiro   
“No offence, but I just met you. How can I trust you so soon?”  
“Very wise. You are in dangerous territory associating with the very vampire you were sent to slay”  
He needed a way in. A way to prove Coran had known Lance as long as he claimed  
“So you know about Nyma and Rolo?”

Coran’s eyes immediately widened, his face loosing some of its colour before he composed himself  
“Lance told you about his sires? He must trust you very deeply to mention that particular topic”  
Keith had wondered if Nyma and Rolo were Lance’s sires from his behaviour. Coran confirming it made him feel guilty as it wasn’t Lance himself telling him  
“I wouldn’t say that... I don’t know him, but he hasn’t seemed well. He’s... seemed really tired. And he hurt his arm. He got blood everywhere... and when I cut my hand he didn’t want to feed”  
“I suspect that took a great deal of willpower on his behalf. Not all vampires can deny the call of blood. He did have some issues after he fed on your blood, with the mercury in your system, yet he should have improved after having his blood changed”

Lance had had what done? His blood changed? Did that mean Keith’s blood was changing too because he was part vampire now? He’d toned down questioning his sir so Lance would train with him  
“I have no idea what you mean”  
“Ah, yes, not a common procedure. It involves draining the individual entirely of blood before new blood is run into the body though an IV system. The whole process takes roughly twelve hours from start to finish. Here, this is my personal examination room. Allura should be along quite soon”

There was something seedy sounding about a “personal examination room”, the room proving to be a small examination room as one would expect to find at a doctor’s surgery  
“Go ahead and take a seat”  
Whenever Keith heard that he was always tempted to take the physician’s seat instead of the ones beside the desk like he was meant to. He tried it once, and had gotten a very stale laugh and told to move. Some people had no sense of humour. Humouring Coran, Keith sat in the closer of the two chairs beside the desk  
“Very good. Now, I don’t suppose you’d mind zipping down your jacket. I want to take a look at Lance”  
Keith didn’t know why he did mind, making himself angry over it. Lance was a vampire, his sword enemy, he wasn’t attached to the man in the slightest, but some kind of desire to protect him had welled and as much as he wanted to deny it, it’s ugly unwanted head kept popping up. Forcing himself to unzip his jacket, Lance squeaked harder than ever  
“Oh, my. He certain is a bat”  
No shit  
“Lance, you’re okay. You’re safe here, it’s Coran. I’m going to touch you now, but you’re safe. Nothing’s going to harm you”

Lance clung to Keith’s shirt as Coran tried to pull him away. He looked absolutely miserable and very sorry for himself   
“Well that’s odd. He’s usually much warmer when he visits. Perhaps he’ll warm up to Allura. Best let him sit there for a while longer”  
Without the jacket to keep him in place, Lance slipped a little, Keith moving his hand to Lance’s back  
“What’s wrong with him?”  
“That, my dear boy, is the million dollar question. Now, you say he’s been quite unwell of late. No doubt he’s extremely stressed and distressed. A vampire never forgets, and if he’s dreaming of his sires, he’s forced to relive those horrible memories again and again”

That didn’t sound fun... maybe... maybe fighting Lance daily as training really had been too much for him. Lance seemed pretty vocal about voicing his dislikes, but it was hard to tell when “no” really meant no. Lance would tell him he hadn’t cooked him anything for breakfast, but when Keith went to make something he found Lance already had made him something. Keith didn’t understand him... He just... needed him. Disturbingly he... he kind of... maybe... acknowledged Lance wasn’t the vampire monster he though he’d be. He had two humans as best friends, but he didn’t feed on them. He didn’t seem to have them under his control... and... he hadn’t turned his mother. Wasn’t that something they did when a family member was sick? A quick turn and they’d be happy and healthy forever? He was weird, tall, loud and dorky... It made Keith’s head hurt trying to think about it.

“Keith?”  
Keith blinked are Coran   
“Sorry, what’s was that?”  
“I asked how Lance has been of late. Has he been showing any other symptoms, like his facial features?”  
“He was all fangy today... His mother had a bad fall, and his fangs were out... and I think he’s been drinking a lot more too”  
“Lance generally has exceptional control of those instincts. He’s a fine example of a turned vampire leading a normal life. He keeps his ego in check, always willing come to see me when things get too much. I suspect he felt scared too on the chance he led you here”  
“He doesn’t know... that you guys have hunters here?”  
Wasn’t that basically lying to Lance? Telling him he was safe when there people here who’d gladly chop his head off...  
“It’s a little complicated. The kind of thing only for those in know. Everyone here adores him, so it hasn’t been necessary to discuss it. We provide help to all magical beings, and hunters alike. In some circumstances we unfortunately have to be the ones to make that call. Had a nasty vampire nest back in the 1900’s that made that kind of thing a necessity. He’s really been a model citizen. Feeding from a human for the first time is highly addictive to most vampires. Lance has been on blood bags since the age of 8. I suspect if he was anyone else, you wouldn’t have been so lucky”

Keith kind of felt even worse hearing it from Coran, there was something in his purple eyes that tugged at him. Keith had spent years discriminated against thanks to his eyes, but now he felt a longing, as if Coran might understand him... which was ridiculous...   
“I got the syringes wrong. I was supposed to take the synthetic adrenaline. The mercury and silver were for him”  
His confession rolled off his tongue, Keith’s cheeks heating up, flaring into a burning warmth as Coran laughed openly   
“It’s not that funny”  
“Oh, my boy. I don’t know what they’ve been teaching you. Whilst mercury certainly makes vampires ill, and silver can be just as bad in large doses, both have a far lesser effect on those turned. Lance barely reacts to silver outside a small amount of irritation. Mercury was much more effective. Everything is more effective once blood is added. That’s why he fell so ill”

They had theory classes, but Keith was always better in combat. He had Shiro to teach him... plus his teachers said he had disciplinary issues. He’d been told if he didn’t up his grades, he’d loose his current ranking. If he did that then he might be split from Shiro permanently. Shiro would worry too much if that happened, he wouldn’t be safe because he’d be distracted. Out of the two of them, Adam had always been smarter and calmer. Shiro was much warmer and calming, more down to earth and not off reading ridiculous ancient texts. All that reading and Adam had still ended up dead. Every time someone got close to him, they seemed to end up hurt or dead. Lance shouldn’t be clinging to him. He was going to the reason Lance ended up dead. He was supposed to have killed him, burned the house and left town long ago. Not got all tangled up in this...

With a light knock the door, a smiling woman let herself into the room  
“Ah, Allura. Right on time. Keith was just telling me about Lance. Seems we should have called him back in sooner”  
Allura’s face lit up, Keith holding Lance a little closer to him. This woman seemed smitten   
“Oh, my! Oh, Coran, he looks positively precious”  
“Eptesicus fuscus, if I’m not mistaken”  
“You would have thought, Vampyrum spectrum. Lance has always loved a cliche. Oh, look at him, Coran. He seems very much attached to Keith”  
“Vampyrum” had to mean vampire. We’re they trying to... identify Lance? A bat was a bat? It made noise, shat, and flew. That was kind of it. Lance squeaked, Keith realising he might have been holding Lance a little tight   
“Ah, yes. Well, it really is rather a lottery when it comes to shape shifting. Let’s be glad he’s a bat and not some kind of wolf”  
“I never thought I’d see this happen. Lance has always had such control over himself”  
“Keith mentioned that he hadn’t been feeling himself of late”  
“Feeding from a human really was rather traumatic for him. Lance, it’s Allura, will you come to me?”  
“He seems... uh, pretty settled...”

Keith was confused by the look shared between Allura and Coran. He wasn’t holding Lance because he liked him. Lance just seemed like he really didn’t want to move. That was all. And Lance was his prey. His problem to deal with, when Shiro finally came home to tell him how they were dealing with it  
“I don’t intend to hurt him. Lance, it’s Allura. Can you come to me? I need to take a little look at you. Make sure you haven’t hurt yourself transforming like this”  
“He... has this sore on his arm that came up... I don’t know long he had it, he usually has his arms covered...”  
Lance squeaked loudly, as if telling Keith to stop dobbing him in  
“He was supposed to rest that arm and take it easy. Did he rest in his grave soil?”  
“I think so? He buried himself in the garden for a night... is this because he turned me? Is that why he’s sick?”

Allura giggled as she reached for Lance, Lance flapping his wings as he tried to hold onto Keith   
“Keith, can you unhook his nails, please. He won’t be happy, but he can go straight back to you once I’ve examined him”  
“Why did you laugh?”  
Lance cast him a pleading look as Keith tried to unhook Lance, before giving up and awkwardly struggling both his shirt and jacket off. He didn’t have the greatest body, not with the battle scars across his smooth pale flesh. Pulling his jacket back on, the hunter zipped it all the way up. He hadn’t signed up for a strip show. Carrying an angry Lance to the examination table, Coran moved to Allura’s side, both too busy to look at him. Lance was not having a fun time   
“You don’t seriously think you’re a vampire, do you?”  
Adam had said he wasn’t... he’d lured Shiro home... trying to keep himself a live at the cost of Shiro. Shiro refused to tell him everything that had happened, Keith hurt because Adam had pretty much been his brother-in-law. Sometimes like a dad, sometimes like an uncle, and always finding something to scold him over   
“His blood...”  
“My boy, you’d certainly know if you turned. Blood roaring in your ears. Skin feeling as if it was boiling off your bone. Teeth, long and hollow, perfect for sucking on your sweet blood! Senses so heightened the world seems like a whole new place. The smell of death upon your skin. Other vaguely creepy things. Perhaps we should have Keith hold him, he seems very distressed”  
Allura nodded, her bottom lip trapped in her teeth as she worried over not hurting Lance.

Keith wasn’t about to take the words of a complete stranger as law. His body was going through changes, whether everyone around him believed it or not. Lance was trying to remain hidden in Keith’s shirt, little wings flapping helplessly  
“I’ll hold him”  
“Good. Come here, sit up here next to him”  
Coran agreed so readily Keith would have raised an eyebrow, instead, he was too busy attempting not to look as worried as he was. What if Lance never turned back? What was he going to tell Hunk and Pidge? Blue was okay, but she wasn’t his cat. He didn’t even know how to look after a pet. Adam said it was cruel with how little time they spent at home. Keith had always wanted a dog, but Blue was kind of cool. She purred super loudly, and drooled on his fingers when he scratched her chin... 

Sitting himself beside Lance, Lance nosed at Keith’s leg through the confines of the shirt. Allura and Coran were both reading far too much into things as they smiled fondly at the moving bundle  
“Try lifting him up. I want to check him, so hold him facing towards me”  
“You’re not going to hurt him, right?”  
“No, no. But I do think I know why he was so hesitant to come to me. I probably still smell like werewolf to him”  
“There’s werewolves here?”  
Allura nodded  
“Just the one at the moment. I don’t know if you’ve ever had to deal with a werewolf that’s got a cavity, but it is not fun. Thankfully he was drugged for the procedure and the tooth came out easily”  
Keith didn’t know if that was a joke or not. He’d never thought about werewolves getting cavities before... He’d never thought of a lot of things before. Lifting his the neck of his shirt, Lance squeaked at him  
“If you bite me, I’m going to throw you. Just so you know. I don’t like bats and I don’t like idiot vampires that turn into bats in the middle of a public space”  
Lance gave him a sad look, Keith summoning up his courage as he held his hand out. Sniffing his fingers, the bat gradually crawled close enough for Keith to lift him  
“You bite me, you fly. Understood?”

Holding Lance around the stomach, Allura smiled down at him  
“There you are. I know you’re probably really scared right now, but it’s okay. You’re in a safe place”  
Both her and Coran had said that enough that Keith wondered if it was some kind of spell. Taking Lance’s left wing, she gently stretched it out, Lance protesting in squeaks  
“I know. Coran, that wound should have healed by now. Especially if he’s been drinking more blood. Lance, you’re not going to like me very much, but I’m going to give you a shot to help with the healing. And take a little blood for analysis. Don’t worry, Keith isn’t going anywhere”

Coran prepared the needles, Lance squeaking as he tilted his head up to look at Keith   
“Don’t give me those eyes. Shiro told me to bring you here for both our sakes. It’d be nice if you could get your shit together. I’m sure your Mami wants to see you as soon as you’re human again”  
“That’s right. How was she?”  
“The nurse said she’d fractured her hip, and she’d done a number on her face”  
Coran sighed  
“Miriam’s always been such a strong woman. Alas, time marches on for all”  
“You know her?”  
“Oh, yes. Allura and I were quite fond of her. Lance was turned quite young after all. I’ve known her as long as I’ve known him. She’s a tough one. Stayed by his side through all of it, she was quite forceful in ensuring her son was fed and protected. I might pop by later and pay her a visit”  
“And the rest of his family?”  
Coran’s smile faltered  
“Ah, best let him tell you about that when he’s ready. Rightyo, Lance this will all be over rather quickly, then you can take a little rest here with Keith while we wait for the results”

Lance didn’t love the injections. His little claws scratched at Keith’s arms, yet surprisingly he didn’t squeak at having his blood taken or the following injection. He seemed to have squeaked himself out, head turned and buried against the zipper of Keith’s jacket. Coran gave his head a little scratch as he leaned into stick his face right up in the side of Lance’s  
“Good boy. I’ll get you a saucer of blood. Keith, do you mind if I take a sample of your blood? Your brother mentioned you seemed to think something was changing within your body. It’s highly unlikely it’s vampire related, but we need our hunters fighting fit”  
“You’re not going to curse me or something are you?”  
“Good heavens! Of course not. You are quite the paranoid man. We may be fae, but gosh, no, we’re not that uncivilised”

Whelp. He’s hurt Coran’s feelings. Keith wasn’t completely sure what a “fae” was. He was specialising in vampires, after Adam was turned everything else fell away. Vampires had ripped his family apart, they all deserve to pay. That’s why he couldn’t afford to be soft towards Lance. Lance was a vampire and vampires were always bad news.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will always love Coran...

19

Under the suggestion of Coran, Keith accepted a room for the remainder of the day and possibly overnight. Lying in his back, he was propped up by two overly hard pillows, Lance sleeping on his chest as Keith repeatedly sighed to himself. Coran insisted they needed to rest, and that he’d let them know the results later, but for now Keith was in charge of making sure Lance didn’t fly off and get himself in trouble. He knew he really shouldn’t be thinking of contacting Shiro again so soon, but all of this was so damn complicated... plus, his brother would worry about him. He’d scold him on the outside, while worrying internally.

Opening up his messages, Keith tried to think of what to write, writing and erasing half a dozen things before settling with “can you talk?”. Simple was best. He had no answers for his brother, but he really needed to hear Shiro’s voice. The hunter was made to wait 10 minutes before Shiro finally called him, the noise waking Lance who gave a very disgruntled squeak  
“It’s Shiro. No need to be grumpy with me”  
Sliding his thumb across, Keith noticed it was a video call as he did. Relief flooding through him as Shiro’s tired face filled his small screen  
“Hey, kiddo”  
“Hey, old man. What’s up?”  
Shiro sighed  
“Next question?”  
“That good. Is it safe to ask where you are?”  
“Not really. I’m safe, though. Where are you?”  
“At that dumb address you sent me to. You could have given me the heads up”  
“They were able to help?

Keith tilted his phone down to Shiro Lance   
“We’re waiting”  
“Lance turned into a bat again?”  
“Yep”  
“Is he okay?”  
“No idea. They all know him here. Thanks for letting me know that this was a resource centre”  
Shiro groaned, scrubbing at his face with his free hand   
“I should have. I knew he’d been there. You met Coran and Allura, I take it?”  
“Yeah. He was waiting when the elevator doors opened. Felt like a fucking trap”  
“Coran was waiting for me too. Something about seeing Lance’s car on the security feed. So they don’t know if he’s alright?”  
“Not at the moment. He hasn’t been very well”  
“That’s unusual”  
“Not for him. I got the impression he’d been here for treatment more than once. He turned into a bat in public”  
“That’s not good. Did anyone see?”  
“Cameras might have picked something up. Shiro, what the fuck am I supposed to do now?”  
He wasn’t equipped for this. Mundane life wasn’t something that happened for hunters. Too much peace was bad for him. He needed Lance to change back and keep teaching him how to fight against a vampire   
“I’m working on that. I know it’s hard, kiddo, but has it at least gotten easier living with Lance?”  
“Pffft. No. I have no idea what he’s thinking half the time. He says one thing and does another. He doesn’t want me there, but he hasn’t kicked me out like he said he would. He seems pretty uninterested in me, he didn’t even try drinking from me when I cut my hand”  
“He is rather odd. I’m sorry, but I have to go. There’s a slight issue. If you’re not comfortable staying at Lance’s any longer, you can lodge there, I’m sure he’d understand that you’re there for his protection”  
“I don’t think he’d be happy about that...”  
“Sorry, Keith. I really have to go. Stay safe”

“Yeah. You too Shiro”  
Shiro had already hung up before Keith could reply. Why couldn’t he be with Shiro? Lance seemed able to take care of himself. He wasn’t as old as Keith thought he’d be, his youthful exterior didn’t match the age of 44, but Keith was more surprised Lance was walking around looking 18 at 44, than being a more vampire age of 150 and looking 18. Vampires were wrong like that... and 44 seemed both young and old to him at the same time. Lance had mentioned he felt his development had suffered from being turned so young, yet when Keith had eavesdropped on him during his work call, he’d been unexpectedly smooth and respectful. There seemed so many sides to Lance that Keith couldn’t help but be curious. Would Lance never age past 18? And if he was turned as a child, why had he continued to age? And why was he clinging to Keith? That was the big question. Shiro accepted Lance being a bat far too easily. Coran had claimed he was human. Allura was weirdly nice. All he had was confusion. He felt different since meeting Lance. He didn’t know what Pidge and Hunk were thinking trying to befriend him. For years Adam and Shiro insisted he socialised, but everyone at work was kind of a dick. Especially the pack of werewolves working for the Vatican. They were led by a guy named James, who always went out of his way to be a dick towards Keith. Keith thought he’d finally have answers joining the Blades... but... Fuck. This was all Lance’s fault.

*  
Three fucking days. It took Lance three full days to turn human again. Keith had been told by Coran he could leave at any time, but the world felt uncomfortably big outside the facility they were in. With Lance finally turning back, the man exceptionally embarrassed to wake up beside Keith absolutely naked, Coran had supplied them both with a change of clothes before announcing they all needed to have a little chat. 

Led to what seemed a conference room, Lance was given a bag of blood to sip before Coran sat himself down across them  
“No need to be fearful my boys. I thought we’d have a nice chat and clear the air”  
Three damn days Keith had waited for answers. Coran waved him off, telling him it was best to wait until Lance had the strength to turn back. Lance was human again, and Keith patience had been stretched to breaking point  
“You’re slurping too loudly!”  
Growling at Lance, Lance ducked his head  
“Now, now. Let him drink in peace. Lance, I paid Miriam a visit, she’s recovering well. Allura also paid a visit to Blue, she’s perfectly fine. Keith, I’ve spoken to Shiro. He will be returning in two weeks time. Poor boy had a hell of a time with a werewolf friend of his. Seems he got himself in a little trouble”  
Lance’s eyes went wide  
“Shiro went to see Matt? Is he okay? Is Matt okay?”  
“You know Matt?”  
“Matt is Pidge’s brother. You already know this”  
“Ah, yes! Young Katie. I quite enjoy her online videos. Yes, yes. Now. Keith, I got the results from your blood work. Your in good health. Everything as it should be, and very much human”  
“But...”  
“I feel your symptoms may come from emotional trauma, as well as contact with Lance. There were no traces of Vampirism in your results. Now, Lance, there’s a little issue we need to address”

Lance sank back in his chair, chewing annoyingly on the cap of the blood bag   
“We’ve done some follow up testing, comparing them with the original results and can now say with certainty that your body is changing. You’re exhibiting new abilities, as well as changing physically. Being a vampire who has fed on blood bags is vastly different to a vampire who feeds on fresh blood. Feeding on fresh blood has started a chain reaction within your body. So far we’ve seen a physical change in you, but with a little time things should settle into a new normal. Until then, you may feel some other changes in your body. Increased libido, mood swings, weakness, hunger, headaches. Now, here’s the good news. It seems your quintessence is comfortable and familiar with Keith. I believe I have some idea of what the future holds, I believe you’re becoming a breeder. A tasteless term that’s commonly used. This is just my belief, Allura disagrees given how long you’ve been turned, symptoms would have been more pronounced sooner, though you are a rather exceptional case”

Keith turned in his chair to look at Lance, the vampire frowning   
“Coran... is this... can I lead a normal life once these symptoms settle”  
“Within reason...”  
“Then I don’t need to know”  
Keith might not have been the one being addressed by Coran, but this kind of sounded fucking important. He didn’t know what a breeder was, but from name alone it sounded like Lance could some how... have a kid. Which was ridiculous. The guy was a guy. As far as Keith knew, Lance didn’t have the plumbing for that  
“What’s that supposed to mean?!”  
“It means if it isn’t going to immediately impact on my way of life and being able to do my job, then I don’t need to know”  
“Are you fucking brain damaged? Haven’t you been moping for weeks about not knowing?!”  
“And some things are better off not being said. Coran said I’m going through some blip I’m going to come out of”  
“He also said that you’re becoming a breeder!”  
“It’s not your life Keith!”  
“No, I’m just the poor sucker who’s been looking after your dead arse because you couldn’t turn back into a human!”  
“I never asked you to!”  
“You could at least pretend to be grateful! You transformed in the hospital, where anyone could have been you!”  
“But they didn’t!”

“Boys! That’s enough. Lance, I respect your decision, but this is something you cannot ignore. Your body is going to have needs”  
“I’ll deal with it”  
“It’s not that simple. We’re talking about a change on a structural level”  
“I’m already dead, I don’t think it can get any worse. I don’t want you feeding my vampire ego!”  
Coran sighed   
“I don’t want to fight with you. You’re like a son to me. But if you are changing into a breeder than you’ll be in danger from the constant pheromones your body will be producing. Do you really wish to put Hunk and Pidge in danger?”  
Lance gave Coran such a cold glare that a shiver ran down Keith’s spine  
“That’s not fair”  
“It is what it is my boy. Now, listen to me, I have only your best interests in heart. You’ve lived exceptionally well as a human, but until your emotions stabilise I think it best we have Keith stay with you. Your body is going to change. His presence is quite compatible with yours”  
“He’s a hunter!”  
“And you’ll be hunted by far worse without protection. If your status gets out, you can expect many a vampire caller upon your step”

Lance let out a sad sigh  
“I can’t change this, can I?”  
“No, but we can keep you safe. Breeders are quite sort after. Not every vampire can be a breeder, it’s rare even amongst the ranks. All breeders that we know of have started as humans before turning with their first feed from a human. Keith was your first feed. You’ve held off feeding off him again, but your body is craving his blood and his presence as you change. You... I know you never wished to be romantically involved with anyone, and I’m not saying the relationship has to be physical, but for the next few weeks as your system levels out, it truly is best Keith stay with you”  
“Just... what am I becoming?”  
“Able to bear children. Now you can see why breeders have such value. Any child you bear will have the characteristics of a normal human child, unaffected by the curse you carry. A rare and precious gift, that cannot be stopped once the transformation begins. Any vampire of the highest rank wishes for a lineage of their own. They will use you and toss you aside, for the sake a child born with their blood”

Lance stared at Coran, Keith’s heart was damn near hammering inside his chest cage. He didn’t know that there was such a thing. He’d poisoned himself, Lance had saved him, now Lance was... he was changing and in more danger than ever... because of him. He always ruined everything. Constantly. He drove everyone away. Never the man they thought he was  
“That’s not funny”  
“It’s not a joke, my boy. Your manifestation as a bat is a sign of the change. When your flight or fight instinct is triggered, or your emotions are out of control, you revert to the smallest and fastest form possible. You need to work on coming out of your bat form on your own, as well as working on training to protect yourself. Keith will train with you, you will both benefit from the lessons each of you can teach one another”  
“I’m not having sex with a human”  
“Then find relief in alternative methods. You have no control or sway over Keith. He is not your servant, nor did you turn him. You fed to save his life, and I’m truly sorry things are turning out like this”  
“Then kill me”

Keith felt his rage growing. Lance was rolling over so easily. What happened to the man who loved his friends and family? Who fought for those caught in family dramas?  
“Lance”  
“If I’m becoming something dangerous, then it’s better to kill me now before a potential incident occurs. I refuse to let anyone be hurt by my existence”  
“Lance, please. I don’t want to see you die. I don’t want to lose you. Please, you can lead a relatively normal life again once your body has settled down”  
“I’m going to be a fucking vampire magnet!”  
“You know vampires are attracted to each other as it is. You’ve led a fine life. You have so many things you can still do. Keith will be my eyes and ears. He will keep an eye on you and keep you safe, until the return of his partner. You have friends and family who love you”  
“Who will be the first in danger over me! Keith will be in danger! This place will be in danger... all because of me...”

Lance’s anger petered out into sadness. Keith felt a strong tug in his chest. The kinder thing to do would be to put Lance down. Before those problems rose  
“You said we don’t need to have sex. He simply needs to settle into a new routine... right?”  
“Keith...”  
The question was to Coran, yet Lance softly said his name  
“I’m serious. If he agrees to teach me how to fight better, so I can protect those I love, then I’ll watch him”  
“You will need to let him heal. At least a days full rest and we’ll temporarily increase his blood intake. I will make a charm for you. It’s blessed silver and will sit inside your forearm until you are ready for its removal. It will ward against any forms of infection, giving us time to act if you do come into accidental contact with Lance’s blood. But blood alone will not turn you. You need to be drunk near dry, and the desire to turn you must be clear in Lance’s head. How many hunters do you think come into vampire blood on a daily basis? One small drop to the eye doesn’t turn them, not always. Of course, sometimes an accidental turning may occur, but generally the vampire in question has already settled on its prey when they turn someone. There are different rules, not a “one size fits all” kind of thing. Lance’s blood isn’t very potent seeing he’s fed from blood bags”

This was a lot. A lot more than a lot to take in. Lance wasn’t taking things well, Keith was freaking the fuck out, and Coran’s sympathetic smile was not helping. He and Lance... with Lance having urges... and he’d... well, he’d never done the do. Sure, he jerked off, but his prime focus was work. He didn’t have time for meaningless hookups when there vampires to slay. He’d made out before... drunkenly and he couldn’t even remember their face the next morning, he was so hung over that Adam insisted on being as loud as humanly possible. 

“So I’m not a vampire”  
Lance groaned   
“I’ve been telling you ever since that night you’re not. I thought you’d finally dropped that”  
Keith huffed. That didn’t explain things. Like why his heart went all funny when he looked at Lance, or why his eyes were drawn to those big blue eyes of his... and soft brown hair... He hated him, but felt weirdly connected to him. It had to be something was changing in him  
“No, Keith. Perfectly human in every respect. Now, I’m going to send you home to rest, Lance. I’ll stock you up with some extra blood, and I want you to refrain from high emotions until you’ve settled. You may go visit Miriam, she’s always brought you great comfort, but after that, I would prefer you limit your outside interactions to a minimum, and absolutely avoid big crowds. It’ll help if you keep a written record of how you’re feeling and the things on your mind. If you can pinpoint the things that cause your transformation, you can work on levelling your emotions”  
“You sound like Mami. She always says I worry too much”  
“She’s a smart woman that mother of yours. Now, Keith, would you mind stepping out for a second so I can have a little word with Lance”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith is idiot anger loaf


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta-Dah!

20

Lance wasn’t in the mood for Keith when he walked out of the conference room. Guilt gnawed at every part of his being that wasn’t currently dying of embarrassment. He’d turned into a bat again. He’d turned into a bat and clung to Keith. He could remember the way the man held him to his chest, the sound of Keith’s heart beating strong and fast beneath his warm skin. Fighting with Luis again had shaken him. Keith had... Keith had been like an anchor, Lance feeling drawn to the familiarity of his scent, his presence normally left Lance in some kind of internal chaos. Keith seemed to think they were some kind of rivals, demanding to fight him every day no matter the hour. Maybe they were rivals? They were on the wrong sides... Why did have to be Keith?! Big, dumb, emo, Keith. Who was now caught up in his business...

A breeder. What... how... how did that even happen? He’d never heard the term before and now Coran was telling him he could make babies. A real baby... and have a real family... a family he couldn’t have because he was a vampire... and even more of a freak than he’d ever thought possible. Coran had assured him that he wasn’t, that they’d get through this, that... that they were gone. No one else was listed in line Garrison is as something listed other than human... now he had a hunter to deal with... and Matt... The Matt he’d never met. Shiro was bringing him home. Shiro was convinced Lance would help him. Lance couldn’t even help himself. His presence as a danger to his friends, to his town. Coran was too lenient with his life. Nothing could be done about that until he’d changed internally... But he’d always have the memories of becoming something more twisted and weird.

“Are... are you okay?”  
Keith had waited for him. Leaning against the wall, he had his arms crossed, expression and face echoing Lance’s   
“What do you think?!”  
Snapping, Lance immediately felt bad. Taking a deep breath, he released it slowly  
“Sorry. Sorry. You never asked for any of this. You never asked for this burden at all. I’m sorry you had to take care of me. Thank you”  
Keith seemed as if he had something to say, instead he looked away at a spot on the floor  
“It’s kind of my fault”  
“Dude, don’t go there. I don’t regret saving your life, but it’s still a little too raw to talk about”  
“You’re changing, because of me”  
“Thanks for the reminder. Blame won’t change things”  
“You’re not okay. How are you so calm?”

Lance wasn’t calm. He was a hairs breath away from freaking the fuck out very publicly. He didn’t want to drink more blood. He didn’t want to be further away from being human. He didn’t want this weird body of his. He was dead, so why did he have fits of being warm? He didn’t like it... It felt all weird and funny. Like an ice cream on a side walk. Warm was not as nice as he’d dreamed it be. He couldn’t go back in time, and as much as he wanted to rage at Keith, Keith had helped him when he wasn’t able to help himself   
“We can’t go back in time. If we could, I would have stopped you from injecting yourself to begin with. You wouldn’t have had to worry about being turned, and you’d be with Shiro now. I understand if you don’t want to come back to Garrison. I’m sure I’ll be able to handle myself...”  
“Idiot”  
“Excuse me”  
“Coran said we have to stay together. We can’t let you fall into the hands of other vampires. It’s my job to keep you safe. I have official orders now”

He was a job. Simply a job. The dynamic between he and Keith had changed again. Now they were allowed to train either. And he was supposed to start having urges. Going through puberty once was bad enough. He was 44. He didn’t need random boners at inappropriate times all over again  
“You’re the idiot who thought he was still a vampire”  
“You’re the idiot who turned into a bat”  
Touché. He’d been so upset, desperate not to break in front of Luis  
“For how long?”  
“What?”  
“How long was I a bat?”  
“Three days”

Keith had been forced to baby him for three days. An embarrassed groan escaped his lips, before his heart gave a flip. His Mami was still in hospital. He’d abandoned her for three full days. She must be in so much pain and so confused... and then there was Blue. His precious princess didn’t love being alone unless it was on her terms. He’d totally skipped out on Pidge and Hunk. Though hopefully Hunk was too busy with his new girlfriend to notice. He’d called Lance after his date, talking about how perfect Shay was for near on two hours. Lance had been so happy for him. He’d tried to pay for everything, only for Shay to shoot him down. She had her own money to spend on the things she wanted, and she’d wanted to pay her share of the date now that it was finally happen. They’d had their first kiss on her doorstep, Hunk so sweet as he described the way his heart raced, and how he was so scared that he’d kiss her wrong. Shay was now in their group chat, she and Pidge got on so well that they might as well have been sisters. Hunk didn’t stand a chance when they teamed up together, Shay was exactly the type to bring him out of his shell, and him with her. That kind of thing he resigned himself to never having. He’d been pretty popular when he was younger... and in college... and not now in his 40’s mentally. He’d been known as quite the playboy but he liked to think of those days as well and truly being over. Starting something new, letting someone in, he didn’t know how to do that anymore.

“I’m sorry. Let’s... let’s get some flowers and see Mami, then head home. Garrison is pretty safe, so you don’t have to worry about the hard stuff like shopping”  
Keith wrinkled his brow  
“That’s what you’re thinking about right now? Shopping?”  
“You need human food. I mean, I eat because I like too, but you need to eat properly. I’m sorry Coran put you in this position. I’m sure once Shiro returned you‘ll be able to return to your normal life...”  
“Lance...”  
“I bet you’re itching to. I mean, you’re pretty much stuck in the country, out the way of everything...”  
“Lance...”  
“And I know it’s not fun for you...”  
“Lance! God, listen to me. I don’t know what to do or what to think. You’re right, currently we’re stuck together, but right now all you want to do is see you mother. We... we’ll work something out when we’re back home, okay?”

Home. His home felt so distant from Platt that it might have well have been on another world. Three days felt like 3 years and then some on top of that. Keith couldn’t be taking any of this well. He needed to shut up and keep his head down. Get his affairs in order... then figure out his next step. Now Keith was calling his house home and Lance felt kind of hopeful that it’d keep being his home. Not Keith’s... he’d be leaving, but Matt was coming now... Something must have happened with his girlfriend... or Lance was about to be sharing his house with two dumb hunters and a pair of love wolfs.

“Yeah. Yeah. Just... I’m still sorry about all of this”  
Lance expected some kind of bite, instead Keith sighed at him  
“I’m to blame too. I used the wrong needle that night. The needle I used was meant for you”  
“That doesn’t make me feel any better”  
Mercury would forever be a no go, humans were so much smarter now they knew the risks of its use. Still, it would have been better to take the injection, at least then it wouldn’t have been tainted by Keith’s gross blood. The idea of feeding from Keith was definitely not appealing. At all. Not in the slightest. Nope. He didn’t want to sink his fangs into that flesh... no matter what his body might say...  
“I wasn’t saying it to make you feel better. It’s the truth. Now let’s get out of this place. I don’t like it here”  
Lance doubted there was anywhere Keith liked to be. Personally, if he hadn’t had other commitments, kicking Keith out and just staying inside for the rest of his life would have been his go to plan.

*  
Lance insisted on driving. Keith losing at rock, paper, scissors, and being forced to keep his mouth shut in as he sat in the front passenger seat. They’d driven to three different florists before Lance was finally happy, a large bouquet of weird white and red roses sat in his lap, making Keith’s nose itch. Lance was trying too hard. Too hard for a man who’d been told he was some kind of vampire baby maker. It was enough to make Keith wish he still drank like a moron. Being drunk would make the whole thing make sense, then it’d all disappear into a drunken blur. Lance’s stupid humming was fooling no one, not even himself.

Arriving at the hospital, Keith was left to play catch up as Lance strode on ahead. The overcast day probably provided him with protection, seeing he was really very underdressed when compared to normal. Following along, Lance charmed his way back to his Mami’s room, where his Mami was sleeping peacefully. It was there the vampires steps grew hesitant. A stranger sat beside Miriam, her hand in his, the man’s eyes spoke volumes as the nurse left them to find a vase for the flowers Lance had brought  
“What are you doing back here?”  
“She’s my Mami too, Luis”

Luis. The older brother. Followed by Veronica, Marco, then finally Rachel. Keith had read Lance’s file, then promptly pushed them to the back of his mind. Lance was the only non-human in his family, meaning the rest didn’t matter. If Keith remembered correctly there was 12 years between Luis and Lance. A big gap for a human, even bigger when your brother barely looked old enough to be classed as an adult.

“And? What? Did you call the hospital to check if she wasn’t dead? Show up because she wasn’t? Walking in here thinking all was forgiven? You left her when she needed support”  
This dude was seriously a dick  
“I was busy...”  
“Busy stalking your next victim? Figuring out who’s life to ruin next?”  
“I couldn’t come back any sooner... things happened...”  
“How convenient for you”  
Luis wasn’t just a dick. He was a whole douche canoe... Fuck, now he was picking up on Lance’s vocabulary  
“It wasn’t like that. I would have been here if I could have been, and I didn’t come to fight. I came to see Mami”  
“You shouldn’t be here. You should be gone”

Lance’s eyes widened, a bitter laugh that rubbed Keith the wrong way fell from his lips  
“Wow. You really did it. Thanks a lot, Luis”  
“Did what?”  
“Reported me. God. I don’t know how I didn’t see that coming. You’re supposed to be my brother”  
Keith clenched his fists, a sick feeling in his stomach. Luis had tried to look surprised, but guilt was all across his face. Who the fuck sold out their own brother?  
“My brother died when you took over his body”  
That was totally uncalled for. Lance had been turned by two particularly nasty vampires from the sound of things  
“I’m still me. You would know that if you weren’t too busy being scared. Never once have I hurt any of you, never once did I ask for this, and you know it. I know we drifted apart, but I never wanted things to be like this. I never wanted any of you to have anything other than the normal life that I couldn’t have. So screw you. For Mami’s sake, I’m not going to say something I’m going to regret, but thanks to you my whole life is a mess”  
“Don’t play the victim. You suck the life out of everyone you ever met”

Keith moved before he knew what he was doing. Placing himself between the fighting siblings   
“That’s enough. Lance has been ill. But not once did he not want to be here with Miriam. How can you turn your back on your brother when he’s suffered through so much?”  
“And who the fuck are you?”  
“The hunter you called in. I’ve seen some pretty messed up things and I can say that Lance is so stupidly human that it’s honestly tiring. My job was to eliminate him, but even knowing that, he still stepped up and put his own life in danger. I know if my brother was turned, I wouldn’t be treating him the way you do. And what about your mother? How old is she now? How long has she had to live with your hatred? If... if my mother was here, I would be ashamed to show my face acting like this”  
Not that Keith knew much about his mother... He did however enjoy the colours that Luis’s face went. The draining of the colour, then the slow creeping in of red until he looked as if stream was ready to start pouring out his ears  
“You...”  
Lance reaches out, fingers wrapping around Keith’s wrist   
“Keith, that’s enough. He’s scared. You get used to it”  
How could Lance be defending Luis? Shiro had done some crazy stupid things including going missing for what felt like a year, but he was still his brother. He’d always be his brother...   
“That shouldn’t matter! He’s your brother!”  
“And I ruined the lives of my family that day I turned. Everything changed for them. I’m leaving flowers for Mami, she already knows where I’ve been and what’s happened. I don’t have to explain to you, because all it would do was make you hate me more. I love her. She’s my Mami and I love her. I’m going to stay with her until the end. I don’t ever want her to see us fight like this. Don’t forget that, Luis. Her life is more valuable to me than my own, even to a monster like me. The nurse is bringing a vase for these flowers. Please don’t throw them out”

Keith was forced to loosen his grip on Lance’s arm, Lance walking over to place the roses on his mother’s side table, before leaning down and kissing her forehead. Luis looked ready to grab the hand sanitizer from the end of the bed and wipe Miriam’s forehead the moment Lance was done   
“Te amor, Mami”  
Reluctant to leave his Mami, Lance slumped for a moment before straightening himself up and walking right past Keith, Keith having to jog a few steps to catch up with him  
“I know what you’re going to say, but not now. Death is in this place. It’s best we leave”  
“Mami?”  
“Not her. She’s still very much alive. But we shouldn’t distress someone who’s about to lose someone they love by arguing here. You should probably drive home”

Keith wasn’t good at feeling helpless, not that he did. He was annoyed. Lance’s stupid brother had caused this mess and Lance had rolled over. Not that they could fight in front of Miriam, but how did... Keith could never turn his back on Shiro. Shiro wouldn’t turn his back on him, no matter how far he pushed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Luis is a dick... that is all


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith’s domesticated? Who knew?
> 
> Also, guys, I bought a new friend today... I’d like to blame our favourite idiot vampire Google -  
> Beanie Boos - Regular Halloween Radar Bat  
> It was love at first sight. I also picked up Pandora kitty with him.

21

Tense. Things at home were tense. Lance had muttered about needing to go shopping, then left. Keith knew when to bite his tongue, and this was definitely a time for tongue biting. Wanting to do something helpful Keith put his mind to cleaning. Not like in-depth cleaning, but enough to be counted as an effort around the house. That meant first he had to find everything, then he had to argue with the washing machine as he tried to figure the damn thing out as he didn’t know if sheets were washed on the same cycle setting as clothes... if they weren’t before, they were now. Blue had acted like it was the end of the world once the vacuum cleaner went on, dramatically running from the living room so fast she skidded. Adam would have been proud of him. As was every foster family he’d never fit in with. Sure, he had anger issues, but he wouldn’t have anger issues if people stopped making him angry.

Keith got less done than he’d set out to accomplish. Barely finishing the first floor before there was the sound of a car horn out the front, the approach drowned out by Lance’s ancient vacuum that would have been tossed out long ago if Adam had seen the device. Adam really did have the one functioning brain cell between him, Shiro and Keith. The hunter knew it was unhealthy to hold onto things, Adam had died over a year ago now, but he and Shiro together had been the best family Keith had ever had. Shiro never treated him like a legacy. The child of a hunter who’s name carried far too much weight. Since being accepted into the Order and beginning his training as a cadet, he’d lived in the shadow of the great werewolf hunter Krolia. He understood why she had to leave him, why she did fought as she did, but... Shiro and Adam felt more like family to him than she did. Krolia was... she was... it was heavy to think about her accomplishments. Stowing the vacuum back in the laundry, Keith rushed back through the house, trying not to appear like he cared whether Lance was alright or not... because he didn’t. 

Heading out, Lance was standing at the back of his bronco, trunk door open  
“Help me carry stuff”  
Lance wasn’t supposed to be doing anything exerting like carrying in the whole damn shop from the look of it  
“Did we really need so much stuff?”  
“Not supposed to go out, remember. So I stocked up. Before you bite my head off, I didn’t go shopping alone. I found my phone in the car and shot Hunk a message”  
“You... talked to Hunk?”  
“Am I not allowed?!”

The snappiness in Lance’s tone kind of hurt, as did the fact Lance had talked to Hunk before they’d had a chance to talk about their situation   
“I’m not saying that. I’m just wondering what... It’s none of my business”  
“It’s fine. I shouldn’t have snapped. I told him Mami had a fall, well, Miriam had a fall and I was in Platt due to it. He went a little crazy shopping”  
“So you’re blaming Hunk for this?”  
They needed a whole army to eat the amount of food in the back of the bronco. Lance sighed as he passed Keith the first bag  
“He’s a good man. I really do think he and Pidge are both interested in you, as in being friends. Sorry, can we save talking until we’re back inside. I want to wallow a little longer”  
“Alright... but don’t think you’re getting out of this”  
“I wouldn’t dream of it”

*  
People were exhausting. Hunk was one of those people. He was a natural born worrier who’d worried the moment he showed up. Lance was pulled into a tight hug, hiding his discomfort as he was. Normally he loved Hunk’s hug, but he couldn’t tell him the truth and it sucked big hair testicles. Repeatedly trying to redirect the conversation from him, Hunk kept bringing up how unwell Lance looked and how he needed to eat more. Yeah. He did. But looking at all the food in the supermarket isles made him sick. It fed the knot of anxiety that’d settled in his gut. He was changing for the worse, and there was no way to back out of it now. When Matt came, everything would change again. Pidge would be over the moon to see her brother again, while Matt would be terrified of one wrong move exposing his secret. Secrets sucked. They festered like wounds. Growing and spreading that infection until you felt physically ill.

Settling down with a cup of coffee, like a normal human would, Lance stared into the cup as Keith put things away. Lance wanted to take control, he wanted to take back some kind of order in his life, yet with Keith living there, he needed to loosen up. Keith needed to know where things went and how to navigate his kitchen beyond how to use the coffee machine. Keith really seemed to like his coffee. He wasn’t so fond of broccoli, or corn for that matter, but he also never really complained about eating anymore... provided he could hover while Lance he cooked, still kind of paranoid Lance was going to poison him or something. If he was going to do that, he would taken care of Keith the second Shiro was clear of the picture.

“You look pale. Do you need blood?”  
Keith’s question took Lance by surprise. He never hid his drinking blood from his friends, but they thought he was simply indulging in red wine. Keith had seen him drink, and extremely embarrassingly vulnerable. He’d swallowed down that blood bag at VOLTRON with no worries thanks to how hungry he was... So why was it now he was feeling self conscious thanks to Keith asking? And why were his teeth almost throbbing at the idea? It would be a blood bag like the rest of the times he fed, having Keith there was not his ticket to a fresh meal because he didn’t want a fresh meal. That’d mean only submitting to his vampire way  
“Not yet”  
“Coran said you need to keep your strength up”  
“Since when did you care?”  
Keith placed down the box of cereal he’d been trying to find a home for  
“Since I don’t run away from mistakes I’ve made”

Ouch. Yeah. Keith had fucked up, but he was kind of trying... but only because he felt obligated too. Obligations sucked. Lance knew he was only a job to Keith, but “mistake” struck like a bullet to the heart   
“Dude, ouch”  
“I... I mean. I take responsibility for my actions. You’re changing because of me. We can’t ignore it”  
“I can try”  
Keith slammed his plan down on the kitchen bench with enough anger that Lance felt himself jump   
“Why?! Why do you that? You said nothing to Luis. You didn’t try defending yourself. You didn’t ask to be turned”

He really hadn’t. He’d been such a lonely kid, he always seemed to have plenty of people around him, but he’d always felt so filled with faults that he kept messing up his friendships. Every month he seemed to have a new best friend who’d leave him to play with someone cooler and smarter than he was. Someone who better at games, and didn’t have problems with English as Spanish was the spoken language at home. He’d been alright with his siblings until they all started to grow older... then they’d all sort of... given up on their little brother   
“Luis gave into his fear long ago”  
“That doesn’t make it right. He tried to have you hunted”  
“I know he did. Look, I’m way too sober for that conversation. But you’d be right if you thought I ruined our family. No one knew how to handle a kid with flashbacks, nightmares and all the things that come with being a vampire. I’m happy they all got out and had a life...”  
“The rest of your family’s like that? Like, Luis?”  
“It’s complicated. They don’t understand why I’m the way I am. Why I don’t drive a car in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, why I live in a house that’s a cross between farmhouse and plantation. Why I work so cheaply when I could be earning more. They all think I sponge off Mami, and stay with her so I have control over her. It’s easier to pick your battles and the way I see it, Mami won’t live forever. I’ve caused her enough pain that shouldn’t have to see me fighting with my siblings. Fuck... I really am way too sober”

Taking off his glasses, Lance leaned back in his chair, rubbing at his eyes with the heels of his palms. Keith didn’t know his life outside of whatever he’d read. He didn’t know how hard it was in the house to have a blood sucker. He didn’t know how many times Lance had made things hard for their family. How he’d cost them all this extra money to keep him fed and safe. Then there was therapy. Him changing schools. Him dealing with his mental health while trying to deal with puberty and nightmares. And God knew how hard it was. How hard it was for his parents, how exhausted they were. How his condition was kind of taboo, and no one was allowed to make a joke about it lest his Mami heard and you’d get smacked across your arse with her pink slipper. Keith picked up the box of cereal again, Lance could hear his moves. The way the contents of the box shook, and the way his clothes rustled. The tiny shift of his footing as he stood on tiptoe to find a space in the cupboard   
“I think you were wrong not to stand up for yourself”  
Of course “Crusader Keith” thought he needed to stand up for himself, he’d been trained by “Shiro the Hero”  
“Tried that, doesn’t work”  
He always sent cards, via Mami who knew their address  
“Even if Shiro turned, I don’t think I could ever give up on him”  
“That’s because you’re far more emotionally mature that my siblings were when they had to deal with a messed up little brother. I’m going to get a bottle of red. Fuck being sober, I’m going to wallow the patheticness out my system, then hopefully I won’t be such a grumpy dick”  
“I don’t think you’re being too grumpy. You’re still a bit of a dick”  
Lance snorted, placing down his cup of coffee  
“That might just be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me”  
“Don’t get used to it”  
Lance’s lips turned upwards, the ghosting of a smile. Keith was a total dick, and had no place in Lance’s life, but he wasn’t as obnoxious as he’d been when they first met  
“Have a look in the blue bag, down the bottom. I got you something while I was out”

*  
“Have a look in the blue bag, down the bottom. I got you something while I was out”

Keith didn’t get Lance at all. He’d been moping, now he was kind of smiling, or grimacing, Keith wasn’t completely sure, but the fact Lance had bought him something seemed kind of like a trap  
“You got me something?”  
“Yep. Blue bag is all yours”  
His? Wasn’t the food because he was human? What else did he need?  
“Why?”  
“Why, what?”  
“Why did you get me something?”  
“Because when I saw it, I thought of you. Don’t make this weird”

It was already weird. All of this was weird as fuck. Peaking in the first blue bag there was a whole heal of vegetables, including broccoli which he hated, Lance snorted at him  
“Not that one. The other one”  
“You could have told me that”  
“Coulda, woulda, shoulda”  
Whatever that meant. Grabbing the second blue bag, Keith pulled it forward by the handles  
“Milk?”  
“Lactose free. Actually, all the milk I’ve been buying lately to feed your coffee addictions been lactose free, so you’re welcome over that. I said in the bottom. You know, under everything else”  
“Shut up. It just looked like bottles of milk”  
“On the top, maybe. I’ll give you that”

Keith sighed to himself mentally. How was he supposed to put up with Lance for another two weeks when he had nothing to do. He couldn’t work out, Coran had benched Lance from teaching him anything physical. Sitting around and doing nothing didn’t agree with him. Lifting out the two bottles of milk, he was annoyed that Lance had something nice. He wasn’t strictly like allergic to lactose, but some brands definitely upset his stomach more than others. At the bottom of the bag was a wrapped box, the paper slightly wet from the condensation off the milk bottles  
“It’s a box?”  
“Wow, I bet those powers of observation are what makes you a great hunter. Open the box, dummy”  
Grumpily Keith took the box out of the bag, mumbling as he did   
“You didn’t need to buy me anything”  
“You’re really bad at accepting gifts aren’t you?”  
“Shut up”

Inside the box was a red digital camera. Keith had always loved the colour red, he also indulged in a little photography thanks to Shiro. It wasn’t as fancy as his camera at home, but it wasn’t bottom of the range either  
“You got me a camera?”  
“Yep. If you’re going to be sticking around, I figured you might want one to keep up the pretence of having left it here”  
This would have easily cost Lance a couple of hundred. Didn’t the vampire have better things to spend his money on?  
“Why...?”  
“Not this again. Fine, I’ll play along. Why, what?”  
“Why did you spend money on me?”  
“Because you’re stuck here and I thought that it might be nice to have something of your own. It’s also an apology for all the shit I put you through by turning into a bat. Just make sure you get a few photos of the house, I told the others you were taking photos to help me renovate. Accept the damn gift”

Lance seemed as bad at giving gifts as Keith was at receiving them. Not that the camera was a bad gift, the vampire seemed embarrassed that he was making a fuss over it all. Big gifts like this were shaved for birthdays or Christmas, no one went around simply buying things for other people, unless it was Shiro. Shiro had absolutely awful impulse control, Keith’s not that much better. His savings only went as far as saving for what he wanted, buying it, then looking at his abysmally empty bank balance sadly. There was no reason to really save when any mission could see him dead...  
“Thanks. I’m not used to things like this”  
“I can tell. Just... the camera isn’t me trying to buy your apology. Just so you know, I wanted to do something nice for you, with like, no strings attached... and now that this has gotten even more awkward, I’m off to get that red”  
As Lance pushed his chair back, curiosity struck, Keith tilting the box in Lance’s direction   
“Hey, Lance... Do you show up in these things?”  
“Really? Photos, videos and mirrors... People wish they’d looked as good as I do dead. I mean, otherwise it’d be super suspicious when I didn’t show up in Pidge’s videos, when I let her film me”  
“Oh... I hadn’t thought about that”  
Lance snorted at him  
“Some vampire hunter you are. Please don’t destroy my kitchen while I’m gone. Also, I grabbed some stuff so we can make pizza for dinner... I assume you don’t mind pizza and beer?”

Keith wrinkled his nose. That sounded like he was going to be cooking... and if the piece of shit toaster Lance used to have was anything to go by, then maybe that wouldn’t be the best idea. Lance was already walking towards the kitchen door  
“I don’t know how to make pizza”  
Raising his hand, the vampire waved his concerns off  
“Then prepared to do the learn. Man, I’m going to have to teach you everything, aren’t I?”  
“About vampires?”  
“Nope. First you learn to do the human, then you’ll learn how to do the dead human. Don’t forget, I’ll hear you if you try breaking my kitchen... ow, fuck...”

Walking straight into the door frame, Lance rubbed at his forehead. Keith had no idea how Lance managed to walk into so many things and be so absolutely uncoordinated while in his own house. He wore glasses, shouldn’t that like help him see? Shouldn’t he have some kind of sense when he was getting too close to something? What kind of a vampire needed glasses? Lance didn’t make sense at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They are idiots... two halves the same idiot


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just two idiots bonding because they’re stupid.
> 
> Keith does the try

22

Channeling his outer age instead of his inner, Lance let his manners go out the window somewhere after his third glass of wine. Each glass was technically two glasses, so now he had a nice pleasant buzz going on as he sat on his kitchen counter with Blue. He’d totally been a “Debby Downer”, and if he wasn’t kind of still having a slightly premature midlife crisis, he would have invited Hunk over to hang with him and Keith... Right. Like he could do that. What was he supposed to tell Hunk if he suddenly like sneezed and turned into a bat? God... What if he couldn’t jerk off anymore and what if he turned into a bat when he tried? Wait... when was the last time he tried to jerk off? Fuck... He couldn’t remember.

“Laaaaance? Are you even fucking listening?”  
Keith looked grumpy, glaring at the pizza base before him. Keith wasn’t quite ready for the whole pizza from scratch experience, so Lance had grabbed a few bases much to the disgust of Hunk  
“Sorry. I completely zoned out. What’s up?”  
“I asked you what the hell I’m supposed to do with this thing?”  
Keith had barely spread the sauce across the base. Trying to get the woodfired oven on had been the easiest part of the whole ordeal. Keith really loved setting shit on fire. Shiro was now in even deeper shit over the things he hadn’t taught his brother, and for apparently raising an anger loaf that was also a pyromaniac   
“You want to put about twice the amount of sauce on the base. Then you put the cheese on. You gotta put the cheese on the bottom because it’s like the glue that sticks your toppings down”  
Keith reached out, plucking the wine glass out of Lance’s hand  
“No more until you’ve had dinner”  
“But...”  
“Nope. If I have to cook, you have to tell me what the fuck I’m doing”

Ugh. Stupid Keith. He was ruining Lance’s budding buzz. Scooching Blue away, Lance slid himself off the counter, to move behind Keith   
“Now what are you doing?”  
Rolling his eyes at the hunter, Lance grabbed the squeezie bottle of pizza sauce around him   
“I told you. You need more sauce. Here, I’ll squeeze and you spread”  
“Don’t day that again?”  
“What? Squeeze and spread?”  
Keith huffed at him in annoyance. This was probably the closest they’d been in their human forms. Keith was between his arms, his heart was racing, as Lance teased him by standing right behind him  
“That. You’re supposed to be the mature one here”  
“Ah, young grasshopper. I’m slightly, a bit, maybe, tipsy. And I may also sound like a douche right now, but Shiro should have taught you how to make pizza. How do you live in Rome, and not know how to make a damn pizza? I feel like someone in Italy just died”  
“Do you ever shut up?”  
“Yep. But you asked what to do. Spread he sauce across the base, then add the cheese”

Squeezing the bottle too hard, the lid popped off, sauce going pretty much everywhere in the immediate radius  
“You did that on purpose?! Can’t you just be normal?!”  
Keith saw red, Lance stepping out of his personal space with his hands up in surrender  
“I swear that wasn’t on purpose. Take your shirt off, I’ll put it in to soak”  
“There’s washing in the machine...”  
That there was. But Lance hadn’t said to strip and chuck his shirt in the wash  
“I know that. That’s why I said I’d put it in to soak”  
“I know how to soak a shirt. Whatever. This is pointless.. You can’t even take this seriously”

Lance’s mood began to fall. He hadn’t meant to piss Keith off. He’d honestly squeezed too hard by accident... Now he felt like a dick. Drunk Lance was a tad obnoxious   
“You’re right. I can’t even control how hard I squeeze a plastic bottle, how am I supposed to teach you anything when I’m like this? Go put your shirt in to soak, I’ll clean this up”  
“What... but...”  
“You don’t have to pretend Keith. It’s fine. For the foreseeable future it’s your home too. You don’t have to go along with the things I say. I thought it might be fun, but I messed it up. I’ll be in my office for the rest of the night. Make sure you eat. Don’t worry about the mess... I’ll deal with it when I’ve calmed down”

*  
Whatever that was, Keith was kind of sure he’d been the one who’d messed up. He’d thought Lance was genuinely mocking him when he stood behind all weirdly, and popped the bottle of pizza sauce everywhere. He’d made pizzas with Shiro before, but those had the sauce and cheese already on the base, and he wasn’t actually that keen on pizzas that seemed to swim in sauce. He wasn’t even really that mad about his shirt, considering it was black. They’d kind of had a moment where he thought things might be okay. He’d noticed Lance frowning at his wine glass, and thought dragging him out of his thoughts was the right thing to do. Now he’s gone and fucked up. Lance had fled from him. 

Staring at the sauce, Keith nodded to himself. Lance might think he hated him, and he didn’t want that... not that he liked Lance, but they were stuck together and the man seemed pretty high strung, despite the way he was acting. He could totally make pizza for dinner... Alone. Unsupervised. He wasn’t some kid who knew nothing. The toaster had totally eaten his toast and was to blame went it went up in flames. He could do this. He was going to do this and Lance was going to eat pizza because fuck him and his overdramatic arse.

Scraping the sauce onto another base, Keith left a trail of mess as he figured things out. He didn’t know what herbs went on pizza, yet he didn’t have to when the herb jars came labelled and one conveniently said “Pizza Herbs”. Herbs were spilt, Blue leapt up to eat the cheese and diced ham that went the same way as the herbs. He didn’t know how Lance felt about garlic, but a few cloves wound up on both their pizzas all the same. Yeah. He could totally do this. His skill left much to be desired, but Keith was quietly proud as he slid both pizzas into the oven... both way too loaded, with toppings that’d slid into the middle as he moved them.

Waiting until it looked done, Keith had nothing else to do but play with Blue. She was cute, and she didn’t seem to have the same attitude as her owner. Licking sauce off her paw, her little tongue poked out as Keith interrupted her grooming by wiping his hand over the crumbs on the bench, knocking some onto the floor in his attempt to “clean up”. Maybe he should get a pet? Something to wait for him when he got home... He wouldn’t mind a cat like Blue, secretly feeling black cats were the best despite what people might say with their silly superstitions. Distracted by Blue and the crumbs, Keith swore as he smelt something burning, Blue jumping off the counter and running out the kitchen as if he’d insulted everything she’d held dear by semi-yelling “fuck!”.

The pizzas weren’t cremated. Slightly black around the edges, with the cheese in the middle kind of weirdly unmelted but golden enough to pass as done. He didn’t need Lance to tell him what to do. He’d done it all by himself, like the 26 year old man he was. Now all he had to do was plate up... after he reclaimed his pizzas from the oven. Shiro always did them in a normal oven, pulling the pizza out by the side of the crust, having pushed them further back, Keith didn’t fancy getting burned on the flat metal trays built into the wood oven. His go to were tongs... succeeding in ripping the crust, meaning he had to try pull them out by hand... burning his fingertips as he did. That didn’t matter. He’d proved Lance wrong by creating two edible pizzas and he was pretty damn proud. Keith wanted to try out his new camera to photograph his kitchen triumph, but he also wanted to wait until after dinner when he could crash out on the lounge and explore its features properly... 

Keith came to a stop, realising what he’d been thinking. He was... first he called this place “home”, now he was making plans to spend the evening binging horror movies as he played with his camera... He was far too comfortable here... What would Lance think if he made himself at home? Would be happy? Or would he be interrupting Lance’s night by taking over the TV? Lance wasn’t in a great place... Crap. What if he’d turned back into a bat? Would he be mad if Keith ate his pizza? Maybe if he cut them up and served them on two plates in the living room, it wouldn’t be weird for Keith to eat Lance’s share? If he was a bat, he could sit on the coffee table and nibble around the edges... Shit... The hunter’s hand itched to grab his phone out so he could call Shiro for help... Buuuuut... Shiro would be cranky if he called him over the best way to casually rub Lance’s face in the fact he’d made dinner. His brother might not even believe he’d been the one who cooked... Fuck. Okay. He could do this. It was pizza night with Shiro, only Lance was Shiro, and he wasn’t that great of a stand in... but the principle of the night was the same. Beer, pizza, horror movies... 

*  
Setting up things in the living room, Keith pulled up Netflix, leaving the remote conveniently close. He’d moved Lance’s glass of red wine and blood next to one of the pizzas, and uncapped his beer beside his own. Trying to cut through the slices with the pizza cutter hadn’t worked, just like those stupid wheels never worked the other hundred times he’d tried. Running his fingers through his hair, he felt king of nervous. He wanted to do a nice thing, kind of... Plus he hadn’t destroyed Lance’s kitchen in the process, so that definitely earned him extra brownie points. Now he just had to disturb Lance and hope he wasn’t about to be attacked for doing so.

Knocking on Lance’s office door, the vampire didn’t even acknowledge his presence. Slightly miffed that Lance was being so petty, he threw it open and succeeding in scare the crap out of him. Leaning back in his chair, Lance had some weird green goo covering his face, his ears covered with headphones... or rather, that’d been the way it’d been before he’d scared Lance badly enough he’d fallen out of his chair  
“Jesus! What the hell, man?!”  
Stifling a laugh, Keith sucked in his lips, Lance collecting himself up as he slid his headphones down. It was time to drop that bomb  
“I made dinner”

Lance pursed his lips, brow wrinkled as he paused pushing himself up  
“You should come grab something to eat. We’re having dinner in front of the TV”  
Lance tilted his head to the left. The position he was in didn’t look comfortable   
“You made dinner?”  
“You don’t need to sound so shocked”  
“But I messed things up”  
“Not everything revolves around your actions. Whatever. You don’t have to eat if you don’t want to”  
“What? No. Dude. I mean... I didn’t think... You cooked?”  
Lance didn’t seem as impressed as Keith had hoped, he seemed more dubious over the quality of the food. Now Keith felt kind of annoyed he’d mentally made a big deal of it   
“Pizza, beer, and movies... Shiro and I tried to do it when we could”  
“You and Shiro cooked?”  
Keith wished he had something he could throw at Lance. He didn’t need to sound so damn shocked. Cross his arms, the hunter’s voice held the strong tone of a pout   
“We’re not useless. It’s not that hard to put some stuff on a pizza and bake it. If you’re going to keep making a deal of it, then you can make your own dinner”  
“I didn’t say you were useless. I’m surprised seeing I was a total dick”  
“You weren’t a dick. I thought you were making fun of me until I remembered that you can’t actually control your strength that well at the moment, not that the wine helped. I’m heading back to the living room, you do whatever you want”  
“Dude, I’m totally there. Give me a tick to wash this stuff off, then I’ll be all good to go”

That right there was why he couldn’t keep up with Lance. That sudden change in upward mood wasn’t something he was used to. Most hunters had seen too much shit to be that happy, ever. Now his whole damn face was lit up, like Keith had given him some great gift. Fucked if Keith knew what it was meant to be, and fucked if he was going to waste brain power figuring it out.

Heading back to the living room, Keith flopped down on the sofa with a satisfied groan. Blue watching it his every move judgmentally from her spot on the tv cabinet as Keith forced himself up to retrieve his pizza and his beer, slumping back then noticing the remote laying on the table, the bastard out of reach. Keith rubbed at his face with his right hand, before leaning forward again to snag the remote. There wasn’t anything in particular he had in mind, more after background noise so fill in the gaps when Lance clammed up. Keith could see it now. He’d ask, Lance would say “after dinner”, then the chance to talk would slip away. Sliding out a piece of ham, Blue came flying, straight up into Keith’s lap with both paws on his leg as she craned upwards for the tasty treat  
“Don’t tell you father”

“Don’t tell me what? Blue, are you conning food out again?”  
Blue was on her third tiny square of ham as Lance shuffled in, he’d changed into his pyjamas, slippers scuffing on the wooden floor  
“What was that?”  
“I heard you telling her not to tell”  
“Oh. She’s allowed ham, isn’t she?”  
Keith couldn’t remember if it was cats or dogs who weren’t supposed to have ham  
“Just a little bit. Wow, it looks good”  
Keith went with the topic change, it was best to let Lance think he had his guard down  
“Of course it does, I made it myself”  
“You must have had a great teacher. What are we watching?”  
“I was thinking something horror. Shiro and I like to point out everything they got wrong”  
“Now you sound like Pidge. We only watch the b-grade stuff because Hunk gets scared”

Lance sidestepped his way between Keith and the coffee table, Keith realising he hadn’t put much space between them as he’d given his new camera a whole cushion space to itself  
“Does Hunk gets scared often?”  
“He has a healthy fear of everything that he needs to. He’s the biggest ball of warm feels in existence”  
Lance sat himself down carefully, avoiding dropping down and causing Keith’s pizza to slide  
“No one can be that nice”  
“Hunk is. He would have come home tonight with me if I’d let him. He’s like chronically stuck in care bear mode. No one can be mad at Hunk, it’s like physically impossible”  
Keith didn’t buy it. Everyone had that point they reached when all that was left was anger  
“There had to be a time he got mad...”  
Lance nodded as he leaned forward to grab his plate of pizza and what was left of his wine  
“Yeah. But never without good reason, and he always faces his fears. He’s not too bad with spooky movies, but when you get into in the TV shows, he gets jumpy. Out of respect, we don’t watch a lot of squeamish things, you know, those movies they make filled with bloody scenes purely to have bloody scenes. I have so much respect for him”

Lance truly loved his friends. Keith could hear it in his words as plainly as he could see it on his face   
“And Pidge?”  
“She’d set the world on fire with a smile if you messed with her or anyone she loved. She’s fierce, but amazing. She’s like a super hacker, and she’s never met a piece of tech she hasn’t been able to make her bitch”  
It must be nice to have friends like that. Friends that had your back for no reason other than the fact you were friends. Keith couldn’t say he knew that feeling, always feeling on the outside as everyone else moved on without him. He’d worked with other hunters, and had classes and training with other hunters, yet still felt insignificant. It scared him to think about what they’d say about him.

Lance settled back, elbowing him playfully as he did  
“This really does look good. I didn’t mean to get sauce everywhere. I kind of lost it for a bit when I got back to my office. Now, if we’re watching some bad horror movie, please don’t pick anything with vampires. They always get it wrong”  
“You’re not bloodsucking monsters that turn to ash in the sun?”  
“Nope. Some of us are. I don’t”  
Keith raised an eyebrow  
“You don’t, what?”  
“Turn into ash. I can see my reflection. I think maybe a stake to heart might kill me off, but I’m not 100 percent sure”  
“You can walk around in the sun?”  
“I can sun bake and everything. Plus, no sparkles bitches”  
God’s love was found in the light. Vampires were supposed to be turn to dust because God had turned his back on them. Keith was a little dubious over the whole thing, but exorcists did exist, so there had to be something there  
“I thought you’d love to be all sparkly”  
“Nah. It’d draw too much attention. Younger me, maybe. Current me, not so much”  
“Why not?”  
“Because I’m old and cranky. I want to live as normally as possible. I don’t want to turn into a damn disco ball when all I want to do is enjoy a little bit of sun”

This guy had to be an idiot. Keith forcing himself not to gape. He wanted information on vampires, and now Lance had turned off his filter completely   
“What else did they get wrong?”  
“I firmly believed the whole “bat thing” was wrong until I went and turned into one. Garlic doesn’t really do much. I can eat human foods, but after about half an hour I need to use the bathroom. Blood... bags are good. I mean, I prefer them over anything fresh. As far as I know we don’t survive being burned to death, I know there’s a myth about turning into a bat and grave soil, but I’ve never tried it. Wounds we give ourselves sometimes take much longer to heal than something like being stabbed. Being immortal sucks arse. They got the rage and ego bit right. Silver’s not terrible. I show up on camera... I have super human senses, and can move faster than you’d think... I don’t know. I don’t think I want to know either”  
Keith did. He wanted to know everything when it came to a human who’d been turned. He wanted to understand what Adam had been through in his final hours  
“I do”

Lance raised his eyebrow at him, Keith wondering he’d been sprung for pushing him to talk  
“I think you’d know more about being a vampire than I would. I was never one for clans and covens. I’ve met other vampires and honestly, they scared me. The first time I saw a vampire feed on a human pet, I threw up. The way they treated people... I couldn’t do it. Vampires have egos. Feeding that ego is a dangerous game. I know I’m probably not the only one who’s trying to live as normally as possible, but it makes it hard to reach out to anyone when they’re mostly douches. Werewolves are kind of the same, except it’s all about how strong they are. There’s pack leaders, but that’s only because that’s a human concept. There’s no alpha leader, instead there’s a pack leader. Some dick that always thinks they’re the greatest thing since the invention of the wheel. It’s fucked up and enough to drive you mad if you spend too long in that world”

Krolia had spent years in that world. Keith hadn’t even known what a legacy was when Shiro showed up in his life. He’d been a burden all his life since the death of his father. Shiro had opened a whole new world to him, had given him a home and a purpose to exist. They might not be biological brothers, but being biologically related to someone didn’t necessarily make them family. Family was something you built, sometimes from absolutely nothing at all. He didn’t know how to talk to his mother any more than he knew how to talk to Lance. For Krolia her duty always came first... 

“Can I ask you something?”  
“I thought we were past that”  
“How did you get turned?”  
Lance sighed heavily   
“That’s not a great topic of conversation”  
“I imagine it’s not... but...”  
“You want to understand what happened to Adam. What he went through. I can’t tell you that. Only that he’s in a better place”  
“He’s dead”  
Nothing happened when you died... Keith couldn’t say he was convinced over this heaven and hell stuff...  
“I’d rather be dead than risking the lives of those I love. Turning... it brings up a lot of memories that won’t leave me alone. Some humans take the turn willingly and I can’t for the life of me think why. Maybe if they had a kind sire, and you know, they had like absolutely no choice and I don’t know... but... it’s hard to talk about. Ten out of Ten would not recommend. I guess that makes me like that 1 dentist that never recommends shit”

Keith groaned deeply, dropping his head back and staring at Lance  
“Why do you always do that? Deflect like that to humour?”  
“Because some things are so fucked up thay if you don’t laugh you’re gonna fucking cry. It’s my unhealthy coping mechanism, like some people have smoking”  
“It’s annoying. It makes it hard to like you”  
Lance beamed at him, Keith had the feeling he was being mocked again  
“Aw man, you like me!”  
“Go fuck yourself”  
“Eh, too much like effort. Who needs sex when you’ve got pizza. Thanks for this. I think I needed it”  
“You’re welcome, but you can still go fuck yourself”  
Lance had the nerve to wink at him  
“Only if you go first”

Keith blushed red, spluttering some kind of loud squeak before promptly shutting up. Lance could suck his metaphorical dick.


	23. Chapter 23

23

Keith had been had. Lance had slipped out of talking to him by making him flustered, then they’d put a totally dumb movie on... and the stupid night had slipped away before he knew what was happening. Lance was infuriatingly relaxed. He’d laughed at the big pieces of garlic on the pizza, complimented him for not being a bad first timer in a weird way that made Keith’s heart go weird, then started making fun of the horror comedy they were watching. There was some name for the genre that Lance had used, it wasn’t comor, or hormedy, but it was something as equally stupid sounding. After half a dozen drinks it’d sounded good enough to laugh at. Now Keith was laying in bed, hiding himself away from Lance. He’d been aiming to get Lance’s guard down, not his own... What even was last night? And what the heck was Lance doing making so much noise too early in the morning? How was he supposed to ignore his existence when Lance sounded like he was demolishing the house? What happened to getting up and sneaking into his office for his morning meal? And why was keith trying to do the brain without the coffee? He couldn’t brain without the coffee.

Shuffling into the kitchen, Keith grimaced at the noise. Hunk was talking a million miles an hour as he blended something, Pidge sitting at the kitchen table with her knees up and laptop in front of her  
“Hey, man! I’m making breakfast smoothies! Do you want one?!”  
Yelling over the blender, Hunk’s stupid face was smiling too much... that was mean. Hunk was alright, but too much smile in the morning was weird  
“Coffee...”  
Lance was already working the coffee machine, Keith frowning as he noticed the way Lance’s hands were shaking  
“Way ahead of you. Sit down and I’ll bring a cup over. Don’t disturb the gremlin, she’s extra cranky this morning”

Keith was perfectly fine avoiding a cranky Pidge, carefully taking Lance’s usual seat, lest he bump the table and set the gremlin off  
“Get fucked”  
Keith raised an eyebrow, not sure who the comment was directed at  
“Fucking piece of shit!”  
The laptop? It had to be directed at the laptop... right? Shuffling over to him, Keith eyed Lance. He looked like he should still be in bed, most of the coffee in Keith’s cup was now pooling on the saucer under it  
“Sorry... here we go”  
As Lance set the coffee down, he winced at the minute amount of sound it made. Catching Lance by the wrist, the vampire cringed, Keith staring up at his unwell face  
“Lance? Have you fed this morning?”  
“Couldn’t... Company”  
An unfed vampire wasn’t safe... Not that he was worried about how ill Lance looked... or felt strangely concerned about his wellbeing. That was the lack of coffee talking   
“Go feed, I’ll cover you”  
“But...”  
“Just go already. You’re disturbing my coffee”

Lance stumbled over his own feet as he shuffled off. Keith staring at his half empty coffee cup sadly. What a waste of coffee... Fuck being socially polite. Lifting the cup off the unmatching saucer, something very unLance, further proving how bad he must feel because everything always had to match, Keith poured the other half his coffee back into his cup as Hunk cut the blender. The lack of sound was welcoming. Grinning, Hunk went to turn to Lance  
“Here... huh... where’d he go?”  
Pidge grunted, Keith trying to get the coffee in the cup when it insisted on running down the side and under the saucer   
“Keith?”  
“Just a... Fuck”

Fuck all coffee wound up in his mug, Pidge snickered as Keith frowned deeply  
“Keith?”  
“He had to check his work phone”  
“Oh, maybe I should take this down to his office... it’s best if he drinks its right away”  
“No! No, ugh. We had a late night...”  
That wasn’t how Keith wanted it to sound. Pidge closed her laptop, but her and Hunk giving him a funny look  
“What?”  
“You two had a late night, hmm?”  
“Not like that”  
“Not like, what?”  
Keith groaned. He should have kept his mouth shut   
“Shut up”  
Pidge poked her tongue at him. All Keith wanted was his coffee. Pouring out the strangely green smoothly, Hunk smiled at him  
“Man, if there’s something going on between you and Lance...”  
“No”  
Cackling, Pidge wasn’t having it  
“Me thinks he denies too fast”  
“Me thinks I need my coffee”

Keith died a little on the inside. Who the hell was he? He didn’t talk like that   
“Keith and Lance...”  
“Sitting in a tree?”  
Hunk didn’t sound sure about continuing Pidge’s teasing   
“Look, it’s not like that. He’s a friend. I’m just worried about him...”

Oh. Fuck.

Pidge grinned at him so widely that she surely thought she was right with her line of teasing. Hunk, on the other hand, lost his smile  
“Something’s wrong with him, isn’t it? He said it was Miriam. Was he having tests? Is that why he wasn’t responding? He’s been acting really weird for the last few weeks”  
“He’s acting weird because he’s been hiding his boyfriend”  
“Pidge, you know what I’m talking about. He like never leaves without letting us know”  
Raising the cup of coffee to his lips, Keith was so close...  
“Keith, what’s going on with Lance?”  
Why did people have to think he could human before his coffee? It was cruel and inhumane to bully him like this. Lowering his cup slightly, Keith sighed  
“Lance is fine. We’re not dating. My stupid brother took off and thinks being here will be good for me. Shiro has like no chill, as you should know Pidge. Miriam had a really bad fall, broken hip and messed up her face. He was organising things in Platt”

It was on the tip of Keith’s tongue to mention that Luis had been there, but he didn’t know what Lance had told his two best friends in relation to his family, outside of Miriam being his grandmother. 

“And he didn’t have another doctor’s appointment?”  
By “doctor’s appointment” Keith assumed that was Lance speak for a visit to Coran. The previous days talk with Coran felt like it’d happened weeks ago  
“Nah. I mean, I wouldn’t know. He does his own thing”  
“He always has. We totally tried to have him move in with us when we were in Platt, but he wasn’t having it. He’s always been a bit odd”  
“And here I thought you guys were best friends?”  
“We are. He’s our odd best friend. And you’re our new odder best friend. We totally decided that in group chat”  
Keith didn’t know what to make of that  
“You talk about me?”  
“Only to tease Lance. You do know you’re like the first person he has ever like warmed up to like this. That’s why we were sure you two were secretly dating”

“Oh, we totally are. Keith’s dick game is totally on point”  
With his coffee cup heading back towards his lips, Keith was glad he didn’t have a mouthful or it’d have been sprayed across the table at Lance’s casual remark  
“Lance!”  
“What? You’re a total dick and you know it”  
The bastard vampire shot him finger guns as Keith’s heart decided it needed to keep racing from Lance’s comment. Pidge cackled with laughter  
“Oh, man. If I wasn’t convinced before, I am now. You should have seen the look on your face!”  
Being a total arsehole, Lance placed his hand on Keith’s shoulder  
“Did you tell them all about us, baby cakes?”  
Keith growled. Why the fuck had ever been worried about this dick?  
“Keep touching me and I’ll break your hand”  
“Look at them, Hunk! Okay. So you’re like weird room mates...”  
“Yep. For now. At least until I paint the house”  
“Have you thought of a colour scheme yet?”  
“I was thinking of going full ‘70’s. Shag pike carpet, lots of mismatched prints...”  
Why was Lance’s hand still on his shoulder? And why was Keith now hyper focused on the fact Lance was touching him? He didn’t like it. He didn’t like Lance. He didn’t like the way he felt all weird since coming to the house... Something was definitely wrong with his heart, it kept racing for no good reason  
“You do that and you’re dead to me”  
“If I’d known that, I would have done it sooner”

“That enough you two. Here, I made you a smoothie. It’s chocked full of the good stuff”  
Lance finally removed his hand from Keith’s shoulder. The idiot walking into the dining chair in front of him. Maybe Lance had been using him for support, and there was no greater meaning to it? Shiro did say he had the tendency to over think things...  
“God, you’re worse than me. Sit down before you break your whole house”  
Lance took a seat next to Pidge  
“Better?”  
“Much”  
“You’re not as cranky”  
“And you don’t look as dead”  
Pidge wasn’t seeing Lance the way Keith was. Lance had a little more colour in his face, but there was pain in the corner of his eyes   
“Damn, I was hoping to be the best looking dead guy in town. I take it you got their number plate?”  
“I got more than their number plate. I got their home address and two dozen eggs that’d look great splattered across their windows”  
“Pidgeon, that’s not my field of expertise”  
“Then they shouldn’t have sideswiped my car”  
So that was what Pidge had been so cranky... her anger hadn’t been directed at him  
“No, but violence only leads to more violence”  
“That’s why I’m egging their house and not punching them in the face. Hunk, help me out here”

Hunk placed the glass of smoothie in front of Lance who wrinkled his nose at it  
“I’m kind of with Lance here. Besides, I already helped you out, dad’s organising the repairs as we speak”  
“Merp”  
“Merp to you too. Hunk, do I wanna know what’s in this?”  
“Nope. Drink it all fast”  
“I hate it when you say that”

As Lance drank his smoothie, Keith settled back in his chair, finally able to enjoy his first, half empty, cold, sad looking coffee.

*  
Lance was not having a fun day. He’d had a very, very, very vivid dream. A very, very, very vivid dream about bending a very, very, very emo vampire hunter over his kitchen table... He’d woken up feeling strange, waking up secondary to the lower parts of his anatomy that’d apparently had a pretty good time without his permission. Washing his underwear had been a lesson in humiliation, the only consolation being he had his own private bathroom. His dream had been way too vivid, like waaaaaay to vivid to the point he swore he could feel Keith on his skin... and after showering, he just felt deflated. Like he was running on a third of his strength. Weak and shaky, worse than he had the day before. He’d barely been out the shower five minutes before Hunk was calling to say they were on their way, and Pidge was pissed.

Trying to choose something to wear had been a struggle, by the time he’d done that, he could hear Hunk’s car coming, his stupid senses deciding he needed to hyper aware. He hadn’t had time to feed, nor to prewarn Keith, or get his shit together because how he was supposed to face Keith. He felt as if he’d violated the man by dreaming about him... Especially when he kind of wanted to reverse the positions... He was a goddamn pervert... Keith wasn’t... they hadn’t... He hadn’t been horrible company the night before. He’d tried to press him for information, but couldn’t a guy just relax and eat some bad pizza in peace? Not that the pizza had been bad... Keith didn’t know better when it came to a pizza drowning in toppings. 

When Hunk started the blender Lance had felt as if his brain was in their with the other half dozen ingredients. Pidge was murderous, someone having sideswiped her car during the early hours of the morning. She’d spent the morning reviewing the security feed from the front of her house... Lance not quite able to find the right time to slip out the kitchen and drain a blood bag like his body was telling him he needed to do. He hadn’t thought Keith would see how poorly he felt, his hands were shaking as he tried to banish the thoughts of his unwanted dream. He felt like he should be apologising repeatedly and begging not to be decapitated for betray him like this. 

Then Keith had gone and been even nicer, sending to feed while he babysat Pidge and Hunk. Lance had nearly torn the blood bag in half in his rush to feed. Coran had said “changes”, not damn dreams like he was a teenager again. They’d had a bonding moment watching TV. Keith was pretty funny when he wasn’t trying to murder him, or being stupider than words could describe. His taste in movies really was as bad a Pidge’s, the pair would be an unstoppable remote hogging pair if they teamed up. Keith just... He’d opened up somewhat, awkward with Pidge and Hunk, but not as awkward as he’d been. He talked. He covered for Lance over what had happened in Platt. He’d covered for him a lot, and Lance didn’t know why he was going that little bit extra to keep Hunk and Pidge from worrying. 

“Dude, I’m surprised your kitchen’s this messy. Normally you’re a clean freak in here”  
As Lance recovered from the horrible green sludge he’d choked down for Hunk’s benefit, he was almost envious that Pidge had missed out. He’d take a dirty kitchen over that smoothie any day of the year  
“Keith made pizzas last night. We couldn’t be bothered cleaning up after”  
“Keith, man. Another cooking aficionado?”  
“No”

Keith’s answer was blunt. The fact he’d pulled himself together after Lance’s little temper tantrum was to be applauded. The wood fire stove came with the house, but rarely got used for anything other than pizzas. The thing was a temperamental old bitch on the best of days, but at least she was always there when there was no power or gas. Poor Hunk didn’t know how to deal with Keith   
“Not from scratch, but it was pretty good”  
“Are you two sure you’re not dating?”  
Lance really wished Pidge would give the topic a rest. He’d had a tough enough morning as it was  
“Pidgeon, I wouldn’t hold out on you if we were. I know how much you love those tiny little details...”  
Pidge covered her ears with her hands  
“I don’t want to know”  
“Then give it a break already. Hunk, what are you Pidge up to for the rest of the day?”  
“Not much, man. This wasn’t even planned...“

Planning would have been nice. Then he could have planned to hide until he died. He wouldn’t have had to face Keith. What kind of idiot put their hand on a caffeine deprived hunter and cracked lame jokes? Oh, that was right, it was him. He was the idiot. He wasn’t even sure why he had. He’d felt a little woozy as the blood rushed through his system, but once his hand was on Keith, he’d had a hard time letting go.

“... I’ll probably help my dad at the garage today. What about you, Pidge?”  
“Seeing I’m not allowed to egg houses even when they house arseholes, I’ll probably set up a board and see what I can figure out. It’s been ages since we went on a proper hunt”  
Pidge had the remnants of various boards tucked away in the attic of her family home. They were essentially murder boards for supernatural things. Photos, timelines, interesting articles. It was something she didn’t really talk about around outsiders, and something the three of them had taken to doing together. Lance felt a flare of jealousy over the fact Keith was being made privy to secret group information. Hunk didn’t seem to care  
“Ooooh. Why didn’t you tell me you started a new board?”  
“It’s an old one. Garrison, again. I mean, like, you’d think they would have fixed the arrangements of the wars. We all call it the Third World War, and sure there was a huge technology jump, but it was aaaaaaaages before the First World War”

It was and it wasn’t. That was the weird thing. Everyone knew it happened, yet when you tried to focus really hard on it, things became a bit muddle. Lance couldn’t quite put his finger on it either. It was kind of like some mass imagination thing had happened, but there was proof of it happening even if they couldn’t say exactly when. Personally Lance wouldn’t have listed it as a world war, and more an allies skirmish between two sides who both thought they were right and leader who had peanuts for brains... or maybe one of those monkeys with the cymbals that smashed them together every time they got remotely close to a good idea   
“The good old Garrison board. How we loved you so. You revisiting the hospital?”  
“No, I was thinking of re-examining the building usage lists. I want to see if we can set up again for another night in another building. Lance is probably going to be busy with Miriam, so I’m keeping it local for now. There’s this total members only club in Platt, that I have been dying to see. They reckon it’s run by werewolves who were born werewolves and that all the staff are werewolves that drank from water in their footprints”

Werewolves. Lance’s mood shifted again. He was turning into a breeder, with two new werewolf roommates coming. Werewolves could be quite lusty, and his arse was definitely saved for someone else. Someone with a big dumb black mullet... Lance chocked on air as he quickly cut that train of thinking off. Keith was basically a working condom advertisement. Emotional issues that’d never been treated, far too good looking to be human, cranky 24/7, plus he wasn’t even domesticated. He was never going to be interested in him and the sooner his brain got it together, the better it’s be for him.

“How about Pidge and I go pick the board up, then we all can work on it together?”  
Noooooooooooo. Lance loved Hunk with the power of a billion suns, but noooooo. He didn’t want to be trapped on the couch next to Keith. He still needed time to settle his instincts, and to push down that damn dream... mostly the dream. Making the mistake of closing his eyes, the dream popped back into the forefront of his mind. Back’s had never really been sexy, but Keith’s broad shoulders and muscular form as he gripped the table... the sounds he made as Lance rode him hard into the table... The warmth... Keith was so fucking warm and loud... Whining, Lance clamped a hand over his mouth as his eyes shot open  
“Dude?”  
“I think I’m going to be sick”  
He was... Hunk’s smoothie had to come out one way or the other. Bolting from the kitchen, he heard Keith covering him again. Why couldn’t keith go back to being a dick! Things were so much easier then, and now he was all friendly with his friends  
“We kind of got drunk last night. He’s probably hung over... I’ll check on him. Why don’t you guys come back this afternoon and we’ll work on your board then?”  
“Damn, man. I’ve never seen him hung over before...”  
“Are you sure it’s just a hangover?”  
“He’ll be fine. I need more coffee”


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pidge is boss. She’d make a great mafia leader

24

“What the fuck is going on with you this morning?”  
“Nice to see you too”  
Resting with his head against the glass wall of the shower, Lance wasn’t having a fun time. He’d thrown up, and was now basking in the revolting after taste and burning of his throat and sinuses. Hunk had had the best of intentions, but the flavours had been too strong and he was too filled with guilt to keep his liquid second breakfast down  
“Are you sick? Do I need to call Coran?”  
“My senses are a little too hyped. Blood makes it worse, so I’m super ramped up. It’s fine”  
“You threw up”  
“Food’s gotta come out some way”  
“Ew”  
Lance nodded, yep, being a vampire was glorious  
“It’s fine”  
“It’s not fine. Do you throw up every time?”  
“Nah... and normally I don’t have an audience to my embarrassing moments”  
Lance hoped Keith would take the hint and leave  
“You better get your shit together, Hunk and Pidge are coming back later”  
“I know, I heard. Hunk’s gonna he even more worried...”  
“That’s his problem, not mine. Mine’s a vampire who’s clearly not okay, but insists on being a dick about it”  
How was he being a dick?  
“I’m sorry?”  
“You should be. What’s going on with you, is it just your senses? Because you look like total shit right now”  
“Wow. Way to make a man feel better about himself”  
“God! You’re impossible. Why can’t you just talk to me?”  
“I already am”

Lance really didn’t want to talk. He wanted to find Blue and go back to bed. Keith wasn’t having it. Flushing the toilet, the hunter put the lid down and decided he needed to have one of those talks where they were both sitting. Something he sooooo wasn’t in the mood for  
“You know what I mean”  
Ugh...   
“What do you want me to say? I had a really messed up dream and now I feel like fucking shit because my stupid brain doesn’t forget things?”  
“Maybe? I don’t know. I don’t fucking know how to comfort people”  
Keith was on point about that   
“I noticed”  
“Fuck you. I’m trying”  
Lance muttered under his breath  
“Very”  
Keith was very trying   
“What was that?”  
Sighing to himself, he raised his head to look at Keith   
“Nothing. Look, I appreciate you covering for me. I don’t know why you did, but thanks”  
“You could have just said that from the start”  
“And you could have left me to vomit in peace...”  
“You’re not okay. If you’re not okay, I don’t know what to do. Coran said you were changing, I don’t know what’s normal anymore. I’m stuck here and I don’t know why. And I don’t know why you keep doing stupid things. Why didn’t you feed before Hunk and Pidge got here?”  
“Didn’t have time. Barely got out the shower and Hunk was calling to say they were coming over”  
“So you weren’t trying to starve yourself?”

How stupid did Keith think he was? He knew he had to keep his hunger under control. He’d fed too much too fast. He should have stuck to his normal third of a bag. Too much blood had amplified the feeling of being alive. Stroked his ego and now he was dealing with his own stupidity. He hated the hunger. He hated not being able to keep down Hunk’s smoothie. Lance swore there were still pieces of kale and spinach stuck in his teeth  
“No... Did Hunk make you a smoothie?”  
“Nope. He tried to...”  
“You’re lucky... are you going to be highly offended if I go back to bed?”  
“Depends, are you going to get all douchey if you don’t?”  
“Probably?”  
“Then go back to bed. This time, try to wake up without looking like something Blue threw up”

Lance managed a weak chuckle. Blue had thrown up some spectacularly gross stuff in her lifetime. Keith probably meant hairballs, but he hadn’t experienced thrown up body parts before, or entrails in his sheets   
“Blue is princess. Blue is perfection. She’s a tiny little murder cupcake of perfection”  
“Does everything always have to come back to a comparison with bread items?”  
“What do you mean?”  
“You called Pidge an anger muffin before...”  
“And you’re an anger loaf. You’re too fucking tall and grizzled to be a muffin”  
“I’m not an “anger loaf”... what even is an “anger loaf”?”  
Lance groaned   
“I just told you, you’re too big to a be a muffin. Are you really gonna sit there and mock the guy on the floor?”  
“If it gets the guy on the floor to talk to me”  
“I thought we agreed I need a nap”  
Keith sighed at him. Lance flinched when the hunter moved his hand, Keith’s brow raising in confusion  
“What was that?”  
“What was what?”  
“You flinched”  
“I thought you were going to punch me”  
Keith rolled his eyes at him  
“Paranoid much?”  
“Always. Besides, it’s not paranoia when people are out to get you?”  
“And who’s going to get your undead arse when we’re stuck out in the middle of bumfuck nowhere?”  
“You?”  
“Dream on. Can you get up off the floor now?”  
But the floor was good. Moving seemed like effort... even if he did get to spend a few hours hiding from Keith   
“I suppose”  
“Good. You know, you’re worse than a kid”  
“Yep. I grew upwards on the outside and not on the inside”  
“I can tell. Either that or you were dropped on your head a lot as a child”

Jesus. Keith was snarky... but it was refreshing. Having him worried about him was too weird, but having him insult him felt strangely normal. Good, even. Like Keith didn’t actually worry about him, and that was how it was meant to be  
“Probably. Probably dropped myself on my head too...”  
“I can imagine”  
Lance faked offence before cracking up into laughter. Poor Keith looked completely lost  
“What’s wrong with you, now?”  
“Nothing, mullet. Give me a sec to clean up, then I’m off for a nap. What are you going to do?”  
“Play with my camera... there’s not a whole lot around here to do”  
“That’s why I like it... Keith, you know, I know you’re the biggest dumbarse I’ve ever met, but I’m starting to think you’re actually not to terrible”  
Keith shifted, uncomfortable but in kind of a good way. His heart was racing for no reason, but Lance could see a smile on those lips of his. Keith was actually kind of pretty when he smiled... pretty lame, yeah, lame...  
“And you’re not too horrific for an undead thing”

*  
Lance tried and failed at the napping. Pulling Blue into his hold, he groomed her thick black fur as she purred. She was a total slut for grooming. Bath’s not so much, but grooming turned her into a pile of purring goo. Planting kisses on the top of Blue’s head, she nudged into his lips   
“No more grooming for you. I want cuddles”  
Lance had given napping a genuine shot, only for his nose to decide it needed to be focused on Keith’s vanillary scent from the body wash in the guest bathroom. Keith hadn’t said anything about the options in there, and the hunter didn’t need to know Lance had wondered if he should buy him something more “manly”. Not being bugged by Keith to train felt weird. Lance loathe to admit he kind of missed it. Keith had a lot of drive, fuelled by the anger he hadn’t worked through. Without anything to channel that anger into Keith was left to potter around in a home that wasn’t his. It kind of felt like Lance was torturing Keith, a reversal of roles from when Keith kept insisting he was a vampire. Lance very nearly missed that as well. Yes, he’d been confident that he hadn’t turned Keith, but having Coran confirm it had taken a weight off Keith’s shoulders. He wasn’t Adam. He was lying when he said he was human... not that Lance had the full picture, and he wasn’t sure that Shiro’s version of things quite lined up with Keith’s. Keith must have been terrified he really was turned, trauma did strange things to the mind. He must have been terrified that Shiro was going to have to watch him change, then have to kill him like Adam had had to be killed. It all would have been especially hard on Adam, assuming he was a hunter, he knew just how vile vampires could be. Yeah, he should probably go check on Keith and make sure he was as okay as he was pretending to be.

A quick hunt through the house proved Keith wasn’t inside. Heading out the back of the property, he found Keith working out on his own. Damn if his dream didn’t come back to haunt him. Keith was focused, sweat running from his hair, yet totally in his element. For Keith, his job really was his life. He’d spent years earning those muscles in combat, rather than exercise machines alone. Thanks to his memory, Lance knew how to throw down, but Keith lived it. He lived to hunt the things they should all fear... Something Lance had once entertained the idea of, but knew his Mami wouldn’t approve at all. Plus, he didn’t want to end up on Coran’s disposal list if he lost control and lost the last of his humanity in the process.

Crossing the back lawn, Lance sat himself down a few metres away from Keith. The hunter so in the zone that he hadn’t noticed. Lance managed a good 10 minutes before Keith finally did, the hunter’s eyes widening a fraction as Lance cocked his head  
“I didn’t mean to ruin your concentration”  
“I didn’t notice you come out”  
“I noticed. I was wondering where you were”  
“I thought you were napping. Feeling any better?”  
Nope. Because fuck if he hadn’t been distracted by the way Keith’s shirt was riding up   
“Yeah, a bit”

Walking over, Keith flopped down next to him  
“You don’t have to stop. I can go if I’m making you uncomfortable”  
“You’re the one who looks uncomfortable”  
That’s because he was. He could smell the sweat on Keith’s skin, a feeling welling up inside him. He wanted to reach out and brush Keith’s fringe back and he didn’t know why   
“It’s nothing. You know, I almost miss you trying to kick my arse”  
Keith snorted at him as he plucked up a stray blade of grass  
“A few more lessons and I would have had you”  
“Dream on”  
“Is that you way of saying you’ve been holding back?”  
“A bit. It’s hard to live as a human when you have way too much strength”  
“Is that why you wear glasses? Don’t they get in the way?”  
Lance took his glasses off, holding them out towards Keith   
“We’ve talked about it before, but yeah. I see too much and I’ve seen too much as it is”  
Keith seemed surprised as he took Lance’s glasses, holding them up to peer through them, making a face as he did  
“These are horrible”  
“It helps make the world smaller so I can focus”  
“I’ve never really thought about what vampires must go through”  
Keith handed his glasses back, Lance surprising himself by placing them down beside him  
“Don’t go feeling sorry for vampires, ever. You do that and you’re dead”  
“You don’t need to tell me that”  
“I know you know the risks, but it’d really suck if something happened to you, you know”

Punching his arm, Keith looked mortified at the gesture, Lance unable to not snort in laughter  
“Shut up”  
“I don’t know why I did that”  
“Because you secretly like me too much. It’s strange. I’ve never had anyone live with me before, other than Mami. I keep wondering if I’m doing anything wrong. If I’ve made you hate me. Or hurt your feelings... I’ve barely known you two weeks and I keep having to tell myself I’m not your friend. Maybe this was what Coran meant by our quintessence complimenting each other?”  
Keith plucked up another blade of grass  
“I don’t think I understand what quintessence is. Is it a fae term?”  
Fae... Coran must be a fae. Lance hadn’t thought to ask and then it seemed too late too   
“I’ve heard it mentioned between Allura and Coran before. It’s like the stuff inside us. That spark of life that connects all life. I think faes can manipulate quintessence”  
“Like the way they constantly say “you’re safe” or “you’re in a safe place”?”  
“That might be more to do with me...”

He’d been so scared as kid. Waking up in a strange place, scared of everything and anything. Coran had told him since he’d met him, and every time they met, that he was safe there  
“Oh... I’m sorry”  
“Nah, don’t be. You didn’t turn me”  
“But still...”  
“I have the feeling we both had kind of crappy childhoods”  
Keith nodded, Lance noting the pain in the hunter’s eyes, he didn’t like it  
“But look at us now! A vampire sitting in the sun, and a hunter who doesn’t know how to relax”  
Keith dropped his head, Lance expecting to be scolded for “doing that” again  
“I’m talking too much, aren’t I?”  
Keith raised his head  
“I don’t know. I’ve never lived with anyone other Shiro and Adam, not for years. You say a lot of things I hate, but now we’re getting on and it’s weird”  
Lance gaped, before smiling  
“I know right. I don’t know what to do when you ask me if I’m okay. I’m like, waiting for you to yell at me or try to kill me again, and then you don’t and I’m like why not?”  
“I keep thinking you’re going to kill me in my sleep, and then you don’t. And you keep doing weird things that make me feel weird. You didn’t have to go out of your way. You didn’t have to buy lactose free milk”  
“I didn’t want to make you sick. You might be a total dick, but that’s just being cruel”  
“I tried to kill you”  
“You poisoned yourself”  
“I yelled at you”  
“You still do”  
Keith shook his head with a sigh  
“I don’t get it”  
“I don’t get it either. I don’t get why we seem to be getting on better. You should hate me”  
“I do. I mean... I still think you did something to me”  
Lance’s undead heart gave a strange leap of concern   
“Coran said there was nothing wrong, didn’t he? It was a clean bill of health?”  
“That’s what he said, but how am I supposed to believe him when I’ve only just met him?”  
“You can’t go wrong believing in Coran”  
“He helps werewolves and vampires... he’s not even human”  
“Exactly, he helps. If Shiro trusted him...”  
“Then I should... but...”  
“It’s not easy to trust when you’ve been kicked to the curb?”  
Keith nodded at him  
“Yeah, exactly. And Shiro’s not even here. I don’t have a target and I don’t know what to do”  
“I don’t know what to do either”  
“At least you have a job”  
“Giving people advice for next to nothing...”  
“It’s still something”

With Keith around, Lance had been pretty neglectful of work. He really should check his emails and contact his clients...  
“I suppose so. It usually keeps me busy... I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m not exactly a people person anymore”  
Keith snorted  
“I don’t think I’m in any position to judge”  
“You’re alright. Pidge and Hunk wouldn’t be so gung-ho about you if you weren’t”  
“I don’t get why they want to be my friend. I’ll be gone sooner rather than later”  
Yeah. That was right too. Keith would be gone... a stupid prang if loneliness hit him out of the blue  
“Yeah. Yeah. I suppose so... off to fight more vampires?”  
“Probably. I go wherever I’m sent”  
“Don’t you get scared?”  
“Not really... if they’re hurting people then someone has to step up”  
“Yeah. Keith, can I ask you something?”  
“We’re already talking?”  
Lance snorted, okay, he’d deserved that one  
“Can you look up the status of vampires. Like if they’re alive or dead?”  
Keith immediately frowned  
“I can. I can ask Shiro, but that kind of thing usually requires permission”  
Lance nodded. He’d expected that  
“Okay. I was just wondering”  
“You want me to find out if Nyma and Rolo are still alive?”

Just their names made Lance feel sick to his stomach. He’d wanted to ask Coran for so long, but was ashamed that he wanted to know. Shiro poking around could bring trouble... He didn’t want Keith and Shiro to be in any danger from those two   
“Not if it’s going to get you into trouble... I just...”  
“I can ask. Shiro’s been a Blame member longer than I have”  
“No. No, it’s okay. It’s stupid really. They probably don’t think about me at all”  
“It’s important to you, isn’t it?”  
“They’re in the past. They’re not the kind of vampires you want to meet. I don’t want them knowing about you and Shiro”  
“There’s databases for this kind of thing. The Blades take agent safety seriously”  
“No. No... If I know... I’m stuck knowing, either way”  
“That must be hard”  
“Remembering? Humans don’t know how lucky they are. That pain you feel, it gets better with time, but... I’m already scared. I’m scared of when Blue will die. I’m scared of seeing her in any other way than alive. I’m scared that Pidge or Hunk will find out and hate me. I know... that I’m not supposed to be scared... but... Sorry. Sorry. I shouldn’t be letting my emotions get the better of me”  
“You shouldn’t apologise so easily”  
“When you get old, you feel like there’s a whole lot to apologise for. You’ll get it someday”  
“No. I don’t think I will. You didn’t ask to be turned. You didn’t ask to be turning again... you should be mad”  
“I’ve been a vampire for a long time now. Madness kind of fades away to acceptance”  
“It shouldn’t. You were a kid”  
“I was a shit of a kid. I always wanted to be liked...”  
“Pfft, doesn’t every kid?”  
“Probably. I don’t know. I broke my family and even after 36 years, I’m still fucking dumb”  
“You’re not dumb... you’re stupid”  
Keith seemed to really be searching for another word during the pause on his sentence, only for to him come up with “stupid”. The hunter’s eloquence rivalled his bullheadedness   
“Geez, thanks”  
“You know what I mean”  
“I don’t know if I do... We should head in soon. Pidge and Hunk are going to be here shortly”  
“How can you tell?”  
“It’s the afternoon. With those two, it’s always best to be prepared for anything”  
Keith dropped the piece grass he’d been playing with, his hands coming up to rub at his face  
“I don’t know how to deal with them”  
“Go take a shower and I’ll make you another coffee”  
“I don’t know if coffee’s gonna help”  
“Pidge would kill you for speaking such blasphemous words. According to her, coffee fixes everything”  
“I’ll remember that for the day she spills coffee in her laptop”  
Lance shuddered  
“Don’t even joke about that. It happened in college... and fuck, I was honestly considering changing my name and moving to a new country. It’s not a sight you want to see”  
“Noted. I mean, I guess I can force myself to have another coffee”  
“That’s the spirit. Let’s get you inside, samurai”  
“Samurai?”  
Lance shrugged   
“With all your martial arts and that... I mean, that looked like karate you were doing”  
“Lance, samurais have swords”  
“So? I already know you love knives”  
“That doesn’t mean I have a sword”  
“I bet you $50 you own at least one sword”  
Keith dropped his arms, crossing them as he huffed  
“I have 6... but that doesn’t count”  
Lance couldn’t help but laugh at him. Not mockingly, but because he totally knew Keith had to have some weird blade collection happening   
“Oh, dude. You’ve got serious issues”  
“Fuck you”

*  
Armed with enough snacks to be catering a wedding, Hunk and Pidge returned. The Garrison trio had grown again, Shay coming with them as they set up their base of operations in the living room. Sharing things with Keith was one thing, sharing with Shay was another. Shay he wanted to know better, Keith... he had to stop getting to know better. The bastard had gone to his safe and gotten him a blood bag after getting out the shower. He wasn’t supposed to car. Caring made things hard and Lance didn’t want hard. He wanted soft. Soft in more places than one. Sharing their “haunted board” with others felt like baring part of his soul. 

On his coffee table sat both Hunk’s and Pidge’s laptops, Pidge’s laptop casting to Lance’s TV as Lance kept himself smooshed into the corner of his couch. Shay had taken one recliner, with Hunk in the other. Pidge had pulled her hair up into a bun, her classic “shit’s about to get real” look. Her board was propped up on three easels that she and hunk had designed to support the weight of everything stuck to the corflute   
“Right. First we need background noise. Lance, go get your laptop”  
Lance didn’t want to move. Corner spots were prime positions  
“Why?”  
“So we can all be working on this at once”  
“I’ve got my phone”  
“I bet you three slushies it isn’t on you right now”  
Lance groaned  
“Pidge, you know I never have it on me all the time”  
“Exactly. Now pay up, loser”  
“Get Hunk to make slushies in the blender...”  
“It’s not the same”  
“You expect me to go for a drive and get you three slushies right now?”  
“Yep”  
Lance pouted  
“I don’t wanna”  
“Then you owe me 5 next time we’re in Platt”  
5 was too much power for any human to have. Technically Pidge said he owed her 5 with the implication of them being 5 slushies, but failed to stipulate that in the new demand   
“Why me?”  
“Because you’ve got a job. Now, go get your laptop or your phone. You’re supposed to contribute”  
“I’m contributing by letting you in the front door”  
“And I’m gracing you with my presence”  
“Get Keith to help...”  
“Keith is helping”

“I am?”  
Keith had no idea. Generally whoever sat in the middle became the target of their banter  
“Yep. Your job is to watch the TV for any clues. I’ve pulled up our channel, so all our videos are on auto play. You and Shay both get to call out anything you notice without me throwing something at you”  
“Why?”  
“Because you’re the new guy and the new guy is the lackey. That’s how organisations work”  
“And you’re the boss?”  
Noooooo. Keith was feeding Pidge’s ego. She was already in work mode meaning she was team leader... Lance didn’t want to be calling her boss on top of it all. He was scared by how much knowledge Pidge had to begin with, let alone the power in her fingertips when placed in front of any digital device  
“Damn right. Seeing Lance isn’t moving, go get his laptop for him. We’re in for some serious work”

Lance was surprised when Keith did in fact fetch his laptop for him, awkwardly half throwing/half dropping the device on his legs with a fiercely uncomfortable look in his eyes. Lance guessing he was embarrassed over either listening to Pidge, or trying to do a nice thing, but with how awkward Keith was, there was a fair bet that it was both. Pidge cackling as he klutzed up handed it over, and Lance was forced to participate in this whole research thing. At least that’s what Pidge thought. Lance had opened his laptop and the first thing he’d done was start working... on actual work. He had close to fifty new emails, all of which he had to reply to, then there was filtering out the hundred or so junk emails. A vampires work was never done, even on the near lowest of screen settings the bright light hurt his eyes. But he felt like he didn’t have the liberty to let his clients know he was ill. He was just one vampire, they had their families to think of, meaning they came first, no matter what he was feeling.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is no graceful way to eat a custard tart 😂😂😂
> 
> In story news... Keith is still a fumbling anger loaf

25

Keith was impressed. He was impressed by Lance’s work ethic. Since damn near throwing his laptop in Lance’s lap, the vampire had been typing and clicking away, distracting Keith from the videos he was supposed to be watching. His heart wasn’t in it. Pidge and Hunk might be a step above normal paranormal investigators, but they were still so clueless of the world around them. Peering over to look at Lance’s screen, Keith quirked an eyebrow. His feelings of being impressed changing as he barely stifled a laugh as he found Lance wasn’t working on ghost hunting, instead in the bottom of the left hand corner of the screen was a video of cat compilations playing as the vampire checked his emails. Pidge was going to be super cranky when she found out. Her wrath was nothing to laugh at, finding it somewhat annoying she’d declared herself boss of their weird club thing. Her passion couldn’t be faltered. She’d already seemed to have sussed out what she wanted to investigate next, which was one of the local pubs where guests had stated they’d seen ghostly apparitions and heard crying only to find no body there. Personally he thought the cries were probably from other guests having sex. He’d made that mistake before, before he knew what Adam was to Shiro. Having woken in the middle of the night to someone “whimpering” “oh, Jesus” repeatedly, he’d crept from his bedroom, barely three steps into the hall before he realised it was Shiro, and that the pair of them had left the door opened while they boned. He’d bolted back into his room, thrown himself down on his bed, then buried himself under his blankets as he tried not to hear what was happening between his brother and his boyfriend. The following day Shiro had walked with a limp, Keith feeling highly uncomfortable as he knew what’d happen. The following week when Adam had come down with hip pain, and Shiro was fussing over him ridiculously, Keith had invested in a new set of noise cancelling headphones. There were just some things about his brother that he didn’t need to know, ever.

Keith wasn’t aware that Lance noticed he was watching. Closing his email, the vampire opened up a blank word document. Thinking he was about to draft a letter, Keith had almost turned away when Lance started typing   
“Don’t tell Pidge. She’ll shoot me”  
Keith couldn’t help the almost giggle light laughter he barked out. Lance sighing at him, as Pidge dug into his side with her elbow  
“Something you want to share?”  
“No. No, Lance just clicked on a dodgy link and I was laughing at his stupidity”  
Lance typed   
“Thanks for nothing”  
As Pidge sighed deeply, as Keith bit down his laughter. It wasn’t his fault Lance had been sprung doing the wrong thing   
“Can’t you take this seriously?”  
Lance raised his head to look to Pidge  
“I didn’t mean to. I don’t know why Keith’s even laughing”  
“Because you’re an idiot?”  
“Thanks, Pidge. If you’re so smart, what did you find”  
“I never thought you’d ask. Okay, guys. I’ve got a plan for this weekend”

Hunk and Lance both groaned simultaneously. Shay laughing at the pair of them  
“I think your assistants are too keen on your plan”  
“They never are, but if it’s the five of us, we should be fine. Keith can man the camera, while we explore”  
Keith’s internal humour dried right up. He wasn’t supposed to be being involved  
“Why me?”  
“Because you’re the photographer of the group. Now, guess what I found, guys!”  
Pidge was way too into this. When no one replied, she cast something to the screen before getting up and walking over to the TV  
“What’s that?”  
Hunk already looked panicked at the thought of whatever it was on the screen behind Pidge, his tone just a pinched  
“I found an old map of Garrison, it’d been miscategorized...”

“You mean you were snooping where you weren’t supposed to and found an old map that wasn’t supposed to be found, don’t you?”  
Pidge shot Lance fingerguns  
“Got it in one. You know how we guys knew about the tunnels under the town, and the old mine shaft from when Garrison was first founded? Well, I find it! The mine, I mean. They repurposed the mine into a temporary base in case they needed to retreat, but I bet you’ll never guess where the entrance is...”  
Pidge drew herself up for the big reveal, Lance spoiled it   
“It’s under the pub”  
“... In... dammit, dude. I was going to say that”  
“You snooze, you lose”  
“You’re a douche”  
“Rude. I thought we talked about this before”  
“Yeah, but like... I’ve found the other entrance. It’s next to the cemetery”

Pidge perked back up, Keith had a bad feeling. Messing around in, and around, a cemetery wasn’t a thing. It wasn’t respectful. Those people who’d been buried there deserved to rest in peace  
“Pidge, I don’t think we should be messing around near the cemetery”  
Keith nodded his agreement with Hunk, Shay also looking uncomfortable   
“It’s near, not in. Look, here, see this bit here, that’s where the gates are now. But you keep going a for maybe 150metres past that, down the slope bit and you come to where the entrance should be. It’s probably barricaded up, or even like buried, but we can still suss it out. No one’s been down there in like a hundred years, can you imagine what’s down there?”  
“Pidge. This is really bad idea”  
“But don’t you guys want to find the entrance?”  
Hunk shook his head  
“No”  
“But...”  
“It could really dangerous down there”  
“We’re only going to have a look”  
Lance sighed at Pidge  
“We never just have a look. I’m with Hunk, I don’t mind if you can get access through the pub, but going out to find the entrance to a mine system that’s probably no longer stable isn’t a good idea. There could be a rock fall, or worse”

Pidge deflated   
“So you’ll only go in through the pub”  
“Yeah. Sorry, Pidge. I know you’re really keen on it, but it just isn’t safe”  
Keith agreed completely with Lance... except about entering through the pub. Some things were best left alone  
“Fine. I’ll go see them again... you guys are so lame”  
“We’re only lame because we don’t want to see you hurt”  
“Whatever. Why can’t you guys be on my side”  
“It’s not about not being on side, it’s about safety. That mine has been closed up. There could be mould, or worse down there. You could get seriously sick, provided you don’t get hurt first. If anything happened to you, it’d break me to pieces”  
“Okay. I get it. Fine. Whatever. Hunk, start packing up”  
“But I...”  
“You’re my lift. Right now I want to go home”  
“Pidge...”  
“I get it. Okay. You don’t want me hurt, but I’m not a baby. I’m also not a total buzzkill like you are. You always think you know what’s best, Lance. You don’t”

That wasn’t fair on Lance. Lance insisting on talking things out  
“I love you, you idiot. You’re not listening to me and I don’t want your life in danger”  
“I can take care of myself”  
“I know you can”  
Pidge brushed Lance off. Keith feeling like she was acting like a baby by having a temper tantrum over not getting her own way. Lance was genuinely concerned for her, his points valid  
“Hunk, start moving”

Keith felt awkward as he said goodbye to Hunk, Shay, and Pidge. He’d walked them to the door, Hunk assuring him she’d come round and see sense once she calmed down. Keith wasn’t so sure. Wandering back into the living room, Lance had thrown his laptop to the other side of the couch, had his glasses off and his hands covering his face as he leaned back to rest the back of his head on the cushion behind him   
“That went well”  
“Yep”  
“Are you okay?”  
“Yep”  
“Is Pidge going to be okay?”  
“Nope. Now we have to go out tonight. I don’t wanna go out tonight”

Walking over to the couch, Keith dropped himself down beside Lance, poking him in the leg  
“What do you mean, we have to go out?”  
“Because I’ve known Pidge long enough to know she’s gonna wanna go snoop at the entrance”  
Keith had suspected. Pidge had given up too easily   
“She doesn’t listen when she gets fixated, does she?”  
“Nope”  
“And you have to go make sure it’s safe first?”  
“Yep. Not the first time either. She found a club once in Platt, so I checked it out. Pretty much dealer central. Anything you wanted. Pretended my drink was spiked the next day. Let’s say we didn’t ever go to that club as a group”  
“She’s lucky to have you”  
“Yeah. It’s not just a me thing right. You wouldn’t want your little sister playing in an abandoned mine, would you?”

Lance moved his left hand up as he looked at Keith. Keith feeling himself nod, as Lance didn’t look as okay with things as he was pretending   
“No. Hell, I wouldn’t even want Shiro poking around in there”  
“Okay. I don’t know if it’s me overreacting, or if I’m being stupid”  
“Neither. So why do we have to go?”  
“I’m going, and you’re going because I figured you’d want me to not get myself killed on your watch”  
“Is it likely?”  
“Who knows. You stay in the car. I don’t want you hurt either”  
Keith scoffed. Whatever Lance could handle, so could he. He wasn’t scared of deep dank tunnels and potentially being buried alive   
“I’m a hunter”   
“You’re a human. I’m going to grab something to eat. We might as well head off now, I can point the pub out on the way there”  
Keith wrinkled his nose. He honestly wanted to veg out on the couch and recover from too much human interaction  
“The sun’s still up”  
“So?”  
“People could see what we’re up to”  
Lance sighed at him, letting himself slide sideways so he was leaning against Keith with his head on his shoulder. Keith’s heart did a weird beat, the closeness weirdly intimate... What was he supposed to do? Shiro normally hugged him or ruffled his hair if Keith sat against him the way Lance was right now   
“Um, Lance?”  
Lance made a show of groaning and stretching as he sat back up. What the hell was that? Why was Lance touching him? Now his arm felt funny...  
“You’re right. We’ll wait. Dinner first, then near death adventure. Whooo hooo”  
“I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not”  
“Sarcasm is wasted on you”  
“No it’s not, you’re weird”  
Lance patted his leg, before shuffling forward on the couch  
“I’ll grab a bag and meet you in the kitchen”

Great. Just great. Keith really didn’t want to be going on an adventure, but Lance had made his mind up and Coran had told him to look after Lance... which meant he had no choice but to do what Lance wanted.

*  
With the sun still in the process of setting, Lance turned tour guide, describing the “pros and cons” of each business as he drove down the Main Street. Keith didn’t particularly care. He was more worried about being pulled over by the police with rope, two flashlights, and a shovel in the back. Lance didn’t seem to care, or maybe he did care and was talking about everything in an attempt to avoid the real issue of them about to do something very stupid.

Turning off the main road, the road to the cemetery was gravel. Old weeping willows marked the side every few dozen metres, giving it a weird feel when compared to the rest of Garrison. It was almost pretty. Cows gazed in a couple of the paddocks they passed, some kind of crop in others. He’d brought his camera because Lance had told him to, and now he really wanted to capture the view   
“Want me to pull over?”  
Lance was already slowing down as he guided his bronco to the gravel shoulder of the road. It wasn’t much, barely distinguishable from the road with the exception of weeds  
“Huh? What are you doing?”  
“You said you wanted to take a photo”  
He had?  
“No I didn’t”  
“Yes, you did. You clearly said “I should take a photo”  
Keith didn’t remember saying it... Maybe he had? Shiro’d teased him for it before   
“I was thinking it...”  
“And saying your thoughts out loud, apparently. If you wanna take photos, go for it. I’ll wait”  
“Are you sure?”  
Lance cut the engine   
“Dude, don’t make this weird. Go take photos of the sunset”

Keith felt a tad foolish as he climbed out the car. Lance had told him to go for it, and now that he was, he kind of felt like he was keeping him waiting  
“Are you sure you don’t mind?”  
“Nope. I gave you a camera so you’d have something of your own to do. You like photography, so go crazy. It’s not like the mine entrance is going to pack up and leave town while I’m parked here”  
Keith still felt weird about it, but Lance had said it was okay, so it must be. 

Practicing with his camera was fun, Keith took as many photos as he could knowing he’d cull the ones that weren’t up to his standard later. There was something about taking a photo. About capturing that moment, because no two moments were ever the same. He’d never be standing out on this road again, at the exact same time, capturing the exact same things again. There was something beautiful in it... not that he’d describe it like that to anyone. He still got embarrassed when Shiro would make a big deal out of some great photo he took. Secretly he was pleased, but he didn’t want to let that show. He wanted to keep the feelings that went with the image to himself. It wasn’t like he was a professional, he was just a guy with a nice camera and a nice view. That was it. 

As the sun dipped lower in the horizon, Keith climbed back into the bronco  
“Good to go?”  
“Yep”  
“Cool. It’s not that much further until we reach the entrance”  
Lance wasn’t going to ask to see the photos? Something about Lance not asking disappointed him. Not that he wanted to share, but now he kind of felt like he had inconvenienced him after all. Realising Lance hadn’t turn the engine back on, he looked at the vampire  
“Seatbelt”  
“Really?”  
“Yep. I take the safety of my passengers seriously”  
It was a dirt road with no traffic. Begrudgingly Keith pulled his seatbelt on  
“Better?”  
“Yep. Okay, let’s get this show on the road”

Lance slowed to a crawl as they passed the cemetery. It wasn’t much. A wire fence around the graves with a gate that’d seen better days  
“It’s like heritage listed. They clean it up every couple of years. There’s actually a trust that makes sure the older graves don’t lose their markers from erosion and that...”  
Not like in big cities where being buried only lasted for like 25 years before someone else was buried on top of you and headstone was tossed  
“Cool...”  
Lance snorted as he shook his head   
“I’ll bring you back here sometime during the day. The old headstones are kind of cool”  
“Do you have a headstone?”  
“I don’t know, do you?”  
Keith deserved that. Lance was dead and alive at the same time   
“Sorry”  
“Don’t be. No, I don’t. When I’ve been in one place too long, Coran helps me “disappear”. It’d be nice if I could actually age past this, but the people I used to know wouldn’t believe it was me anyway. I look too young to be me”  
“You don’t age? At all?”  
“I wish I did. It’s hard looking like a teenager. People try to say I’m “woke” or “lit”. Don’t even get me started on modern music. I miss the days when the lyrics told a story”  
“You sound like Shiro. He’s the same”  
“I would say he’d a smart man, but you’re both kind of... the same”  
Lance’s comment got under his skin  
“What’s that supposed to mean?”  
“It means I told you both you’re not a vampire from the very beginning as you both kept acting like you were. Seriously, you two are so alike that it’s laughable”  
“I’m going through changes. You don’t get to be like that when you bit me”  
“I bit your melodramatic arse to save you. And told you repeatedly. I’m not getting into this argument again, but you both need to use your ears when someone is trying to tell you the truth”  
“How was I meant to believe you?”  
“Because I saved your life?”  
“You could have been planning to snack on me later”  
“Keith, you might be a snack, but I try to limit my bread intake”

Keith blinked half a dozen times. Lance had to mean he was a human sized blood bag snack to a vampire, not that he was... what? Did Lance... no... Lance couldn’t... think he was hot. He was just himself... with weird purple eyes and black hair that was most definitely not a mullet... He didn’t have fluffy brown hair like Lance’s, that always sat in a kind of scruffy casual without being untidy. His skin wasn’t all brown and smooth, nor was he sporting eyes so bright and blue. Not that Keith noticed, like that, he was just observing him. Yep... Outwardsly Lance wasn’t a horrible looking specimen... maybe. He wasn’t sure... Why was he still stuck on this chain of thought?  
“Dude, relax. It’s a joke. Okay, we’re here”

“Here” was a barren looking stripped hill. Half a hill, it’d been mined back to expose the stone beneath   
“It’s all sandstone up there. They mined out the sandstone and shale. They eventually hit coal down there. Most of the older buildings in town are made from sandstone. I guess having the cemetery so close to the mine made it easiest when mishaps occurred. Don’t tell Pidge, but I already had a fair idea about this place existing. I mean, it had to exist, but we’ve got this old quarry further out that closed down in the ‘50’s, so I guess most people just think most of the stuff came from there or was shipped up from Platt”  
“I don’t think I needed the history lesson. Your age is showing”  
“I wish it was. I think I’m the only person in the world who hopes to wake up with grey hairs and the occasional wrinkle”  
“I think you’re fine how you are”

Keith died on the inside... Why did he say that? Fumbling his belt undone, he rushed to get out of the bronco. What the fuck was that? And was there any way to accidentally murder himself under a ton of rubble in the mine?


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boys will be boys. Idiots will be idiots. Comments give me life... so talk to me? Xx

26

Lance kicking himself. He’d gone and called Keith “a snack”. The stupid hunter had looked so awkward that he couldn’t help it, it’d slipped out and now he couldn’t take it back. Lance was now left with the hope there’d be a tragic mine accident and the earth would swallow up his stupid body. Sure, Keith was unfairly handsome, but those moments did not exist. Not at all. Those moments didn’t exist because he most certainly was not being won over by Keith’s easiness now they weren’t fighting over him being turned. Groaning to himself, he dragged himself out of the bronco, not blaming Keith for the way he’d leapt out as soon as he could. He’d known the man for like two weeks. His judgment was clouded by Keith being everything he wasn’t... Oh, lord. He was pathetic. This always happened. Someone showed the vaguest niceness and bam, he was an idiot.

Heading to the back of the bronco, Lance grabbed the the coil of rope and the shovel. The flashlights were for Keith’s benifit, seeing he could see in the dark and all. He wanted to say something, but whatever he said might just turn into him word vomiting out something worse. Setting his jaw, Lance started walking to where the entrance had been shown on the map. Stupid Pidge. All he’d done was care about her. Now she was planning on doing something dangerous and his undead arse had to make sure nothing bad happened.

Having been left behind, Keith jogged to catch up with him  
“Do you know where the entrance is?”  
“Yeah”  
“Vampire memory again?”  
“Something like that. You were supposed to stay at the car”  
“What if something happened to you?”  
“You could pack up, take Blue and head to Coran’s. I’m sure you’d be sent back out into the field and forget all about me”  
Keith let out a groan of frustration  
“Will you stop that?”  
“What?”  
“Thinking this is easy for me”

What did Keith have to worry about? His target would be dead, or at least immobilised. It’d be job over and goodbye Platt in the process  
“I never said it was. I was simply expressing that my death would be inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. You’re not coming in the mine”  
“If we can even get into it”  
“I’m sure the council would take care of the entrance, otherwise with all the nosy tourists an accident would have happened by now”  
“But they might not have. You can’t go in there alone”  
“Umm. I’m dead. Nothing’s going to make me more deader than I already am”  
Keith huffed  
“Fine. But if you die then I have to explain that to Shiro”  
“Let him use the house. Hell, Matt can just live there”  
“That’s not funny”  
Lance shrugged. Keith was doing that thing where he sounded like he cared again, and Lance only had so much people power left  
“Who said I was trying to be?”  
“It’s not. So don’t joke about that”

They fell into an awkward silence. Lance guessing Keith was now thinking about Adam again. He’d gone and put his foot in that. Reaching the entrance to the mine, there was dirt built up at the bottom of an iron door. The padlock had seized into the latch holder, but a solid tug by even a human would have seen to that   
“So this is it?”  
“Yep. It’s definitely not made sturdy enough to keep a determined gremlin out. Here, take the shovel, we won’t need it yet. It looks like the door opens inwards”  
“Is that another vampire thing?”  
“It’s a hinge thing”  
Keith let out a soft “oh” that Lance knew he wasn’t meant to hear. Passing over the shovel, he decided to pass the hunter the rope too  
“If I get into trouble, you leave. Don’t try to help me. I can survive more than you can”  
“Then don’t get into trouble”

Accidentally using too much force, the ancient padlock all but crumbled in Lance’s hand. Lance shaking off the debris in annoyance   
“Did you mean to do that?”  
“Nope”  
“Look, this seems really dangerous. For all we know, Hunk might have talked Pidge out of this”  
“Hunk would have given it his best shot, but Pidge never gives up on anything. She’s fierce and she’s brave. Sometimes she acts before she thinks, meaning though she’d never set out to cause trouble, it finds her anyway”  
“I noticed that”  
“It’s hard not to. The only things she fears is drunks and the world running out of coffee. Wait here while I check the entrance out”

The door groaned on it’s hinges, Lance using his strength to convince it swing open. Dust billowing out as the dirt floor was disturbed. Coughing, Lance covered his mouth. The place smelt of dampness and dirt, not a healthy combination for human lungs. Stepping through the doorway, his eyes fell on the entrance put a few metres ahead. That was good. Hunk would never want to climb down there, his best friend was smart like that. Walking over to the remains of the ladder, the bottom of the pit was annoyingly dry. The ladder only missing half a dozen steps, but the edges seemed sturdy enough to repel down  
“Keith, stay there. I’m going down”  
“What?! No”  
“I’ll be fine”  
“Wait...”  
“See you soon”

Swinging himself over and onto the ladder, it groaned under his weight. His sense of self preservation was kicking in, around about the same time the ladder was kicking out...? Missing the rung, he found it in time for the ladder to snap, Lance falling the last half a dozen metres to the floor where he landed squarely on his back. Fuck. That hurt like a mother trucker  
“Lance!”  
“I’m okay!”  
Just winded, sore, and regretful of his actions. At the top of the tunnel came the light of a flashlight  
“Lance?!”  
“I’m fine!”  
“What happened?”  
“Ladder snapped! Dude, relax!”  
“You’re stuck!”  
“I’m not stuck. I brought rope for a reason”  
Lance huffed to himself, knowing Keith couldn’t hear him  
“Lance?!”  
“I’m fine! Stay up there!”

Regretfully, Lance pealed himself up off the floor, dusting himself off the best he could, unappreciative of the cobwebs hanging on. Ugh. He couldn’t even bill someone for the damage to his clothes because he was the idiot responsible. Turning away from the remains of the ladder, Lance eyed the dark path ahead of him, his skin bursting out in goosebumps. This was a god awful idea  
“Lance?!”  
Lance closed his eyes, reminding himself not to snap at Keith   
“Wait there! I’ll be right back!”

The mine was in bad shape. Parts of it were indeed starting to collapse. Wood beams had split, while their metal replacements were rusting through uselessly. There was the smell of death, but he hadn’t seen anything yet. Feeling a spider running up his arm, Lance flicked it away. The place was icky. He wanted his pyjamas and his glass of wine. Pidge was lucky he loved her. Following the main tunnel, it slowly sloped downwards, the temperature dropping as he walked. In the distance the silence was beginning to be filled with the sound of water dripping and something moving. Fan-fucking-tastic. There was nothing rad about this at all. It was all sucking balls, until it wasn’t.

The end of the mine had flooded. A natural spring lapped at the edge of where the tunnel would have continued further before reaching it. Wading into the frigid water to pass the curve in the wall, his eyes widened as the room turned into a cavern. Okay. This was really fucking cool. He’d missed the turn for wherever the town tunnels connected to the mine, but this was definitely interesting. Somewhere out there he could hear what he assumed to be Keith. Keith was definitely missing out on this. Hidden away from the world, the cavern hadn’t been disturbed in so long that it’d reclaimed its natural beauty. Small bioluminescent something or other grew along the far wall. Fish were actually living down here, their movements making the barest of ripples. From a sniff he could tell the water was fresh, with salt traces from the ground.

“Holy fuck”

Struck by the beauty, he’d let himself tune out. Keith nearly blinding him as he shone the torch across the darkness  
“This is awesome”  
“I told you to stay up there”  
“You stopped responding. I tied the rope off of to the front of your car and rappelled down”  
Lance cursed buying 50 metres of rope. At the time he hadn’t known what he was going to use all of it for, but he was sure having more than he needed was better  
“That’s not safe. What if you’d fallen? Or gotten lost?”  
“I followed your tracks. This place is amazing”  
“Yeah... I bet no one’s been down here in decades. Did you bring your camera?”  
“How did you know?”  
“Lucky guess. Can you see across the water? There’s something glowing on the other side”  
“Gimme a sec”

Turning his camera on, Keith used it to do what his eyes couldn’t   
“Wow... I’ve never seen anything like it”  
“There’s fish down here too”  
“For real?”  
“Yep. We must have missed the turn off”  
“I’m kind of glad we did. Would you have told me about this place?”  
“Would you have believed me if I had?”  
“Probably not... I’m not going to hurt anything by taking photos, will I?”  
Lance shrugged  
“I don’t see how. There’s bats here, but I don’t think you’re going to summon a lake monster”  
“The exist?”  
Keith sounded concerned, again, Lance shrugged   
“No clue. Why don’t you tell me?”  
“I don’t really know... I mean, if vampires can exist, they can too. There’s a theory that as humans were evolving not all stayed on land, like how whales used to be land animals, they moved to the sea and mermaids evolved”  
“I’m pretty sure mermaids don’t exist”  
“I think it’s one of those things we’ll never know. How’s the water?”  
“Gross. The bottom of the pool is clay. I’m pretty sure my sneakers are ruined”  
“No normal person just wades out into a potentially contaminated body of water”  
“I thought the tunnel continued... it looks like maybe it does over where it’s all glowy, but that’s about it for foot exploring. I think once we’re done, I should collapse the tunnel down closer to the entrance. A place like this shouldn’t be spoilt with too many visitors”  
“You’re right about that. Want a hand out?”  
“Nah, I’m just gonna chill. Get it, because the water is so cold...”  
“You deserve to stay in there for that. I’m going film first, this thing isn’t bad in night mode”  
“Go for your life. I’m happy enough watching the view”

Keith really seemed into what he was doing with his camera. Lance wading back to the closest bit of dry land. His shoes felt soggy, water spurting out the holes for his laces when he stepped down hard. Swapping to camera mode, Keith started snapping, Lance hearing the twittering and flapping of wings  
“Fuck! We have to go!”  
“What...”  
“Bats! Run!”

Keith ran, Lance close behind him. The colony of bats hot on their trail as they followed the tunnel. There had to be an opening somewhere if bats were able to get in and out. Unable to outrun them, Lance pushed Keith down, shielding him as the shrieking animals passed over head. Within a matter of moments, they’d passed over head, Lance rolling of Keith to flop on his back. Though it wasn’t really funny, he found himself starting to laugh   
“Lance?”  
“We fucking legged it... I think they’re pissed...”  
Laughing harder, Lance covered his face   
“... oh my god... we must have looked so stupid”  
Beside him, Keith started to laugh   
“I had no idea what to do”  
“Neither did I! They didn’t get you, did they?”  
“No... did they get you?”  
Lance’s laughter started to die down  
“Nah... god... we’re losers...”  
“There was dozens of them”  
“I know... fuck... I needed that. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Lance turned his head to face Keith, Keith already looking towards him. The flashlight trapped between the hunter and the dirt, with his camera held protectively close. Keith probably couldn’t see him very well, but Lance could see everything. Keith looked genuinely relaxed and not like a man who’d upset a colony of bats  
“I’m fine. We should get moving”  
“Yeah. Who would have thunk there’d be bats in a cave?”  
“Someone smarter than us”  
“Rude. Alright, come on, you still need to climb up a rope”

Lance helped Keith up, he didn’t smell blood but the hunter might be bruised come tomorrow. Falling into step, the walk back was taken at a slower pace. This time Lance paused to examine each branching tunnel entrance   
“This place would be pretty cool to sus out”  
“I thought we were doing this for Pidge”  
“We are. I mean, I was. You’re the one who followed me down. It’s just kind of cool that years ago people worked these tunnels. The put all this hard work into something they believed in. You know?”  
“I’m pretty sure they were only down here for money”  
Lance pouted as he crossed his arms  
“Spoil sport”  
“Takes one to know one”  
“Don’t you think it’s cool? They didn’t have a plan, all they had was blind faith and strength and they made this happen”  
“Maybe a bit... it’s hard to imagine the feelings. People died down here working side by side with the same people for probably years. They all made this happen”  
“You sound nostalgic”  
Maybe a little. In Platt life moved so fast. So many people no longer cared about things they couldn’t see on their screens  
“If you’re asking whether I would have made a good miner, I totally would have rocked a pick axe”  
“Because you’ve got rocks in your head”  
Lance kind of felt a tad proud Keith was teasing him. He’d really come out of his shell  
“I’ll have you know my head is filled with cat memes and bad music”  
“That sounds about right. You don’t act like any lawyer I’ve ever met”  
“That’s because Mami raised me right. A guy could spend a lifetime exploring this place”  
“Are you giving up being a domesticated hermit to go full hermit down here?”  
“Maybe? Maybe I’ll do some mining and strike some gold down ‘ere”  
Lance’s attempt at an accent was so horrible he ended up laughing at himself. Keith’s disgusted face only made things funnier  
“Whatever that was, don’t do it again”  
“Yessir. I’m just a poor miner boy, never even played the banjo. Papa said I got rocks in my head, but jokes on him, he’s got rocks in his bed”  
Keith let out a laugh, shaking his head as he did. Lance having to look away because he found himself enjoying the sight too much  
“Oh, god. That was even worse”  
“Come on then, mister big bad hunter. What can you do?”  
“Not that. I’ll leave that to you”  
“Spoilsport”  
“That’s my middle name”

Reaching the rope, Lance stared up at it. That was going to be a hell of a climb for Keith   
“Will you be alright climbing?”  
“I just have to make it up to the ladder. I’ve climbed bigger things than this”  
“Right, well, when you get up, get yourself away from the entrance. I’m going to knock a couple of beams out. Gravity will do the rest”  
“What about the door?”  
“I’ll call the council in the morning and tell them I found it how it is. They’ll be forced to fix it”  
“You don’t need a hand?”  
“Nah, I’ve got this. I’ll pretend I’m punching you”  
“Thanks. See you top side”

Being the worrier he was, Lance made sure Keith was at the top before walking down the tunnel a bit. The wood was so old that he didn’t need much force to splinter it... it kindly deciding he needed splinters in return for the punch. Breaking through the sides of four supports, he started jogging when he heard the ground start to creak. Definitely time to get out and get home.

Lance was already starting the engine by the time they heard the crash. Dust pouring out of the mine as they both watched from the bronco  
“Well that’s done”  
“Yep”  
“Time to head home?”  
“Yep. On it”  
It was no good. He was having too much fun hanging out with Keith. He didn’t care that his shoes were still gross, or that he was messing up his rubber car mats. He’d had fun. Actual fun where he hadn’t had to hide away that part of himself.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith is so fucking soft for Lance

27

After the night in the mine, things had seemed to change between them. Keith thought they’d had fun, but the next morning Lance was already long awake and holed up in his office by the time Keith pulled himself out of bed and stumbled through the coffee machine. They’d both been covered in dirt and cobwebs, Lance’s hair looked infested with spiders, Keith’s not much better. While creeping around in an abandoned mine wasn’t his first choice of outdoor activities, it’d been kind of cool... except for the bats. Keith could have done without the bats.

If it’d been one day of Lance locked away, catching up on work, Keith wouldn’t have been so sure that the vampire was mad at him for something. Instead it’d been three. Three days since they’d last said more than a few words to each other, and Keith didn’t know what to do. This was Lance’s home. He didn’t want to intrude into his office, but whatever was going on, he needed to talk it out with Lance. He’d heard a few strange noises from the office, weird thuds that made him want to knock on the door, yet... He didn’t know why this was getting to him. Acknowledgement turned to anger. Anger turned to sadness. Sadness turned to anger over the fact he was sad about it, and that turned to him standing in front of the office door with his hand raised, paused before he knocked. He and Lance weren’t supposed to be friends, so why did he feel like something was missing now Lance wasn’t there to annoy him.

Knocking on the office door, there came a thud, followed by a groaned “fuck”. Fuck being respectful. He needed to know what was going on with Lance. Opening the office door, he found Lance sprawled out beside his computer chair  
“Lance?!”  
His heart began to race. Stupid seeing how many times Lance had tripped, fallen off his chair, and walked into things in the time they’d been forced to live together  
“‘m fine”  
Trying to push himself up, Lance flopped down. Definitely not fine in the slightest  
“Whoa... let me help”

Striding over to Lance, Keith crouched down. Lance oozing sickness was he raised his head to look at him. The vampires cheeks were flushed, face pale, and fine sheen of sweat covered his undead body  
“What’s wrong?!”  
Shiro would have scolded him for yelling at a sick person, but Keith wasn’t used to looking after anyone who was ill outside of his brother. When Adam had been ill, Shiro would fuss up a storm. When Keith was ill, he preferred locking himself away so as to not worry his brother. Lance, the idiot, had locked himself away instead of leaning on him... Surely he was dependable enough to be trusted with helping Lance by now...  
“I’m okay...”  
“You’re collapsed on the floor, you’re hardly okay”  
Did vampires even get fevers? Wasn’t their whole shtick immortality and perfect health?  
“It’s just a bit of weakness”  
“You’ve got a fever, dumbarse. Why didn’t you tell me?”  
“Because... I... I don’t know...”

Lance was getting teary. He probably felt like shit  
“Is there anything I can do? Can I get you anything?”  
Curling around his stomach, Lance let out a choked cry. Keith finding himself well over his head. Taking a breath, something sweet was in the air, but he couldn’t focus on that for now. Right now he had an idiot vampire to take care of  
“I’m going to get you up and up to your room. Okay?”  
Too bad if it wasn’t. Lance was expiring on his watch.

Lifting Lance, the man barely weighed a thing, not when compared to Shiro. With how sickly Lance looked, it was hard to believe that the same man who’d collapsed a mine was the man limp in his arms. Feeling that the stairs might present a problem, Keith carried him to the spare room, laying him in the bed Shiro’d used when his brother been god knows where. Having placed Lance on top of the covers, Keith grabbed the blanket off his bed to cover the crying vampire with. Coran had said to avoid emotionally compromised positions. This surely had to count  
“I’m going to get some water and a cloth, stay there... and try not to change into a bat...”  
Maybe he should have shoved Lance in the car and driven him to Platt. He didn’t know how to take care of a vampire, other than taking care of them permanently. He needed someone more experienced to tell him what the fuck to do... someone like Lance. He was sure Lance would have been able to take care of the situation. Not like him.

Heading to the kitchen, Keith fumbled out a casserole dish, not that he knew what that was, it was just the first bowl big enough to fit a wet tea towel in. Yep. He was well into panic mode. Kicking himself for noticing Lance wasn’t feeling well sooner... not that he could have, the arsehole had tried shutting him out. Filling the bowl with cool water, he carried it back to the bedroom where Lance had proceeded to get himself in more trouble as he tried to shed his sweaty clothes. Honestly. Keith couldn’t take his eyes off him for a minute  
“Hang on, let me help”

Placing the bowl down, Keith turned back to Lance, before taking the fabric of his shirt and pulling it up over his head. Lance staring at him in confusion over his shirt no longer having him trapped. The vampire’s fangs were out, jutting over his bottom lip which was almost pouting  
“What are you trying to do?”  
“It’s hot...”  
“It’s not hot. You’re hot... from the fever. You’ve got a fever. I don’t mean you’re actually hot”  
Scrambling to backtrack his words, Keith felt like he was digging himself a deeper hole  
“You think I’m hot?”  
“Pffft. What? No. What? Lay back down already”  
Smooth. Real fucking smooth there. Lance flopped back, hitting his head on the bedhead as he did, Keith cringing in at the sound. Lance really was hopeless. Moving downwards, he took him by the legs and pulled him down the bed so his head ended up where the pillows would be once Keith pulled the out from where they’d bunched up at Lance’s shoulders.

Having never seen Lance shirtless, Keith found himself staring. Not that Lance noticed. Rolling towards the wall, Keith’s eyes widened at the way his spine seemed so visible. Lance wasn’t as built as he, or Shiro, were. His body softer, like Adam’s had been. They had the same soft brown skin, the same soft brown hair... but everything Adam was, Lance wasn’t. Lance was loud, prone to mood swings, he was happy, and when he wasn’t he made a point of trying to be for the sake of others. He was stubborn, infuriatingly so. He recklessly put himself in danger repeatedly, to ensure those he cared about would be hurt. He lied through his teeth to his friends, but felt the weight of his lies. He cherished Pidge and Hunk. He cherished human lives. So maybe he was kind of like Adam, but Adam always had such control. He loved Shiro, but he kept as much of the darker more painful side of being a hunter away from Keith, thinking he was protecting him. Lance was stupid. He’d blurt something out, try change topic, but then gave an answer at the weirdest of times. He was happy to feed from blood bags, and not take humans for pets or as an easy warm meal. He loved frugally himself, spending his money on those people he cared about. He wasn’t... he was a vampire but he’d... he’d kept some form of that human spark. He hurt like a human. He cried for others. He held back his pain, like he was some kind of burden for being himself. He hated himself. Misunderstood himself. Had placed his mother on some kind of pedestal... He was more like Keith than Keith wanted to admit. It was stupid and dangerous, but Lance was feeling more and more like a friend. Like someone who was just as lost in the world as Keith felt. He didn’t fit in. He didn’t know how long he’d live. He didn’t know if one day it’d all fall apart. He was a human and a vampire. A human cursed to be a vampire in what seemed to be the cruelest of ways... How many vampires had he killed, not thinking about their ties. Not all vampires were as stupidly loyal as Lance, but that wasn’t a bad thing... Lance wasn’t a bad thing... He was lonely and living the simplest way he knew possible.

Moving back to the bowl, Keith lifted up the tea towel, wringing out the extra water before sitting on the edge of the bed behind Lance. Running the cloth down the vampire’s back, Lance shuddered   
“It’s okay. I’m going to clean you up and call for help”  
“I’m sorry”  
The idiot was still trying to apologise. He apologised way too much as it was   
“It’s fine. You can’t help being sick”  
“Everything hurts”  
That kind of happened when you had a fever, humouring him, Keith asked   
“What hurts?”  
“My stomach... I did something bad...”  
That sounded on par   
“Whatever it is, we’ll talk about it later”  
“I... I had a dream about you and I’m sorry... I don’t know why... I didn’t... I didn’t mean to...”  
Keith had no idea what Lance was on about. He knew he had nightmares, was he uncomfortable that he’d had a nightmare over Keith?  
“It’s okay. You can’t control your dreams...”  
“I didn’t mean to... I didn’t mean too...”  
“Stop it. You’re working yourself up all over again. Roll onto your back for me”

Lance had the nerve to shake his head at him. Keith sighing as he dropped the tea towel back into the bowl  
“I can’t clean you up if you don’t cooperate”  
“You shouldn’t touch me... I’m bad”  
“Fucking bite me. Don’t be a bitch, its a fever, not the plague. Did you at least eat something today?”  
“I’m not hungry”  
“You need to eat”  
“I feel sick”  
“You feel sick because your dumb arse didn’t eat”  
“I eat with my mouth... oh, god... don’t make me laugh”

Lance curled himself tighter, he thought he’d been so clever with his stupid joke, until he was whimpering. Keith patted his hip, trying to appear comforting and not like he was rolling his eyes mentally  
“You made yourself laugh. You know you need to feed”  
“Feel too sick...”  
Now they were going around in circles  
“I think we just had this conversation. If I get you blood, will you eat?”  
“Nhmm... can... can you just stay instead? I’m... I’m scared”  
Because there were so many other places he could go?   
“You’re supposed to be the adult here. I’ll stay, if you let me get you blood”  
“Ugh... fine... just... I’m sorry...”  
“You’re alright. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes. Try not to throw up while I’m gone”  
“You wish, jellyfish”

Leaving Lance half cleaned, Keith figured he really did have a matter of minutes to get back. He was over his head, and definitely needed a more “adult” adult. Barely outside the door, the house bell rang. Keith jumping at the unexpected sound. The last thing they needed were visitors when Lance would insist on getting up and greeting them like he wasn’t ill. Panic was setting in all over again, Keith jogging to the front door, unsure what to say, or what to do, the only reason he wasn’t ignoring it was so Lance didn’t get out of bed. Opening the door with a bit too much force, the hunter gaped at the visitors on the doorstep. 

“What are you doing here?”  
Smiling brightly, Coran rocked up onto his top toes and back down again  
“I believe you need a little bit of help my boy”  
Keith jerked back, eyes still wide as he stared at Coran and Allura, both of them dressed far too nicely for a place like garrison. In a pink sun dress, Allura looked like a model, her soft white hair rippling as if there was a breeze, as she held her straw hat neatly in front of her chest. Her bronzed skin tone made the colour pop... God... he sounded like Lance   
“But... how?”  
“Lance called me yesterday to ask a few questions about his changing condition. He was supposed to call me back this morning, so we came as soon as he failed to check in”  
Lance called Coran? Rather than talk to him...? Keith had intended on stealing Lance’s phone and getting Coran’s number from there... this was... unexpected   
“I... what... yeah... He’s... not doing so great”  
“What are his symptoms?”

Coran invited himself inside, Allura giggling as Keith stood there looking stupid. His brain taking far too long to kick into gear   
“Stomach cramps, and a fever... He says he feels too sick to eat”  
“That’s not good at all. How long has been like this?”  
“I don’t know... I went to talk to him because I thought he was mad at me and he kind of fell out his desk chair. He’s in the spare room”  
Coran stopped midstep, turning back to him  
“Oh, my dear boy. It must have been a shock for you. Rest assured, Lance isn’t mad at you. Quite the opposite, I’d say. He seems quite fond of you”  
What was that supposed to mean? Keith didn’t get the chance, Allura stepped inside, closing the door behind her and Coran started moving off towards the spare bedroom as if he already knew Lance was there.

Following Coran, Keith sat himself down on his bed. Coran humming as he sat himself down where Keith sat before  
“My poor boy, I hear you’re not feeling so great”  
“Keith?”  
Keith’s heart gave a leap  
“I’m here, Lance”  
Lance mumbled something, Coran close enough to hear as he let out a chuckle over whatever it was  
“Yes, he’s still here. Very much worried about you. Now, I hear you have a bit of pain in your stomach. I’m going to have a little feel. Allura, will you please put on a pot of tea. This shouldn’t take too long”  
From the doorway, Allura softly replied  
“Sure thing. Hi, Lance. I’m sorry you feel ill, but we’re here to help. Come to the kitchen when you’re done”  
This wasn’t the time for tea. Lance was sick. Keith annoyed by how casually they were both taking this, crossing his arms and uncrossing them with nervous energy.

Coaxing Lance on his back, Coran placed his hand on Lance’s stomach, Lance whining softly at the touch  
“Ah... my dear boy, you’re going to be just fine. All part of the change I’m afraid”  
“Hurts”  
“I’m sure it does. Neglecting feeding isn’t helping, and I know you haven’t been resting”  
Keith dropped his head in guilt, going to the mine had been stupid. Lance had pushed himself again  
“Keith?”  
“We went to an old mine... This is my fault, isn’t it? Because I didn’t stop him?”  
“Not at all. Lance has a hard time sitting still at the best of times. Perhaps you can tell me why you felt the need to visit the mine?”  
“Don’t be mad at Keith. I made him come with me”  
Coran laughed openly  
“Now, young Keith isn’t in trouble at all. Keith, mind filling me in?”  
“Pidge wanted to go ghost hunting in the mine, and Lance wanted to make sure she wouldn’t be hurt. We kind of walked around down there for a bit...”  
“Oh to be young again. I’m sure you had quite the adventure. Was the mine safe?”  
“It wasn’t completely collapsed. We found this cavern down there... it’s collapsed now”  
His sentence petered off, embarrassed and sure Coran would scold them   
“That’s good. Young Katie is only human. That’s not the safest of place for humans to be investigating. Now, Lance is going to be fine, but I will need a little bit of fresh blood from you”

Keith knew he was mentally saying “what” far too much. But what did Coran need his blood for?  
“Relax. Only a drop or two. I just want to check Lance’s teeth”  
Lance shook his head, Keith sympathising, but wanting to do anything not to feel so useless  
“Come sit by me, I’m going to prick your finger and Lance’s going to react. You’ve got nothing to fear”  
“He doesn’t want that”  
Coran raised his eyebrow  
“Oh, ho, ho. I knew your quintessence was quite compatible. Tell me, how do you know that?”  
Again. What?  
“Um, he shook his head?”  
“Ah, well. Early days. Nothing to be scared of. A drop or two doesn’t make you a monster”  
“I don’t think he wants it”  
“Fresh blood is best for a more accurate response, but a blood bag will do. Keith, if you’d be so kind...”

Keith wanted to do the right thing by Lance, yet he didn’t want Coran accidentally harming him because of an inaccurate reaction. Moving to sit beside Lance, Lance stared up at him with feverish eyes  
“Don’t...”  
“If it helps you, I don’t mind. It’s only a couple of drops”  
“Keith...”  
“Don’t try and talk me out of it. I’m not putting up with your sick arse because you won’t listen to Coran. Coran, what do I do?”  
Coran took his hand, before Keith registered he’d drawn a blade about the size of a letter opener out and pricked Keith on the middle finger. Guiding his finger towards Lance lips, Lance bared his fangs, scrunching his eyes closed as he did. Lance didn’t want this at all  
“Excellent. Full regrowth. Healthy gums and no visible sores. Full extension of the teeth. Perfect. Now, I don’t see any reasons orally why eating should prove a challenge. Keith, why don’t you grab me that blood bag now”

Keith felt like he’d trapped Lance into eating. He was pissed at Coran, though figured if he’d told him it was a trick to check that nothing in his mouth was preventing him eating, then that would have been pointless. Angry over being used, he felt all the more useless over Lance being ill. He couldn’t fix this and it sucked, for both him and Lance. The hunter felt like a little kid who’s parent let him carry some small item of shopping so they’d feel useful, except he knew what the go was. He wasn’t a kid. He wasn’t a kid and he wasn’t stupid. So he wasn’t going to tell Coran to his face how stupid he’d made him feel, because that was the adult thing to do.


	28. Chapter 28

28

Lance looked pathetic as he sipped his bag of blood. Coran had taken a small amount in a syringe to inject Lance with pain medication. Whatever had been in it sent Lance loopy. He’d turned into a babbling mess under Keith’s watchful eye, Coran playing along with Lance’s mumblings much to Keith’s annoyance. The man wanted his Mami. Normally Keith was against kidnapping senior citizens, but Lance was really hurting and he couldn’t stay by his side. Coran ushering him out the room once Lance had finally fallen asleep, blood bag still between his teeth as he did.

Walking on the balls of his feet in an attempt to keep his footsteps light, Keith made his way into the kitchen, Allura beaming at him as he entered  
“Good news, I take it?”  
“There’s nothing good about Lance being sick”  
Coran clamped a hand on Keith’s shoulder  
“Never you mind, boy. He’ll be fit as a fiddle once these symptoms subside”  
“I’m sick of this. He’s sick. He’s like sick sick. What’s happening now?”  
“Well, lets take a seat then have a little talk about it. Allura, tea if you will”  
The two of them seemed comfortable in Lance’s home. It irked Keith that Allura knew where everything was, she using matching cups and saucers like Lance would have. Taking Lance’s usual seat, because fuck Coran and Allura, Keith was no in the mood for the tea placed before him  
“It’s chamomile”  
Like that meant something to him. Tea was tea. You put a teabag in and that was that  
“It’ll help soothe your nerves”  
“What nerves?”

Allura giggled at him  
“Your nerves over Lance, silly. He’s going to okay”  
“He didn’t look very okay”  
And he hadn’t wanted to be alone. Keith really should be back in the spare room making sure Lance was resting soundly   
“That’s because his body is going through changes”  
He got that... and that Lance was a breeder, meaning his body was changing but he didn’t get it at the same time. Coran took over the talk  
“Lance’s body is changing to bear children. It’s happening faster than we expected, but he’s perfectly fine”  
“He’s not fine. He’s sick and he’s in pain. And you didn’t help by making him smell my blood. He didn’t want to. He’s been trying his hardest, and you made me trick him”  
“Ah, yes, well, for his own sake that was unavoidable. He needs to eat, no matter how ill he feels. I’m sure you are a great help to him”  
“I didn’t even know what to do. I barely wiped his back before he was apologising”  
Keith crossed his arms and glared at the steaming teacup before him. Coran and Allura were both being annoying.

“That’s because he cares for you”  
Pulling out the chair, Allura sat to his right. Keith letting his cranky side show   
“No, he doesn’t”  
“He does. You two have such remarkable compatibility with your quintessence”  
“Enough with that! What does it even mean? Lance is a vampire and I’m a hunter. Everything’s gone to shit. First Shiro dumps me here. Then Lance keeps getting sick. Miriam has a fall. Luis admits he reported his own fucking he reported in his own brother. Lance turns into a bat. And now he’s sick again. I’m sick of it. He hasn’t done anything wrong. He tried to save my life and he’s suffering, while you and Coran decide now is the perfect time for a tea party!”

Keith could have punched Allura for still smiling. Why wasn’t she angry?  
“I understand it must be hard. But we cannot stop the changes. He’s strong, you know. He was tortured when he was turned, by his sires. He’s kept everyone he’s ever met since at a distance. Allowing himself friendships, let alone having someone living with him, is a large step. You could say he’s waited the last 36 years for a friend that knew him and didn’t judge him for it. He’s got such a sweet soul. The transition would be easier with fresh blood, the life is so much more alive when fresh, but he will never feed from you without permission. He’d never feed from you when offered either. He thinks rather highly of you”

Allura didn’t seem capable of giving straight answers. She looked enough like Coran to also be a fae. They both had the same tapered ears, and aura around them. Not a glowy aura, but a feeling  
“If he did, he wouldn’t have tried to hide he was sick”  
“Keith, Lance fears burdening you more than he already has. He doesn’t want pity or sympathy. He doesn’t want to draw even closer to you. He fears you leaving, so he’s hardening his heart so it won’t hurt when you do”  
“You make it sound like we’ve known each other for years, not weeks”  
“Sometimes a day or two is all it takes to decided what a person means to you”  
Their first few days together had been shit. So he’d always mean shit to Lance if he followed Allura’s chain of thought   
“You are allowed to befriend him, and him you. Romantical feelings can develop quite rapidly when your quintessence is so compatible”

“What now? Who said anything about romance?”  
Allura sighed softly   
“I misspoke. I simply mean to say that if you wish to pursue a romantic relationship with Lance...”  
“I don’t”  
“It’s alright to...”  
“I don’t have those feelings for Lance. Stop making this into something it isn’t. There’s nothing there. He’s weird and he’s dead. We’re stuck together so whatever we’re feeling is because of that. I wouldn’t date him, even if he was the last man alive”  
“I see I’ve upset you. Lance is quite fond of you, to hear you speak like that would certainly upset him”  
“Because I call him weird and dead?”  
He pretty much did that every day. Lance ragged on him just as much in return   
“Yes. He is very sensitive about such topics. Perhaps leaving him in your care was too much”  
“Allura, that is enough. Keith, please understand that what we were trying to say is that even through friendship, or something more, we would support the two of you. Matters of the heart are a complicated thing. Lance has lost many people he cares about along the way and remembers them all. He is wise and he is brave. He worked out from early age that to survive he had to hide large pieces of himself away. With you, he can be more open about those things. You are a great presence in his life”  
“You make it sound like he has feelings for me”  
“Perhaps he does”

Keith shook his head. Their “friendship” was complicated enough as it was. He felt as if Coran and Allura were pressuring him into something with Lance, which was the last thing Lance needed right now. He was sick and vulnerable. Besides, he didn’t have those feelings for Lance. He didn’t know what he felt, but it was nothing like romance. He was still trying to cope with the changes in his body. Once Shiro returned, he was going to request a medical to find out what was going on with his heart. The racing and the weird beats weren’t normal. He’d been in plenty of heart racing situations, but none made his chest physically ache, like it did for no good reason when Lance was around. His moods were as up and down as Lance’s. He felt sure that Lance’s bite had done something to change him physically. It was the only explanation for what was happening with his heart. 

“How long’s he going to sleep for?”  
“A few hours. He needs the rest. These changes are hard on his body, as well as his mind. If he’s in pain, you can try a combination of ibuprofen and a few drops of blood. Blood will help his body absorbed the painkillers, so make sure you don’t give him straight painkillers, or they’ll be ineffective”  
“Wait. You’re leaving me in charge of looking after him? I don’t know how to help him”  
“You can’t take away the physical pain, but your presence will help keep him calm”  
“He wanted his Mami, not me”  
Coran sighed softly  
“Poor Miriam. She’s such a kind woman. She’s always been on Lance’s side. Lance wouldn’t have told her about Luis...”  
Luis deserved to stand in a nest of fire ants for what he’d done to his brother   
“Nope. That reminds me, has he always been like that?”  
“Yes and no. Lance’s family all went through quite a lot after Lance was turned”  
“He asked me the other day if I could find out whether Rolo and Nyma are still around”  
“Fortunately, they are not, as far as I know. For a period I did keep an eye out for signs of them, but the last records are from nearly two decades ago. They’ve either wised up, or they were executed. They were listed as violent offenders, and scheduled for termination, but they’d left my jurisdiction by then”  
That was good. The world didn’t need Nyma and Rolo. Though Keith was annoyed he didn’t get to kill the pair of them himself   
“I’ll let him know. Maybe Shiro will know something more”  
Allura took a sip of her tea, before carefully saying   
“Keith, think about it carefully before you decide. There are somethings in life that you can’t unknow. We have no information on if their deaths did indeed occur. Telling Lance that they may still be out there may not be the best thing for him right now”  
“He needs some kind of closure”  
“Which, without facts, isn’t possible right now. Now, we need to be leaving. I’m afraid our work never seems to be done. We’ll send someone to check in with you once the weekend has passed. I’m sure you two must have plans?”  
“Pidge has plans. Lance is going if he isn’t fully recovered”  
Allura laughed at him. She laughed, and seeing it was straight after Keith had spoken, the only way to interpret it was that she was laughing at him. The hunter still didn’t understand how she could giggle and laugh like it was nothing. Maybe human lives didn’t matter so much when you spent your time dealing with supernatural creatures   
“You sound like a concerned parent. Oh, Keith. I think I quite like you”  
“Then why do you keep making fun of me?”

That sobered Allura right up  
“I’m terribly sorry. That was not my intent in the slightest. I do think you and Lance quite compliment each other. I am struggling to contain my happiness over him finding an understanding friend, someone who understands him and has such compatible quintessence... I never thought it’d happen for Lance, so I can barely keep from smiling. I do believe you two will become very close”  
“Is that a fae thing?”  
“A touch of foresight, and a belief. Please reach out if you require anything”  
Keith didn’t want to. Not when Allura and Coran were both so damn weird. What happened to people talking simply, without all these added meanings that seemed to go over his head   
“I don’t have a phone number... I was going to borrow Lance’s phone and call Coran, but then both of you showed up”  
“Here we go my boy. Direct line. Call anytime and you’ll be answered”  
Coran drew a business card out of seemingly nowhere. Passing it over, the business card was for the bookshop side of things. Some help that was... Coran didn’t seem the kind of man who’d be above ground all that often  
“Thanks... are you sure... that he’s to be okay? All of this feels kind of sudden, and now you’re both suddenly leaving... What do I do if he gets worse? What if he like... snaps?”  
“Keep him calm and keep him fed... Monitor that fever and know you’re doing the best you can for him right now”  
“That’s it?”  
“I’m afraid so. It’s quite disheartening that we cannot do more for poor Lance. We can only guide him through his change. Now, I have one other thing for you. I believe you had no money of your own, so I’ve set this up for your account. It’s activated and ready to go”  
Coran pulled another card out of his pocket and passed it over. Keith’s eyes widening at the bank card in his name   
“I would say I’m surprised, but I think I’ve hit my limit on surprises. Thanks for this, now I have to convince Lance to let me use his car”  
“I’m sure you’ll have no problems. Now, as Allura said, we must be going. No need to stand, we’ll see ourselves out”

Keith felt like he should thank them, they had come to Lance’s aid, but he was also kind of preoccupied with everything Allura and Coran had said. Leaving him sitting at the table, Keith really wanted to call Shiro and fill him in on everything that happened. His brother was such a huge part of his life, but now he was too busy to be there. Besides, Shiro would probably worry over Lance, when there wasn’t anything they could do about the pain of his body changing... and Keith didn’t want to have a conversation where talking about Lance’s bits and pieces was likely to mean talking about what was happening below his belt line. That was icky. Not that Keith hadn’t shared a communal shower before, but thinking about Lance’s dick was sure to only leave him feeling weird around the man. Seeing him shirtless had been weird enough as it was. He probably needed to get back to Lance, so Lance wouldn’t wake up alone and scared. Being a vampire was a lot more complicated than Keith had spent all these years thinking it was.

*  
With Lance sleeping, Keith had wound up on his bed playing with his camera. He’d sat, paced, sat, then paced until he grew frustrated, before throwing himself down on his bed and pulling out his camera. Blue had come to inspect what was happening to her human, then run off when Keith went to pat her. Cats were so weird. He thought Blue had warmed up to him, but apparently not. Staring at the photo on the screen, he wished he could have seen the cavern the way Lance had. He’d probably been able to differentiate between the lines of sediment with his weird vampire powers. Lance had seen enough to know there were fish down there, which Keith found weird. He could only hazard a guess that they’d been introduced down there as emergency food reserves, then lived down there undisturbed when the mine was decommissioned. The Third World War had been a major turning point in industrialisation. Technology coming along in leaps and bounds since. The hunter still wasn’t sure that the mine hadn’t made Lance ill, seeing Lance had waded out into what had to be freezing cold water. 

Sighing to himself, Keith looked over to Lance. The tea towel across his forehead would need changing by now. The vampire still looked wiped out by fever, and the scent in the room had definitely grown sweeter. Climbing off his bed, Keith’s knees nearly buckled as he tripped over air. Clumsiness coming from nowhere. Taking the tea towel off Lance’s forehead, Keith jumped as Lance’s eyes snapped open, staring right at him  
“Lance?”

Reaching out, Lance grabbed him by the wrist, Keith being pulled forcibly forward as Lance rolled away from him. The vampire’s eyes closing again as Keith tried to free his wrist, only to find Lance’s grip too tight. Not physically tight around his wrist, but his hand was firm as if his muscles had seized that way  
“Lance? Hey, let me go”  
Half kneeling on the bed, Keith continued to try freeing his hand. Lance seemed to have fallen back to sleep, Keith not getting his hand back anytime soon. His heart was doing that racing thing, Keith sighing loudly over now being trapped. He didn’t have a choice.

Against his will, mostly, Keith realised he was going to have to wait until Lance woke up again. Climbing up on the bed, he slipped under the blanket, forced to spoon around Lance’s sleeping form thanks to his hold. Keith wasn’t used to this. He’d bunked with Shiro before, even cuddled up behind his brother like this, especially after the loss of Adam, when Shiro’s PTS got to the point he couldn’t sleep alone. But that was Shiro. His brother. Not a big sick vampire baby, like Lance. Locking his jaw, Keith ignored the way Lance wriggled back against him. His slim body seemed to meld far too well against Keith’s... something he was acutely aware of given how insistent Allura had been that they’d be something more than whatever they were now. Friends hugged friends. Keith could totally see Hunk spooning up with Lance like this, even if Lance seemed more the type to spoon. He’d be a cuddler. Like a big dopey dog or something. With his eyes scrunched, Keith tried to calm his racing heart. There was nothing wrong with this. Friends hugged friends when they were down. There was no need to complicate things by over thinking. Nope. This was fine. Everything was fine... perfectly fine...


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Keith... oh my anger loaf... you’re swimming so deep in DeNile I might need to fly to Egypt to fish you out

29

Keith had stared at the back of Lance’s head until he’d gone cross eyed. He couldn’t sleep. Tension kept his body stiff, because his dumb arse had actually fallen asleep. For a few hours at least, he’d slept... while spooned up behind a sick vampire. He was sure in some guide book out there, there’d be very pointed instructions not to do that. His head was swimming, and shamefully, his crotch was squarely up against Lance’s arse. Lance’s, not as bony as it should be, arse. The heat beneath the sheets was stifling, the sweet smell coming from Lance was almost too much. He feared moving and waking Lance, especially when certain parts of his body seemed more ”up” than they should be.

This was all Allura’s fault for putting ideas in his head. Lance’s grip on his wrist had slipped to the vampire holding his hand as they’d slept. Way, way, waaaaaay, too intimately. He liked Lance enough... maybe enough that if they’d met under totally different circumstances, and way drunker than they currently were, he might have... Nope. Nope. Noooo. No way. Like fuck... what the fuck was he thinking?!?! He couldn’t blame Allura’s tea for this, he hadn’t drunk it. So why was he... why was he... hard? And why did he wish Lance would roll over and kiss him? He didn’t like Lance. He absolutely didn’t like him. He didn’t like his dumb hair, or his weird sense of humour. He didn’t like the way he smiled. Nope. He didn’t. So why was it that there was a fire in his belly? Why did he want to press up against Lance more? Lance would be mortified. Horrified. He’d probably murder him in his sleep then dump his body where no one would ever find him. He was a fucking vampire, for crying out loud! His sworn enemy. 

Groaning in his sleep, Keith was sure he’d been caught. Holding his breath, Lance moved, Keith’s hand released as Lance rolled over. Lance’s brilliant blue eyes were open, but unseeing. His teeth bared as Keith tried to pretend he was part of the bedding and not shitting himself a little at the way Lance was looking at him. Shit. Shit. Shit...   
“L-Lance?”  
That was the wrong move. Lance growling as Keith found himself suddenly trapped beneath him. The vampire having moved to straddle him too fast for his eyes to keep up. Grabbed by the wrists, Lance pinned his hands above his head  
“Lance, this isn’t funny... ngmhmm”

Lance’s lips pressed against his. No hesitation in what he wanted. His teeth dragging across Keith’s lips, as he eagerly kissed him. Rolling his hips, Lance whined into the kiss, as Keith laid still, brain short circuiting. He felt giddy, heart pounding as he felt himself kissing Lance back. Shit... he... what was he doing? Keith’s eyes slid half shut, Lance breaking from kissing to move his hands so he could pin Keith both of Keith’s with one of his. With a hand free, Lance ran his fingers down Keith’s shirt, almost clumsily Lance’s lips met Keith’s shoulder, that wandering hand slipping up his shirt to clutch at his side. Lance’s teeth scratched his lip, Keith tasting blood in the kiss. He should have been scared, instead he was confused.

“Lance...”

As fast as Lance had pinned him down, the vampire was off him and at the end of the bed. Eyes wide as he rose a hand to his bloodied lips, shaking so hard that Keith confusion morphed instantly to worry  
“Lance?”  
“I...”  
“Lance...”  
Sitting up, Keith reached towards Lance, Lance flinching back as he covered his face with his hands  
“Don’t look at me!”  
“Lance...”  
“Don’t look at me!”  
“Lance, it’s okay. You didn’t mean...”  
“I hurt you!”  
Lance sounded devastated  
“I’m fine”  
His lips stung where Lance’s fangs had grazed them, but that was all that’d happened   
“I hurt you! I don’t know what happened! Don’t look at me... don’t look at me...”  
“Hey, you didn’t mean to”  
“I hurt you! I made you bleed! I can smell it... your heart... you’re scared”  
Keith was not scared. Confused, still slightly horny, but scared  
“I’m not scared. Calm down already, you’re blowing this out of proportion”  
“I bit you!”  
No fucking shit  
“I noticed! Calm down already!”  
“But I’m a monster!”  
“Oh, boo hoo. You’re an idiot, that’s what you are! You’re the one who fucking kissed me”

Lance lowered his hands, one hand moving to his lap as his other hand wiped at his mouth  
“I did what, now?”  
“You rolled over and kissed me”  
The middle bit would only confuse and upset Lance  
“Ew! Not only do I have your gross blood on my lips, you kissed me!”  
“You kissed me!”  
“Ugh! Why were you in bed with me?!”  
“Because you pulled me in next to you!”  
Lance blushed hard red, though that may have been because his cheeks were already flushed with fever  
“No I didn’t!”  
“Did too!”  
“Then why were you still there!?”  
“Because you were holding my hand!”  
“What?!”  
“You were holding my hand! Why are we yelling at each other?!”  
“Because I tried to violate you!”  
“Please, you’d be so lucky!”  
“It was a dream! I didn’t mean to fuck you!”

Keith jerked back with a shake of his head. What now? When did that happen? He didn’t feel like anything had been up there...  
“You didn’t. God, you’re overreacting”  
At least he’d stopped yelling   
“Then why did I kiss you?”  
“Because you’ve got a fever, you idiot”  
“I can’t believe I kissed you!”  
“Stop yelling at me! And stop rubbing at your lip, you’re going to make it bleed”  
Lance groaned, he still seemed ready to start crying at any moment of Keith didn’t handle this carefully. The vampire sadly mumbling   
“I’m sorry”  
“It’s fine. I’m fine and you’re sick. Do you still feel sick?”  
“I feel like someone poured lava in my stomach. I’m all itchy and it’s cold”  
“Because you’re sweaty, and you’re sick”  
“I don’t like it...”

Keith didn’t like Lance looking so hurt and disgusted with himself. It was what it was. Coran said fresh blood was good, Lance wasn’t feeling well, so if he drank fresh blood he’d have to heal faster. Then things could go back to normal, like they were before he’d popped a boner against Lance’s arse and Lance had kissed him  
“Most people don’t like feeling sick. Now, I’m going to hold my arm out, and you’re going to feed off me”  
Bending his arm at elbow, Keith waited. Lance wrinkled his nose up  
“Nah... I’ll pass”  
“What? Why?”  
“Your blood tastes gross”  
“That’s because it’s fresh”  
“I don’t want to”  
“Coran said...”  
“Coran shouldn’t have said! I don’t want to drink your blood! Your mouth tastes gross too. Do you not brush your teeth? What is that? Ugh... it tastes like emo...”  
“I brush my teeth!”  
“Well it’s not minty fresh in there! My first kiss and it was with you!”  
Lance had to be lying... no way was that his first kiss! Keith feeling flustered at the thought... it’d been an okay kiss, plenty of enthusiasm but a bit too much in the teeth department   
“Yeah, well, emo isn’t even a taste!”  
“It is to! Ugh, I’m going to brush my teeth!”  
“I don’t...”

Keith barely got two words out before Lance was falling off the bed. Staring down at him, he supposed Lance didn’t find it as funny as he did  
“Do you want some help?”  
“From you? I think not... my first kiss... gone like that! I feel violated!”  
“You’re the one who kissed me! How do you think I feel?”  
“Judging from the way “Little Keith” was looking at me, I’d say you feel better about it than I do!”  
Keith grabbed a pillow to cover his crotch  
“That was your fault!”  
“So what?! You want to kiss me?! Is that it?”  
“I wouldn’t say no!”

Both of them gaped at each other, Keith groaning before dropping his head in embarrassment   
“I wouldn’t say no either...”  
Hang on...  
“What?”  
“I said, “I wouldn’t say no either“! I don’t know what’s happening to me! You’re a big dumb hunter... this isn’t supposed to be happening!”  
“Yeah, well, you’re the enemy!”  
“And you’re my enemy! Just wait until I can stand, I’m going to fight you so fucking hard!”  
“Good! Because I’m going to kick your arse for making me care about you!”  
“And I’m going to kick your arse for waving your nasty arse blood!”  
“My nasty arse blood is better than blood from a bag!”  
“How would you know!”  
“Because you made me drink it! God! What are you doing to me?!”  
“Nothing! I’m sick!”  
“No shit! This yelling won’t be making you feel any better either!”  
“It isn’t!”

Lance scrunched his face up like he was trying to take a big shit  
“Now what are you doing?!”  
“I’m turning into a bat and running the fuck away!”  
“Bats fly, dumbarse”  
Lance threw his hands in the air   
“I give up! You’re impossible!”  
Him?! He wasn’t impossible! He was the sane and normal one!  
“If anyone here’s impossible, it’s you! Drink the blood”  
“No!”  
“Lance!”  
“I don’t want to!”  
Why was he being so stubborn?! If fresh blood helped, he should be all over that shit... Great. Now he was worrying that his blood had something wrong with it  
“Drink my blood!”  
Lance huffed, dropping his arms and crossing them  
“Don’t wanna”  
“Lance”  
“Don’t wanna and you can’t make me!”  
“What are you, like three?”  
“So what if I am!”  
It was Keith’s turn to throw his hands in the air  
“I’m trying to help you!”  
“And I don’t know what to do! I don’t wanna hurt you!”  
“You’re my hurting head. How are you stubborn?”  
“Because you’re going to leave and I’m back on blood bags again!”  
Lance was being impossible. Keith was honestly tired of yelling. His throat hurt, his head hurt, and he kept insisting that Lance drink his blood... He’d lost his damn mind. If Lance was going to be this damn stubborn, then he could have a stupid blood bag and suffer through his stomach cramps.

Climbing off the spare bed, Keith stepped up by Lance, putting his hands under the vampire’s armpits, he hauled him up and back onto the edge of the bed  
“I’m going to get you a bag, and you’re going to drink all of it”  
“You’re not my dad”  
Lance was definitely not right in the head. He was an idiot. An idiot crumpet!  
“No, I’m just the guy trying to help your stubborn arse. You’re so lucky you’re already dead, or I’d be hitting you over the head with a shovel”  
“As if I could forget. Now go away, I wanna wallow in peace”  
“You can wallow over how you’re ruining my sanity. Your body is changing dumbarse. You’re all weird inside because you’re body is preparing to make babies. Coran said fresh blood had more life in it, meaning it’s better. Allura said apparently we’re a thing a now. I don’t even know what’s going. Something is wrong with my heart. And you won’t drink my blood! I’ve had a long enough day, so wallow quietly”

Running a hand through his hair his hair, Keith didn’t know what to do with the mess of the vampire in front him  
“Fine. Whatever. Thank you”  
“You're welcome”  
Keith didn’t know what he was being thanked for, so he gave up the fight. Shiro better bloody be back soon, or he was going to find them both rocking back and forth on the floor because they’d driven each other crazy.


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pidge loves to party. Keith needs a drink.

30

Lance was wallowing. His stomach hurt, he’d run out of snacks, though they hadn’t been a smart idea, and the TV remote was out of reach. Blue had bitten his toes when the blanket had slipped off his feet, and Keith wouldn’t take care of him because Lance refused to admit he needed his help. Thanks to his dumb mouth, he’d blundered. He’d kissed Keith. He didn’t remember it. His first kiss and he didn’t remember it. He remembered everything, but he didn’t remember that. Hearing the vacuum turn on, he dragged his blanket over his head. He wasn’t even allowed to wallow in peace. Now he had blood coming out of places blood wasn’t supposed to come out of. He was stuck permanently semi horny, and he smelt like someone had dumped potpourri over his head. The weekend was upon them, again, and that mean Pidge and Hunk would be making an appearance. Further interrupting his wallowing. He’d locked himself away to spare Keith how sick he felt, but stupid Keith had to worry and he had to go be happy he had someone to worry over him. As the vacuum cleaner drew closer, Lance groaned his annoyance its loud noise, he groaned again as his wallowing was interrupted by Keith pulled the blanket off from over his head as he stepped on the power button, cutting the obnoxious noise  
“What was that for?”  
“Just making sure you hadn’t permanently expired”  
“I’m wallowing”  
“I noticed”  
With a huff, Lance pulled the blanket back over his head  
“I’m allowed to wallow. It hurts”  
“I didn’t say you weren’t, but try to shower today, before you start going mouldy”

Keith turned the vacuum back on, Lance hissing at the blasted appliance. If Keith had to clean, then he could at least use a broom, or a carpet sweeper, something that didn’t sound like the hordes of hell stabbing at his ears with their screaming wails. And who was Keith to imply he was going mouldy? He’d had a shower that morning, not that it helped with the cramping or the smell. He did have some pride left. It wasn’t very much, but seeing Keith was acting like their whole screaming match didn’t happen, Lance was following his lead.

Lance got exactly 5 minutes peace between the vacuum turning off and the doorbell ringing. Keith dropping Blue on his head when Lance made no motion of coming out. Clawed by Blue, Lance’s face was used as a jumping pad, his precious baby running away without so much as a lick or a purr. Blue wasn’t getting any wet food until she started loving him again. Listening to Keith walk through the house, Lance tried to cover his head with the couch cushion, but the damn thing was sewn in, leaving him only covered by his blanket.

“‘sup, loser?”  
“Hey, Pidge. Hey, Hunk. Come on in, Lance is in the living room”  
There was the sound of running feet before Lance was crushed by Pidge sitting on him  
“You’re sofas too hard. You should get a new one”  
Wiggling her butt, Lance groaned. Of all the place she could have sat, it was on his side, weight irritating his sore stomach  
“We all know the lump is Lance. He’s wallowing”  
“Oh no. Don’t tell me one of his shows finished? One time he didn’t move for like a week because he didn’t like the ending”  
“He’s had the shits all day. You might not want to squash him too much”  
Keith could go fuck himself. Lance would have a spun a much better lie if their positions had been reversed   
“Ew! Dude, that’s way TMI. Maybe it’s genetic, I hear diarrhoea runs in your jeans”  
Hunk groaned at Pidge. Keith, the arsehole, snorted  
“I wonder if you’ll find it funny if you squash it out of him”  
“Yuck! No thanks”

When Pidge climbed off of him, the gremlin lifted his feet and sat herself down in the opposite corner. Pulling the blanket down to his chin, he pouted at his friend   
“I’d still love you. Despite the shit you do”  
“I’d love you too, but if you actually crap yourself, I’m never letting you live it down”  
“Says you. I still have very vivid memories of a certain blue top...”  
A certain blue top that Pidge had managed to cover in vomit as she argued with a taxi driver about some mathematical term that Lance didn’t get, because she’d been too drunk and kept mixing equations. Thankfully they were outside the taxi, Lance paying for the ride, while tipping the man generously as he apologised profusely over Pidge  
“Shut up. I was drunk”  
“Very. Very, very, drunk. I seem to remember that night you learned that lollywater and beer didn’t mix”  
“It was so green”  
The same shade as radiator coolant. Blueberry vodka did not go well with beer at all. Poor Pidge had burst into tears, Lance carrying her home and cleaning her up so Hunk wouldn’t have to   
“It was. I’m wallowing because I can. What brings you guys over?”  
“It’s the weekend. You promised you’d come with us to a certain pub”

Fuck him and his past self making stupid, unreasonable, promises  
“I don’t remember that”  
“You said we couldn’t go to the mine. Apparently some tourist was checking things out and found the door open. The stupid council has welded it shut now”  
“Thank god for that”  
Pidge poked him in the leg  
“That tourist wouldn’t be you, would it?”  
Yep. He was that tourist. The tourist that nearly lost a dog down there. Keith wasn’t a dog, but he did have aspects of being an oversized puppy. And he had followed him down the mine despite the fact he really could have gotten lost  
“Nope. They probably went past the cemetery just to see what was there and saw the door open”  
“Wankers”

Shuffling over to him, Hunk sat carefully on the arm of the chair   
“Dude, how are you sick again?”  
“Keith cooked and poisoned me”  
Pidge laughed   
“Oh man, that’s what happens when you leave two men in a house together. What he did make?”  
“There was egg and vegetables with extra egg shell and burnt bits”  
Pidge giggled. Lance had cooked dinner last night, this was all about him getting revenge on Keith   
“Damn, he’s worse than me”  
Hunk didn’t believe him. His best friend staring down at him. Great, he was worrying, Lance wished he had a way too soothe Hunk that wasn’t the truth  
“Man, why didn’t you tell us? We would have been over sooner to help out”  
“Keith’s doing all the house work in apology. Not the first time I’ve had food poisoning... it was better than some of the other things he’s tried to feed me. He tried to give me meat so rare that it was bleeding”  
Hunk wrinkled his nose, knowing Keith wouldn’t have taken the proper precautions for handing raw meat  
“I could have made meals for you”  
Lance wriggled down as he pulled his blanket tighter   
“I’ll be fiiiiine, buddy. Plus, Keith’s been working hard. He’s already vacuumed and done two loads of washing, oh, and he’s been picking on me. He’s on a roll”

“I might be on a roll, but you need to roll your arse off that sofa and go shower. You stink”  
Keith sounded annoyed with him. Lance was looking at Hunk so he didn’t have to look at Keith and deal with the whole kiss thing  
“Your face stinks. I had a shower this morning”  
“Was that before or after you decided to wallow?”  
“During. Besides, I’m totally allowed to. I’ve run out of things to watch”  
“Then get off the couch and get ready so we can goooooooo”  
Pidge poked his leg again, Lance really not feeling like leaving his precious house, but for his friends, he would  
“Fiiiiiiine. Don’t let me wallow then”  
“TV shows are hardly a good enough reason to be wallowing at it is”  
“Says you”  
Pidge had done some pretty bad wallowing each and every time a show she was watching ended the way she wanted  
“Stop being dramatic and get ready, already”

Changing clothes meant finding something to wear that wouldn’t be too tight against his tender lower belly. Dragging himself off the couch had been enough effort as it was. The shirt part was fine. Not to brag, but he did pull most things off rather effortlessly. A light blue half sleeved button up lay on his bed, as he walked around in his boxer briefs. Seeing he was going out, he wanted to look good. But if he looked too good, then Pidge would tease him about Keith. Lance’s step faltered at the thought of Keith. They’d yelled at each other they wouldn’t mind kissing each other and Lance couldn’t take it back... Big, dumb, stupid, emo Keith. His enemy... who wanted to kiss him. He didn’t know how to kiss people... he didn’t even know how to do what people did next... Did Keith want to date him? But Keith would be leaving soon and he’d probably do his damn best to forget all about their time together... but Matt was moving in, and Shiro was Matt’s best friend... which probably meant Shiro would wanna come visit Matt... or at least talk to him... which kept open that connection to Keith... and... fuck... he didn’t know what to do about that. He liked Keith. He was pretty sure going around in circles the way he was, had to mean the he liked Keith and his dumb mullet. He didn’t want to like Keith. He’d spent his whole life running away from liking people. Especially humans. Humans were so complex... and a constant reminder he was on the outside... Keith was warm... soft... and so very much alive. The hunter deserved a warm loving family after all he’d been through. Lance was barely warm, and his perpetual tiredness left him not overly loving when it came to people who weren’t in his immediate friend circle.

“Lance? You okay, or you having some kind malfunction?”

Lance looked to Keith. Why’d the idiot have to come annoy him in his room... when he was...   
“Close your eyes!”  
Covering his already covered junk, Lance was mortified   
“Relax, you big baby. You’ve got nothing I haven’t seen before”  
“Pervert. What are you doing up here? Why are you watching me get dressed?”  
“Because you’re taking forever, so Pidge told me I had to come get you. You haven’t even got pants on yet”  
“No shit. I’m trying to decide what to wear. Not everyone’s wardrobe consists of black on black”  
Keith shrugged  
“Black’s my colour. Besides, I’m wearing what Coran gave me to wear. What’s your excuse?”  
“I don’t want to look too good, or Pidge will tease me”  
“Then put some jeans on”  
“I don’t want to wear jeans”  
“Why not?”  
“Because my stomach hurts. Or did you miss the whole reason for my wallowing?”  
“Honestly, I was starting to wonder if you were trying to milk free housework for as long as possible”  
Lance abandoned covering his junk in favour of crossing his arms  
“You’re the one who told them I had the shits”  
“I’m sorry? What else was I supposed to say?”  
“That I’m lazy and was taking a nap?”  
“I’ll remember that for next time. Did you at least shower?”  
“I already showered this morning”  
“And I’m telling you, you need to shower again. You smell really sweet”  
“Really? I hadn’t noticed”  
Keith opened his mouth before realising Lance was being sarcastic  
“You’re a douche”  
“And you’re a dick”  
“Just put some damn pants on. Whatever you pick will look fine”  
“I don’t want to look fine, I want to look good”  
Keith groaned at him, covering his face with his hand as he shook his head  
“You just said you didn’t want to look good”  
“Yeah, well... whatever. Now go away so I can get dressed without you perving on my body”  
“You wish I was perving”  
“That’s beside the point”

Neither of them spoke for a moment. Keith making the first move by walking away from Lance’s open door. What was he doing?! Why was he flirting with Keith? He didn’t want to flirt with Keith! He wanted to be embarrassed over being seen in his underwear, instead his brain decided he need to blurt out a stupid line like that. Keith was right. He was definitely malfunctioning... 

*  
In Keith’s opinion Lance should still be resting. The vampire had dragged his feet since climbing off the couch. So Keith had volunteered to check on him when hadn’t come back downstairs after 10 minutes had passed. A very long ten minutes at that. Hunk was cranky with him for accidentally poisoning Lance when Lance was finally on the mend. Pidge was cranky that the council had sealed up the mine. Keith was cranky because he was stuck in a house of cranky people.

Piling into Hunk’s car, Lance called shot gun, the hunter having the feeling that Lance was back to avoiding him all over again. Now Keith might be backwards on social cues, but Lance had definitely flirted with him more than once. He wanted him to kiss him, and at this point, Keith would happily kiss Lance if meant this awkwardness would fuck off already. Sure, it might take some liquid courage, but it wasn’t like they weren’t headed to a pub, and it wasn’t like he didn’t have his bank card in his pocket. Pidge was all for exploring now they’d been granted access, while Keith was simply happy over being able to buy his own drinks. He was in the mood to drink this situation under the table and deal with it like any respectable adult would, kiss Lance, then have everything go back to normal. That was it. That was his whole plan, but given his company for the night, he really shouldn’t have planned on it being that simple.

Reaching the pub, the party was already underway. Pidge pushing through the flock of people to reach the bar, where she impatiently waited for service. Hunk was a little more nervous about it all, and Lance seemed very focused on his showed instead of watching where he was going. Taking Lance by the arm, Keith guided him away from their friends, worried Lance really wasn’t up for tonight at all  
“What... what are we doing away from Pidge and Hunk?”  
Lance blinked at his surrounds like he hadn’t noticed the pub was full  
“I wanted to talk to you first. You seem pretty out of it”  
“I’m fine, Mullet”  
“Bullshit. Look, if you’re not up to this, we can go”  
“And leave the pair of them alone? I think not”  
“You’re still sick”  
“And I’m fine. I mean, I can’t change what’s happening. So I might as well be here where I can help”  
“You’re no good if you’re the one who collapses”  
“I said I’m fine. God. Get off my back already”  
“I’m worried about you”  
“Worry about yourself. I’ll be fine. I don’t need your pity, Keith”

Keith wasn’t aware that he was “pitying” Lance. He thought he was going down the whole route of friendship and worrying about a friend. Angry at him, Lance squarely bumped into his shoulder as he marched past him. Well, fuck him. If Lance was going to be a moody bitch, then Keith was going to mind his own business, starting with getting himself a large drink of something strongly alcoholic.

Pidge derailed that plan before he even got to order  
“Keith, finally. I know you’re not a people person, but we were waiting for you”  
“I was talking to Lance...”  
“Yet Lance still joined us before you did. Are you ready? They said we can’t film in the pub, but once we’re in the tunnels it’s fine”  
“Or I could stay up here while you poke around down... never mind”  
His choice was made by Lance stepping on his boot to shut him up. If Lance didn’t want him worrying, then shouldn’t he be all for leaving Keith up here?”  
“Damn straight, “never mind”. We explore, then we do some serious drinking to celebrate. I’ve been trying to get into this place for years”

Great... Pidge and Hunk were going to get wasted. The tunnels were going to be cold and dusty... nothing like what they’d found down in the mine. That’d been... that’d been something special down there. Him and Lance, laying eyes on a sight no one around had seen... Kind of like a secret moment in a secret place... Not under a local pub where they couldn’t take their time and be themselves. Maybe that was why Lance was keeping him at an arms distance? Afraid Keith would dob them in over their own little adventure? Nah. Lance should know that was a moment just for themselves. Keith wasn’t in any hurry to piss Pidge off. Nor to have her and Hunk asking a million questions, though in Hunk’s case it was more likely he’d be telling them off for being reckless. 

Which meant everything came back to Lance flirting and feeling guilty for doing so. 

Something he couldn’t exactly fix... or... maybe he was being conceited by thinking that it related to him at all? Maybe it was Lance acting out, out of fear of what his body was becoming? Sure, Keith’s body might not be changing like Lance’s, but there had been a distinct change in him. Wondering what kind of things he’d say to Lance. Wondering what kind of expressions he was making as Lance talked to him. Wondering if he’d able to forget Lance as easily as Lance seemed to think he would. Everything came back to Lance. He didn’t want to hurt Lance. Not physically and not emotionally. He hated that Lance was a vampire, because Lance made him think of Adam, but Lance was Lance. He wasn’t Adam. Why did all of this have to be so hard? Was it his fault? Was he making it hard for Lance? Was it the blood thing? He’d stopped offering, but the offer still stood. He just... he wanted his friend back... and not to be snooping around in abandoned tunnels when said friend wasn’t alright.


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh Keith... oh poor baby Keith

31

Lance was not having a fun time. The tunnels were poorly lit. Long dark shadows made him skittish, unusually on edge about those things just outside his vision. The place felt cold. Cold and loveless. Like dozens of people had died there suffering. The cold had left him chilled right through, his teeth aching as if they wanted to extend to feed. His stomach felt worse with every step, and ignoring Keith wasn’t helping. He shouldn’t have been so standoffish. He shouldn’t have been letting his embarrassment get to him. Feeling himself stumble for the umpteenth time, Keith took him by the arm without promoting. Lance wanted to shake him off, but honestly he felt so lonely that he craved the touch  
“Guys, I think I’m going to take Lance back upstairs. He keeps tripping”

Pidge sighed loudly, the gremlin unhappy. This wasn’t what she expected to be there. Most of the storerooms were blocked off, already empty and left that way for years   
“I hate to admit it, but we’ll have to come back. There’s not enough light down here. I should have brought head torches. Next time I’m bringing head torches”  
“Next time? Noooo, I don’t want to come down here again”  
Hunk was one wrong noise away from jumping out of his skin  
“What would Shay say? You know she wanted to be here”  
“That’s why I said we should wait... I don’t like this place”  
Pidge continued like Hunk was dying a little more with each second passing down here  
“She couldn’t help that she had to work because Rax went to Platt”  
“Great, so we’re all decided. We’re heading back upstairs and we’re drinking. Good? Good. Let’s go”

Since when was Keith so forceful with everyone? Lance had to admit that his bossiness went straight to places it shouldn’t have. Maybe his crankiness had rubbed off on Keith? He didn’t want Keith to be cranky. The hunter was far too young for wrinkles from frowning. Tugging his arm free, Keith bit his lip as he looked away from Lance. The poor guy was as probably confused by Lance as Lance was by himself. If they did come back down here, he’d insist they do so during the day, with Keith armed, and torches for everyone, with spare torches and spare spare torches. He couldn’t go collapsing the tunnels here, though he wished he could. This place felt so wrong that wanted to go to the nearest church and confess every last sin.

Returning upstairs, Lance still felt ill. Pidge had bounced back, off to the bar to order them around, while Lance was slowly inching towards the toilets, needing a moment to collect himself. This time his arm was grabbed by Hunk  
“Where are going?”  
Lame shrugged, trying to play it cool  
“Bathroom. Call of nature and all that”  
Hunk nodded, then Keith ruined things   
“Good. I’ll come too. Why don’t you grab us a table?”  
Nooooooo. He couldn’t refuse Keith. He couldn’t kick him out a public bathroom  
“Okay, don’t take too long or Pidge will drink your drinks”  
“Be right there, man! Make sure it’s something large and cold. I need a drink after that”  
“You need a drink? I feel like I need seven”  
Lance sympathised with Hunk. He didn’t like dark cramped places, or places that were haunted, or both of them together   
“I feel ya. Be right back”

Walking into the bathroom, Lance headed straight for the sink. Turning both taps on, the best he could hope for was tepid thanks to health and safety. Leaning down, he splashed water over his face, groaning as his jeans dug into his stomach  
“I knew you were feeling worse. What’s going on? Did you see something?”  
Closing his eyes, Lance leaned against the sink, trying to push away the cold feeling clinging to him  
“Felt it... that place doesn’t feel good”  
Something warm fell over his shoulders, the vampires opening his eyes to find Keith had placed his jacket over Lance’s shoulders. Technically it was Lance’s jacket to begin with, but he’d leant to to Keith when Keith had nothing much to wear  
“You’ve been avoiding looking at me. It’s because of me, isn’t it? I stuffed things up, didn’t I?”

Straightening up, Lance turned the taps off. He didn’t want to have this conversation, but his defences were to low to fake sass  
“I don’t know what to do”  
“What do you mean?”  
“I mean...”  
Turning to face Keith, Keith staring at him, looking at him so earnestly  
“I mean... I don’t know what to do. I like you. I think I like you. But we’ve barely known each other a handful of weeks and I’m not sure if this isn’t me getting an ego from having someone who understands by myself side, or if I like you because of who you are. We barely know each other. I’ve been scared of myself my whole life. I’ve avoided anything close and intimate. It’s stupid. A monster like me doesn’t deserve friends or happiness, or even a fairytale love story and I’m scared. I don’t want to hate you. I don’t want you to hate me, but I’ve bitten you twice without permission. My first kiss... I knew I was wrong so I had to stay away and now you’re here and I don’t know what to do. I’m so fucking cold. That place may me feel so sick... but I noticed it because I’m not right”

Lance didn’t mean to turn the tears on. He felt sure that Keith would walk away after hearing his confession. Instead the hunter surprised him. Walking over to him, Keith wrapped his arms around him  
“God. Why don’t you get a hint. You’re my friend. I don’t know why, but I want to kiss you. When you start calling yourself names I want to hit you for being an idiot. I don’t know why I want to kiss you, maybe because I’ve changing too. My heart keeps racing and my chest feels weird, but I want to kiss you”  
“If your having problems with your heart, you need to see a doctor as soon as possible. Has it happened before?”  
Keith shook his head. Lance had heard Keith’s racing for no reason, so knew the hunter wasn’t simply making this up   
“Not like this...”  
That wasn’t good. If anything happened to Keith... He wouldn’t be able to live with himself   
“Keith...”  
“I’m going to ask Shiro when he gets back”  
That’d be soon, but what if something happened to Keith in the mean time   
“Maybe we could ask Coran? He has to know, or he’ll know someone we can talk to. We can’t take risks with your health. How long has it been happening”  
Keith mumbled against Lance’s shoulder  
“A couple of weeks...”  
“Keith!”  
“It’s not important”

How could this idiot not think his health mattered?! It mattered more than whatever was going on between them. They couldn’t play games with Keith’s health. If there was something wrong, they needed to diagnose it as soon as possible  
“How can you say that?! You’re rude and annoying and I don’t know much about you, but you’re human. You need to take care of yourself!”  
“You’re overreacting”  
“You’re my friend, you dumb jerk!”  
“And I think you’re mine too. If you don’t want to kiss me, I’ll understand, but for some reason, I want to try kissing you”  
“But I can’t date anyone. I’m...”  
“An idiot crumpet”

Lance couldn’t help but laugh. He’d never been called an “idiot crumpet” before. Raising his head at the same time as Keith, they were half a second away from what ever was going to happen when the door to the bathroom started to open, Lance reacting by pushing Keith away as the stranger casually walked over to the urinals. With a silent agreement, the pair nodded at each other, before quickly leaving the bathroom.

*  
Keith wasn’t quite sure what had happened in the bathroom. He wasn’t sure if Lance was going kiss him or not. Thanks to the arsehole who’d walked in, now he’d never know. Joining Pidge and Hunk at the table, Hunk was nursing a beer as Pidge kept guard over the three shots in front of her, another three sitting in wait for him and Lance. Eyeing the shots, Keith had a horrible feeling  
“Tequila?”  
Pidge nodded happily   
“When drinking to forger, it has to be tequila”  
Lance let out a loud groan, before poking at the side of one of the shots   
“Are you trying to kill me? What happened to me being sick?”  
“You were wallowing, now you’re drinking!”  
“Noooo... Pidge, this isn’t a great idea”

What did Lance have to worry about? He couldn’t get drunk. Sure, there was the after shot burn, but that’s about as bad as it got for him. Keith hadn’t very fond memories of tequila. It most revolved around the bottle he’d stolen as a wayward teen. Shiro had no sympathy when he’d thrown up on his jacket and ruined it   
“This is a great idea! One, two, three!”  
Both Lance and Pidge took a shot, Keith releasing mid shot and grabbing the closest so he didn’t look clueless. Wincing as he coughed, that was definitely tequila and this was definitely not going to end well  
“Fuuuuuck...”  
Lance reached over and patted his back  
“It’s not going to get any better”  
Because that was totally reassuring!  
“I know... god... do I have to do the other two?”  
Pidge shuddered, ignoring the involuntary movement, she smiled  
“Yep! This one’s to way friends and missing brothers who desert us!”

Shooting the second shot, it was worse than the first. His third shot glass was taken by Lance  
“Okay. Time to slow down. Keith has a bad heart and too much alcohol isn’t a good thing”  
Hunk went into concerned friend mode, something usually directed at Lance  
“You never told us that”  
“It’s fine. He’s overreacting”  
Lance quickly downed the shot meant for him  
“Oops. Now you’ll have to slow down”  
“Oops” his left arse cheek. Lance had no right spilling that thing about his heart. Reaching out, he took Lance’s last shot, locking eyes with him before downing it. 3 shots in the space of 5 minutes wasn’t the smartest of plans but he didn’t need protecting. He was a grown adult who could make his own choices   
“Keith, my man! Nicely done. In your face, Lance!”  
Hunk nervously interjected  
“Pidge, I don’t think we should be encouraging him...”  
“We’re not. He did that all by himself”  
Lance pushed his chair back, Keith had the feeling he’d somehow disappointed him, but his original plan of liquid courage was back on track, so Lance could suck it  
“Right, well, before you both get shit faced, I’m getting food for the table”

The more Keith drank, the more he knew he was screwed. The tequila had hit hard, as had the four double bourbons and coke, even with Lance pestering them all to the eat wedges he’d bought for the table. When Pidge suggested karaoke, his dumb arse had agreed, not knowing he was going to end up on stage with Lance, belting out the words to Black Parade... Drinking made his normal tight hold on his emotions slip away. That’s why he’d started drinking only when he was at home and not likely to get himself in trouble. Lance seemed to be having fun, but Keith couldn’t tell if it was an act. Coming off the stage, Keith headed straight to the bar for another drink, leaning against the counter as Lance was pulled into another duet with Pidge, who really couldn’t sing despite giving it her best shot.

Ordering another bourbon and coke, Keith smiled as he watched the pair making fools of themselves, Pidge being booed, as she alternated between singing and telling the crowd to “shut the fuck up”. Fuck she was feisty. Feeling an arm brush against his, Keith turned to the stranger beside him, the man barely taller than himself   
“Watch it”  
Keith blinked at the stranger, they might be in the middle of nowhere but the man was backwards on top of backwards with more testosterone than braincells  
“You’re the one who bumped into me”  
“You should still be careful. Can I buy you a drink?”  
Now he was being hit on?   
“I’ve got one, thanks”  
“I haven’t seen you around here before”  
“Maybe you haven’t been looking?”  
“I think I’d remember a pretty face like that”  
“Then maybe you should get a doctor to look you over?”  
The man snorted at him. Drunk Keith was a horny Keith. Another reason to avoid drinking in public  
“I don’t know about your friends, but maybe you could come give me a moment of your time?”  
“Only a moment? Sorry, I don’t think that’s going to cut it”  
“What about all night?”  
There were worse choices he could make. Keith found himself smiling despite the fact the man not being his type at all  
“I’m...”

Keith was cut off, Lance appearing beside him, an arm shaking around his waist  
“Sorry about my friend here. He’s a terrible drunk. I hope he wasn’t inconveniencing you”  
“Not at all. We were having quite the stimulating conversation. We were about to take it somewhere more private”  
“Sorry, but he’s actually coming home right now”  
“What are you? His keeper? Let’s leave this jerk off. You can do better than that”

The strangers words didn’t go down well. Keith went from feeling buzzed to murderous that the man would insult Lance like that. Grabbing his drink, he threw it in the man’s face. There were a few gasps, the strangers face morphing to anger  
“Don’t you talk about him like that!”  
“What the fuck is your mental damage?!”  
Keith went to swing. One moment he was standing and the next he was over Lance’s shoulder   
“Pidge! Hunk! Time to go!”  
“Put me down, you arsehole! He insulted you!”  
Hitting Lance’s back, Lance kept walking, Keith keeping his head down in embarrassment. He wasn’t a kid! He could handle himself! 

Following them out the pub, Pidge was laughing, Hunk apologising to everyone. Lance still refused to put him down until they reached Hunk’s car  
“What was that?”  
Wheezing with laughter, Pidge was annoying him. Pushing against Lance, Keith really wanted to go back and punch that guy square in the face  
“Keith had a bit too much to drink. Pidge, you get in the front with Hunk. I’ve got an angry emo to wrestle under control”  
“He insulted you”  
“And you decided to throw your drink in his face! I can’t believe you!”  
“He...”  
“Was a nobody! Get in the car, Keith!”  
Keith swallowed. Lance was livid and he knew it. Unlocking the door, Keith was forced in the back while Hunk walked around the pair of them, the poor dude didn’t look happy at all. It wasn’t Keith’s intention to be a dick, but Lance was Lance and didn’t need to be spoken to like that.

It turned out that climbing into the back was the worst idea Lance had ever had. Keith felt trapped by the sweet scent rolling off the vampire, and maybe a little bit too horny from the alcohol and adrenaline rush. The ride home was lost in a fog, Keith finding himself being pulled out of the car by Lance, who was calling apologies to Hunk and Pidge and promising to make it up to them.

Getting inside the house, Keith felt his self control erode. Lance’s hand in his gave him a private thrill. The fire simmer in his belly burning into something dangerous. Barely through the door, Keith grabbed Lance by the collar, pushing the vampire up against the wall hard enough to make a thud, his lips on Lance’s before Lance knew what was happening. Fuck... he wanted him. He wanted him in any way he could get him. Resisting the kiss, Lance’s teeth cut Keith’s lips, Keith keeping him pinned until the resistance started to fade. When Lance shoved him back, Keith was confused, then the vampire was pushing him back up against the door, kissing him every much as Keith wanted to be kissed. Bringing his hand up, Lance grabbed him by the back of the head, the pair of them rutting up against each other as they made out sloppily.

Before they could go further, Lance was pulling away, head dropping against Keith’s shoulder as Keith bared his neck, hands going to the button of Lance’s jeans  
“Keith... this isn’t...”  
“Less talking, more moving”  
Rolling his hips, the hunter moaned, feeling how hard Lance was against him  
“Keith...”  
“Goddamn it, Lance... Shut up and take me to bed”  
Releasing his hair, Lance grabbed him by the arse, Keith jumping up to wrap his legs around Lance’s slim waist as their lips met again. Being with Lance was exhilarating. Their kisses deep and hungry, hands all over each other as Lance carried him upstairs to his room.

Clumsy as they reached their destination, Keith was dropped down backwards on the bed, not slowing down an inch as he started stripping Lance. Reason had gone out the window, the human animal laid bare by their desires. Getting Lance’s shirt and jacket off, Keith’s hands went back to fumbling at Lance’s jeans, trying and failing at getting them undone. Groaning his annoyance, Lance pulled his hands away, pinning them above Keith’s head as he looked him in the eye   
“Do you want this?”  
“Yes... fuck yes...”  
He was hopelessly horny, feeling like a teenager all over again. He didn’t care which way he had Lance, only that he had to have him now. His consent was enough for the older man, Lance releasing his hands and moving to stripping his shirt off. Fuck... they hadn’t even fucked and Lance looked blissed out. Fangs protruding over his teeth as his hands moved to Keith’s pants. Keith getting all the more impatient over Lance’s jeans not being around his ankles   
“Patience”

Rising from the bed, Lance stripped his jeans off, Keith quickly doing the same. Moving over to his bedside drawers, Lance grabbed out a line of condoms and a bottle of lube, his cheeks adorably red as he mumbled about “vampires having needs too”. Climbing back onto the bed, Lance straddled his hips, Keith moaning as he wrapped his arms around him, leg coming up to prevent him escaping as they rocked together. Feeling at bursting point, Keith broke the kiss  
“I fucking want you...”  
“I’ve never done this before”  
“Neither have I...”  
“I don’t want to hurt you”  
It was a sweet confession, but not what Keith wanted. Growling, he rolled them over, kneeling between Lance’s long legs, he eyes the vampire below... Lance wasn’t hung, but he wasn’t small, Keith agreeing mentally he was the perfect size to be in his mouth. Shimmying back, he placed kisses on Lance’s inner thighs, Lance moaning lewdly at the action... Blowing Lance was going to need to wait until he was sober  
“Lube”

Keith knew enough to know it was going to hurt without proper prep. Whether it be vaginally, anally, or bank robbery, always finger your partner. The lewd joke coming to mind as he took the lube from Lance. Squeezing out a generous amount, Keith tossed the lube aside  
“Ready?”  
Lance nodded, Keith’s fingers dipping into the cleft of Lance’s arse. Finding the tight ring of muscle, he was a tad too enthusiastic as he pressed his finger in. Lance’s eyes shooting wide open   
“Gentle!”  
Keith took the hint, blush in his cheeks. He didn’t want to hurt Lance... right... he needed to calm down... 

Keith couldn’t calm down, and Lance was too impatient. Pushing Keith back, Lance flipping himself over, pushing his arse in the air  
“Just do it already...”  
There wasn’t anything sexy about the comment, Keith rushing to grab a condom, before finding his fingers too slippery to get the thing open, tearing open the one beneath the one he actually wanted. Rolling the flimsy piece of plastic in place, he hands were shaking with exhilaration and nerves, a sucked down a deep breath. They were doing this... and fuck he wanted it.

Slowly sinking into Lance’s heat, Keith groaned at the tightness around him. Lance whimpering as he kept things slow, trying not hurt the vampire. Burying himself balls deep, he caged Lance’s body with his own, giving him a moment to adjust before slowly pulling back then snapping his hips forward. Lance felt so goddamn wet and tight... Keith losing himself in the pleasure of the act as he pulled back again. He’d never done this before, but it hands down beated jerking off alone in his room. Sitting back, his hands went to Lance’s hips, feeling more confident about what he was doing given he hadn’t broken Lance with his first pathetic thrusts. They’d barely started but he was ready to come, the feeling building all over again as he started fucking Lance’s pert little arse sloppily with in experience.

When his orgasm finally hit, Keith came with a twisted groan. Beneath him Lance was making the most beautiful noises, hands clutching his blankets as his orgasm hit, clenching hard around Keith like he was trying to drain him dry. Dizzy from exhaustion and alcohol, Keith flopped forward, hips still rutting as he rubbed his cheek against Lance’s smooth back, babbling a string of praises that didn’t reach his ears. Easing out his now lover, he found himself crawling off Lance to flop down next to him, a hand coming up to pat Lance’s shoulder before Lance was letting himself fall against him. Fuck, he boneless with release, sated and sleepy. Lance seemed to want to cuddle, Keith not objecting as Lance moved to face him rather than having his back against him, their lips finding each other’s again. Wow... just... wow...


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What’s this? A double update? I think so!

32

Keith groaned as he woke. His head throbbing furiously as the hunter tried to go back to sleep. Finding it futile, he cracked his eyes, relieved not to be blinded by sunlight. Sitting directly in his line of sight was a glass of water and a note, that required brainpower as he pushed himself up in bed  
“Drink this and take these”  
Two small white tablets sat beside the glass, Keith eagerly grabbing the pills, tossing them down his throat before sculling back the glass of water. Fucking tequila... Placing the glass down, Keith clutched at his head. Something white catching his attention.

Moving his hands from his face, Keith clutched at the oversized white T-shirt he was wearing, not what he’d been wearing when they went out. As his heart started to race, he lifted up the blankets, finding he’d been changed into a pair of striped pyjama pants... which were glued to his crotch... Not only had he been changed at some point, he’d had a wet dream while he was it it... Like with most people, his dream has already started ebbing away the moment he’d woken, all he had left was the feeling somehow Lance was in his dream, and given the condition of his pants... he’d had a wet dream over his friend.

“Fuuuuuck”

Groaning the word, Keith didn’t know what was worse. He couldn’t really remember the night before, things getting blurry when he was... Oh... oh, fuck... Karaoke. He’d sung karaoke with Lance... then things got... it was a blank. All of it was a blank... He was officially never drink tequila again. All of the bad decisions in his life were tequila related. Embarrassed, Keith wanted to go back to sleep and preferably die before ever facing Lance again. If it wasn’t for how gross his crotch felt, he would have done just that. Now he had to drag himself up and shower... Fuck... he stank like stale alcohol and sweat. Something was growing on his teeth, and his lips hurt... What the hell had been up to?

*  
Lance had made breakfast by the time Keith dragged himself out of bed. Dropping into his chair, Keith let his head drop against the table as he hunched over, very much not wanting to human. With his weird vampire senses, Lance had probably heard he was “awake”, the man placing a coffee down beside him  
“You look like shit”  
Keith groaned  
“I feel like shit. Fuck tequila”  
“That’s what happens when you drink. How much of last night do you remember?”  
“Too much”  
He remembered karaoke and that was enough   
“So you remember throwing up?”

Nope. He didn’t remember that  
“Uuuuugh... Nooo... I didn’t drink that much”  
“I hate to break it to you, but you know of got wasted, then tried to pick up a stranger”  
Nooo... Drunk Keith got too horny...  
“Noooo...”  
“Then you tired to pick up a stranger...”  
“Noooo...”  
“Then you tried to pick a fight with him”  
“Noooo... why didn’t you stop me?”  
“You were all for going home with him, then he insulted me and you lost your shit. I had to carry you out of there”

Keith groaned, his memory jogged  
“Then we came home... and we had sex...”  
The hunter nearly died of shame on the spot   
“What was that?”  
“We had sex...?”  
Keith could kind of remember it...  
“That’s news to me. You pushed me up against the wall, started kissing me, then threw up all over the both of us”  
“What?”  
That wasn’t how Keith remembered things   
“We didn’t have sex. I mean, you got a bit handsy, but we didn’t bone. Sounds like you had quite the night after I cleaned you up and put you to bed”  
“We didn’t...”  
“Nope”  
Lance popped the “p”. Keith groaning as he rested his head back against the table  
“Please tell me I didn’t do anything worse. I don’t think I can handle the shame”  
“Nah. You got a bit handsy, and bit upset when I was cleaning you up, but nothing too bad”  
“I don’t remember that... I’m so sorry. Very drunk Keith is shameless”  
“He was also trying to be nice. I think the shame of me carrying you out over my shoulder made up for you throwing your drink in that guys face”  
Keith groaned again, Lance reaching out and ruffling his hair  
“Don’t worry. We didn’t have sex. I would never take advantage of you when you were so drunk. Plus, I had a dream about you, so I think we’re both even now”

Keith raised his head marginally before letting it drop back against the kitchen table  
“Just shoot me now”  
“You’re fine”  
“I’m hung over”  
“That’s what happens when you drink too much”  
“You had to put me to bed”  
“I had to get you in the shower first”  
“Noooo... Don’t let me drink again...”  
“Relax. I’ve cleaned up Pidge before. It’s no big deal”  
“You saw my junk”  
“Yep. You were very insistent that I looked”  
“Shut up... Drunk Keith is a slut”  
“I noticed. But you were kind of cute”  
“Not helping... was I crying?”  
“Oh, yeah. But what you said remains a secret. I won’t tell anyone”  
“I don’t think I want to know”  
“Probably not. I’ve made breakfast. You can go back to bed after you’ve had something to eat”  
“Will I die? I feel like I’m dying”  
“Nope. Your dramatic arse will live to fight another day”  
“Did I try and fight you?”  
“Yep”  
Keith groaned at himself. He only had himself to blame. He was never drinking again.

*  
Lance sent Keith back to his room after he’d finished his breakfast. The vampire sinking to the kitchen floor after faking all morning that he didn’t feel like shit. He was trying to get back into the routine of having one blood bag across the day, not at each meal, but his body was making it hard. He felt so fucking hot... and horny. He’d jerked off twice that morning as it was, but that wasn’t enough, not when remembered how forcefully Keith had pushed him against the wall before rutting against him as Lance tried not to give in and kiss him back. Kissing Keith was exciting. Feeling desired fed that lonely part of himself, and maybe he’d have let Keith take things a little further if the hunter hadn’t been so drunk. He wasn’t that kind of monster. Keith wasn’t in the right frame of mind to be consenting. He’d never tell Keith but trying to keep the hunter’s hands off him had been a struggle. His body craved more. He craved Keith’s attention. The warmth of the hunter’s hands across his flesh filled him a longing to be filled. Keith hadn’t cared that his lips were bloodied from kissing. He hadn’t cared that Lance was a vampire, yelling as much in his face as he’d wrestled Keith into the shower.

Clutching his stomach, he rode out the wave of pain. Keith couldn’t see him like this. He’d already blown Pidge and Hunk off when they’d wanted to get breakfast at Sal’s, using the fact Keith was still sleeping off his stupidity from the night before. Hunk had sent him photos and a video of him and Keith singing karaoke. Pidge had covertly been snapping group photos the whole night, before those turned into selfies that she’d dumped in the group chat. The way he and Keith always seemed to be smiling and looking at each other was hardly covert. Lance couldn’t stop staring at Keith’s lips and wondering if they would have kissed if they hadn’t been interrupted.

Waiting for the next wave of pain to pass, Lance used the kitchen cupboard to slide himself up, hunched as he continued to hold his stomach. When he’d gone to the bathroom that morning, wetness had clung between his thighs, sticky and weird as it seems to come from his butt. He’d told Keith a hundred times by now that he was scared, and he was. He’d freaked to find himself leaking, nearly running to Keith for a reassuring insult. He’d kept himself to himself, and now that Keith had changed his whole life, he felt scared far too much. The previous night at the pub had only been bearable because Keith had been with the group. People annoyed him so damn much, but Keith’s brand of annoying was growing more comforting by the day. When he’d called his Mami to check in with her, she’d wanted to spend most of their time on the phone talking about Keith. His mother certainly thought Keith was a bit of a looker. Stumbling forward, Lance felt his knees give, body too uncoordinated to function like it should, he flinched in expectation of his hitting the ground, and was instead struck with a strong wave of vertigo, then weightlessness. Glancing down at himself, Lance squeaked in shock, the floor was a good foot beneath him, where his clothes laid in a pile... Holy fucking shit... Holy fucking shit... Trying to call for Keith, angry squeaks escaped his mouth, his shock at the situation causing him to fall from the air. Landing hard against the floor, his body changed back, Lance still freaking the fuck out. He didn’t know how to bat! He barely knew how to portray a functional human! He wanted to flee upstairs, but now he was too scared he’d turn into a bat again and be stuck that way for the rest of his life. He was officially freaking the fuck out. He needed... someone or something to tell him he was human... He didn’t like this new power of his at all... It’d been his dream to fly when he was younger, but now he a body with a mind of its own he wasn’t quite living that dream. Turning into a bat was dangerous. What if he got out the house? What if turned again and Blue tried to “play” with him? If his body insisted on turning, he needed someone there to keep him safe...

*  
Keith collapsed on his bed face first. Cheeks red with embarrassment. He’d had a sex dream over Lance... he had a sex dream over Lance after getting handsy in the shower... and he couldn’t remember. If that hadn’t been bad enough, Lance decided now was the time to tell him he’d had a dream about him too... God. What was he doing?! He’d wanted to kiss Lance and figure out if there was some kind of spark between them, not jump right into less than innocent fantasies. When he heard a soft thud, Keith rolled over, waiting for Lance to call him if he needed help. A few moments passed without hearing his name, so Keith passed it off as Blue probably jumping off of something and being the noise culprit.

Grabbing his phone, Keith wanted to call Shiro. He wanted to hear his brother’s voice, but he couldn’t exactly explain what was happening between them on the phone. If Shiro asked how Lance was, how was he supposed to tell his brother that he’d some how discovered wanted to kiss Lance. If Shiro asked how he was, he didn’t want to worry his brother by telling him about the issues with his heart. Dropping his phone on the bed beside him, Keith rolled away from the device. His head was trying its best to kill him with all the thudding happening in his skull. He’d genuinely thought he’d had sex with Lance, but hearing that the vampire turned him down not only made him relieved, but disappointed at the same time. At this time he was sexually frustrated enough to say “fuck it”, and throw caution to the wind, which liquid courage seemed to have done for him.

Hearing footsteps, Keith rolled over yet again, eyeing Lance as he stumbled into the doorway, only wearing his underwear. That seem sweet smell filled Keith’s bedroom as he found himself pushing himself up. Something wasn’t right here. Lance had seemed fine enough in the kitchen, but now he looked scared  
“Lance?”  
With a small strange hiccup, Lance shrank on the spot, falling to the floor under his underwear the small bat started flapping its wings like crazy  
“Hold on!”  
Holy shit. Keith had watched it happen this time, and he still wasn’t sure what he’d seen. Human Lance was bat Lance in the same breath, the vampire clearly not okay with the circumstance. Climbing off his bed, Keith nearly tripped himself up with how badly his head throbbed, having to pause a moment before retrieving Lance out his underwear where he’d seemed to have gotten his wing tangled.

Scooping Lance up carefully, the little bat squeaked his heart out, seeming like he was trying to explain that he had no idea why this was happening   
“Lance, take a breath. I can’t understand bat”  
Lance’s beady little eyes stared up at him, squeaking something that Keith had the feeling would translate to “fuck”  
“You don’t know why it happened, but this time you know it happened and you don’t know what to do?”  
Lance squeaked, Keith taking it as a yes. For a bat, Lance was kind of cute. All warm and soft, apart from his wrinkled wings. 

Cradling Lance close, Keith climbed back onto his bed, before laying down. Lance seemed pretty content up against his chest  
“This happens when you’re upset. Maybe if you take a nap, you’ll turn back again?  
Flapping his wings, Lance toppled sideways as he squeaked  
“You look ridiculous. Calm down. You’re going to hurt yourself”  
Lance continued to squeak, cutting himself off as he raised a wing to stare at it. What an idiot. Bats had wings, this was a known thing  
“You have two of those”  
Lance squeaked at him angry, wing flapping like he was trying to gesture as he vented  
“Yes. Okay. I have no idea, but come here and calm down”

Drawing Lance back to his chest, Lance chomped on his finger as Keith kept him against him. The idiot was likely to break something if left alone, plus, Lance had come to him for help and Keith wasn’t about to knock him back. Nomming on his index finger, Lance seemed happy now that his mouth was full, tiny teeth had broken the skin, as tiny cheeks puffed out  
“I’ve been offering you blood, and now you want to take it. Remember you have a tiny little tummy in there, so don’t eat too much”  
Lance squeaked around his meal, tucking his wings in as he gripped Keith’s hand with his claws  
“Alright. You’re a big boy. Why can’t you be this docile when you’re human?”  
Not answering, Keith sighed. He might as well try and get some sleep seeing Lance would probably be stuck like this for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it was only just a dream 🎵🎵


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More shenanigans for the two halves of the same idiot
> 
> 💚💚💚

33

Lance was still a bat come the following morning. When Keith had finally had to get up to make himself something to eat, Lance decided he needed to go with, the bat scaling up his back to sit himself on Keith’s shoulder. When Keith had gone back to bed, Lance had climbed up his shirt and settled himself next to Keith’s chest. The following morning went much the same, though Lance had had a bath in the bathroom basin while Keith tried not be embarrassed as he showered. Blue wasn’t keen on her master being a bat. When Keith had started making his morning coffee, the feline had stretched herself up so she could swat at Lance from the kitchen counter. Lance protesting profusely over the treatment which Keith didn’t stop until Blue smacked Lance on the head as she hissed.

Juggling his two “problem children”, Keith wasn’t prepared for the doorbell to ring so early... not that he was prepared for it to ring, but someone coming around before he’d even had his first cup of coffee was something someone cruel and viscous. Squeaking at him, Keith lifted Lance to his other shoulder, as the doorbell rang again  
“Yeah, I fucking heard them the first time. How mad will you be if I throw you at them?”  
Lance didn’t seem amused, not that Keith was joking. He wasn’t in the mood for people who had no respect for others and their clear lack of need to interrupt him before his coffee. Waiting for the last drops to drip from the machine, Keith cradled the precious cup as he made his way to the door, nearly yelling to “fuck off” when the person on the other side rang a third time.

Opening the door, Keith nearly dropped his coffee in shock. The man in front of him he’d known, until he dropped off the surface of the damn planet by being reassigned suddenly  
“I believe you’re expecting me. It’s nice to see you again, Keith. And this must be Lance... Coran should have mentioned I was coming?”  
Keith kept gaping at Curtis. The man had been Shiro’s charge for a short time, what felt like a lifetime ago  
“Keith?”  
“I thought you’d been reassigned. Hell. I thought you were dead”  
Curtis laughed, brushing his fringe back to reveal a nub protruding from his head  
“Had to transfer after a run in with a nasty little curse. You know what those werewolves were like. Curses might as well be the damn plague. Are you going to invite me in?”  
Lance squeaked at him, Curtis smiling as he nodded  
“I have no idea what you’re telling me, but I assume it’s “hello”. Don’t mind me. I’m a little cursed, but mostly human on the outside”

Keith had never heard of anyone being actually cursed. It was like those “friend of a friend” kind of stories back in the Blades. James didn’t need a reason to be a dick, but a curse would have made it pretty hard for him to keep working on the front lines  
“Does Shiro know...?”  
“That I’m alive? Cursed? Or that I’d transferred here? He knows I’m alive, but you know how the Blades can be when they want a secret kept”  
“Fuck... you’d better come in... What’s in the case?”  
Curtis wiped his feet on the doormat before slipping inside past Keith, who still hadn’t moved   
“Oh, just some things Coran thought might help. Now, how long has Lance been a bat?”  
“Nearly a day”  
Curtis whistled   
“That’s rather impressive”  
“His record is three days”  
“Oh... I hope that’s not the case this time. Why don’t we head back to the kitchen? You look like you need that coffee. From what I remember you could barely function without your daily caffeine dose”  
“Which you interrupted. Who rings a doorbell three times?”  
“It’s not my fault you’ve gotten lazy. Lance, I hope he isn’t a terrible house guest”

Lance decided to be a pest by climbing down along the hem line of Keith’s shirt. The bat miscalculating and ending up with his butt in Keith’s face as his squeaks directed at the floor as he flapped his wings. Keith had no idea how to interrupt that. Lifting Lance off his shirt, the bat started flapping his wings as he squeaked at Curtis  
“You’re a spirited one, aren’t you little fella?”  
That only severed to make Lance squeak more  
“Lance, stop moving. You’re being too loud”  
At this rate Keith was going to drop his coffee, which might bring actual tears to he hunter’s eyes. All he wanted was his morning coffee in peace... now it seemed they had an extra houseguest... 

Curtis placed his briefcase down on the kitchen table, smiling as he looked around the space   
“I like it. It’s all very homely. You must be enjoying your time off?”  
“It hasn’t been terrible”  
Taking his seat, Keith moved Lance to the kitchen table where he immediately started “protesting”. Laying his left hand on the table, Lance wobbled his way over, before chomping down on Keith’s thumb  
“What did I do?”  
Lance licked at the spot he’d bitten, then looked up at Keith   
“You’re hungry. Are you trying to tell me you want blood?”  
Lance continued to stare up at him  
“You want me to get you a blood bag? Cant you just bite my thumb? You don’t need a full bag”  
Lance squeaked loudly, Keith not about to be bullied. Raising his coffee cup, he finally got his first mouthful of his beloved caffeine   
“Perhaps I can help? Where’s his blood stock? The fridge?”  
Lance wouldn’t want a stranger in his office. Keith regretfully placing down his coffee cup  
“It’s in his office, so I’ll go . He doesn’t like people going in there due to client confidentiality”  
“Ah, family court I believe. Given your own experiences with the system, I can see how going in there may make up uncomfortable...”

The Curtis Keith remembered wouldn’t say things like that. He had no right at all  
“... though, I suppose knowing Krolia has eased some of that pain. Coran mentioned she’d enquired as to why you hadn’t returned from you last mission”  
“That’s enough. She made it clear that my life isn’t her business. Lance doesn’t need to hear about this”  
Curtis looked uncomfortable   
“Sorry. With the curse, one of the stipulations was truth telling. That’s why I was asked to transfer to the technical side of things. It’s hard to maintain cover without a cover story”  
Keith groaned. He didn’t need this. He didn’t need Curtis telling Lance too much. Lance would want to know about Krolia and then about him, and how his dad died and how he was a legacy and this was all too much for a man who hadn’t had his coffee  
“Maybe you can tell Lance about what’s in the briefcase while I’m gone. Lance, Curtis is a friend of Shiro’s from work. Try not to bite him while I’m out the room”

Lance looked sad about being left behind. Grabbing the already open blood bag from Lance’s person stash, Keith wondered if keeping blood in the fridge might not be more convenient, though he supposed Lance was all about being human and having your own blood bank in your kitchen wasn’t exactly a normal human vibe. Returning to the kitchen, he found Lance very much not looking at the range of sex toys across the dinner table. Curtis had shown up like some Tupperware salesman, only with a different kind of plastic casing  
“What is that?”  
“Well, Coran said Lance may be feeling certain urges sexually. He sent me to pick an array of toys, which I was explaining to Lance”  
Keith nearly groaned again. He’d brought this upon himself, and now a great big pink dong was sitting next to his cup of coffee  
“I think maybe Lance isn’t comfortable with this. Is there anything else in there that might help with the situation?”  
“I do have lube and condoms, if you’re interested”  
Lance let out a miserable squeak, Keith with him on that one. No one had told him that he’d have to deal with damn dildo display. Why did everyone they know have to be so weird?  
“Let’s just pack that up for now... Lance can work these things out later in private”  
“Oh! Right! Sorry, my mistake. I was under the impression you two were a partnership”  
“We’re friends. Just friends. I’ve been taking care of him where I can, seeing it’s my fault his body started to change”  
“Yes. I’ve been informed of your quintessence connection”  
“Not this shit again. Lance, bag or saucer?”

Lance squeaked at him, Keith being nice and fetching Lance a saucer. Sitting himself down, he could only shake his head mentally at how routine blood bags had become. No longer disgusted over the fact Lance had to drink from a bag, Keith untwisted the cap, pouring out what he hoped was enough for Lance, while not being enough to cause a mess. Climbing over the saucer, Lance had no balance or grace as he got himself settled to lap at the blood  
“He doesn’t feed from you?”  
“Nope. He’s his own vampire. He prefers bags to fresh, and that’s fine”  
“Coran had mentioned he’d hoped you would try feeding him?”  
“Lance didn’t want my blood when I offered. You and Coran seem pretty fixed on this quintessence thing”  
“It is the spark of life. I believe in human terms, your closeness would be called soulmates”

Keith choked on air, Lance face planted into his blood. Retrieving the bat out of the blood, they both glared at Curtis  
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?  
Lance squeaked, like he was agreeing with what Keith said   
“It means your compatible one a base level. Soulmates don’t need to be romantic, some may even be siblings, it means you’re very close and naturally drawn together. Most friendships revolve around a closeness in quintessence”  
“You could have just said we’re friends. Nothing romantic here. Lance is having a hard enough time as it is”  
“I misspoke. I apologise. Sorry, I’m still learning how to talk around the curse”

Keith huffed, before taking a breath and trying to channel how Lance would approach this. Lance would be all calm and sympathetic, while counting down the seconds until Curtis left. The damn vampire has sass coming out of his arse  
“Alright. Is there anything you can do about the curse?”  
“Not at the moment. Coran is hopeful up it’ll fade with time. We’ve been having issues with a nasty coven, who left me like this for meddling. They had hoped to channel a berserker into one of their wolves. Instead, I was forced to prove my loyalty and this is the result. Half a horn, half a tail, and foot odour”   
“I didn’t think magic like that was real”  
“Yes and no... Coran and Allura prove that, though there aren’t many actual spell casters left. For the most part bloodlines have become too diluted, or people are relying on popular culture for law. How can you not believe when Lance is a bat in front of your eyes”  
Stupid logical points. But Lance wasn’t human, so the normal laws didn’t apply  
“They don’t teach us about that”  
“There’s a lot the Blades of Marmora fail to teach hunters. Now drink your coffee, I have the feeling you’ll find it quite cold. With Lance eating, I’m finding myself quite peckish. Have you two been shopping lately? I expect housing two wolves and Shiro will put a major dent in any foot supplies you have”  
“I thought he was only bringing Matt back?”  
“Shiro secured both Matt and his girlfriend from the order with transfers for you both. I expect he will tell you when he returns here on Thursday”  
“Wait. You’ve talked to him?  
“This very morning. Now, don’t tell me where anything is, I want to figure it out by my self”

For the second time that month, Lance’s toaster went up in flames. Squeaking up a storm, Lance changed back to his human form on the kitchen table right in front of Keith. Copping an eyeful of a naked Lance, Keith blushed hard. Lance had nice proportions... very nice proportions that Keith stared very openly at. Lance’s butt jiggling as he slid off the kitchen table and fled the room trailing that scent behind him, starting to swear about the loss of his new toaster as he did. Casting a glare at Curtis, Curtis shrugged, not even offering an apology as the toaster smouldered in the sink  
“Stay here. I’ll check on him”

Walking slowly up the stairs, to give Lance time to dress, Keith knocked on the wall beside Lance’s open bedroom door. Out of all the places in the house, it felt the one place he was never supposed to be in, and he was fine with that for the most part. Lance gave him privacy when he was in his room, the least Keith could do was the same  
“Lance?”

Lance was sitting on the edge of his bed with his face in his hands, he’d gotten as far as putting pants on before giving up  
“Want to talk about it?”  
Lance raised his head to look at him, the vampire looking a messy jumble of emotions  
“Not really”  
Keith snorted, forcing himself to invite himself into Lance’s space in a way he hoped seemed casual. Sitting down beside Lance, the hunter nudged Lance’s knee with his own  
“I’m sorry about Curtis. He’s not a bad guy. Well, he didn’t used to be before this curse thing”  
“You know him well?”  
“Shiro trained him for a bit after Adam died”  
“I gathered that... God. Why is when I think things might look up, something else happens?”  
“I don’t know. I don’t know how deal with you being unhappy”  
“I’m not unhappy... well, I am, but, I’m mostly confused”  
Keith snorted, bumping Lance with his shoulder  
“Try being me”  
“No thanks. Being me is hard enough. I’m sorry I turned into a bat again”  
“It’s fine. You can’t help it, plus, you’re much nicer as a bat. You’re all cuddly”  
“Don’t remind me. I came to ask if you’d watch over my body, then turned into a bat all over again”  
“Again?”  
“Turned in the kitchen. It was only a minute or so, but... I don’t want to be a bat. I’m sick of feeling so out of control. I spent years living the same way, only for this... and I don’t know how to get back into the same routine”  
“Maybe Curtis can help us figure out how to control it? Was there anything you remember that set it off?”

With a long groan, Lance flopped back on his bed  
“Nope. I’m scared that I’m going to randomly turn into a bat in front of Hunk and Pidge, plus Blue wasn’t that fond of me not in human form”  
“I don’t think she’s fond of anyone really. She rules the house and we just live here”  
“She’s perfect. And she’s got you trained. God... I’m so frustrated over being so scared. I’ve always been afraid of myself, but I was alone then. Now I’ve got you and Curtis to think about, and apparently Shiro, and two mangy mutts... I’ve got the spare rooms, but... why is my house getting so full?”  
“It won’t be forever. Apparently Shiro decided we’re moving. He didn’t even ask me”

Keith was pissed. Sure, if Shiro was transferring then he probably would too, but to just move them both without telling him was too much. Lance patted the spot beside him, Keith taking the invitation to lay back like the vampire was. Turning their heads, they laid there looking at each other. Keith taking a good look at Lance’s features for any kind of clue what to do next   
“You can talk to me. You’ve done a lot to support me, and the least I can do is listen to you”  
“Because I’m known for my great conversation skills”  
Lance smiled at the retort, Keith’s heart giving a funny beat as he did  
“You’re no where near as bad as you were. You’ve finally accepted not being turned, and that I’m out to poison you, or kill you. I know things are complicated with Shiro, but I’m not asking you tell me everything, or anything if you don’t want to. What you tell me I’m in no position to judge, and what I learn, I’ll keep to myself until you’re ready to tell me in your own words. I want to be able to do something for you, support you, even if it’s in just some small way”  
“You provide the coffee and you know not to disturb me until I’ve got some form of caffeine in my veins. Seeing we’re living together, maybe we can work on your schedule? You said everything was complicated”  
“It is. I’m so used to being alone, you know?”

Keith nodded, because fuck if he didn’t know what it was like to be independent, only relying on himself and cautious of the whole world around him  
“What did you used to do? Before Shiro and I turned up?”

Lance stretched his arms above his head, before lifting his head and crossing them to use as a pillow  
“One bag of blood a day, across three meals. A glass or two of wine before bed. Work, mostly. I used to reach out to people seeking advice and try to help them out the best I could without all the ridiculous fees. Hang out with Pidge and Hunk, visit Mami on the weekends... online shop for things for Blue... I might have spoiled her too much”  
Keith wasn’t in a position to say anything about how Lance had lived his life, but it was clear he was happier then than he was now   
“You can’t change that you need more blood now. Maybe we can make mornings your time? Where you work and catch up on what you need to? You won’t have to be stuck with me as much when Shiro returns”  
“I suppose... but... I’ve thought about it. I think I should take a break from work. I don’t want to be a video call, then suddenly I’m a bat...”  
“We can work on that too”  
“This is too much about me as it is. I mean, what are you going to do?”  
“I can train...”  
“There’s more to life than training”  
“It helps... Shiro says I have anger issues”  
Lance chuckled, still smiling the same damn smile that made Keith’s defective heart go weird   
“I never would have guessed. I suppose we need to get up. I can’t believe Curtis killed my toaster”  
“I don’t think we should leave him alone in the kitchen”  
“Probably a fair call... I don’t want to go back in there”  
“If it’s about what he brought with him, I’m not judging. What you do is up to you”  
“You don’t want to hear me masturbate? I’m shocked, absolutely shocked”

Keith snorted. Right now he wanted to lean over kiss Lance’s troubles away. It’d be far too easy... Covering his awkwardness over wanting to kiss Lance, Keith joked  
“I mean, if you want me to...”  
“Nope. Fuck. I’m 44 and the most I’ve done is kissing... I don’t know how I feel about more”  
“I haven’t had sex either. You’re not the only one who wished they could unsee all those dongs”  
“Did you see how big that pink one was? My butt was totally clenching”  
“I don’t want to think about it. I didn’t know what to say, then Curtis started talking about soulmates... I didn’t think magic “magic” was a real thing”  
“I did try to tell him we were just friends...”  
“It’s a bit hard to translate when I don’t speak bat”  
“Try thinking you’re speaking, only to remember what you’re saying isn’t even human...”  
“You did seem to have a lot to say”  
“Of course I did. My house is being invaded. I was thinking maybe you and Shiro could take the spare room up here? Werewolves tend to be sexual creatures, that don’t think of others... No offence to Matt, but I really hate werewolves”

Keith wrinkled his nose  
“I don’t want to hear Matt banging it out. It was bad enough when Adam and Shiro would forget to close the door”  
Lance cringed  
“Great. Now I’m going to be thinking about that for, like, ever”  
“It was just as bad the next morning when one of them would be limping around, trying act smooth about it”  
“Ewww... that’s festy. Ugh... Do you think Curtis would notice if we ran away?”  
Keith’s heart was still being arsehole, his heart rate picking up at the thought of running away with Lance. They’d be hunted down if he ever thought of skipping out on the Blades  
“Your bedroom’s on the second floor”  
“Shit”  
“Pretty much. Besides, Curtis really wasn’t that bad. He can’t help being cursed”  
“He doesn’t feel like a normal human... I mean, I don’t know, he kind of feels like when there’s death close”  
“Like a ghost?”  
“Maybe, but not quite... I guess it’s the same though. I don’t see like ghosts, and whatever’s going on with him it’s there and it’s not at the same time”  
“You’ve got really weird superpowers, you know that right?”  
“I’m more like a “superzero”, than a superhero”  
The only people allowed to pick on Lance was his friends, not himself   
“What’s it you’re always saying? Something about “you’re fine the way you are”?”  
“Ugh. Don’t start quoting me back at me, I’m old and lame as it is”  
“Yep. Super lame. So laaaaaame that the 70’s called and want their idiot back”  
“Sick burn, you better call the wambulance before I start crying”  
Keith snorted, before rolling on his side. The position kind of awkward seeing his legs were off the end of the bed   
“You’re going to need an ambulance after I fight you next”  
“Puh-lease. You haven’t kicked my arse once since you moved in”  
“I will, one day”  
“I look forward to seeing that. Right. We’re doing it this. We’re really getting up and going to talk to Curtis”

Neither of them moved, Keith the first to break. Rolling on his stomach, the hunter climbed off the bed backwards, quick to extend his hands towards Lance, eyes on the thin line of hair disappearing beneath the man’s jeans  
“If you keep looking at me like that, I might be forced to believe we’re soul mates”  
“Dream on. You heard Curtis, platonic and stuff...”  
“Right. Yeah. I suppose. As if anyone could have a Hollywood love story with you. You’d awkward them into mumbling through the date then skipping out mid movie”  
Lance’s words stung. He knew he wasn’t the greatest looking person, with the greatest personality, but he thought he and Lance were teetering on the edge of maybe something... now Lance was shoving him away and it fed on those parts of his abandonment issues. Biting the insides of his cheek, he pulled Lance to his feet, Lance sighing as he looked him in the eye  
“It was a joke, dude. I’m sure you’ll find someone out there who’ll make you happy. You’ll have a whole broody little Keefy babies with scowls and mullets, and a good life being a dad. Whoever you love will be a lucky person”

“I don’t know how to be a dad. My dad died when I was around 8. He left for work and died in a house fire”

It slipped out. Keith couldn’t picturing putting his future children through the loss of him so had pushed it aside. He didn’t mind kissing girls, but had preferred men since his hormones started deciding they were a thing. Keith was sure he’d mentioned his dad before, but he couldn’t quite remember what he’d said   
“I’m sorry to hear that man. Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me”  
“It’s not like you’re going to run around yelling from the rooftops that I was in the system. We talked about this before”  
“Yeah, but talking about it is always a big step. I told you, I want to know about you. If we’re soulmate friends, I feel like we’re gonna be in each other’s lives whether we like it or not”  
Keith nodded  
“Especially with my douche brother transferring us...”  
“Hey, if you get a house here, you’ll officially be a Garrison local”  
“Ugh. It’d have to be Platt. Shiro needs access to greasy junk food”  
Too much healthy living was bad for the soul. They ate mostly healthy enough, for a pair of two single men, but Keith would never recognise kale as edible. It was disgusting and far too over hyped   
“Shiro does, or you do?”  
Shiro had a soft spot for curry, Keith for kebabs   
“Both? Both is good”  
“Well, tonight, as a special treat, I’ll treat you to the greasiest pizza you’ve ever had in your life”  
“That doesn’t sound like something to brag about”  
“Trust me, Sal’s pizzas are a thing of local legend here. Just you wait and see”  
Keith wasn’t sure he did want to wait and see... all that cheese sounded like a horrible idea... a horrible idea that he was on board with.


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The feels... these idiots... it hurts

34

Lance hummed as he drove. Picking pizza up from Sal’s was the most normal part of his day. His long day. His long, long, long day. Curtis hadn’t seen much of Garrison, so Lance had been stuck explaining how things worked in the town. Then he’d been stuck explaining who Hunk and Pidge were, followed by showing Curtis videos of their adventures in the search for ghosts. Basically it’d been a whole day of actively avoiding talking about why Curtis was there, and what was going on with his body. Now Curtis was in the back of the car, while Keith safe guarded the pizzas in the front as Lance hummed to his “dad” music, happy the day was soon to be over...

“Look, a grocery store. Is that where you normally shop?”  
And there went his humming  
“Yep”  
“Can we check it out?”  
“Not today”  
“Why not? It’s open”  
“And how am I going to explain you?”  
“I’m a friend of Keith’s?”  
Lance didn’t want to take Curtis shopping... but that wouldn’t be giving the man a chance to adapt to his surrounds. Slowing down, Lance started indicating, before turning into the closest parking space for a quick escape   
“Five minutes. In and out. No talking to strangers”  
Keith sighed at him, probably thinking he was a push over... which he was kind of being  
“Thank you. It’s been a while since I’ve been out and able to stretch my legs. Most of my work’s been in the labs in Platt. The curse makes it hard to socialise”  
“I can imagine. Keith, you coming in?”  
“Someone has to watch you two”

Garrison had done what it did best. Rumours over what had happened at the pub followed Keith and Lance around like a bad smell. Turning to ask Curtis what kind of food he liked, he found he’d left him back at the DVD’s while Keith was already ahead of in the frozen section. The pair of them were worse than children. How was he supposed to shop for them if they weren’t beside him. At least Keith hadn’t seemed to notice the whispers, Lance not sure if Curtis had, of if he had normal hearing despite the curse. With one idiot distracted by frozen meals and less likely to get himself in trouble, Lance back tracked to Curtis  
“See something you like?”  
“I used to love wrestling... I know it’s corny and staged...”  
“Then grab a few DVDs”  
“It’s okay”  
Lance reached out, grabbing the first wrestling DVD he found. Yeah, he didn’t get wrestling, but it wasn’t like he was buying the DVDs for him  
“If you’re living at my house, it’s okay to like what you like. They’re like 5 bucks each. Grab a few. Same goes for anything you like eating, and toiletries. There’s spares in the guest bathroom, but I understand wanting your own stuff”  
“I thought you didn’t like me”  
Lance bit down a groan, his anti-people side had been strong  
“It’s not that I don’t. I don’t know you and I don’t want to leap right into my sex life with a stranger. Plus, I don’t know what to make of you, I’ve never met someone cursed before, but I think it’d be a douche move to judge you over something you can’t control”  
“I can see why Keith likes you so much”

Lance’s face burnt in a flash. Soulmates... the thing he’d kind of always wanted to believe in with all that love and stuff, now seemed to be a real thing. He didn’t think Keith was his soulmate, but he also didn’t not want to kiss him  
“We’re friends”  
“In the time I knew Keith, he was never one to talk as he is now. He had a tough childhood, not knowing his mother was a hunter until he was under threat. Shiro said he didn’t have the best or safest life before they joined up”  
That was the kind of thing he wanted to learn from Keith. It felt like a betrayal in trust to hear it from anyone other than him  
“Keith and I have talked. I told him that I want to hear about him, from him. I know you can’t help it, but maybe you can tell me less. When they leave, I probably won’t see him again. I don’t want to be more attached than I already am”  
“Nonsense. Shiro and Keith are transferring to Platt. I’m quite sure he’d be keen to remain friends with you. He seems to think a little better about vampires having met you”  
“It’s taken us weeks to get this close. I’m not ruining that with some notion of fate and soulmates. He’s an idiot but under that he still has a lot of trauma to work through. Now pick your movies out. We’ll be down the end of the isle when you’re ready”

With how sheltered things had seemed to be for Curtis, Lance shouldn’t have been surprised when came back with an armload of DVDs. Lance didn’t have the heart to break it to him that most of them could be streamed now. He’d introduce him to steaming once he could work the DVD player. Maybe cursed people didn’t get on with technology. The toaster had gone up in flames within seconds of Curtis putting the bread in. Keith seeming broody as Curtis placed the DVDs in the cart, like a child who wasn’t getting as much attention as his “brother”  
“Don’t be like that. You can get whatever you want. You probably need more underwear and socks by now. They do have some clothes here. You two go pick out anything you need, while I find us a new another new toaster. I liked the last one... and the one before that... No more roasting for the pair of you”  
Keith cast a glare at Curtis   
“Now look what you did. You got us both in trouble”  
“I honestly don’t know how it happened”  
“Well this is your fault. You haven’t even apologised”  
“It was kind of hard to when you both disappeared”  
“We didn’t disappear. We were talking”

Keith was getting too defensive. Lance didn’t need a repeat of last time the hunter tried to stand up for him. The pair really were like children  
“That’s enough. Just go be somewhere else already. And don’t go making a scene, some of us still have to live here after the pair of you fuck off”  
Keith crossed his arms, an obvious sign he was internally sulking. Curtis simply sighed  
“You’re right. I am sorry about your toaster. We’ll do better”  
“Thank you. Now go away”

Having wallowed, Lance restocked his favourite snacks, aware he was going to have to hide them away before everyone showed up. Curtis and Keith both obeyed his order to find underwear, Lance wondering if he should get a permanent marker to start labelling things now that there’d be 5 men in his house, though he wasn’t sure how long Curtis would staying. Hopefully not too long, their 5 minute trip had blown out of proportion, Lance having to find refuge in the back fridges when his body suddenly grew unbearably warm and the back of his underwear grew damp. He would have climbed in there if he could have, dealing with Keith was one thing, now he had two idiots under his roof and two peoples feelings to consider. Coming up behind him, Keith made him jump by poking him in the back, Lance spinning around to glare at his friend who’s face immediately fell  
“Sorry. You usually notice”  
“It’s not your fault. I was debating whether to climb in there or not. It’s really fucking hot all of a sudden”  
“Your face is flushed... and you smell sweet. We should get out of here”

Shit he’d been too busy indulging Curtis that the bat thing slipped from the front of his mind. Turning into a bat would be disastrous  
“Crap... Here, take my wallet. The pin’s 1470. I’ll wait in the car. Just pay for everything”  
“Lance, you don’t need to panic”  
“I do if I suddenly turn into a bat. I should have said no...”  
Keith’s face softened, his expression changing to one of caring, which Lance couldn’t handle right now  
“No. It’s okay. I’ll handle this. Don’t eat all the pizza without me”  
Thank god Keith was coping with him being dramatic. He was so goddamn stupid. What if he’d turned? What if he’d fallen right in there with yoghurt and was forced to live the rest of his life as a bat to escape the shame...

Waiting for Keith and Curtis, the pair of them came out with way too many bags. A normal person would have left them in the trolley until they were closer to the car, then gather them all up in an attempt not to do a second trip. Not these two. Curtis was happily sucking on a lollipop, while Keith looked like he’d sucked on a lemon. Remaining in the driver’s seat, Lance wasn’t getting in the way. The two men had once been friends, Lance had the feeling they needed to reconnect or Keith would continue to be miserable and held back by his past. Keith needed friends, he needed to know he could move past the things that still haunted his dreams, and that was okay to be happy. Being happy didn’t mean he had to forget his time with Adam, it meant accepting that something awful had happened and Adam wouldn’t want him hurting.

When the two “kids” had loaded up the shopping, Keith nearly landed in Lance’s lap with how fast he tried to climb into the front, Curtis climbing up to squash the three of them into place on the bench seat  
“That was fun! Thank you, Lance. We noticed you hadn’t chosen a toaster, so Keith selected one for you”  
Keith huffed, pulling the pizza boxes down off the dash  
“Dobber”  
Distracted by how damn hot he’d been, thoughts of a toaster went out with window with the need to cool down  
“Children, don’t make me put both of you in a time out”  
Curtis laughed, while Keith’s frown deepened  
“I’m not a child”  
“Of course not. Thank you for remembering”  
Lance leaned over and kissed Keith on the cheek, not quite sure why.

His movements drew Curtis’s attentions   
“Lance, could it be you feel suddenly aroused?”  
Nope. Not having that conversation   
“Keith did something nice, I was thanking him”  
“Your face is flushed, pupils are wide, and your emitting a scent much like a werewolf in mating season. Flashes of arousal will come with the changes in your body as you prepare for breeding. There’s no need to be embarrassed, it’s quite normal and will be quite unexpected as your body settles”  
Oooh... that kind of made sense... too much sense... Just another way to make him feel even shittier about the changes  
“Curtis, you know that talk we had? Can we please not discuss my body. Right now, I want to go home, eat some bad pizza and have a glass of wine. My body is off limits until further notice”  
“Sorry, it was just an observation that you seem quite flustered around Keith”  
“I don’t care if you’re cursed, Lance doesn’t want to talk about it, so we’re not talking about it”

Lance was tempted to thank Keith, but Keith needed to stop standing up for him. He couldn’t take it. It made him all nervous and sent his thoughts about Keith south of his belt. It was bad enough he got these hot flushes, now Keith knew what they meant... Now Keith was going to be weird about it, and Lance was going to have to not be weird about it, and there was going to be a whole of weirdness that he definitely didn’t want between them when it was weird enough they’d had sex dreams about each other. Keith was all about taking responsibility... Lance didn’t want him trying to take responsibility for him being horny and deciding he had to handle Lance’s condition with sex when these weird waves came. His body being so damn weird was probably what was drawing Keith to him, not any kind of actual affections, just smell induced reaction. The thought was depressing. Keith probably didn’t like him at all, and once freed from being around him constantly, the man would most probably make a very conscious effort to avoid him. It wasn’t like being at step one with Keith, it was like nearly reaching the finish line only to find someone had jumped the gun so the whole race was meaningless.

Starting his bronco, Lance didn’t bother scolding Keith and Curtis for not wearing their seatbelts. With a little bit of luck they’d all die horribly and the topic of his body would never be spoken of again.


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone please smack some sense into them 😅

35

Living with Curtis wasn’t that bad once the man settled in. Keith found he wasn’t as lonely as he had as they worked on getting Lance back into his daily routine around his changing body. Sure, the man had ridiculous taste in soap operas and wrestling, but having someone who knew the workings of the Blade meant he had a new training partner, which was great for him... The only downside was, he was starting to wonder if Lance felt left out. Catching Curtis up on Blade news had brought up more than one embarrassing story, Shiro had no filter when it came to telling the man about his younger brother, including Keith’s scrapes with the law. Lance could probably hear every word said between them as he worked away in his office, but he’d caught Lance staring at him more than once in a way that made his chest tight. He didn’t want Lance feeling on the outside because that sucked balls, and he was going through enough as it was. He also didn’t want Curtis embarrassing him any more than he’d already managed to do for himself thinking he’d been changed. Shiro had no filter, and Curtis literally had no filter. Keith didn’t have the best social graces, but now he was trying to juggle having two new friends, Lance’s feelings, and Curtis, with Shiro’s return imminent. Once his brother came home, things would change again. He wasn’t good with change. If people were leaving him behind, he’d rather be the first to leave before things got complicated. Things with Lance had gone beyond complicated. Leaving him... it’d be weird. He’d hated him. He’d hated him and wanted his head. Now they were friends and Shiro would be moving them into a new home. A new city. A new space to feel uncomfortable in as he approached his new job. 

Sitting on the kitchen bench, Keith was patting Blue as he sipped his third coffee. Curtis was watching TV, Lance had introduced him to streaming on his TV and now Curtis was doing a pretty good imitation of Lance mid-wallowing. Coran really had sheltered the man   
“You’re not supposed to be on the kitchen bench”  
Walking into the kitchen, Lance was nursing a glass of wine, despite it only being lunch time   
“Me or Blue?”  
“Both of you”  
Keith went to shimmy forward, only Lance decided he was going to heft himself up on the bench to sit next to him  
“Isn’t it a bit early for day drinking?”  
“Isn’t it a bit early for your fourth cup?”  
It was never too early for a third or fourth cup  
“Third cup”  
“You’re slipping”

Climbing over him, Blue plopped herself down in Lance’s lap to groom her more intimate areas. Grabbing Blue by her upright leg, Blue pulled her leg down with a glare at her father   
“Thanks, Blue. I didn’t need to see this. Anyway, you didn’t explain the wine”  
“Felt like it. I know you don’t need a reason to be drinking your third coffee, but I thought you’d be with Curtis”  
There it was... Lance feeling left out  
“He’s watching TV. You introducing him to streaming really opened his world”  
“He already knew how to stream, just not how to work my smart TV. Do you two have anything planned later?”  
“Not really. Do you have anything planned?”  
“Nope. I thought I’d check in with you...”

Lance had noticed that he’d noticed that the vampire didn’t seem to be doing okay. Keith wasn’t sure if this was Lance probing him to figure out where they stood, or if Lance actually wanted to spend time with him  
“I was thinking about training, if you want to join me?”  
Lance pulled a face with a shake of his head  
“No. Curtis is much better suited as match for you. I’d only get in the way”  
“You’re the one who promised to fight me when you felt better... You are feeling better, aren’t you?”  
Lance sighed, his hand moving to wipe Blue’s drool back on her  
“Yeah. I guess. I suppose so... Physically, at any rate”  
“You haven’t turned into a bat again”  
“No. And I don’t want to, so please don’t jinx me”  
“I’ll try not to. How’s... everything else...?”

Keith didn’t want to seem to keen to know how Lance was fairing with the physical changes. He wanted his friend to feel better, but he was also curious as to how quickly Lance began feeling symptoms from the initial onset and if there was something in particular that set it off, like with him being a bat. It was all good information to have for future hunts, as well as good information to have to help Lance. If he ever encountered a breeder again, he’d be able to look for signs of pregnancy or weakness during those moments of arousal. A breeder was likely to be protected from what Coran said, so a secondary plan would need to be developed. The data Lance’s condition provided could be invaluable later on.

“Still all over the place. Curtis decided to leave his briefcase in front of my door. Tripped over the stupid thing. Blue had a great time smacking stuff around”  
“Do you think that counts as using them?”  
“Don’t ask me. I’m trying not to know”  
“If you don’t want to use them, then don’t”  
“Thank you, Captain Obvious. It’s just... I know people masturbate, but I don’t want to be putting anything up there that Curtis knows about... that’s icky”  
“I guess so?”  
“No. It is. Think about it, it’s like Curtis giving you a bag of dildos and telling you to forget he’s the one who bought them. He picked out what he expects you to put up your poop shoot... Nope. Don’t think I can do it”

Keith agreed with Lance when he put it that way  
“Dude, that’s nasty”  
“Yep... I’d rather not go there”  
“You know...”  
Lance shook his head  
“Don’t make this weird”  
Keith scrunched his brow  
“I was only going to say you could always order yourself what you like”  
Lance mouthed a silent “Oh”, Keith curious where his mind had been going  
“What?”  
“Nothing. I just didn’t think of that... it doesn’t matter anyway. Once Matt and his girlfriend get here, privacy won’t exist anymore”  
“What do you mean?”  
“That werewolves can hear everything. Shit, they’ll probably hear every time I have nightmare”  
“I didn’t think about that...”  
Matt wouldn’t just hear Lance’s nightmares, but both his and Shiro’s... and probably Curtis’s... Lance wouldn’t judge them, but Keith barely knew Matt  
“Yep”  
The pair sat in silence for a few moments, Keith didn’t like silence between them  
“Wanna go train?”  
“Sure”

They’d been training for the better part of an hour when Curtis came out to join them on the back lawn. Sure, Curtis’s curse made him faster, but that was nothing on Lance’s speed when he actually tried. Curtis posed a challenge, but Lance... Keith actually preferred training with Lance for the sheer fact he had his own person vampire trainer. Most if it was Lance fooling around, but the vampire had pointed out a few helpful tricks and corrected his stances as he slowed his speed to match with Keith’s. Tackling Lance down, the vampire laughed openly at the clumsy tackle, Keith’s heart starting to race as he realised he was straddling Lance’s lap as Lance’s cheeks reddened. His attention had been on Curtis, so Keith had plays dirty, though it was worth it to hear Lance laugh. Shoving him playfully, Keith sighed, knowing that Lance had barely worked up a sweat while Keith was literally internally grimacing at the beads rolling down his back  
“That all you got?”  
“Wouldn’t you like to know”  
Keith couldn’t be sure entirely, but he was kind of sure Lance was flirting with him. His own cheeks were already red, so he was able to deny that he was secretly blushing over the intimacy of the position.

“You two seem to be having fun. Lance, you’re supposed to still be resting”  
Lance propped himself up on his elbows, that sweet scent starting to roll off of him  
“I’m fine. Keith on the other hand...”  
Pushing Lance down, Keith forced himself off the vampire. Staying in Lance’s lap all but guaranteed he’d break and kiss Lance right there  
“I’m fine, old man. You’re the one who got your arse handed to you by a human”  
“Who cheated”  
“It was your fault for being distracted”  
“Not even... Help me up?”  
Lance reached a hand up, Keith taking it in a show of sportsmanship, only to be pulled back down over Lance. Lance giggling as he flipped them over  
“Now who’s distracted”  
“That wasn’t fair”  
“You started it”  
“I see Lance is quite aroused. Lance, are you currently feeling arousal?”  
Fucking Curtis. Lance immediately jumped back off of where he’d pegged Keith down, arms crossed self consciously   
“I’m fine. Why don’t you two train while I take a shower? You’re a much better match than Keith and I”  
“I don’t want to interrupt”  
Lance shook his head, Keith cursing Curtis again  
“No, it’s alright. I’ll get something organised for dinner... or something...”

With that, Lance left the pair of them, striding off towards the house as Keith dug the heels of his palms into his eyes  
“I don’t think he likes me very much”  
“Because you brought up his body again. You know he gets self conscious over it”  
“I didn’t mean to make him embarrassed. I was merely trying to ascertain if physical activity brought on arousal”  
“Well thanks for that. You’ve scared him off again”  
“I still don’t think he likes me”  
Keith snorted. Curtis had no clue  
“Trust me. He hasn’t tried to kick you out, nor has he yelled at you leave. He’s trying, but you keep bringing up his body”  
“He can’t help the waves of arousal”  
“Which is why we don’t make a big thing out of it. How would you like it if every time you popped an accidental boner someone announced it?”  
Curtis rocked on his heels as he shrugged   
“Depends who I’m with”  
Keith sighed at Curtis. Curtis really should know better, and thanks to thinking about a horny Lance, he was now semi hard within the confines of his jeans... His damn libido was out of control   
“Lance doesn’t hate you. He probably understands being cursed better than you think. I’m going to take a shower. Training against him is a challenge”

Curtis looked disappointed. Keith couldn’t win. He’d wanted to include Lance, but that somehow meant shunning Curtis   
“We should train together tomorrow. Lance has been helping me correct my stances to something more suitable when fighting vampires. It’d be good for you to practice against him”  
“I don’t want to get in the way of you two. Coran was also very insistent that Lance was not push himself in the slightest. I am supposed to be assisting in his daily life”  
Lance really would hate Curtis if he started babying him. The best way to get Lance to relax was to let him do his own thing   
“You’re not getting in the way, and Lance was hardly using his strength. He’s just got a lot on his mind. Let’s head back in? Maybe you can find a horror movie for us all to watch tonight?”  
Curtis didn’t look convinced, Keith sympathising with Lance all over again. Keeping the peace was frustrating. He didn’t like it. Fuck it. They needed to spend more time together, then Curtis would stop embarrassing Lance and Lance wouldn’t be so ashamed of the things happening to him  
“Whatever. I’m heading back up to the house. Lance and I are going to watch a movie tonight, which you’re totally allowed to join in on”

*  
Lance stood under the cold water, waiting for the fire in his belly to cool. He’d gone and jerked off. He couldn’t help himself. He’d been so hot and flustered after training with Keith, that he’d needed the release to bring himself back under control. Not that it felt good. He felt dirty for having to jerk off thanks to his friend. All they’d been doing was training, then Keith was in his lap and his lap was trying to be in Keith. Or rather, his lap wanted Keith in him... These stupid desires were out of control. His lip was bleeding from how hard he’d bitten down, trying to stifle his moans and not think of Keith. He was completely fucked. Curtis had called him out on being horny, now Keith was going to think he was some kind of nasty pervert. It wasn’t like he wanted to be acting like a damn wolf in heat, ready to stick his damn arse out at the first man being nice to him... He wanted... he wanted something natural, something sweet. Someone to love him without all this happening to him. He’d been so excited that Keith wanted to spend time with him. Lance wasn’t jealous of Curtis, he just... wished he had his own stories to add when Curtis was teasing Keith. Curtis was good for Keith. Curtis was mostly human. He wanted to be good for Keith. God. He had to tell him. He had to tell him that he liked him... before the others came and privacy went out the window. This going back and forth... this worrying... it was only hurting them both.

Dressing a little nicer than necessary, Lance waited on the stairs until he heard Keith come out of the shower. The vampire was nervous as fuck, but he had to do this. He had to know what came next for the pair of them. He wanted to be special to Keith, to be special to someone who saw him for what he was, and he was deep in swampy pit of feelings that some people called a crush. He was 44... and Keith made him feel more alive than ever. He liked him. He didn’t know a single thing about him, but if Keith liked him back, he hoped he’d be up for a rather impromptu date. Yes. He knew he was completely changing his tune. His body was changing and that was probably why Keith felt whatever attraction to him that he did, and he wanted to talk about that somewhere no one was going to hear. Pinned down by Keith. Laughing like an idiot. He wanted more of that. More of being the centre of Keith’s attention. He didn’t want to be the creepy friend jerking off because he was scared of rejection... which he was right now. He’d gone around in circles, and this was his dead arse’s first and only crush that he hoped maybe would be more... or maybe he was horny? Maybe this was an awful idea. Keith could say no. Keith should say no. He’d be taking his future away from him, but when it came to Keith he was as much an idiot as Hunk was for Shay. He had to man the fuck up, and face the possibly fucked up consequences like a man.

Hearing Keith swearing as he dressed brought a smile to his face. Keith had so many anger issues, that him snapping at his jeans was perfectly in line with his character. And then Keith’s phone went and rung. Lance knew he had his own phone, he’d never pressed about it. Keith would give him his number if he wanted him to have it. There was only one person who’d call him, and that was Shiro. His courage abandoned him, Lance pushing himself up and striding back to his bedroom, where he slammed his door behind him, before throwing his dramatic arse face down on his bed. What was he doing?! He couldn’t tell Keith he liked him! He’d just jerked off because of him! That wasn’t normal! He wasn’t normal. What was wrong with him?!

Lance tried not to listen to the call, he then tried to ignore the sound of Keith’s boots coming up the stairs... then he tried to ignore the way Keith knocked on his door  
“Lance? It’s Keith, did you just slam your door?”  
“I’m fine!”  
“I’m coming in”  
Nooooo. His turbulent feelings would cave all over again. Not that Keith knew that, the hunter letting himself into Lance’s room  
“Lance?”  
“Yes?”  
“Are you okay?”  
“Fine. What’s up?”  
“Um... okay, well, Shiro is coming tomorrow morning. He just called, but you probably heard”  
“Wasn’t listening. Good for you. You get your brother back”

Fuck. He was being such a wanker. He didn’t want to be like this  
“Are you sure your okay?”  
He wanted his Mami. He wanted Coran. Someone to spill these feelings too...  
“I have to go to Platt”  
“What do you mean?”  
“I have to go to Platt. It’s Mami...”  
“Is she okay? Did she have another fall? I can call Shiro and...”  
He felt sick at the lie  
“You know what it’s like as you get old”  
“Should I tell Curtis we’re going out?”  
God. Could Keith have phrased that any worse?  
“I’m going. You’re staying here with Curtis”  
“You can’t go alone...”  
Yep. He sure could   
“And your brother is coming home. I need someone I trust here”  
“What if...”  
What if he died in a fiery crash? He’d take one fiery crash for thirty-two thousand dollars. Climbing up, he intentionally stared at Keith’s boots, not wanting his concern   
“Keith, I’m going. I’ll be in touch. Please make sure Curtis doesn’t burn the house down”


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys I’m literally shaking right now! I know we’re not up to chapter 54 on here but I got art!!! I’m screaming. Shaking. Can’t stop saying oh my god
> 
> https://codingss.tumblr.com/post/632523785223929856/so-this-is-art-inspired-by

36

Stupid. He was stupid. Lance was potentially the most stupid person he knew. He’d made it as far as his car, before giving up. His idiocy on full display as his mood and feelings shifted again. God. His little anger loaf was standing on the steps of his house, watching him with concern. Sure enough, Lance soon heard the crunching of gravel under Keith’s boots, before the driver’s side door was opening   
“Lance?”  
Fuck it. Keith was going to hate him for lying, so he might as well make Keith really hate him with the truth  
“I lied”  
Mumbling softly, he flinched as Keith asked   
“What was that?”  
“I lied. I panicked and I lied to you”  
“Miriam isn’t sick?”  
Lance shook his head. She was old, and not about to get any younger, but not sick  
“No”  
“What the fuck? You had me seriously worried! Why would you lie to me like that?”

Lance couldn’t blame Keith for how mad he sounded   
“I... I like you. Like, I really like you and I finally decided I was going to tell you, then Shiro called and I realised all over again that I was being stupid and I panicked... because I don’t know what to do. I’m a vampire and you’re a hunter. A human, hunter. I don’t even know your last name... But... all this confusing junk in my head won’t stop... I like you, Keith. And I’m sorry... I know I’m stupid. I know you’re only attracted to be me because of my body... but I’ve never felt the way about anyone I do when I look at you”

Lance knew he was done for. Keith said nothing long enough for Lance to start crying  
“Move over”  
Sniffling, Lance wiped at his face  
“What?”  
“Move over”  
Shifting over, Lance moved all the way to the passenger door. He wasn’t sure what Keith was going to do, only that if he died, he wanted the mess to be as contained as possible. Climbing up in the driver’s seat, Keith pulled his seatbelt into place, before starting the bronco. He was going to be murdered. Keith was going to murder him. His body would disappear. His Mami would never know what happened to him. He’d never kiss Keith properly. He’d never cuddle up with him again, or think him stupid. He’d never find out what was wrong Keith’s heart... or internally freak out every time his body felt warmer than stone cold. He’d never see his precious Blue, or taste Hunk’s cooking, or be teased by Pidge... He didn’t want to die. Letting out a miserable groan, Lance’s hand was poised to pull the door handle open. It’d hurt to fall out, but Keith wasn’t driving too fast. If he rolled, he might have a chance of fleeing before he could him.

“Stop freaking out. You’re freaking me out!”  
“I don’t want to die... I’m sorry I said anything, but I promise I’ll be good... I won’t say anything ever again”  
Keith changed gears, Lance’s bronco lurching as he did  
“I’m not going to kill you”  
“That’s not what your face says”  
Keith had amped “anger loaf” up to an “angry baker’s dozen”. Give him an axe and he’d look like an axe murderer on his way to dismember his victim  
“Just shut up before I punch you in the dick”  
Cowering in the passenger seat of the car, Lance pulled his knees to his chest, trying to make himself small. He didn’t want to turn into a bat, but right now it’d be handy.

Lance kept his head down as he mentally mapped the route Keith was taking... so he could flee back to his house and retrieve Blue once the death drive was over. He never should have told Keith. Keith was soooooo way beyond mad. He was mad and he hated him... but this kiss or no kiss thing they were messing with was too much for him. Slowing the car, Keith was none to gentle as they stop. Lance sent forwards, then backwards, thanks to his lack of seatbelt. Not raising his head, he hard the seatbelt click, then the creaking of the upholstery as Keith turned towards him  
“You can stop hiding now”  
“I don’t think I want to”  
“Lance”  
“You’re scaring me. If you want to murder me...”  
Keith sighed at him  
“I don’t want to murder you. I want to talk to you”  
“Lies! You brought me out here to murder me!”  
“Stop being dramatic. Why would I drive you so far away from the house to kill you? I’m a hunter, we know what to do about bodies”  
“That doesn’t make feel better”

Keith grabbed him the arms, tugging against Lance who stubbornly kept them crossed   
“I said I want to talk to you”  
“And I said you’re going to murder me”  
Keith kept tugging, Lance too much of a pussy not to let himself give way. Letting Keith hold his arms, Lance stared down at his crotch  
“Would you look at me, already? It’s hard to have a conversation when you won’t look at me”  
“No. Because if I look at you, I’ll see how much you hate me”  
“I don’t hate you!”  
He was trying Keith’s patience and he knew it  
“You should! I’m a bad guy. I’m selfish and I’m dead!”  
“You’re a fucking idiot. That’s what you are. First you lie, then you drop that confession out of nowhere, now you won’t even look at me”  
“Because you hate me!”  
Keith let out a growly kind of sigh, the hunter moving to kiss him as Lance raised his head at the sound, smacking their heads against each other as he did. Rubbing his chin, Keith pulled back, Lance arms finally freed  
“So now you raise your head!”  
“You growled at me!”  
“Because you weren’t listening!”

Crossing his arms, Lance slid lower in the chair  
“I made a mistake”  
“A mistake about what?”  
“About telling you”  
“That you liked me?”  
“What else? What am I even doing?! You’re only attracted to me because I keep going into heat like a damn werewolf! This is Curtis’s fault. He kept going on about soulmates and my pathetic arse went and had a crush on you. I’m like way older than you, barely functional at the best of times. I don’t like people. I don’t like people in my house. I don’t like stupid people. Of course I go and fall in love with the first person who accepts me. Of fucking course I do. I’m selfish and petty. I felt left out because heavens forbid you have an actual friend that knows what it is to be a hunter. I don’t know your last name. I don’t know the first thing. But nooooo. I want to kiss you. I want to be the centre of attention. You keep supporting me and I do jack shit, then betray you by having feels... I don’t know what I’m doing!”

“It sounds like you have a lot on your mind”  
Fucking Keith. Why couldn’t he get angry? Or at the very least kick him for ruining his life  
“I do. So if you’d be so kind, can you please just drive us home where I can bury myself in my death soil”  
“Don’t I get a say in this?”  
“Do you need to have a say in this?”  
What was there to say? He was an idiot. An idiot with serious feels for a human  
“Seeing you confessed to me, I think I do”  
“Fine. Have at it. You can’t mess things up more than I have”

Keith groaned as he slumped against the seat   
“You didn’t mess things up”  
“I feel like I did”  
“You didn’t mess things up, because I think I like you too”  
“Yeah, because my body is weird”  
“It’s not... okay, yeah. You’re pretty fucking weird. And you don’t me. But I don’t know much about you outside of what was in your file”  
“How nice. At least you got footnotes”  
“I’m trying to talk to you. Stop interrupting me”  
Talking implied a two way street... Keith wasn’t talking to him, he was talking at him  
“Fine. Just spit it out so I can take my humiliation to my grave”  
“Gargh! Just shut up and listen to me. I like you too. You. I don’t know what I’m doing either but I do know I like being around you. You’re weird, but not too weird when you think about the fact this time tomorrow the house is going to have 2 hunters, 2 werewolves, 1 cursed ex-hunter, and a vampire in it. That’s not normal. I didn’t see this being my life. I don’t know how to date. I didn’t want to date. Losing Adam nearly destroyed Shiro. I didn’t want a person like that... then you came along and changed everything. I get jealous too. Of you and Hunk, and you and Pidge... I don’t know why they want to be friends with me. People who want to be friends are usually only making fun of me. You don’t do that. I keep wanting to kiss you. I keep going around in circles. I don’t know what to do about the junk in my head either...”

Lance worried his bottom lip as he looked to Keith. Maybe they were two desperately lonely idiots trying to be less lonely in a world where it was so easy to be lonely? He liked him... but couldn’t believe he was liked back  
“... right now, I just want to kiss you”  
“I don’t want to hurt you”  
“You won’t... Can I kiss you?”  
Lance nodded, stomach filled with butterflies and a million wriggling caterpillars waiting to take their place.

Closing his eyes, for a moment Lance feared Keith wouldn’t kiss him back. He didn’t need to fear though. Keith’s lips were chapped and he definitely needed to start using lip balm, but the kiss... it was the kind of kiss that made you feel happy to be alive... or dead. Soft and clumsy, Lance panicked slightly when he tasted Keith’s blood. Pulling back, he stared wide eyed at Keith who smiling   
“You don’t need to be afraid”  
“I cut you lip”  
“Maybe I liked it?”  
Keith bleeding was not something Lance liked   
“I’m...”  
“If you say you’re a monster, I really will punch you in the dick”  
Keith, romance extraordinaire right there. Shiro had not taught him well  
“I’m sorry... I can’t get them to retract any further”  
“It’s fine. We’ll work something out”  
“How?”  
His teeth were kind of razor sharp   
“I don’t know... Apparently this talking thing is a start”  
“Why do you listen to all the lame things I say?”  
“Because you listen to me. So... okay. Kogane. My mum’s a werewolf hunter named Krolia. My boots are size 11. I’m 5’11, 93kgs. I’ve killed three werewolves with the use of explosives and my other kills were with Shiro help. Lactose hates me. Tequila is evil. I have no biological siblings, probably because mum loves her work more than me. I’ve never been in a relationship. I the one time I kind of got close turned out to be a prank. I like photography. I usually ride my motorbike to unwind. People say I have anger issues. I say I have people issues. I get paranoid when people are watching me. I didn’t graduate high school... and I prefer practical over looks... oh, and I collect swords and knives”

Lance was shocked. Everything Keith said locked it’s self in his brain. Keith had been so damn open. Like way too open...  
“Lance?”  
“Sorry... I was processing... that was like a lot”  
“A good a lot? Because I don’t know what to say now”  
“No. You did really well, buddy”  
Lance cringed at calling Keith “buddy”. Keith sighing at him over it  
“Really?”  
“I regret it already... I don’t know what to say”  
“Tell me something about you?”  
“Oh... um... like what?”  
Keith knew his file. Heck, Keith probably knew more about him than he did   
“I don’t know”  
“Um... if... we’re being honest your hair is a mullet”

Groaning at him, Keith pushed his knee   
“It grows that way”  
“Um... maybe it’s not as annoying as I make it out to be?”  
“Watch it, you’re being dangerously close to being nice about my hair”  
Lance snorted. He was still filled with those butterflies, but he wasn’t getting murdered by the seems of it, so that was a temporary win  
“You wish, mullet. I’ll give you one shot at asking me anything you want”  
Keith’s expression changed, he seemed to be thinking, or trying to crap his pants. Lance wasn’t sure  
“Can I ask you what happened the day you turned? You don’t have to tell me everything, but I want to understand”

Okay. Maybe Lance had expected that. Maybe that’s why he’d tried to deflect with banter. Maybe those butterflies were still in his belly because he had to tell Keith the truth   
“I... Okay... Okay... just promise you won’t laugh at me”  
“I’ve laughed at you over plenty of things, but this won’t be one of them”  
“That’s not a promise”  
Keith scooched forward, placing his hand on Lance’s knee   
“I promise I won’t laugh”  
“Okay... fuck... this is... okay...”  
“Lance, it’s okay. I know Rolo and Nyma turned you. I know it was horrible and traumatic, but I’m not going to suddenly hate you for what happened”  
“I hate me for what happened. I can’t ever forget that day... it’s the day my family was ruined forever...”  
“What happened wasn’t your fault”

“It was... fuck... it was... So... We’d only left Cuba not that long ago and I didn’t fit in. My skin wasn’t the right colour. My clothes weren’t the right clothes. I had friends but I always seemed to ruin things. I was sitting on the swings at school, watching everyone else play soccer. They never picked me because I wasn’t right... Nyma... Nyma and Rolo came up to the swings... the day was really overcast, but maybe they could walk in the sun? I don’t know... but I was so lonely and there were these two adults... teenagers... I never knew how old they were... I knew Mami wouldn’t want me talking to strangers, so I told them. Nyma laughed and she said she wasn’t a stranger because she’d seen me around in school before. They asked me if I wanted to play. Someone was paying attention to me. I have a big family. No... I had a big family, so I never had much attention. Anything I wanted like ice creams, Mami would always ask my older siblings what they wanted and they never agreed. I just wanted to be... liked. Nyma asked me to come pick a soccer ball out the storage shed with her... Schools back there really were nothing like they are now... They found me the next day, but I was in a coma for like a while... Coran was there when I woke up, Mami too... and everything kind of went to shit. The shed was pulled down, apparently there was so much blood there that they thought someone slaughtered a cow as a joke. It’s not much of a story”

Lance nervously chewed at his lip, waiting for Keith to reply. Glancing to the hunter, he found Keith had tears in his eyes   
“Keith?”  
“I’m sorry... I’m sorry no one was there to help you”  
Lance had often thought about that. About the “what ifs”. But one thing he did know was that you couldn’t go back in time and undo what’d been done  
“You’re the first friend I’ve talked to about it, and you know the gist of things... but yeah. Basically I’ve had PTS and anxiety since. I’m on my fourth identity now. I went into law to help children... and this car was my gift from my family when I graduated the first time around. Before you came along, I was the only person who’d driven her. She’s been my trusty companion through it all”  
“Kids can be total shits”  
Lance nodded. They could. But they could also be sweet like his niece and nephew had been  
“I kept wondering how they didn’t hear me, or if they did, if they laughed at me. I’m lucky I was the only one they took that day”  
“They deserve to be dead. You’re nothing like them, you know. It makes me want to punch something”  
“Please don’t punch my dick”

Keith flashed him a watery smile, Lance shifting close enough to lean against the hunter. Keith felt so reassuringly solid against him. Nervously he asked   
“So where does that leave us? If you need space... I won’t be mad”  
“I don’t know how to date. I’m probably going to make a lousy boyfriend”  
“If you just want to be friends, that’s okay too. I just... I’ve been going slightly crazy with all these thoughts in my head. I don’t want to take your future from you”  
“It’s my future to choose. I think I want to date you...”  
“Maybe you should talk to Shiro? I don’t think he left you here with the intention of us shacking up together”  
Keith sighed. After what happened with Adam, the hunter was definitely entitled to not be in favour of them dating  
“I do... I mean, I’ve been going crazy too. Trying to tell if you’re flirting. Trying to figure out what I’m feeling”  
“I feel bad for lying to you and for dumping this on you...”  
“You should feel bad about the lying. I was seriously worried about Miriam... but I was more worried about you. But don’t feel bad for telling me. I wanted to know more about you. I still do”  
“I’m old enough to be your dad... hell, you’re old enough to be a dad, a grand dad even... if you’d started young enough”  
“I never really thought about kids. Or... thought I’d find someone I wanted to date... My childhood wasn’t the best. I was that problem foster kid that didn’t want help or trust people easily...”  
“Are you glad you met me?”  
“Yeah. I can’t believe how much of a dick I was”  
“You did take it to a whole new level”

Keith’s stupidity had had to be seen to be believed. What kind of a moron claims to be turned when he’s the one who went and cut himself of Lance’s tooth to begin with?  
“I’m sorry, you were supposed to be an evil bloodsucker”  
“I can be evil... We vampires have egos. If we let our egos get out of check then we lose what makes us human. It’s not easy being dead”  
“I’ve gathered that much... Why don’t you like my blood?”  
They were back on this again? Why couldn’t Keith understand it wasn’t personal   
“It’s not about liking it. The first time I tasted your blood was like eating mouldy socks... I’ve always drunk from bags... I always felt better about drinking from bags. Like it’s more humane”  
“It’s not because there’s something wrong in there?”

Lance had the feeling feeding from Keith was going to be a fiasco all over again. He’d told him more than once he didn’t want to, yet Keith kept bringing it back up.

“Not anymore. You did let me feed when I was a bat. I haven’t thanked you for that”  
His tiny bat body had eaten its fill. Lance had hoped that the blood would turn him back   
“You’re much easier to understand when you’re a bat”  
“I thought you said you didn’t speak bat?”  
“I don’t... but you’re like a puppy. You’re soft and warm... and kind of funny when you’re angry”  
He was a fearsome vampire. If anyone was like a puppy, it was Keith. A barely housetrained puppy with eyes that got him every time  
“Puppy’s don’t have wings”  
“I said you’re like a puppy. I do know what a dog looks like”  
“Speaking of dogs, what are we going to tell Shiro? He’s turning up with Matt tomorrow”  
“I’ll talk to him. It’s not like we rushed into bed together”  
“I’m not ready for that, yet”  
“It’s fine. I think both of us aren’t ready for that yet...”  
“But my scent...”  
“We’ve held off this long...”  
“We weren’t dating... I don’t want my scent making you do something you don’t want to do”  
“Trust me when I say your scent makes me want to do all kind of things to you, but waiting is good too”  
“And what are going to tell Curtis?”  
“Nothing for now. We’re still working this out. He’d probably throw condoms and lube at us if we told him”  
That was highly likely. Being cursed really had to suck for Curtis  
“I don’t think he likes me”  
Keith snorted, Lance unamused that Keith found his upset funny  
“He said the same thing. I told him we’d have a movie night tonight so we could all hang out together”  
“Then you kidnapped me”  
“I prefer the term “borrowed”. You’re too uptight at home”  
“You’d be uptight too if you heard too much all the damn time”  
“And that has nothing to do with you spending most of your time worrying over the changes you’re going through?”  
“I spent 44 years as a man, now I’m apparently able to have kids on top of that. Who wouldn’t be freaked the fuck out? My swimmers are dead. I’m dead... it’s weird as fuck”  
“You have a half cursed man in your house. I don’t think things could get much weirder right about now”  
“Is it weird I want to see his tail? He said he had half a tail, so would it be like short or is it long but only half of it’s there?”  
“Don’t make me think... I don’t know. He’d probably show you if you ask”  
“I can’t just ask to see his tail. He thinks I hate him”  
“Maybe you could show him your teeth?”

Lance rolled his eyes mentally. Curtis was a hunter, he would have seen fangs before, but his idiot kind of boyfriend wasn’t known for having all his ducks in a row. Less than smoothly Keith tried to bring his hand up so pull Lance into a hug, the problem being it was the hand holding Lance’s. Keith’s IQ was rivalling a teaspoon right now, but the gesture was sweet enough for Lance to let go of Keith’s hand and wrap his arms around the hunter  
“You could ask. He likes you”  
“He likes you too. You just don’t know each other”  
“I suppose. I just wish every time we talked I didn’t feel like a science experiment. Next he’s going to have me eating bi-carb and chugging down vinegar”  
“Don’t forget that food colouring. Though, it wouldn’t be the first time you blew up”  
The joke was horrible and Keith should feel horrible  
“You have a really crappy sense of humour”  
“You can blame Shiro for that”  
“That seems like effort. How long are we going to sit here?”  
“As long as you want. I didn’t have much of a plan”  
“That’s so like you”  
“Hey, you were acting weird. That’s not on me”  
“You try developing a crush on a human. It’s a lot to deal with”  
“Try being a hunter who likes a vampire”  
“Touché. Okay. Okay. I’m okay now. We should head back home”  
“You sure?”  
Lance honestly just wanted to stay like this. Keith hadn’t even picked a romantic destination for this little heart to heart. They were parked out near the cemetery, which would have been the perfect place to hide his body, but... it was so him that it was ridiculous   
“Yeah. I wanna make sure my house is still standing”  
“Fair point. Buckle up, I’m not having the guy I’m kind of dating getting hurt while I’m driving”  
Lance’s butterflies fluttered at “kind of dating”. It wasn’t a yes, and it wasn’t a no, so he took it as a hopeful maybe.


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More idiots being idiots!!! Guys! Thank you for all your support! 💚💚

37

Shiro arrived mid-afternoon, as Keith drank his forth cup of coffee to settle his nerves. His brother wasn’t great at keeping time, yet Keith wished he could have managed it for a nice change. Lance had been nervy all morning. He’d cleaned through the house, Keith still in bed when Lance came to attack the spare bedroom. His boyfriend casually lifting the bed, balancing it on his shoulder, vacuuming under it and placing the bed down again in a manner of minutes like it was perfectly normally, and he hadn’t been in the bed trying to sleep after tossing and turning all damn night as he wished he had the courage to go crawl into bed with Lance.

Matt and Lance were off to a rough start. Both males had looked each other up and down. Lance calling Matt a “mutt” and Matt calling Lance a “corpse”. Vampires and werewolves occasionally coexisted, but these two seemed natural born enemies. Lance had explained the house rules, Matt had looked bored, even scoffing when Lance asked that he and his girlfriend not have sex all over his house, and if they could wait until everyone was asleep before they did. Keith wasn’t sure this work. He could tell Lance was seething, the wine glass in his hand barely holding together in his kind of boyfriend’s tight grip. Sitting around the kitchen table, Shiro was trying his hardest to defuse the situation before it became one. 

Smiling tightly, Shiro hand his hands wrapped around his coffee cup. His brother looked exhausted, as if he hadn’t slept the whole time he was away. It’d been months since Shiro had looked this bad. Keith wanted to send him to bed, but Shiro was kind of the lynchpin that brought everyone in the group together. If Shiro spoke, then both Lance and Matt would listen. Under the table Keith’s leg was against Lance’s trying to offer silent support as they couldn’t hold hands. Lance would freak if Keith even thought of trying   
“Now. I know this is hard for all of us, but I think we should try by reintroducing ourselves. Lance?”

Keith felt it unfair Lance had to go first. Shiro hadn’t even talked to him alone about what had happened while he’d been away. Keith didn’t have anything he could use to make Lance feel better about the current situation. Whatever Shiro said, they’d be finding out together.

“I’m Lance. This is my house. I’ve been dead for the last 36 years. I have a cat called Blue. Pidge and Hunk are my two best human friends”

Lance sounded as if he was standing in front of some anonymous meeting. Detached and nervous. More nervous than detached  
“Thanks for that, Lance. Keith?”  
Shiro really was insistent they go through the whole charade  
“Keith. Shiro’s brother. Apparently recently transferred to Platt. I like coffee”  
Shiro raised an eyebrow at him. His brother was lucky to get that much from him as it was. Yeah. He hasn’t forgotten being transferred with no say. Curtis didn’t need prompting as he explained   
“Curtis. I’ve been cursed for about 4 months now. Ex-hunter who now works for VOLTRON out of Platt. Lance’s personal assistant, and medical advisor”

Again, Shiro raised his eyebrow in silent judgment. If his brother liked to be too busy, he was going to miss everything happening  
“We’ll talk about that later. Matt?”  
Matt sighed, his expressions were so much like Pidge’s that it was easy to tell the two of them were siblings. Other than the height difference and the long scar on Matt’s cheek, Pidge could have easily passed as him  
“Matt. Werewolf”  
Shiro closed his eyes, Keith nearly able to hear his brother counting to ten before he opened his eyes again  
“Look. Neither of you might be happy initially, but we all need to be on the same team here”  
Matt huffed, even his attitude was like Pidge’s  
“Fine. Matt. Werewolf. I was accidentally by my girlfriend Rieva. Pidge’s older brother. I’ve got all the attributes including the sense of smell. Lance smells like a virgin in heat”  
“It’s better than stinking off wet dog that rolled in something dead”  
“Hey...”  
Shiro pushed his seat back, rising to his feet as he slammed his hands on the table. Whelp. They’d gone and done it now   
“Enough. You’re acting like children. This is Lance’s house, so as long as you’re living here, you’ll show him some respect. Lance, Matt and Rieva are you’re guests. I know you’ve been ill, but you need to keep your ego in check. You both need to keep your egos under control. Keith and I will be moving back to Platt Monday week. The both of your are under our care until you’re proven to be a direct threat to human lives. Especially you, Matt. Lance has a long track record of not harming humans. You, on the other hand, injured two of the Blade’s werewolves. I can’t keep you safe if you slip again”

Matt sighed again. Keith wanted to punch him in the face. Sure, there were a huge array of sounds that the word “sigh” covered, but Matt kept using the same one   
“I’m sorry. You’re right. We’re both having issues with our egos”  
Keith looked to Lance who gave a tiny nod, Lance didn’t want to be standoffish, especially not to the brother of his best friend  
“I’m sorry to. My senses have been pretty whack lately. That’s why Curtis is here, he was sent by Coran to make sure I don’t up and die... again”  
“Alright. Good. Now, I was thinking maybe we’d all get along better if we all knew how each other turned”

Lance immediately paled, Keith had seen how hard it was for the vampire to explain the incident   
“Lance got attacked by two vampires when he was 8”  
Matt let out a whistle   
“Damn, man. They got you young. Rieva tried to hide she was a werewolf. We met on the same tour in Greece, then again a few days later in Paris. I took it as a sign, she kept trying to push me away, that was 10 months ago. She accidentally bit me 9 months ago... got this scar at the same time”  
Rieva nodded. The woman was pretty in her own way. Tanned enough to for her skin to be a deeper shade of brown than Lance’s with long black hair and green eyes  
“I never meant to hurt him. I turned at the full moon and escaped for the night. Matt came after me...”  
“And I’m glad I did”  
Ugh. So they were one of those disgustingly loved up couples.

Across the table Curtis cleared his throat  
“I was cursed. I’ve got half a horn, and half a tail. I was supposed to infiltrate a werewolf pack in Prague, but they seemed to already know I was hunter. They were trying to summon the spirit of a berserker using magic, only I’m not a werewolf and the spell went wrong. I wasn’t permitted to stay in Rome, they didn’t take too kindly to me being cursed. Coran offered to take me, so I’ve been working in Platt looking into the curses effects in his laboratory. So far it seems to affect the things I say. Coran feels they summoned part of a lesser demon instead of a beast spirit, and part of its soul has bonded with my quintessence. Lance has been through a lot, and Coran thought we may be able to help each other. His fae magic had no effect on the curse. Of course, without the original spell working backwards has been hard. And it hasn’t been that great, but I’m happy to be alive. Especially now Shiro’s returned”

It was Keith’s turn to raise an eyebrow at his brother. Curtis had no filter and that sounded suspiciously like his brother had been keeping secrets about his love life. Either that, or Curtis simply meant he was happy to see his friend and hadn’t meant it the way he sounded. Just because he’d snagged himself a boyfriend, didn’t mean everyone was suddenly in love and dating. Shiro was still mourning Adam. They’d intended to marry and everything that came with it. It wasn’t fair... what had happened. Since meeting Lance, Keith had kind of felt like maybe he was better place himself, forced to work through feelings because there wasn’t a whole lot things to do in Garrison. Not that he was going to tell Shiro this. His brother had abandoned him and he figured he could milk that for a little longer.

“That’s rough. Most werewolves I’ve met have been all about the muscles and not the sharpest tools in the shed. They really shouldn’t be messing with that stuff. Not that vampires are any better. Who the fuck takes a human as a pet?”  
Curtis nodded at Lance’s words, Matt didn’t look terribly pleased but by now he’d probably had his fair of share of scrapes with werewolves. Shiro simply smiled like he’d solved everything with one conversation. He definitely hadn’t. 

“How’s Pidge doing?”  
The glass in Lance’s hand finally broke. Lance shoving Keith when Keith automatically went to start picking up the pieces   
“Idiot. You can’t touch the blood. I am not having you think I’ve turned you again”  
Reprimanded by his boyfriend, Keith crossed his arms. Lance was super protective of Pidge, he’d have had months of Pidge upset because Matt wasn’t messaging her back   
“I wasn’t thinking”  
“That’s obvious. Don’t touch it while I get a cloth”

Matt watched as Lance cleaned up the mess, placing the glass in the sink to rinse the blood off of it  
“I asked you how my sister is”  
Keith almost felt sorry for Matt. A cranky Lance was a scary thing  
“How do you think she is? I know you were staying away to do the right thing by your family, but you really fucking hurt her by not replying. She pretty much worships you, and you weren’t replying. She’s fine physically. Still hunting ghosts and making videos. Still wanting to do dumb things like she’s isn’t a human. Her and Hunk are still as tight as always. Hunk’s got a girlfriend now, Shay. She’s just like him, they’re so sweet together. They’ve got no idea about this world. I’ve never told her and I’ve done my best to make sure she never finds out”

Matt looked upset, hopefully with his actions   
“You wouldn’t understand... I wasn’t going to come back...”  
Keith groaned mentally, why would Matt go there? Lance understood too well what a bite did to a family  
“I wouldn’t understand? Please tell me how I don’t know how being turned can ruin your family? How you’re scared of what you are and you don’t understand? I have no idea at all. We both know if Pidge knew, she’d want the bite. She’d want to be part of this world. Heck, I think she’s so interested in the paranormal because she wants to feel close to you again. Rieva, please don’t think I’m having a go at you. I know accidental turns happen, and how scared you must have been to turn Matt. I’ve put you and Matt in the room Keith and Shiro were using, the guest bathroom is near your room. It’s the downstairs spare room. Shiro, I’ll bunk you Curtis and Keith. I’ll have to find a spare bed, or one of you can sleep in the living room. Normally I don’t have a full house to worry about. My office is off limits. I work as a lawyer so I’d rather keep my clients information confidential. If I have to talk to a client, I’ll try warn you ahead of time. If you want to train, do it out on the back lawn, and don’t kill my garden. Also, Curtis and Keith aren’t allowed near the toaster without supervision... And maybe don’t touch Keith’s coffee, he’d likely to stab you for trying. He revivals Pidge with his need for caffeine. I’m going to double check the bedroom upstairs”

Lance had barely left the kitchen before Keith was pushing his chair back. Shiro cocking his head as he watched   
“Where are you going?”  
“To check on Lance. He’s obviously upset”  
“When did become so perceptive?”  
“When you went disappeared for weeks. Pidge is like a sister to Lance. Everything dangerous she wants to do he always checks it out first to make sure doesn’t get hurt. He’s been looking out for her, even when it puts him in danger. He collapsed a mine shaft so Pidge wouldn’t be hurt... Don’t listen to our conversation”

Yeah, Keith wasn’t be fair. He’d basically tattooed “I’m not okay with this situation across his forehead”. Shiro would make him apologise later, but for now he wanted to check on Lance. He’d gone from having Hunk and Pidge staying over to 6 people kind of living with him. Keith was already at his people limit before everyone came back. He’d missed Shiro, but he wasn’t sure he was keen on Matt. He wasn’t about to shoot him, but family was a complicated thing that Lance had had such a hard time with. Heading upstairs he headed straight for Lance’s bedroom, knowing he’d find him there.

*  
Knocking gently on Lance’s door, he found Lance sitting on the side of his bed like he liked to do when he was thinking  
“I didn’t handle that very well”  
Keith sighed as he walked over to the bed, before sitting down next to Lance and taking his hand   
“I think I handled that even worse”  
“I heard. It’s just... my body is being weird again. I’m not used to the scent of werewolves and it’s making everything all yuck. I’ll get over it, but I shouldn’t have been so short with Matt”  
“You were worried about Pidge. You’re allowed to worry about your friends”

Lance dropped his head to rest of Keith’s shoulder  
“Still. I made a horrible first impression”  
“If Matt is anything like Pidge, you’ll be fine once it settles down a bit”  
“I feel like I’m lying to her by not letting her know he’s here and that he’s okay”  
“Nah. Think of it like a surprise. Besides, you’re not intentionally hurting her by not telling her right away”  
“Still feels like I am. How are you? You must be happy Shiro’s back”  
“I’m relieved. I’m still mad at him though. I get why he had to keep quiet until things were organised”  
“You two will work things out. You should be downstairs with everyone else...”  
“I’m fine here. I wanted to make sure you’re okay. How’s the hand?”  
“Healed up. I must have looked so lame breaking the glass”  
“You didn’t meant to”  
“It still happened. I know Pidge is human and close ties are dangerous but I don’t want to see her hurt”  
“I know you don’t. It’s one of the things I like about you”  
“It’s not my great arse and award winning personality?”  
Lance tried to joke but it sounded flat. Keith didn’t like it. Lance was being too hard on himself for caring   
“Those too. So, what are we going to do about bedding? I don’t mind sleeping on the couch”  
“If anyone should be sleeping on the couch, it should be me. I knew I didn’t have enough beds, but I don’t know what to do about that”  
“I can sleep on the couch. I’ve slept on way worse”  
“Mami would have a fit if I made a guest sleep on the couch”  
“Then how about we share a bed?”

Keith didn’t mean it to sound as forward as it did. But Lance’s bed would easily fit both of them, and there was only one bed left. Not that he actually minded the couch. There would be plenty of space for him  
“I don’t know... wouldn’t that make things awkward with Shiro?”  
“Like you said, I need to talk to him anyway”  
“I get nightmares...”  
“So do I”  
“But you’re not a vampire. I could seriously hurt you”  
“Or, it could be fine. Why don’t we just try it for the night and think about things tomorrow?”  
“Yeah. Maybe. I turned the forth room into my office... maybe I could sleep there?”  
“Lance, it’s your house. You shouldn’t be kicked out your own bed for doing a nice thing and giving Rieva and Matt a place to call home”  
“I can’t imagine what the two of them went through. I really hope they don’t hate me”  
“Like you said, it’s an ego thing. You can’t control that, but if anyone can bring their ego under control, it’s you”

Lance let out a small snort. Keith taking the win  
“See, you know I’m right. You’re overthinking things”  
“Only because I’m rubbish at hosting people”  
“Nah, I’m still here, aren’t I?  
“Only because you’re stubborn”  
“I’m as stubborn as you are. Seriously though, you’re fine. Things’ll settle down”  
“I’m worried about going into heat. I have I idea how to explain that”  
“You don’t have to, unless you want to”  
“I’m not going to have much choice if I turn into a bat”  
“We can talk to Shiro together. Or I can tell him. I don’t want you feeling uncomfortable”  
“You’re the one I’m worried about. I don’t want you and Shiro to end up fighting because of me”  
That was so Lance  
“Even if we fight, we’re brothers at the end of the day”  
“That must be nice. Mami is the glue that keeps my family together. I miss her”

For someone older than him, Lance was sweet for still caring for his mum the way he did. If it wasn’t for the fact they had three new arrivals, Keith would suggest a trip up to Platt  
“Why don’t you call her?”  
“She’d known something’s up. She’s got enough to worry about”  
“She loves you. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind. But I get if you don’t want to call her. Can I do anything?”  
“You already are. You should go talk to Shiro. I might take a nap and calm down”  
Lance took too much on his shoulders. Keith didn’t want to leave him alone when he was feeling down  
“I can stay...”  
“Nah. I’ll Be okay. You go make up with Shiro. It’ll make me feel better”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yeah. Thanks for coming to check on me”  
“I’ve got your back”  
“I know... if I’m not awake in hour or so, come poke me with a stick”  
Keith found himself kissing the top of Lance’s head, before replying   
“Will do. I’ll find the biggest stick I can”  
“Why do I feel like you’re actually going to find a stick now?”  
“Because I am. Now let’s get you tucked in. Can’t have you sleeping on top of the covers”  
“I’m not a little kid”  
“You could be”  
“Fight me”

Keith laughed. He deserved that one  
“After the old man gets his sleep. I’ll sort things out with Shiro, so stop worrying about it so much”  
“I can’t help it. I care about you”  
Keith kissed the top of Lance’s head again. Shiro was going to be confused as fuck when he finally explained what was going on between him and Lance. Hopefully his brother would be more distracted by what was happening with his heart that his newly discovered love life  
“I care about you too. It’s going to be okay”


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As if I wouldn’t post on our boy’s birthday!
> 
> Now, before ya’ll hate on shifty Shiro, he’s got a lot going on and doesn’t travel well

38

Heading back downstairs, Shiro was leaning against the wall at the foot at the stairs. Keith had intended to head back to the kitchen, try to keeps his temper then find an opening, apparently that wasn’t going to happen   
“Want to tell me what that was?”  
“Lance was upset. I was checking on a friend”  
“Alright. I get it, you’re mad at me. I thought we could talk”  
“By ambushing me?”  
“By waiting for you. Look, I know I was gone for the better part of a month, and I’m sorry it took that long”  
“You left me here”  
“And you seem fine. You’ve even befriended Lance”  
“He’s not... he isn’t like normal vampires”  
“We already knew that. So can we talk? Or are you still mad at me”  
“Both. Where’s everyone else?”  
“Curtis is with Matt and Rieva. They wanted to take a walk outside after all the travelling we’ve done”  
“Then we’ll go to the living room”

Despite the space, Shiro sat right next to him on the couch. The hunter didn’t like being mad at Shiro, but his emotions had the better of him. Shiro knew that as well as he did  
“Soooo...?”  
Keith closed his eyes, feeling like this was going to be a long conversation   
“You transferred us”  
Opening his eyes, Keith didn’t know what to do with his hands. He kind of hoped Blue would come flying from nowhere and land on his lap to give him something to keep him preoccupied  
“Ah. Yeah. It was one of the conditions of Matt’s and Rieva’s release. We’ve got a meeting with Coran on Sunday, and he’s going to find us an apartment in Platt”  
“So it’s all decided then”  
“You sound like you want to stay here. Are you and Lance that close?”  
“He’s not intolerable... He’s actually... He’s actually pretty fun to hang out with”  
“So leaving you here wasn’t all doom and gloom?”  
“No. But... it’s complicated”  
“Tell me about it”  
“I will if you tell me where you’ve been”  
“You know the Blades. Meeting after meeting, then waiting on their decisions. Coran’s done such a good job with his management of the area that they were willing to have him vouch for both Matt and Rieva on the condition we deal with a vampire problem emerging in Platt”  
“There’s always something. What about Lance? What’s the verdict on him?”  
“Provided he continues check-in’s with Coran and continues to drink blood bags, they’ll monitor him for the next six months. Shouldn’t be a problem”

That was easy for Shiro to say. Keith was the one who had to tell Lance that there’d be an invisible collar around his neck  
“Great”  
Shiro bumped his shoulder against Keith’s  
“Keith. What happened with you? I don’t know what it is, but something seems different about you?”  
“A good different? Or a bad different?”  
Keith didn’t like the word “different”. When people told him he was different it was usually followed by him being left behind  
“Good. You seem more relaxed. The house seems to be standing too, and you seemed concerned about Lance”  
“Lance is always tense. He hasn’t been well, so he’s got a lot on his mind and he feels bad about before... but... He’s a good person”

Shiro leaned back against the couch cushions, eyebrow raised  
“He’s a vampire. You were certain he did something to you”  
Aaaaaand he regretted what he’d done. Past him was a very stupid man   
“I’m not saying he didn’t . He didn’t turn me. Coran said he didn’t. I’m human... but... I... I’m having problems with my heart. Lance is worried about it. I guess I am too... He wanted to make sure we talked”  
Shiro’s grey eyes widened at him, expression clouding with worry  
“What do you mean something’s wrong with you heart? Why didn’t you tell me? Does Coran know? Have you gone for a physical?”  
“I was...”  
“This is your health! What have you been doing here this whole time? How could you ignore your health?!”  
There’s been a lot going on... and it wasn’t like he’d died  
“Because I wasn’t the only one with something going on. Lance has been sick. It’s not like I can just go to a doctor. You need to calm down. I can’t talk to you when you’re being like this”

Shiro got to his feet, Keith knew he was about to start pacing. He was bad before Adam’s death, but now he was ridiculous. He’d pace himself into a hole if left alone   
“You should have told me”  
Shiro started the dreaded pace, one arm across his stomach as his hand went up to pinch the bridged of his nose  
“I’ve been fine... it’s annoying but I’m okay. Besides, how could I tell you when I have no idea what you were doing”  
“I was taking care of things”  
“You left me here! I thought I was turning and you left me here”  
“I had to help Matt...”  
“You up and left. Lance has been sick. He’s been sick and he’s been struggling. He’s the one turning! And he’s not okay. You have no idea how hard he’s trying to be okay!”  
Shiro paused mid-pace  
“What are you talking about? Why are you so concerned about him?”  
“We got close. While you were gone. I like him”  
“What’s that got to with things? We’re talking about you”

Shiro had left him with Lance. The pair of them had seemed friendly enough before Shiro left. Shiro had to have some kind of feeling he could trust Lance to leave him in his care... Not that he wasn’t old enough to care for himself. He didn’t want to talk about his heart or the vampire who’d weaselled into his heart. He’d let Shiro lead the conversation away from their sudden move and transfer  
“I mean, I like him. He’s helped me with a lot of things he didn’t need to. And... we got closer. Heaps closer. He even got me a new camera so I’d have something to do. And clothes. Oh, and he lets me choose my coffee and buys lactose free milk because of me”  
“I’m not seeing how what’s going on with him as affected you so much, to the point you didn’t call me to tell me that you’ve been having problems with your heart”

Of course he didn’t. He didn’t want to hear anything that was more important than the issues he was having  
“Coran says we have compatible quintessence. My blood... my blood changed him. I was the first human he drank from, or he would have presented earlier... Coran says he a “breeder””  
“What’s that?”  
“It means Lance isn’t safe. He’s a target for vampires and werewolves if this gets out. He can have children”  
“Keith, he’s male. He can father children”  
His brother was fucking dense  
“Lance has the bits to grow a child, because of my blood. He can fall pregnant”

Shiro looked ready to have a stroke on the spot. He was pissed  
“That’s not funny”  
“I’m not joking. He’s been sick because his body has been growing the parts he needs to carry, like a womb and shit. His body isn’t stable right now. He keeps getting random flushes of what he’s calling heat, like a werewolf. It’s also why he keeps randomly turning into a bat when his emotions get too much. So yeah, we’ve been dealing with a lot since you left”  
“How does this relate to you not telling me about your heart?”  
“Because it doesn’t happen all the time. I’ve been fine training and living here. I’m going to sleeping in his room tonight”  
“Absolutely not. Not if you’re sick”  
“I’m not sick! My heart just keeps racing for no reason, or it get all warm in my chest. It mostly happens when Lance is around, so we’ve both been monitoring it”

Shiro threw himself down next to him. His brother looking serious  
“Tell me more. What does it feel like?”  
“I don’t know. Sometimes it’s racing, or sometimes it gives this weird beat, and sometimes my chest feels tight when it’s racing... like I said, it mostly happens when Lance is around for no reason”  
“When Lance says something or does something?”  
“I don’t know, maybe. Like when he laughs or smiles...”  
Keith’s chest was starting to feel kind of tight thinking about Lance... He had this annoying way of laughing with his whole body when he laughed, that wasn’t annoying at all even if it should be  
Shiro let out a deep breath  
“Don’t do that to me. Do you know how worried you had me?”  
“What are you talking about?”  
“Your heart was racing, right then. When you were thinking about Lance?”  
“How did you know?”  
He couldn’t stop his stupid heart from being stupid for no good reason   
“You have a crush”  
“What do you mean I have a crush? It’s been happening for weeks”  
Keith would know it was a crush! He’d know! He’d know... He’d... know...  
“We can’t be sure. We’ll have Coran run tests in Platt, but what you’re describing sounds a lot like you’ve got a crush on Lance. Your heart racing and skipping a beat when he smiles. I bet you didn’t even realise you had feelings like that”  
“I’ve kissed people, you know”  
“Kissing is easy. Love, not so much. I definitely don’t think it’s wise for you to share a bed with Lance”  
“Why not?”  
“Because you have a crush on him. It’ll leading to feelings and you’ll do something stupid like ask him out”  
Keith frowned   
“What’s so stupid about that?”  
“Well, think about it. How would it work between a vampire and a human? For one, he doesn’t grow old like we do. And now you say he’s a breeder... someone who’s in danger. No. It’s better you put some distance between you and him”  
“And what if we were already dating?”

Shiro laughed. He laughed so hard Keith wanted to kick him in the face  
“What’s so funny?”  
“I left you with him for a month. You can’t possibly be dating so fast. You didn’t even realise you had a crush on him”  
Keith went bright red. It wasn’t his fault. He didn’t go around asking for random crushes to attack him with physical symptoms   
“Things change. I’ve changed...”  
“You’re a human. You’re my kid brother and you’ll always be my kid brother, all it takes is a glance around this place to see you two live in totally different worlds”  
“Yeah. Well, I like him”  
“We were sent to kill him”  
“By his brother”

That sobered Shiro’s laughter right up. Keith secretly enjoying knowing Shiro was now kicking himself hard. It was his brother’s fault for failing to listen to him properly. He’d tried to tell Shiro he really, really, really liked Lance without smothering him with information or making himself seem stupider   
“What?”  
“His brother. He’s the one who put the job in. He’s paranoid Lance is going to hurt their mother”  
“His own brother... That’s... that’s not right”  
“Nope. He won’t even do anything about it. I never thought I’d be friends with a vampire, but he’s a good man”  
“You’ve said that more than once now. Are you really that close?”  
“Yeah... He’s my friend. He hasn’t hurt me. Even when I thought I was turning, he didn’t physically hurt me to prove it. Coran said that fresh blood would help take away his pain, but he won’t drink me from because he doesn’t want to hurt me. He collapsed a mineshaft to protect Pidge...”  
“He did what?”  
“Pidge found a map of the old mine entrance... so we broke in...”  
Shiro sighed in disappointment before scolding him  
“Keith! What were you thinking?!”  
Keith huffed. He’d been fine. Lance had done the hard work. Plus, they’d found that cool cavern  
“Lance went first. He didn’t want me to come down...”  
“He should have stopped you”  
“He was underground... it was kind of cool down there... And I met his mum... He’s the least vampire vampire I’ve ever met”  
“He’s still dangerous”  
“He’s not going to put me in harm. If anything, he’s fucking paranoid about hurting anyone”  
He was getting angrier by the second   
“Keith, I’m not trying to dismiss your feelings, but dating Lance isn’t safe for either of you. If he really is a breeder, what do you think the order will do to him?”  
“You’re going to report him?”  
“No. I owe him for giving you a place to stay, and for taking Matt, and Rieva, in. But you have to understand how it would look”  
“I like him”  
“I know kiddo, but one day you’ll meet someone and you’ll know. Even if it takes months, you’ll find someone”

Telling Shiro wasn’t going to be an option. Not until his brother destressed enough to be rational  
“Whatever. I’m still mad at you. How did bringing Matt here take nearly a month?”  
“You know there’s a process to these things”  
“And I know the Blades precious Champion means you have sway. Did you at least ensure that pack in Prague was gone for good?”  
“Krolia saw to it. She asked after you”  
“So?”  
“So, maybe you should reach out to her”  
“She’s made it clear to her job comes first”  
“She still loves you. You know she always enquires about your missions”  
“Yeah, because she’s making sure her precious legacy hasn’t ruined her name”  
“That’s not it, and you know it”  
“Shiro, fucking drop it. You’re impossible to talk to when you get like this. Go take a damn nap, and stop being so sangry”  
“Sangry?”  
“Scranky. Scangry. Sangry. Whatever being cranky is because you’re sleepy”  
“I wasn’t aware I was”  
“Now you know. I missed you, you arsehole”  
“I missed you too, kiddo. It won’t be much longer and we’ll have our place again”  
“I can’t fucking wait to hear your snoring again”

Oh let him count the ways he missed sleepless nights and wondering he should just smother Shiro with a pillow so he’d manage a few hours sleep before his morning coffee. Shiro laughed it off  
“I prefer to think of it as breathing loudly to remind you I’m still alive”  
Keith rolled his eyes. He’d kill Shiro himself if his brother thought of leaving him permanently   
“There’s breathing and there’s sounding like a freight train mid accident”  
“You wound me. Here I was, thinking you were doing better”  
“I was until you went into douche mode because you haven’t had your nap”  
“Aww, so you do care about me”  
Keith kicked Shiro’s leg the best he could  
“Your my brother, I don’t not care about you. I’m just angry you made all the decisions and you won’t even listen about Lance”  
“That’s because what you’re saying shouldn’t be possible”  
“Shouldn’t be, but it is. Just like Curtis shouldn’t be alive, but somehow you neglected to tell me that he is”  
Shiro cleared his throat, after making a strange cough like he’d choked on air  
“Yes, well... I’m as relieved as you are that he seems to be doing well. I might take that nap”

Fucking sprung right there. Shiro seemed guilty as hell and if his brother was dating Curtis then he had no right to talk about him dating Lance. He was going to find out what was going on between the pair of them, but first he had a stick to find.


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These two are total losers. And Keith... my poor boy

39

Armed with fair sized stick, Keith headed upstairs to Lance’s room, hoping the stick would cheer his kind of boyfriend up. Letting himself back into Lance’s room, the sweet smell of Lance’s arousal smacked him in the face. The vampire had shed the blanket covering him, soft puffy pants falling from his lips as he slept. The idiot had worried himself so much that he’d brought a wave of heat on himself. Carrying the stick over to Lance’s bed, Keith propped it up against the nightstand before climbing onto the bed, Lance’s features pinched with pain. These heat things were no joke. Lance had tried to cover the best he could, when clearly he’d been in agony with each wave. He really should let Lance sleep it off, but he felt the need to try to help. 

“Lance?”  
Gently shaking Lance’s shoulder, dazed blue eyes opened slowly with a groan   
“Keith?”  
“I didn’t want to wake you, but you’re in pain”  
“Hot...”  
“I know. You worried yourself into heat”  
Keith didn’t like the word “heat” Lance wasn’t a werewolf or animal, but neither of them had another name for it. Rolling on his side, Lance wrapped his arms around his stomach  
“Hurts”  
“I know... I know. How can I help?”  
“It’ll... pass... just need to let it pass?”  
And how much pain would Lance be in if he did?   
“Can I stay? What do you need?”  
“To be pinned down to the bed and fucked senseless”  
Lance looked mortified, too out of it to keep coherent   
“I’m not taking advantage of you when you’re like this”

It was hard not to. Lance’s scent had already gone straight to Keith’s crotch. He felt dizzy and high, like he really wanted to throw respect out the window and do just what Lance had said  
“I’m sorry... can you... can you go? I... don’t want to hurt you”  
Going wasn’t happening   
“I’m not letting you suffer through this. Let me help you”  
“I don’t want to hurt you, Keith”  
Shit. Lance’s blue eyes flooded with tears, his bottom lip quivering as he sniffled  
“You won’t. I’m staying here, with you, until this passes”

Moving to lay down facing his boyfriend, fuck Shiro, Keith held his arm out until Lance slowly curled into his hold. The vampire shaking as he kissed Lance’s sweaty hair  
“Now, tell me what you actually need”  
“It’s... embarrassing...”  
“You need to come, don’t you?”  
Lance groaned at him, Keith supposed he could have phrased it a bit better. Lance liked romance, he knew that from the vampires watch history   
“I don’t know... maybe... it’s stronger than it was...”  
“Let me get you off”  
“What?”  
“I don’t mean sex... we’re taking it slowly, but we can see if getting off helps”  
“No... no... I’m not going to rush you...”  
“I’m offering. Besides, how can I not help my boyfriend?”  
“You... told Shiro?”  
“Not yet... but I told him I like you. And I do”  
“But...”  
“If you don’t want me to, I won’t”  
“I... should... be asking... ow... fucking ow...”  
Lance whimpered, Keith’s heart hurting over how his boyfriend was hurting  
“Lance, it’s okay. Neither of us know what we’re doing, but we’ll work it... right now, I want to touch you as much as you want to touch me”  
“What if I lose control?”  
Then he’d deal with it. He could afford to lose a little bit of blood, plus he was sure Lance wouldn’t hurt him intentionally   
“You won’t. I know you won’t... lay back for me?”  
Squeezing his eyes closed, Lance nodded his consent  
“Just... not...”  
“No sex. Just touching”  
“Okay...”

Lance was shy about spreading his legs. Keith finding it kind of sweet how hard Lance was blushing before he’d even gotten his boyfriend’s pants undone. Shiro had told him not to do this, but his brother didn’t understand how being with Lance felt. He hadn’t seen what Lance was going through. He didn’t understand how hard he’d been trying to work out his feelings for Lance before Lance wound up confessing to him. He liked Lance. He wanted to be with him, or at least see where this thing between them went. That didn’t mean he wasn’t scared or nervous as fuck as his heart raced. And he knew he was probably going backwards about this whole thing when they’d barely kissed and now they were jumping to making out. Freed of his jeans, Lance was trying to hide his crotch, legs shaking as he stared up at Keith with those big blue eyes. The real Lance was so much better than a dream. The smell coming from him was stirring up inside. Unbuttoning his jeans, Keith shimmied them down, Lance blushing harder as he stared at Keith’s dick  
“See something you like?”  
Lance blinked at him, before nodding. Neither of them really knew what they were doing, being sober with someone he actually liked made this a whole new experience all over again   
“Can I kiss you?”  
Again, Lance nodded. He wasn’t one to find a lot of things cute, but Lance was being kind of cute.

Lance was hesitant with the kiss, Keith could feel how hard he was trying to restrain himself. The vampire’s teeth nicked his bottom lip, Lance immediately pulling back   
“I’m sorry...”  
Keith didn’t want to hear it. These things happened. Capturing Lance’s lips again, he tried to guide Lance, to show him that a little bit of blood was okay. Whether it was the blood or the fact Keith was still kissing him, Lance finally let him deepen the kiss. Rocking his body against the vampire’s, Lance moaned, throwing his head back as he did. Smirking to himself Keith rolled his hips again, drawing a more descriptive moan  
“Shiiiiit...”  
“Feel good?”  
“Mhmm... kiss me again...”

Lance really seemed to like kissing him. And other than the blood, Keith seemed to also really like kissing his boyfriend back. Awkward fumbling kisses turned to Keith jerking them both off as Lance swapped to moaning in Spanish. Pent up from weeks of nearly, and foggy minded on Lance’s scent, the pair of them came so fast that Keith would have been embarrassed if it hadn’t happened with Lance. Lance covering his mouth as his fangs extended, Keith kissing his hand before flopping to lay on his side by his boyfriend  
“Fuck...”  
He felt like he’d come hard enough to fill Lance had he been in him, and now all Keith wanted to do was cuddle with Lance, who still had his fangs covered  
“... I don’t mind your teeth”  
Lance stared at him like he’d grown an extra head. Keith supposed he’d gone straight from bliss to over thinking things  
“Seriously, you don’t need to hide them”  
“They came out...”  
“I already know you’re a vampire. You don’t have to hide them”  
“But...”  
Snaking his arm around Lance’s waist, Keith ignored the mess across Lance’s stomach and chest. The both had enough to trauma to sink a ship, and it’d take a lot of reassurances on both their parts to work through it together  
“Nope. Don’t hide them...”

Lowering his hand, Lance’s fangs looked every bit as dangerous as they were. A shiver of fear ran through him, but at the same time, he knew Lance wasn’t about to tear his throat out with them  
“They’re ugly”  
“They’re fine. I know you’re not about to bite me”  
“How can you be so sure?”  
“Because I just gave you a great orgasm”  
Lance finally smiled at him, wriggling closer to Keith   
“It was pretty good”  
“I know... I’m fucked”  
Lance snorted at him, before his expression fell. His teeth piercing his bottom lip, Keith now not able to kiss him which was kind of annoying  
“Not yet... but the cramping’s easing... I... hope I... I wasn’t...”  
“You’re fine... we’re fine... you didn’t do anything wrong”  
“I didn’t know what to do”  
“Neither did I...”  
Lance sighed at him  
“I don’t know whether that makes me feel better or not”  
“We both know we’re inexperienced in things like this”  
Lance’s body temperature was starting to drop again, Keith realising that was another thing Lance would probably be self conscious over   
“I didn’t want to be bad”  
“You weren’t... fuck, do you reckon they’ll miss us if we stay like this?”  
“I reckon Shiro might murder me...”  
“He’ll be fine when he’s had a nap. He was all sangry”  
Lance raised an eyebrow at him  
“Sangry?”  
“Sleepy angry”

That was what finally got Lance smiling again, Keith feeling his still racing heart gave that familiar funny beat   
“You’re starting to sound like me”  
“I know. Shiro had no idea what I meant”  
“We should talk about him. He wasn’t keen on us being close, was he?”  
“No, but that’s because he’s overprotective. He did help me out... apparently all these things going on with my heart are because I have crush on you”  
“Did you tell him how long it’s been happening?”  
“Yeah... I tried to tell him I like you. He said it’s because I’ve never had a crush before”  
“He’s your brother, he only wants what’s best for you”  
“That and he’s a moody arsehole when he’s been travelling... we should clean up”

Talking about his brother while pantsless with his boyfriend was kind of weird... Keith’s arm was starting to feel crusty now, as were other places now. He hadn’t used Lance’s bathroom before, but he didn’t want to creep around the house naked with three other guests out there somewhere   
“Keith, if this is too much... If all that comes with me is too much, I’ll understand”  
“We’re not having that talk again. I want to see where this goes. I know it’s not going to be easy, but it’s what I want... He was talking about us moving out, and all I could think about about was staying here. Garrison’s backwards and small, and kind of creepy, but you’re here. So are Pidge and Hunk... Platt’s... ugh. Plus, I’m not looking forward to the traffic”  
“Oh, that’s right, you have a motorbike, don’t you?”  
“It’s not so bad on my bike, but Shiro says I have a horrible sense of direction. Are you trying to change the topic?”  
And everyone said he was clueless. He noticed that subtle topic change just fine  
“Maybe? Or, maybe I really can’t be bothered moving?”  
“Oh, my poor old man. Do I need to carry you?”  
“It’s not that... and stop calling me old, I’ve got enough complexes as it is... It’s selfish, but I want to have you to myself a little longer. I know I have to get up, get organised and make an attempt with everyone, but right now I just... I don’t want to feel like we fooled around and now it’s time to split because the fun bit is over”

Oh... that made sense. They had to play it cool around everyone else... Well, they didn’t have to, but until Shiro woke up from his nap, and his brother was prepared to listen, they’d have to be friends without the boyfriend bit...  
“I get it. You’re worried about everything that’ll happen once we leave your room”  
“Yeah. Kind of. Matt and Rieva are going to smell you all over me... I don’t know him, I don’t know her, and Shiro’s not happy with me as it is. I don’t know how to start making things up with Matt, and I’ve barely been able to let Curtis in as it is. We all have to live here together, I don’t want to be lying through my teeth, nor do I want to cause any trouble”  
“If you’re that worried, we can take a shower together. I’m already borrowing your clothes, and if they start asking questions I’ll say we sat on your bed and talked”  
“But we didn’t... we did other things. You shouldn’t have to lie because of me... I knew this would happen. This is why... I don’t let people in. I don’t know what to do. I’m used to living alone, keeping me to myself so no one got hurt. I’ve never dated, I don’t know how to date. I don’t want you lying to your brother and fucking things up there. I don’t want to hurt you”  
“Lance, you’re spiralling. We’re taking things slow, remember. Kissing and touching happens... I’ve never been sober and gone that far before... but it’s not like I’ve knocked you up so we’re suddenly having a shotgun wedding. We like each other, and after how long it took to work that out, I think I’m okay with taking things slow and without the complications of everyone’s opinions”  
“But Shiro is your brother”  
“Me dating you isn’t going to change that. I won’t let it change that. I’m old enough to know that for the first time in my life I want to see where this goes”  
“Secrets hurt, Keith. You know that, I know you do”  
Keith was starting to get angry  
“And what? We give up?”  
“I don’t know... I don’t know if we should have done that. Or if we only did that because my body is fucked up”  
“I kissed you because I wanted to”  
“Because I...”  
“You confessed to me”  
“I know”  
“So stop worrying about it so much. You’re going to turn back into a bat at this rate”  
“God. It’d be easier if I did... I could find myself a nice spot on the ceiling and hang out there until everything settled down”  
“You do know you’re completely useless as a bat. You couldn’t even walk straight”  
“Ha, jokes on you, apparently I’m not that straight as it is”

Keith had had enough of Lance dooming them before they’d given things a chance. Moving to sit up, he then crawled across the bed, before climbing off of it. Watching him with almost fearful eyes, Keith ignored the way Lance was looking at him as he walked around the bed and held his hand out   
“What?”  
“We’re going to take a shower, then you’re going to have something to eat while we figure out what we’re going to feed everyone”  
“We are?”  
“Yeah. And if you’ve got a problem with that, I’ll hit you with my stick”  
Lance looked to the bedside table  
“You actually went and got a stick?”  
“I sure did. I thought it might make you smile”  
“I don’t think I’ve ever found a stick so sweet before”  
“You don’t need to make a big deal over it. I just wanted to do something for you”

Raising his hands, Lance scrubbed at his face  
“I’m being stupid, aren’t I?”  
“Yeah. You’re deciding all these things without talking to me. I told you I want to help, so let me help”  
“I forgot how forceful you can be about getting your own way”  
“You can blame Shiro for that. Now, enough wallowing. I’ve never used your bathroom, so you’re going to have to show me where everything is”  
Taking his hand, Lance let himself be pull out of bed and to his feet, Keith using his momentum to pull him into a hug  
“Smooth move”  
“I know right. See, I met this guy who taught me all about how not to be smooth, and he doesn’t know it. He’s stubborn. He makes me talk and feel all these weird things. I’ve talked more in the last month than in the last decade. He hates himself so much that he’s worse than me. It makes me sad, because he’s pretty much the dorkiest person I’ve ever met and I thought we’d gotten closer. I really like him, and I’ve never liked anyone or wanted to let them close... He thinks I don’t get it, but I do. Because I’ve always felt I’m not worth people caring about me”  
“I gotta admit, when I met you, I kind of hoped you’d be hit by truck... but you’re like this secret softy... I hate that people hurt you”  
“It was a long time ago”  
And not long enough at the same time   
“That doesn’t matter. I like you enough to punch a truck if it tried to hit you”  
“I kind of want to see that”  
Would Lance be able to stop a truck? Would he be run over and flattened? Or, would he kind of bounce back up like one of those inflatable arm waving things?  
“No you don’t, the next punch would be right in the dick for making me worry”  
“Please don’t punch me in the dick”  
“I reserved the right to make the judgement after the fact”

Lance would punch him and they both knew he would... whether it be the dick or hopefully elsewhere, he was going to have to do his very best not to be hurt during a hunt. Vampires and werewolves could be arseholes, but a broken hearted angry Lance... Keith never wanted to see that first hand.


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m crying. I don’t deserve fans.
> 
> https://codingss.tumblr.com/post/632929496878759936/so-i-was-gonna-post-this-later-on-today-since-its
> 
> Codingss did another art piece for chapter 54! Please show some love!!
> 
> Domestic idiots 👌🏻

40

Lance was acting like a scatterbrain and he knew it. With Keith’s piercing purple eyes watching him, he felt so self conscious over his every move that he’d already klutzed up half a dozen times. They’d touched... more than touched. Keith had jerked them both off and now he couldn’t remember how to act like a human being. And Keith had skipped to calling him his boyfriend. Not his “maybe boyfriend” or his “kind of boyfriend”, but his boyfriend. His like they were together. Like they were a perfectly normal couple. A perfectly normal couple that’d fooled around... thanks to his body being stupid. Thankfully Keith didn’t speak Spanish, so had no idea what’d been babbling, but that didn’t mean Lance was about to forget begging Keith to make him come.

Slicing the potatoes, Keith sat on the kitchen counter watching on. Before Keith came along, there was a very strict no arses on his counters or tables. Lance didn’t know why he didn’t snap at Keith for it, but he couldn’t bring himself to send him to sit at the kitchen table. Lance was attempting to apologise by making a big dinner to celebrate everyone being there, and everyone knew the secret to the perfect roast potatoes was getting them into the oven an hour or so before the meat went in, once they were seasonsed and coated with oil. Using too much force, the wooden chopping board cracked under the slice. There didn’t seem to be much difference between applying too little, and too much, force. His senses going haywire, or maybe because he was so focused on Keith, he couldn’t regulate the amount of force to use   
“Something you want to say?”

Lance bit down a sigh at Keith’s question. He was looking lame all over again  
“Potatoes suck”  
“Are you sure it’s the potatoes?”  
“Fairly...”  
“You look flustered. Is your body, okay?”  
“It’s fine. I’m fine”  
“You broke the chopping board. I’m pretty sure you’re not fine”  
“It’s nothing. Just having a little trouble controlling my strength”  
“Do you want me to take over? I can do the vegetables while you check on your pasta dish?”

Hunk was usual cooking wingman. Keith had proven he wasn’t a great cook, but he didn’t want to hurt Keith’s feelings by implying he couldn’t do something as simple as slicing potatoes. He could start making the sides, and giving Keith a job meant not having his boyfriend watching him...  
“Yeah. Divide and conquer. I’ll start on the sides while you finish the potatoes. We’re probably going to need like half the bag, and then the pumpkin needs cutting up”

Sliding off the bench, Keith bumped him with his hip. Lance trying not to let himself spiral as he placed the knife down on the edge of the broken board  
“I’ve got this. You do what you need to”  
“Try not to make the pieces too big”  
“I make no guarantees”  
Dinner had to be perfect. At least as perfect as the night he’d had Shay over. He might not be the greatest people person, but serving a bad meal was like insulting his guests and he’d done enough of that  
“If they’re too big they won’t cook through”  
“I’ve been watching. I’ll just copy what you did”

Keith’s watching was what had been the problem. The hunter had led him to his bathroom where they’d kissed some more in the shower. Lance felt like that had been too fast, especially seeing Keith could be damn handsy in the shower. Dream Lance was like a sex god, real Lance had been lamer than a horse with a limp. He’d had no idea what to do, neither did Keith. Unfortunately if he was unlucky any future sex dream was now going to be as slow and awkward as he was upstairs... though he did have the memory of Keith above for the rest of his life... so that was nice   
“Right. Okay... okay. Sorry, I’m being a stress head”  
“Idiot crumpet. I think that’s the preferred term”  
Lance felt himself smiling like a dope. Talk about pathetic   
“You’re sounding more and more like me every day”  
Keith faked a sway  
“You wound me”

Lance felt himself crack, snorting with laughter. He knew Keith was trying to make him feel better and appreciated it, though he did wish he wasn’t so thinned skinned about things   
“And now you’re mocking me. Thanks for that”  
“You asked for it”  
Lance pouted. His nervousness was ebbing away now that things seemed to be okay between them... Keith wasn’t acting like he’d been awful in bed... He really was terrible at over thinking   
“You’re such a dick”  
“What’s that?”  
Huffing, Lance mumbled   
“You can suck my dick”  
Keith let out a laugh, Lance feeling all dopey again at the sound. Emotions were weird things. He’d gone from embarrassed to paranoid, paranoid to perking up, perking up to smiling, and smiling into a brainless dope  
“Maybe not right now in the middle of the kitchen with the house full, but I’ll keep it in mind”

Keith delivered the final blow. Lance leaning in to steal a kiss because fuck if Keith hadn’t made him feel a million times better  
“What was that for?”  
“Just wanted to. You better get cooking, Shiro’s going to be shocked you’re all domesticated”  
“I know. I’m cooking and cleaning, training with a real life vampire and I haven’t burned the house down...”  
“You did kill my toaster...”  
“You kill a toaster once and they never let you hear the end of it”  
“You didn’t stop Curtis from killing the second one”  
Keith groaned at him  
“I bought you a new one...”  
“You did, and it’s very nice. So I might forgive you after I get another months teasing out of it”  
“What do I have to do to end the teasing early?”  
“Cut the onions for the salad?”  
“Deal”  
What? No. Keith wasn’t supposed to give in so fast. Onions always had Lance in tears, Hunk had shown him how he was supposed to cut them avoiding the tears but it never seemed to work for him  
“Dammit! No one likes chopping onions”  
“It’s fine... Now shoo, you’re interrupting my potato cutting”

*  
Making dinner with someone was always more fun than cooking alone. Keith might be awful at cutting up potatoes, practically massacring them despite having said he’d been watching what Lance was doing. The results clearly said otherwise, but Lance kept his opinion to himself. Having been “forced” to help in the kitchen, Keith had grown pretty adapt to the way Lance liked things done. He’d really made vast improvements, which Lance hoped wouldn’t slip backwards once Keith moved out with Shiro. He’d told Keith he’d teach him about the undead once he’d learned enough to “human”, but it really seemed like he didn’t have that much to teach seeing he’d stayed on the outside of that world as much as possible. While Lance was happy that Keith would be back with his brother, he’d be sad to see Keith leave. Sure, the hunter still managed to get under his skin, but this last month had shown him how far determination could push a person when a little rivalry was sprinkled in. Keith was determined to do his best, even when he had no natural gifts. Everything the hunter had he’d fought for, and fought to learn. He may have been cold and aloof to start with, but Lance now kind of felt proud of how far Keith had come. Even if he was still terrible at dealing with groups of people.

Hearing footsteps, Lance braced himself for their little bubble to be burst. Keith might have only gotten mad trying to talk to Shiro, but the two of them were so close that Lance couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. That’s why Keith and Shiro making up was so important to him. He’d never forgive himself if the two brothers didn’t find a way back to what they were before they crashed his life. 

“Holy shit... Keith, are you cooking?”  
Pausing, Keith looked to Shiro, the man still looked wiped out  
“I was trying to before you interrupted”  
Lance felt his breath catch, not sure how to read what Keith had said, the feeling passing as Shiro laughed  
“I never thought I’d see the day”  
“Fuck you... I’ve cooked for you before”  
“I remember. I remember a certain cremated roast...”  
“That was then. Lance has been teaching me”  
“I hope that doesn’t mean you’ve been getting in the way”  
“Not even. Lance, back me up here. How many times have helped you cook dinner since Shiro left?”  
He didn’t want to be drawn into the brothers squabbling  
“Most nights...”  
“See! Lance even lets me use the big knives”  
“I can see that. Maybe leaving you here wasn’t such a bad thing after all”  
“Nope. Now sit down, you’ll only be in the way if you keep standing there”

Shiro sat at the kitchen table, Lance could feel his eyes on him as he scoured the outside of the cucumber in his hand. For some reason cucumber always tasted better when scoured with a fork  
“Other than cooking, anything else you two have been up to?”  
Lance’s mind went immediately to what had happened in the bedroom... Shiro was supposed to be sleeping... Had they been too noisy? Keith didn’t seem to share his worry  
“Just stuff. We went ghost hunting twice and down that old mineshaft... oh, and to Platt for a bit... but it’s been pretty quiet”  
“Have you kept up with your training?”  
“Lance has been helping. He’s much better to train with. Coran gave me some tips too”  
“Knowing you, you’ve spent more time training than doing anything else”

Lance knew it was being petty, but he didn’t like the feeling that Shiro was trying to imply something without spitting it out  
“Keith’s been a big help around here. He helps with all the housework, and Pidge and Hunk really like hanging out with him. Went to the movies, and the bar, plus he’s got his camera to keep him occupied. And, on top of everything, he’s been dependable given I’ve been sick”  
“You have a camera?”  
That’s what Shiro wanted to focus on?  
“Lance bought me one. We didn’t know how long you were gone for and I was supposed to be taking photos of the house, which I couldn’t do without a camera”  
“Sounds like you’ve been having a great time. Do you two want any help with dinner?”  
“Lance and I have got it. We make a good team”  
“You’re much closer than when I left you”  
“That’s because a lot’s happened since then. I told you I like him”  
“It’s great you’re making friends. Maybe Hunk and Pidge can visit us in Platt? You’d better make the most of this week. I want to get settled in Platt as soon as possible”  
Lance noted how he was left out the equation. Shiro might as well be spraying to mark his territory   
“You guys don’t have to rush off”  
“Well, technically you were a job and we will need to check in with you regularly for the next 6 months”

What? Why? He already checked in with Coran every three weeks or so, more so if you counted phone calls   
“Why?”  
“Just a follow up on the complaint. You being a breeder makes things more complicated”  
So Keith had told him all about that... it wasn’t a great feeling. He’d tried his hardest not to listen to the two siblings, but he could see why Keith had been angry  
“I check in with Coran regularly as it is. Plus, I have Curtis here to keep an eye on me”  
“Once things settle down, I’m sure that won’t be necessary. I had to pull a lot of strings to make sure Matt and Rieva could relocate here”  
“I’m getting the feeling you don’t like me very much, despite using my house like a hotel”

Shiro raised an eyebrow at him. Keith gave a kind of weird twitch like he wanted to reach for him but was scared of him at the same time  
“This is work related. It’s nothing personal. On a personal level I’m grateful to you for looking after Keith”  
“But?”  
“My brother comes first. Giving him a safe and stable home comes first, especially after I transferred us both to Platt without his permission”  
Shiro almost seemed like a different person. Lance supposed there was only so much good will that went with saving someone’s life  
“I get it. I’m kind of the enemy here. I suppose the sooner you get settled, the better for everyone. Keith, I’ll let you take over here. I’m going to get something to drink before dinner”


	41. Chapter 41

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently you have to do the talk to do the understand...

41

“Did you have to do that?”  
Watching Lance forced to hide away for the second time that day pissed Keith right off. Glaring at his brother, he wasn’t impressed with Shiro’s attitude at all. Why did Matt and Rieva get a free pass, when Lance got... well... this?  
“What do you mean?”  
“I mean you were rude. He’s a nice guy and you went at him like he’d killed your pet dog or something”  
Shiro sighed   
“Keith, I only want what’s best for you. Lance isn’t comfortable with so many people in his house, and it’s not safe for either us being under the same roof as two werewolves and vampire”  
“Yet you had no problem with Matt and Rieva before. You didn’t have a problem with Lance before. He’s probably got whiplash for how cold you’re acting towards him”

Shiro groaned at him, leaning heavily against the kitchen table as he did, Keith had no idea what was on Shiro’s mind  
“I really don’t mean to... When I look of him I think of Adam in the end. That’s not something I want you to go through”  
“Lance isn’t Adam”  
Lance was Lance. Adam was Adam. That was all there was to it... Spending time with Lance had helped. It’d reassured him, it’d shown him that being a vampire wasn’t easy. Even if Adam hadn’t been killed, the psychological effects on him would meant years of pain and therapy. Even if there’d been times Adam had deserved to be pushed into traffic, he didn’t deserve going through what Lance did. It would have broken him to see the effects on Shiro.

“No. He’s everything Adam could have been if things had been different... And now you say you have a crush on a vampire, after how messed up losing Adam left you. I’ve barely been back a few hours and you’ve made all this decisions without me. I don’t want you having your heart broken because they turn around and decide Lance needs to be put down”  
“Lance isn’t like that...”  
Lance wasn’t an animal. He was nice and he was funny. Younger Keith had been so embarrassing...

Shiro rubbed at his eyes, sounding tired as he continued to irritate Keith   
“Keith, you’ve known him all of a month. You’ve been living on top of each other, feelings are bound to happen. I’m not saying you can’t be friends with him, but maybe you take things slowly? Spend some time apart and think about how you actually feel. There’s a lot to think about...”  
If only his brother knew how much damn thinking he’d had to do, and how much extra thinking Lance had done for the pair of them  
“You think we’re moving too fast?”  
“Aren’t you? You’ve never dated. You’ve neglected you health, and... accidents happen. You went to help him when he was bleeding, despite the fact his blood could have gotten into your system. What if you were making out and he cut his lip? What if you’re too caught up in having sex and you suck too hard on his neck, and got his blood in your mouth? I don’t want to lose you. And I don’t want you going through what Lance and Adam have been through”  
“Then talk to him like a normal person. You don’t think we’ve talked about this? Lance is the most paranoid person I’ve ever met when it comes to his teeth and his blood”  
“A relationship works both ways. What if you’re both hurt and he can’t help you because you’re bleeding? You’re acting reckless and it scares me that I’m going to come back and find you turned”  
“And you’re acting he hasn’t done us all a huge favour by letting us stay in the first place. He doesn’t want to lie to Pidge, nor does he want to lie to Hunk. They’re best friends, they talk pretty much everyday and you decided to bring Matt and Rieva here without having a proper conversation with him over it. You decided to move us here without having a proper conversation either. Lance has been helping me deal with my issues over losing Adam. He made me see that maybe I did need a break to deal with what I’m feeling. I like him, and he likes me. We’re not rushing into anything”  
“Do you know for a fact he feels the same way?”  
“I do. He’s agonised over this and we’ve talked. We both want to see what this thing between us before anything gets serious”

Shiro let out long breath, his eyes silently pleading with Keith to listen as he cast his gaze to Keith   
“Can you understand I’m scared for you? I don’t want you being hurt. Your my brother...”  
“I know. We’re taking the time to get to know each other properly. We’ve both got issues and we both know that we don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m asking you to respect our choice, and to stop being to negative towards him because he’s trying his best for all of us”  
“Are you dating?”  
Keith didn’t want to lie. He wanted to be able to reach out and touch Lance when either of them needed that comfort they’d found in each other   
“Kind of. We’re taking it slow”  
“I’m being overprotective, aren’t I?”  
“Yeah. And a dick too. I’ve never felt anything like I do when I’m with him”  
“I can’t say I support it. But... I respect that you’re an adult and can make your own decisions. I did push all of this on him. Maybe I should talk to him?”  
“Wait until after dinner. He’s stressed out about everything needing to be perfect because he’s upset about his vampire ego. I’ll check on him for now”  
Shiro’s eyes widened fractionally   
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this”  
“I don’t think I’ve ever been like this... Falling for a vampire wasn’t in my life plan. Lance hasn’t seen what we have. He doesn’t judge me for what skills I have and don’t have. I’m not Krolia’s son here, or your little brother. I feel more like me than I have in a while now”  
They both knew it wasn’t easy for him at the Blade headquarters. No matter where he went, he was always in the shadow of his brother and his mother  
“If he hurts you, I won’t hesitate to make the call”  
“I know”

*  
Lance was sitting at his desk, tears rolling down his cheeks as Keith let himself into his office. He’d barely slipped through the door before Lance was throwing his arms around him  
“You idiot”  
Keith felt himself smiling, despite how heavy the conversation with Shiro felt   
“You heard?”  
“I told you I didn’t want you two to fight”  
“We’ll be fine”  
“Still... I could hear how upset you were...”  
“Because he wouldn’t listen. And I was worried about you”  
“I’m sorry...”  
“Don’t apologise for needing a break. Shiro will tell you in a professional at shutting myself in my room”  
“I can see that. But are you really okay?”  
“I will be”

The answer didn’t satisfy Lance. Tugging him backward with him, Keith found himself ending up in Lance’s lap as he sat in the armchair in the corner of the room. Resting his chin on Keith’s shoulder, Lance held both his hands. This was new... but not necessarily... maybe a little embarrassing seeing he was built larger than his boyfriend, and he was all manly and that   
“Talk to me?”  
“I thought we were?”  
He didn’t need to see Lance’s face to know he was rolling his eyes at him  
“I heard what Shiro was saying. Leaving Rome was the same as leaving Adam all over again for him, for him, wasn’t it? I think that’s bled into Matt. Did you two stay in the same place after Adam died? You don’t have to answer, but you’re thinking about him. Maybe talking will help? Or am I over thinking this again? I’m talking too fast, aren’t I?”

Lance was doing both. Over thinking and talking too fast. Keith squeezed his hands, still really not sure about the position they were sitting in  
“You’re trying. You get points for trying. We moved for our own safety, but Adam owned the place so Shiro took over the deed. I... I think it’s was one of the first places I felt at home again. Him and Shiro wasn’t much of a family, but they wanted me there. Sometimes I felt like the third wheel, and got the feeling Adam would have happier if I wasn’t living with them... Shiro says it’s in my head from being in the system so long. I’m not good at moving...”  
“You feel like you lost your home again”  
“Yeah. Basically. I suppose... and I’ve always kind of gone where the job sent me. I’m not used to wanting to stay...”  
“If you’re worrying about being so far away, Platt is just down the road. We can call and text. Pidge still wants you in our group chat. And I’ll help you. I mean, I’m not a hunter and I don’t have much patience for my kind, but I can help you the best I can”  
“You already have. I don’t know why they don’t teach us about using blood when we make our bullets...”

Lance let out a nervous laugh. Lance had probably never held an actual weapon before with the intent of killing   
“I don’t know if I should be happy about you talking about getting excited over weaponry, or just accept it?”  
“Seeing I’m not going to kill you, I don’t know, either?”  
His boyfriend kissed his neck. Lance seemed bolder now, maybe because they were alone and didn’t have to have to hide. Keith sighed, earning him a poke in the stomach  
“At least living with Shiro you’ll have your own stuff again?”

That was definitely a plus. He missed his bike... and he missed his cameras... and his swords. He was a simple man. But living with Shiro in a new city meant starting all over again without knowing how long they’d be there for.  
“How badly are you going to worry about me on my bike?”  
“I only have to worry if something happens. You’ve made it this far. I think you just be okay”  
He had made it through some pretty shitty situations. He’d made a lot of mistakes on his way, fuelled by anger and the need to be seen as himself   
“Because I felt like I really didn’t have that much to lose outside of Shiro”  
“Well, now you’ve got friends. Totally awesome friends. And you’ve got Coran and Allura. Trust me, if anything goes wrong they’re the people you want closest to you. They might be weird, but they’re dependable”  
“I’m not sure how that’ll work when Coran will technically be my boss”  
“He’ll back you up. He’s been like a rock since I turned. He never once turned me away, even when I probably deserved it”  
“But he’s your friend...”

Wouldn’t it be the same though? Keith in Lance’s shadow this time. He knew Coran because of Lance. Coran had seemed certain they’d get together and the man had been right... meaning he’d be seen as Lance’s boyfriend and not himself   
“So? The work you do for him will determine what he thinks of you. Not because you’re my friend, or Shiro’s little brother, or because your mother’s a hunter. He’s not one to be hung up on that kind of thing. Work is work and personal is personal. He’s going to worry about you on a hunt because he cares, but he’s not going to give you easier assignments because of me”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yeah. So don’t go using the wrong syringe and you’ll be fine”  
He was never ever going to live that down...  
“You won’t save me again?”  
“I’d prefer I didn’t have to... but what’s the worst that’s going happen? Ooooh... maybe I’ll grow two heads?”  
Lance poked him in the stomach again. He was annoyingly good at knowing what to say... and what to do. Maybe sitting in Lance’s lap wasn’t so bad? Not when he was trying to be there for him. Keith knew he shouldn’t be shocked, but having Lance cry over him seemed like overkill. Like he didn’t deserve Lance’s worry... but at the same time, it was actually really nice... and made his heart go weird  
“And be twice as annoying?”  
“I think you mean i’ll be twice as handsome. I’ve already lost my position as the hottest supernatural thing in town. I have to have something going for me”

Keith was genuinely confused. Curtis was... Curtis. Matt was... Matt. Rieva was pretty enough... but Lance like a nice little dork package. There was something in his “not plain plainness” that was nice...  
“You think Matt’s hot?”  
Lance laughed, Keith’s cheeks heating up. He was missing something here  
“Oh my god. Nooooo. That’s Pidge’s brother!”  
“Stop laughing at me! It’s not like I know! I like you well enough”  
“Oh, god... oh, Keith. I think that’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said. No. I mean Rieva. She’s definitely out of Matt’s league... Oh my god... I’m going to have mental scars forever”  
Keith’s heart sunk, his stomach felt like he’d missed that bottom step and everything had lurched  
“You like Rieva?”  
“I don’t know Rieva. I meant she’s pretty...”  
“Do you like girls better?”

Lance immediately caught his upset. This time he used both thumbs to poke Keith’s stomach   
“What? No. I’m saying aesthetically she’s the best looking out of the four of us. You’re a close second in the house, only because I’m a proud fur father and Blue would never forgive me”  
“But you think she’s pretty”  
“And I think you’re prettierererer... prettiest. See, I can’t even English to tell you”  
“I think you’re nice...”  
Keith was failing hard on this. He couldn’t tell Lance all the little things were what he liked, because he felt kind of lame about saying it like that  
“I know, you said. If it counts I thought Shiro was handsome. I thought you were a total douche and look at us now”  
That’s because Shiro was handsome. He was just plain with weird purple eyes  
“You’re like cute and stuff when you’re a bat”  
“Don’t be coy, I saw you staring at my junk”  
“It’s nice junk...”  
Fuck, he was getting flustered. Why did he let Lance get to him like this?  
“I’m pretty attached to it. Seriously though, I like you. We’re both pretty hard on ourselves, but you’re a good man under that emo anger loaf. I want you to know you can talk to me about this. About work or anything out. I get you probably have some of secrecy thing going, but sometimes it’s nice to be able to talk to someone who sort of gets it”  
“Yeah... Shiro likes that I’m making friends”  
“Friends are good. You’re good. You deserve to let yourself be happy”  
“Because you’ll worry about all the other stuff?”  
Lance snorted  
“You know me so well. We should get back to the kitchen. I... was having fun. Having you in there with me. I know I was super awkward... but I don’t mind spending my space with you”

Shit. With just a few words Lance had feeling like a million bucks. That flustered feeling only growing like the warmth in his chest. He really liked Lance and hoped things would work out...


	42. Chapter 42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s all about Keith’s lap 👌🏻

42

Dinner was loud. It was chaos. And it felt like a weight off of Lance’s shoulder once they were done. No one had stabbed anyone. Nothing was broken. Matt and Rieva ate like civilised people, with Rieva even offering to help with the dishes. Sending the group off to relax in the living room, Shiro picked up the tea towel and Lance knew he was about to get “the talk”.

Filling the sink with water too hot for a normal human to withstand, Shiro at least let him get through the plates before breaking the silence   
“So you and Keith?”  
Lance cringed. He understood Keith didn’t want to lie, but with things so new, he’d kind of hoped he would... for a little while  
“Yep”  
“How did that happen?”  
“I’m not really sure...”  
“He didn’t see to know either”  
Lance felt the dig. Shiro almost asking that question  
“I guess it really changed when he drove me to Platt. My mother, well, you know she’s old. I was in... I was pretty upset and he drove me there. That’s when I turned into a bat”  
“I remember that. He was freaking out”  
“I gathered. I don’t remember what happened, but Coran made him see I hadn’t turned him. He looked after me for three days, then took me to see my Mami again. I know he’s your brother, but did you need to raise him to be so damn stubborn?”

Lance attempt at humour fell flat, much like he wanted to do. Kind of drop to the floor then crawl away from the conversation  
“He was like that when I met him. I don’t know if he told you...”  
“That he hasn’t had the greatest life because kids are cruel and he never felt wanted? There’s a lot Keith says, and a lot in the things he doesn’t say. He’d frustrating, stubborn, and quick to act before his brain catches up. His people limit is pretty much two, and if he doesn’t have his coffee he can’t human... but he’s got a big heart”  
“I thought you’d bring him out his shell... I didn’t think this would happen”  
Shiro didn’t have much right to complain. He had left Keith there   
“Neither did we. We both thought Coran and Allura were daydreaming. Then Curtis started calling us soulmates... I’ve tried avoiding relationships all my life, then he comes in with his mullet and bad mood..”  
“I don’t approve. And I’m not impressed that you didn’t take him to Coran when he started complaining about chest issues. Coran would have said something if he’d noticed anything during the checks he did on him... I haven’t been allowed to help him that much...”  
“Yet you took him down an abandoned mine”  
“In my defence, he climbed down after me. After I told him not to. He took plenty of photos down there”  
“You really bought him a camera?”

Why did Shiro sound so shocked? He not only had a lie to sell, but Keith’s identity to protect and the man had been a lost puppy without his brother.

“Keith’s been stuck out here with nothing to do, and nothing of his own. It wasn’t fair he was left behind, so I wanted to do something nice for him. Coran told me I shouldn’t be training or pushing myself, which doesn’t give him a whole lot to do. He’s been doing plenty of normal human things. We went to movies in Platt. Hunk finally asked Shay out. Pidge roped him into one of her planning afternoons for a hunt that was not fun at all. We went drinking and he actually sang karaoke. He also tried to get into a fight, then threw up everywhere when we got home... but he’s been doing better. He’s not as angry when he first got here”  
“No. I can see that... He’s my family...”  
Lance cut Shiro off. Yeah. He got it  
“I know. That’s why I told him that you two needed to talk. That he didn’t have to return my feelings and he should talk to you before we decided to date. I don’t have a good relationship with my siblings, so I’m not always going to get what goes on between you. But I don’t want to see him hurt. I don’t want him to feel obligated or pity because his blood triggered this change in me. I want him to live a good life and die old and happy. We’re not rushing things. We don’t want to rush things. But I’m serious in supporting him the best I can. He’s a grown man. He has his own job, money, and life. I don’t want him to be some pet kept on a short leash. All I want is for him to know he can be himself when he’s here and that I’m not about to judge him for it”

Shiro sighed, placing back down the plate he’d picked up to dry  
“I need to know. Will having Matt and Rieva here endanger him?”  
“Vampires have an evolved sense of smell. That’s why we don’t mix much. The same goes for werewolves. We have egos. A vampire who’s out of control is a vampire who’s let his ego go. I’m not in any hurry to start anything with Matt or with Rieva. Pidge is like a sister to me. You’re vouching for them, so I’m taking your word that this won’t become something. For his safety and yours, don’t come around when it’s a full moon, not the day before or the day after. If something happens, I can protect one of you, but I don’t know about both of you. Not from two werewolves, especially in a new environment. Curtis... it’s complicated. We didn’t get off on the best foot, but Coran sent him. I suppose because I’m closest thing to cursed and don’t want to harm anyone if I can help it. As for dating, we already know my teeth get in the way. We’ll treat it like anyone with a contagious blood disease does. If things cool off, then we’ll have an answer to what’s between us”  
“And what if you lose control?”  
“Even when I do, I seem to know Keith. I don’t remember anything from turning into a bat the first time. But it seems I clung to him. I’m sure Coran would say it’s due to our quintessence. I know when I shouldn’t be around him, and when to distance myself. I don’t know how many other ways I can swear I don’t want to hurt him”  
“Accidents happen”  
“I know. That’s part of the reason I didn’t want to admit how he makes me feel”  
“And how’s that?”  
“Almost alive... You should go join the others. Keith’s going to come marching in here expecting the worst. He gets a bit protective”  
“He does that”  
“One day it’s going to get him hurt”  
“That’s why I can’t give you my full blessings”

Shiro wouldn’t be much of a brother or hunter if he simply rolled over on his human brother dating a monster  
“I get it. I really do. Still, for Keith’s sake, I don’t want to fight with you. He loves you, and he needs you. No matter what he says”  
“Keith’s isn’t like most people. When his heart breaks... he gets hurt ten, twenty, times worse than normal”  
“I know. Like I said, there’s a lot in what he doesn’t say”  
“I would prefer you waited before your relationship turned physical”  
“We are. My body is going through changes and he respects that. Just like I respect him and nothing happened that night he was drunk, no matter how handsy he got”  
“Drunk Keith is a bit...”  
“Drunk Keith is a slut. Those are his words. That’s why I won’t do anything to break the trust he has in me. I don’t want him to live a life of regrets”  
“I keep forgetting you’re older than us”  
“Don’t remind me. I don’t enjoy looking barely legal”  
“Coran can’t help?”  
“Even if he could, I’d rather he help Curtis first. He’s struggling with his curse and it’s so cruel that he can’t control the things he says. His life’s been put on because of it. I’m sure he’s happy to have you here because he finally has someone who can reach out their hand to him. More importantly, do you know when Matt intends to reach out to Pidge? I’d like to let Hunk know so he can be there to support her”  
“Matt was thinking of waiting a few days”  
Great. He didn’t want to keep lying to his friends for that long... Pidge also wanted to go back and explore under the pub...  
“Alright. I’ll work things out with him. I’ll finish up here”

*  
Lance nearly didn’t head into the living room when he’d finished the dishes. Keith hadn’t come to check on him, he could hear Shiro attempting to draw his boyfriend into conversation with the others. Keith’s poor people skills must have been at their limit. Being the amazing host he was, Lance made up a batch of Hunk’s hot chocolate, making sure that Keith’d have enough milk for his morning coffees as he did. Feeling a little fancy, he got out his Mami’s favourite serving tray. It’d been a gift from all of them as kids. Well loved and well mended. All their names scrawled across the back. The “L” in Lance’s name drawn backwards. The “I” in his older sister Veronica’s name had a heart instead of a tittle. Rachel had a smiley grave. Marco had always had a flare for the dramatic, his name taking up nearly the whole back. Luis name was the neatest of all. Lance wasn’t so much of a dick as to scratch Luis name off... Not when Mami still loved the serving tray.

Loaded up with the twin jugs, cups, and cookies, Lance carried the lot into the living room. Rieva and Matt were cuddled on the rug. Keith had Blue in his lap, with Curtis and Shiro taking up the rest of his sofa. Hearing his voice, he found the group were watching Pidge’s videos. Lance felt more than a little embarrassed. Strangers watching were one thing, a group of people in his house watching him... was something else. Carrying the tray to the coffee table, Lance set it down carefully  
“Thanks, Lance. It looks good”  
Lance gave Curtis a thin smile, pained at hearing his voice droning on   
“Hot chocolate made with lactose free milk and Hunk’s recipe. Help yourselves”

Nervously pouring a glass, Lance backed away, standing by the arm of the couch so he wasn’t in the way. Matt shot him as thanks as he got two glasses organised for him and Rieva. At least Matt didn’t think he was trying to poison him, not like a certain mulleted hunter the first time he gave him coffee  
“Lance, wanna sit?”  
Lance turned too look at Keith over his shoulder. Blue had been passed to Shiro, not looking happy about giving up Keith’s lap  
“I’m good”  
Keith might have told Shiro they were dating but they didn’t need to rub it in his face  
“If Shiro moves over there’s enough space”  
Now that Keith’s lap wasn’t offer, he felt strangely rejected. Warmth started creeping up from his belly... Now was not the time  
“Actually, I’m going to head to bed. Yep. Goodnight all, see you in the morning”

Fleeing the room, the cup of hot chocolate made the trip up stairs with him. Slamming his door a touch too hard, Lance rushed to place his cup down on the bedside table. Downstairs Matt was making a comment about something sweet in the air, Shiro joking about it being the smell of the hot chocolate. Rieva agreed with Matt, adding how the smell made her hungry... Her tone saying what kind of “hungry” she meant. Lance seriously doubted they’d do anything to him, but the idea of two horny werewolves scared the fuck out of him. Striding across to his window, he opened it as wide as it went. He didn’t understand why these heat flushes had to keep happening. He’d made up with Shiro, and he’d made up with the others over dinner. Werewolves and meat was kind of a no brainer. Now he was supposed to be relaxing and getting to know them all better.

Stripping himself down, he was too hot for a pyjama shirt and opted for pants only. Given his naturally cold state, and the cool wind through the window, he should morgue slab corpse cold. He’d spent years witching his body would be warm, now he cursed it. The sun had barely been down the better part of an hour, and here he was going off to bed like a loser. Climbing into bed, didn’t help. Keith’s scent cling to his sheets, but the man himself wasn’t there.... and his stupid body want okay with that. The aching throb between his legs drew a whisper from him as wetness dribbled from his arse. Even with the distance, Matt could smell him. Matt colour smell him and the damn stupid mutt was growling over it. If he dared lay a finger on Keith, Lance was going to snap off the insulting digit, force it up Matt’s urethra then snap his dick off and feed it to him like some kind of “fingdicken”, operating on the same principle as a turducken. Maybe he could use bacon as an outer wrapping... kind of borrowing the spirit of “what’s in the box?”.

Slightly horrified by his own thoughts, he curled up up. He didn’t necessarily hate Matt. He just didn’t want Keith to be hurt. Shiro wouldn’t let Keith be hurt. Meaning his twisted thoughts never needed to form. Keith could take care of himself. An involuntary whimper escaped as the first cramp of need hit. Covering his mouth quickly, he listened for a response downstairs. Rieva was busy scolding Matt, the sound seemed to have escaped their attention. With his body like this, he was going to be forced to have a conversation he really didn’t want to have. They whole “hey, I’m not a werewolf but I kind of go into fits of heat” thing was going to make it complicated. Right now he wanted it to piss right off and never come back. He wanted to be downstairs with everyone else, getting know them and not seeming like a dick. Now he was hiding in bed too scared to jerk off in case he was heard. This vampire thing sucked.


	43. Chapter 43

43

Keith slept like a log. When Lance had left so suddenly it’d taken Matt to make him realise what was happening. Forced into conversation, it’d been nearly an hour before he headed upstairs to check on Lance. Finding his boyfriend asleep and the sweet smell lingering in the room, he grabbed a blanket off the bed and stuffed it along the bottom of the door to keep the scent in. Shooting Shiro a quick text to let him know Lance was “sick”, Keith hoped that Shiro got his implied message. Stripping off to his underwear, Keith slid under the blankets where Lance immediately moved to cuddle him, mumbling his name as he wrapped an arm around Keith’s waist. Why couldn’t Shiro see this side of Lance? Sure, he might be a vampire, but he really was stupidly sweet. Not used to sleeping with someone like this, Keith had expected to spend the night tossing and turning, or even to be plagued with nightmares as usual, instead he woke to find himself spooned up with Lance curled around him.

Letting Lance sleep a little longer, Keith wasn’t looking forward to crawling out of bed. He would have stayed with his boyfriend but his bladder had other ideas, Lance stirring as he lifted his arm from around his waist  
“Keith?”  
“Bathroom”  
“Mmm... ‘kay”

Using Lance’s bathroom felt like a privilege. Keith making sure he hadn’t made a mess before stumbling back to bed. Lance had woken up properly, but that didn’t mean he’d gotten out of bed. Crawling back onto the bed, Lance automatically reached for him, Keith too uncaffinated to feel embarrassed or protest as he climbed into Lance’s hold. Kissing his cheek, Lance sighed as he leaned against Keith   
“Good morning”  
“Mmm...”  
“I know. You haven’t had your coffee yet. Do you have enough energy for me to cuddle?”  
“Mhmm”  
Lance kissed his cheek again  
“Thanks for being here when I woke up. I know you’re not used to it and I’m not used to it, but I really needed a hug”  
Turning his head, Keith pressed a kiss to Lance’s lips. Lance blushing slightly as he did  
“It’s okay... are you okay?”  
“Yeah... I slept like the dead”  
Keith groaned at Lance. It was too early for his shenanigans   
“Didn’t like that one? I’ll keep it in mind. Let’s get you your coffee. Everyone else is already up”

Lance laughed at him as Keith struggled into a pair of the vampire’s jeans and a shirt. Though he would have been fine wearing the clothes he’d had on the day before. Keith glaring the best glare he could manage, mind firmly on his coffee, as Lance went about getting dressed, Keith made to not peak as he changed underwear. Not that he was going to peak. Lance had nothing to be ashamed of down there, but there was a fresh wave sweetness that lasted a few seconds, making them both blush for no damn reason. Keith wasn’t a natural born blusher, yet it seemed to just happen around Lance. Managing to look far more presentable than Keith did, his boyfriend was annoying like that.

Yawning as they entered the kitchen, Keith ignored everyone as he made a beeline for the coffee machine, only to be irritated that his normal cup wasn’t where it was supposed to be. Sharing a house was already proving annoying. He didn’t like it. That wasn’t to say he didn’t like Matt and Rieva... he just liked things better when people didn’t interrupt his coffee routine. Glancing back to Lance, he found he’d already ducked out, leaving him with no support over his stolen cup  
“How’d you sleep, kiddo?”  
Keith grunted at Shiro. He didn’t deserve words until Keith got his damn cup of coffee  
“It’s like watching Pidge in the morning”  
“Keith isn’t functional until he’s had his coffee”  
“Pidge is like a demon. She’d literally bite ankles if she could get away with it”  
“Keith is too. He bit me once for moving his coffee”  
“Oh, man. That’s just too good”  
Matt and Shiro both seemed in excellent moods as they talked about him. That was something. Yesterday had been draining and he didn’t want a repeat.

“What are we talking about?”  
Keith felt himself blushing as Lance walked in. His boyfriend didn’t need to know he was being teased  
“Keith is acting like Pidge”  
“Pidge is worse. Keith isn’t as snarky as she gets. You guys eat?”  
Lance seemed happy enough replying to Matt. Hopefully that was a good sign   
“Yeah. We helped ourselves. Is that okay?”  
“Yeah. I meant it’s your house too now. If there anything in particular you don’t eat or we need, let me know. I promise I don’t bite”  
Matt laughed, even his laugh sounded like Pidge’s. Keith now wondering if she was on her second cup with her laptop in front of her. It seemed highly likely  
“Honestly, there’s not a lot we don’t eat. What about you?”  
“Blood three times a day and I eat. I think there’s a conversation we need to have too over what happened last night”

Keith froze. He felt like Lance was pushing himself when it came to the subject he thought his boyfriend had in mind. It meant confiding in strangers, which he wasn’t good at. He didn’t dare turn around as he watched his coffee finally coming out the machine and into the inferior cup he’d taken off the hook  
“Did we do something wrong?”  
“No. It’s just... It might make things complicated and hearing you react last night really drove home how awkward this might be”  
“Man, you’re scaring me now”

There was the scraping of a chair, meaning Lance had sat. Keith felt like he should do something, but he didn’t know what  
“It’s not you, it’s me... Wow, I didn’t think I’d be using that line so early in the morning... so... um... I’m not a normal vampire”  
“You can’t turn into a bat or hypnotise humans to do your will?”  
Lance snorted   
“I can turn into a bat... not a very good bat... No, it’s, um... I’m a vampire, but... um... I get flushes like a werewolf... in heat. It’s from drinking human blood. Well, from drinking Keith’s blood. You know what it’s like when you turn, so I’ve been trying to live as humanly as possible... I didn’t go out of my way to find out much about that side of things. I thought I had a handle on it... but Keith was the first human I ever drank from... and his blood changed my body. You caught my scent last night... and fuck this is embarrassing. I’m a breeder...”

Lance’s words hung in the air, Keith finally able to move again. Turning, he found himself walking to Lance’s side, and placing his hand on his shoulder to let him know he wasn’t alone  
“... and I’m kind of dating Keith”

Matt gaped at the pair of them. Shiro didn’t say anything, which Keith was grateful for  
“Pidge never told me that”  
“Pidge doesn’t know. That I’m a vampire or that I’m dating Keith. I don’t want to make a big fuss out it. But I really wanted to explain so there wasn’t a misunderstanding on why I left the room the way I did”  
“So you go into heat?”  
“Basically... My body is still adjusting to it. I didn’t think I could get any weirder but here we are. That’s why Curtis is here. In case I get sick again, or turn into a bat again. It’s not something I can control”  
Matt snorted. Keith felt like punching him until he shook his head, he must have been glaring at the man  
“Lance, dude, that’s not that weird. You’re in a room with two werewolves, and a cursed guy. We get it. We don’t really talk about heats outside of with our mates, but now things make sense. It’s cool, dude. We’ll show you a good time if you ever...”  
Rieva slapped the back of her boyfriend’s head  
“Ignore him. He doesn’t get it. If you need help managing your heats, we can talk”  
Keith felt like he was invisible. He was the one trying to help Lance with that  
“Hey, does that mean you’re boning Shiro’s little brother?”  
“We’re not having sex... and that’s fine. My body isn’t stable”  
“Damn Keith, you’ve got some balls being with a vampire. Make sure you keep his fangs away from your junk. Shiro, you didn’t let me know about this. You must be freaking out”

Shiro sighed  
“Keith and I talked, then Lance I talked. They both know I don’t want either of them going through something like what happened to Adam”  
“What happened to Adam was messed up, but Lance seems to have his shit together better than any of us. Plus, he can cook, so Keith isn’t gonna starve, and he’s got a house and job. At least he’s not doing crack in some back alley”  
“This is true...”  
Matt pulled a face at Shiro   
“You’re a right royal arsehole when you travel. You should have seen him in Platt. Zero patience. I thought that orange haired dude was gonna have a coronary”  
“I wasn’t that bad”  
“You punched the elevator wall because you tripped into it”  
That sounded like Shiro was stressed rather than just being cranky from a long flight   
“It had it coming”  
“Basically you were a dick and now you’re embarrassed. I can smell it on you”  
“Fuck off. He’s my brother. I’m allowed to be worried”  
“As long as you’re not dooming things. Patience yields focus... so focus on having some patience and not bringing the vibe down”

Keith had to hide his smile behind his hand. Shiro was being put in his place by Matt the same way Adam would have. It was easy to see the absolute worst in people after the shit they’d seen. One time they’d been on a hunt and the vampire caught wind of them. It left its human pets behind, Keith taking months to get over that. There was something even more fucked up about it feeding on children. The memory still made him queasy and his nightmares had been out of control over it. Back in their old apartment there’d been a bullet hole left in wardrobe thanks to him leaving his gun beside his bed before falling asleep. Adam had been pissed for days over it. Keith then forbidden from having his gun in his room, instead it went in to the safe in the hallway.

“You’re making me feel old here”  
“Don’t start with that. We’re the same again”  
“Technically I’m the older here, so you’ve got nothing to worry about, Shiro. There’s hope for you left”  
With how negative Shiro had been, Keith expected him to snap at Lance. Instead his brother shook his head, looking like he’d been ganged up on. It wasn’t so funny when the teasing was happening to him   
“I don’t know if that makes me feel better?”  
Lance shrugged as he undid the cap on his bag of blood  
“Whelp. I tried. Keith, your coffee’s going to get cold. Now, Matt, please tell me I don’t have to lie to Pidge for much longer. She always comes by on the weekends, she’s actually past due for a visit this week. I want to let Hunk know ahead of time, so he can be here too”

Keith went back to his coffee, some one had been at his milk. He had enough for two coffees left despite the fact they’d been shopping with Curtis. He wasn’t happy as he rationed his milk carefully, before carrying the cup over to the table to sit by Lance. His boyfriend was still on guard but Keith could tell he was feeling better now that he’s confused his secret. Keith quietly proud of him  
“Tomorrow morning. Call Hunk and let him know. I probably need your number too while I’m at it”  
“Sure. So what are you planning on doing today?”  
“Shiro insisting on training to better protect ourselves. Maybe we can answer that age old question?”  
“Which is?”  
“Are vampires really that strong?”  
Lance rolled his eyes  
“Remember you said that when I’ve wiped the floor with you, Fido”  
“Hey, Keith why don’t you stick your hand up his arse and count to ten. This over stretched muppet’s got no clue”  
Lance groaned at Matt   
“Dude... don’t bring the muppets into this. Though Curtis would be the Chef. No idea what he’s doing in the kitchen and I’m sure he’s make copious amounts of spaghetti if he could”  
Curtis sighed, not wanting to be dragged into this  
“You kill one toaster and they never let you forget it”  
“Nope”

*  
Keith wasn’t sure about this. Curtis warned Lance not to push himself, Lance simply declaring this to be “his weeks worth of physical activity”, before starting to stretch. Sitting in the backyard, Shiro and Rieva sat by him. Curtis would be the referee and Rieva would jump in if Matt got too carried away. Keith was quietly trying not to interfere, telling himself that this was Lance accepting how Matt wanted to bond. Catching his eye, Lance winked at him. Keith realising Lance hadn’t taken his glasses off. The idiot was on his way to breaking another pair  
“Lance, glasses!”  
Practically smacking himself in the face, his boyfriend pulled his glasses off, jogging over to Keith   
“Good call. Look after them for me”  
“Don’t make me regret this”  
“Look at as a chance to make you fall for my fine Cuban arse all over again”  
Keith wasn’t having it  
“You hate combat”  
“Yeah... but it’s an ego thing... Besides, we’ve got rules. No breaking anything and no going for the throat. Oh, you better take my jacket too”  
“Fine. But don’t come crying to me when it hurts later”  
“I will”

Lance looked like a video game character as he bounced on the ball of his feet. Curtis didn’t seem pleased to be between two supernatural creatures  
“Ready?”  
Lance nodded, Matt adopting his own pose. Keith waited for the video game announcer voice to come from no where... unfortunately it didn’t   
“Yep”  
“Bring it Dracula”  
“No changing shape, wolf boy”  
“I won’t need to”  
“Remember that when Rieva’s patching you back up”  
“That’s some pretty feisty talk from a virgin”  
“What can I say? I believe in true love... and kicking your arse”  
“I’ll believe it when I see it”  
“Oh, it is so on”

Curtis retreated half a dozen steps backwards   
“Okay. Don’t kill each other. Fight!”

Both males circled as they sized each other up. Matt growling at Lance, Lance’s fang emerging as his facial expression changed. His eyes changing from their brilliant blue to something darker, almost completely black as pupils dilated. Keith felt a stab of fear. Lance looked as if he’d let his ego go completely, Matt baring his teeth at the threat  
“All bark and no bite?”  
“You’re not going to beat me”  
“No. You’d have to throw a punch first. If you wanna tuck your tail between your legs and run along, I won’t tell”  
“Arsehole!”

Matt let Lance provoke him into the first swing. Lance blocking as he leapt back  
“You’re going to lose if you can’t hit me”  
Starting to circle again, it felt like a weird dance between the two of them. Lance could be a pain in the arse, practically an expert at avoiding physically attacking. Keith was worried that his boyfriend wouldn’t know what to do. Lance’s fighting experience of late had been fighting him  
“Fine. I won’t hold back. You don’t hold back either”

Not holding back put everyone in danger. Matt and Lance going for each other too fast for Keith to catch up. One stage Matt was on the defence and the next he was throwing Lance across the yard... which Lance didn’t take too kindly too. His whole feel changed. His teeth bared as he smiled, nails elongated, and he seemed taller than Keith remembered. He was cold. And he was distant. This was the side himself that Lance feared. The two were back at it again, Keith had a mind to stop this. Lance hated senseless violence and this couldn’t be good for his mental health. Catching Matt as he lunged, Lance wrapped his legs around the man, head butting him hard. Matt grabbing Lance by the waist to slam him down, only for Lance’s legs to end up wrapped around Matt’s neck, hands pulling on the werewolf’s hair. Matt’s hands found their way to Lance’s throat, dropping to his knees as smashing Lance’s head against the ground. Beneath him, Lance went limp as Keith went cold. They weren’t supposed to do serious harm to each other. Matt immediately releasing Lance’s neck, only for Lance to draw himself backwards, kneeing Matt in the chin as he did. Keith hadn’t even seen how Lance managed it. The Cuban joked about being flexible, but this was something else. Snarling, Matt’s internal chain on his wolf snapped. The man changing shape and lunging at Lance. Rieva was tackling him down before Keith could shout in warning. 

Laying on the grass, propped nip on his elbows, Lance watched as Rieva changed into her wolf, pining Matt down and snarling at him. Changing back to his human form, Matt looked a little sheepish as he cranes his neck to see Lance   
“You good man?”  
“Yep. You?”  
“Yep. Tie?”  
“Yep”  
“Okay. Babe, you can get off me now”  
Rieva turned back, Keith looking away from where she and Matt were. Both too naked and too casual about the whole thing  
“Idiot. What have I told you about you wolf?!”  
Matt whined pathetically  
“I didn’t mean too”  
“I don’t care. You need to control yourself”  
“I was having fun. We were having fun, right, Lance?”  
Lance flopped back, hand coming up to shield his eyes  
“Sorry, you’re own your own with this one. I don’t like fighting at the best of times. Between you and Keith I’ve learned so many new moves I don’t think I wanted to learn. I like peace and not exercising... ugh... I think I’m dead”  
“Dude, you’re already dead”  
“Fair... I’m going to take a bath”

Keith watched Lance climb to his feet. His boyfriend swaying a little before limping over to him. Something inside Keith coiled away in fear of never having seen Lance like this. His heart was racing from raw power of the fight   
“I won’t touch you, there’s blood and that’s dangerous. Can I have my glasses and my jacket?”  
“Oh... sure... do you need help getting to the house?”  
“Nah. You say and enjoy the sun”

Keith didn’t know if Lance had seen the fear in him, but he hoped he hadn’t. The fight had stirred up other emotions in him, other than his fear over Lance’s mental health. Taking a deep breath, he couldn’t quite catch it. Emotions over Adam too strong to stomp down. The fight has been so fast. The grass torn up from the force behind each twist and move. Adam never would have stood a chance... but if Adam had survived the turn why couldn’t he fight back? How had Shiro survived with simply getting scarred?  
“Keith?”  
Shiro’s voice was gentle, his brother asking if he was okay in just the use of his name  
“I’m heading back up to the house”

*  
Keith could hear Blue yowling as the sat himself down on the stairs. Burying his face in his hands, he fought to control his breathing. He hasn’t pushed Shiro on the death of Adam. He hadn’t pushed him and now all these questions wouldn’t shut up. Blue sounded worried, her cries getting louder and louder, Keith feeling he needed to find her, even if it was just to make himself feel better for doing something. Heading upstairs, Keith followed Blue’s unhappy cries to Lance’s bathroom door. Scratching on the wood, the feline was begging her human master to be let in, Keith crouching down to scoop her up where she immediately bit his hand  
“You don’t want to go in there. There’s water in there”  
Blue protested hard, Keith opening the door and the cat immediately jumping from his arms to the tiled floor  
“Keith?”  
“Sorry, Blue wanted in”  
“I heard... Hey, can you come in here for a moment?”  
It wasn’t like he had anywhere else to be.

Slipping into the bathroom, Keith closed the door behind him. Blue was standing with her paws on the edge of the bath, Lance buried in a mound of bubbles. Keith wasn’t sure if he was supposed to look at his boyfriend or not  
“What’s up?”  
“Can we talk?”  
“Aren’t we already?”  
Lance huffed, turning his head towards him. The vampire sporting a rather impressive black eye, Keith’s breath catching at the sight  
“It doesn’t hurt. Just... I need to... I need to talk to you and I’m worried”  
Keith swallowed, nodding before heading over to sit on the toilet on lid  
“What is it?”  
“I... I want to apologise for upsetting you”  
“You...”  
“I did. I did and I know I did. You’ve been worried about me since this morning, but I still went ahead and fought with Matt, like I didn’t respect your feelings. I kind of want... I want to explain things to you”  
Keith shook his head  
“You don’t have to”  
“I do. I do because you’re important to me. What you saw today, that was ego. Matt losing control, me losing control. That was ego. Last night I was pretty upset at the situation. About everything. Me. Us. This body. While you were getting dressed I was gathering up my bravery to tell him. You know that drive. How you train yourself until you feel satisfied and you hurt in a good way... feeding my ego is kind of like that need. It’s not but it is. My ego and his would kept clashing, so I told myself that if he suggested it, I’d agree. What I didn’t think about was you... and I feel like a douche for it. I know I scared you... I scared me when I saw my face... and I’m... I’m sorry”

Keith blinked half a dozen times. Feeling mad at Lance for not talking to him ahead of time. He had scared him. And he’d been scared for him. He’d thought his heart was going to stop when Matt changed shape. Lance was prepared for it, and he wasn’t  
“Why couldn’t you talk to me?”  
“We kind of...”  
“You didn’t make the effort before deciding everything yourself”  
“Keith...”  
“No. You let yourself be hurt knowing it’d hurt you more than physically!”  
Fuck. Fuck. He didn’t want to snap, but he couldn’t get the right words out  
“I’m sorry”  
“I was worried about you and now you have other friends here to talk to instead”  
That’s not what he wanted to say. He wanted to question why there couldn’t have been another way. Lance didn’t need to train with other people when he had him  
“It’s not like that...”  
“It’s never like that, with you. I can’t do this right now, Lance. You got yourself beaten up. Good on you. Don’t worry that I’m worried about you or how much you’re hating yourself for fighting. Sure. What the fuck ever”

Storming out the bathroom, none of that of that was what he wanted to say. He’d lost his shit at Lance and now he hated himself even more. Lance knew he was scared of him. How could he still want to be with him after he’d been scared of his boyfriend? He’d ruined things again...


	44. Chapter 44

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brother bonding soothes an an anger loaf

44

Shiro found Keith sitting on the front steps. He’d punched the wall on the way down, regretting losing it like that in front of Lance. Sitting down next to him, Shiro wrapped his arm around him, Keith immediately folding into the embrace, tears spilling down his pale cheeks over how much of a dick he’d been  
“Hey, kiddo. I know I haven’t been here for you the way I should have, but I know you’re not okay. Wanna tell me about?”  
Keith sniffled, he hated crying. He hated crying in front of Shiro most of all. He didn’t want to drag his brother down, but his head was a mess  
“I snapped at Lance”  
“Ah...”  
“I didn’t... it just came out and...”  
“Okay. Okay... just take a deep breath for me. I’m sure you and Lance will make up”  
“I didn’t mean to snap at him. I was worried about him and everything just got to me... he knew he scared me... but... but I was thinking about Adam all over again and I took it out on him... when all he did was try to explain”

Keith waited for Shiro to be judgmental, to point out that Lance was a vampire, doing what vampires do. Instead his brother kissed the top of his head  
“Alright. Let’s start with what Lance said”  
“He was trying to apologise. He knew I was worried about him and he was talking about how egos worked and how he thought this would bring him and Matt closer by getting their egos under control”  
Shiro gently asked   
“And seeing that scared you?”  
“Yeah... Lance... he’s never like that. I’ve seen him apologise to a spider before putting it outside. He hates fighting, but when Matt turns up... he’s all for it...”  
“I thought you two trained?”  
“We do... but it’s not like that. He doesn’t... he doesn’t go all vampire. He dodges and points out how I can move better... Seeing that much power made me realise all over again that Adam didn’t stand a chance... and then... I couldn’t stop thinking about him. How he felt. Did he fight back? Could he fight back? Was he as strong as Lance? I don’t understand why he had to die... I don’t understand what happened at all”  
Shiro sighed, hugging Keith tighter  
“What happened to Adam wasn’t your fault”  
“He didn’t... I didn’t want to push you over that night. I didn’t want to hurt you... but I can’t understand it. One minute you say he was dead, then you say he was alive and I know you want to protect me... but it’s so messed up in my head. Lance helped me understand that turning... turning hurts. He was basically tortured when he was turned... he helped me see living as a vampire hurts... and I threw it back at him”  
“Remember what you told me? Adam is Adam and Lance is Lance. We can’t compare the two of them”  
“I know... but... Why couldn’t Adam still be here? Why couldn’t you tell me about that night and that you and Curtis were a thing now? I’ve been your brother for nearly a decade... and it feels... like you don’t trust me”

Shiro kissed the top of his hair again  
“I know. I know you’re strong, and I trust you. I wanted to protect you for as long as I could. If you want to know, I’ll tell you. But you need to know, the Adam I went home to that night wasn’t the Adam we knew”  
“I know... Lance explained about some people losing their minds over turning and about how much it hurt to starve”  
“They’d starved him. They starved him and left him for me to find. He was already turned, crazed with hunger. He barely recognised me... but he knew me. He was torn. His hunger wanted him to kill me, but his love wanted me to live. He wasn’t making sense, and he went to attack me. That’s how I got the scar, he cut me with his nails... the look in his eyes... I won’t ever forget it. He was torn over hurting me, trying to fight the smell of blood... He... the only thing I could do for him was to kill him. They’d... broken his body, kept him restrained until he broken free... It’s not like in the movies where they get that moment of clarity long enough to say “I love you”. Our Adam was gone... He loved you. I know you didn’t always get along, but he loved you. He loved me too... I think they gave him just enough blood to call me and lure me home alone...”

Keith wrapped his arms around Shiro, face buried against his chest  
“I hate them. I hate them for hurting him...”  
“I know. I struggled with not telling you because you carry so much on your shoulders as it is”  
“It’s not fair”  
“No. That’s why I’m worried about you and Lance. I don’t want you to be forced to kill the man you love, and I don’t want him to lose control and be destroyed by hurting you. I wanted to drive a wedge between both of you. I wasn’t the best brother, but he scares me too. One wrong slip and... I can’t lose you. It broke me losing him... I couldn’t live if I lost you too. When you said it was a crush I thought I could split you two before it became more... I’m so scared of the future I can’t even let you have the present”  
“Lance wouldn’t hurt me”

Shiro broke the hug, taking Keith by the shoulders to they were eye to eye  
“Not intentionally. But I’m worried about the kind of people who’d go after him. Hell, his brother opened an investigation on him. If he reported you, I don’t know if I could protect you in the fall out. Matt was already being held by the Blades. Rieva escaped while being transferred. She’s the one who told him that the Blades exist and that we were in Rome, and he raised hell when he found out she wasn’t there. I had to track her down, then plead for leniency on both of them. She was human adopted by a werewolf couple, she took the bite at young age. We’re lucky Coran knew about Matt from Lance, not that he told Lance. He agreed to take on two werewolves with future use in the field, after an extended supervised period. There’s a particularly nasty coven of vampires that have gathered under a so called Prince. Their range of influence has been spreading through the city, more and more vampires, and werewolves, have been turning up dead or freshly turned. That’s it. That’s absolutely everything I know. I left you here with Lance because I believed you were experiencing symptoms. I thought if you did turn, he’d be able to keep you from hurting yourself. I don’t necessarily hate him, but I’m stuck on Adam too... I don’t want to tell you no... But today... that’s what I think about when I see Lance. That rage and anger without control. He looks so young, but he’s older than use both. I can’t see what you have in common”

“I don’t know... but with him... He feels right. He’s not... that’s the most violent I’ve seen him. We don’t have to lie to each other. He doesn’t make me feel stupid all the time... I just... I feel better around him. Or, I did. Until I went off at him like a moron. He’s listened, you know, about things... and he... he always wants to talk things through. He tried do everything himself, even when he’s sick. He still tries to keep it inside”  
Like the cramping, and his issues with his instincts. Lance would make a joke and Keith would want to punch him. Shiro pulled him back into another hug  
“Sounds like someone I know”  
“He got sick to point of collapsing with a fever because he didn’t want to burden me... and I just snapped at him. I feel all these things and I don’t know what to do with them”  
“Talk to him. I... I don’t like that both of you could be hurt, but you’ll always be my number one priority, kiddo. I need to give him more of a chance”  
Keith’s heart swelled with emotion for his brother   
“It’s hard for you. I hate vampires so much. I hated them so long. I should hate him. I should want to kill him, but I don’t. I don’t know... he makes me feel... wanted”  
“You certainly picked a hard one for your first love”  
“Can imagine if this was in Rome? Krolia wouldn’t be happy”  
“I expect not. She really does love you, even if she doesn’t show it. She only left so you’d be safe”  
“She had years to come find me. We’ve worked for the Blades for years, but... she’s always out of reach”  
“I think you don’t know to let her, and she doesn’t know how to get through to you either”

Thinking of his mother hurt. She wasn’t warm and loving like Miriam was. He didn’t have those warm memories Lance did. All he had was a black stain on his heart from her leaving him and his dad  
“I don’t want to talk about her”  
“Okay. But... Never mind. What are you going to do now?”  
“I think I need to apologise to Lance”  
“Alright. Do you want me to come with you to explain?”  
“No... I need to talk to him myself”  
“Okay, kiddo. I’ll give you two space, but if he hurts you...”  
“He won’t”  
Lance wouldn’t hurt him. He’d tried to kill him, and Lance had saved his life. If anything, his boyfriend was probably too nice to him  
“Keith”  
“He won’t... He’s probably still sitting in the bathtub trying to figure out what’s wrong with me”  
“I’m sure he’ll understand”  
“Maybe... but he shouldn’t have to understand”  
“No relationship is perfect. Adam and I had some pretty extreme fights, but don’t forget you two are still getting to know each other”  
“Yeah. Maybe... Thanks... for telling me about Adam... I really miss him”  
“I miss him too. And to clear up what you said before, me and Curtis aren’t dating. He was a real source of comfort after Adam passed. Plus, no one else wanted to partner with either of us. I’m pretty sure half the Blades thought you and I wouldn’t survive those first few months”

They’d killed a lot of things... Keith’s anger was out of control, and Shiro’s drinking had started going that way too. Keith couldn’t remember how they’d gotten back on track, not when he definitely should have been dead with how he’d been acting. His team work went out the window with a singular focus on killing these things before they’d hurt anyone else  
“I wouldn’t have wanted to partner with us either”  
Shiro gave him one final quick squeeze before moving to climb to his feet, then extending his hand to Keith. Taking his brother’s hand, he felt a little better about Adam. He’d never know all about that night, but there were no more white lies and mistruths, Shiro had promised that was everything. Whatever Adam had said, it was probably still too much for Shiro to think about. Their Adam had been gone before Shiro came home and it wasn’t fucking fair. He’d been as alive as Lance was... but he wasn’t their Adam. He’d been Lance when he’d been turned. He’d been scared. Hurt... and all alone. They should have come home sooner. He should have come home with Shiro, instead of letting him go home ahead of him so he could find out why Adam wanted him home so badly. He didn’t see why Adam had to die, but Lance made him understand with every single time he was scared of himself. He didn’t like Lance being scared of himself... and he’s helped reinforce those negative self thoughts.

*  
Returning to Lance’s bathroom, as his boyfriend wasn’t in his room, there was a wet trail of paw prints, giving Keith the impression that Blue had had an impromptu bath then fled. Stepping into the bathroom, Lance was laying on the bathroom floor, one tiny foot clinging to his bath towel as he looked as thoroughly done as little bat face let him. The toilet lid was up, the aroma confirming that somewhere between the bath and becoming a bat, Lance had thrown up. Being a bat, he was too small to pull his towel down, instead he was laying shivering in a pool of water around his tiny body. Looking up at Keith, Lance seemed happy to see him, before remembering he’d snapped, his little face turning away. 

“I suppose I deserved that... Let me help you up”  
Lance didn’t have much choice, Keith lifting him up before untangling his claws from the towel and wrapping him up securely so just his head was poking out. Cradling the Lance burrito against him, his boyfriend gave a questioning chirp   
“I’m not about to leave you laying on the floor frozen. I didn’t mean to blow up at you before. Nothing I wanted to say came out right, but I was really worried about you”  
Lance immediately started squeaking at him  
“You’re a bat. I still don’t speak bat... Let’s not do this in the bathroom”

Carrying Lance out, Keith walked through to Lance’s bedroom, sitting himself down with his back against the bedhead, Lance’s eyes on him the whole time  
“I was thinking about Adam again. Like... he never stood a chance. Watching you two fight... I kind of can’t believe Shiro and I aren’t dead yet. Normally we’re stealthy with our kills. Weaken them with mercury first, then go for the kill. Adam was a hunter, but those vampires were there because of us... They tore my family apart... It fucking broke Shiro. I don’t even know how... how we got back to functioning again”  
Lance squeaked at him, struggling against the towel  
“You want me to let you go?”

Keith took Lance’s struggles to mean he wanted out. Feeling slightly crushed his boyfriend didn’t want to listen to him. Unwrapping the towel, Lance flapped his leathery wings, stumbling and tottering on the spot as he turned around, spreading his wings across Keith’s chest, Keith blinking as he tilted his head  
“Are you trying to hug me?”  
Lance squeaked at him. Keith getting the feeling the idiot was trying to hug him  
“You’re all wet...”  
Lance squeaked at him harder  
“You don’t care?”  
Lance rubbed his head against Keith’s neck, still trying to comfort him  
“You’re an idiot. I hurt your feelings but you’re hugging me”  
There were two small pricks as Lance nipped at him. He was still shivering and damp  
“Okay. Not an idiot. Let me wrap you back up so you’re warm. You could have made lunch before you went and turned into a bat”  
Lance squeaked, Keith knowing he was protesting   
“Yeah, yeah. You didn’t mean to. I don’t know why I go all stupid around you. It hurt that you’d fight like it was nothing... I mean, you only really fight me and that’s because I kept pestering you, but you jumped righting to fighting Matt. My coffee cup wasn’t there this morning. I’m out of milk. And... I’m not very good at sharing a house... even with people I do know. I’m probably going to fuck this up... I don’t want to keep fucking up”  
Lance nuzzled into him, his squeaks much softer   
“You’re still trying to comfort me, aren’t you?”  
His boyfriend really was an idiot, but he was so lucky that Lance understood him and didn’t hate him for how he’d acted.

Wrapping Lance back up, Keith stayed sitting on Lance’s bed with him. He really seemed to like having his head stroked, head butting into the pats like Blue would. The pair of them stayed like that until Shiro and Curtis came to check on them. Shiro’s face softening at the sight  
“Is he okay?”  
“Yeah. He turned into a bat again. Are you guys done training?”  
“Pretty much. Rieva and Matt got carried away. Let’s just say we’re lucky we have no neighbours. You coming down?”  
Keith didn’t want to know what that meant  
“I think we’ll stay like this a little longer. He’s pretty cool when he’s a bat”  
“He seems pretty happy like that”  
“Something must have upset him greatly for him to change forms”  
Shiro elbowed Curtis for his input. Keith still feeling shitty and his brother knew it  
“I’m merely stating facts”  
“Let’s go, you can state your facts elsewhere. Come down when you’re ready”  
Keith shot Shiro a smile. His brother finally acting like his brother again  
“We will”


	45. Chapter 45

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmmmm... I’m thinking a double update for Halloween! 🧛♂️🧛♂️🧛♂️🦇🦇🦇

45

Lance had been nearly deafened. He hadn’t been able to change back at all the previous day. Keith carrying him around as he was forced to be cooed over. He carried him to the kitchen, the bathroom, the living room, basically wherever Keith went, Lance had gone with him. He’d changed back in the middle of the night, curled up against Keith. His poor boyfriend hadn’t had the best day, and he’d ended up hearing everything between him and Shiro. 

Shooting Hunk a message in the middle of the night, both his friends came by barely after the breakfast dishes had been put away. Pidge was either talking a million words a minutes, demanding answers from Matt, or screaming over seeing her brother again. The touching reunion was too much. Pidge’s voice was too much. He’d never had such a reunion with his siblings, so he ended up feeling half deaf and crying his eyes out in the kitchen. 

Lance was happy for her, but the weight of Matt’s secret was dragging him down, as was the pathetic jealousy of feeling on the outside again. Feeling strong arms wrap around his waist, Lance turned his head, nearly kissing Hunk thinking it was Keith. Hunk was also a crying mess  
“I’m so happy he’s back. This is the best surprise Pidge could have gotten”

It was easy for him to think of Pidge as the same age as Hunk, and not two years younger. She was so brainy she seemed much older than her 22 years  
“Yeah. It’s nice to see her so happy”  
“I don’t think happy even comes close to describing what she’s feeling right now, man”  
“That’s true”

Lance wanted to skip out and come back once Pidge had settled, but that was asking the impossible from his little gremlin. She had every right to be this happy. He’s be happy to if his siblings would accept him back. He missed them. He missed Marco most of all. Marco had loved having a vampire for a brother when everything had been new. Before he realised he had to keep things a secret and deal with a brother that had screaming nightmares and sometimes was too traumatised to talk.

“Man, you okay? You’re shaking”  
Lance smiled as he wiped at his eyes, knocking his glasses as he did. Hunk’s mass didn’t make up for his family, but damn if he didn’t love him  
“I’m really happy for her. But it’s making me miss Miriam”  
“Have you seen her lately?”  
“Not as much as I’d like to. I didn’t go last weekend, and this weekend’s probably going to be out seeing Matt’s here with Rieva”  
“Have you called her?”  
Not as much as he’d like to have... Simultaneously wanting to be with her and keep her away from what was happening to him  
“It’s not the same as seeing her”  
“You could always to tomorrow?”  
“Nah. Keith and Shiro are off to Platt tomorrow. I can’t just ditch Matt and Rieva here for the day with Curtis”  
“I was wondering who he is... He hasn’t said much”

No one had said much other than Pidge and Matt. Shit... Curtis needed a cover story... His mouth moving without much thinking  
“Cousin. Definitely a cousin... of mine... My house has turned into a damn bed and breakfast”  
“Man, you have cousins? You never talked about any one other than Miriam”  
“Oh, he’s like distantly related. Miriam thinks I need company”  
“We never enough?”  
Lance turned in Hunk’s hold, hugging him back. He loved Hunk so much it hurt  
“You and Pidge are always, always, more than enough”  
“That’s good enough for me. Man, all these people have my creative juices flowing. I think we need a feast”

Pidge stopped talking, spinning towards the pair of them  
“Did I hear food?”  
Hunk laughed, Lance still hugging him  
“Yep. Lance and I are going to make you guys the biggest meal you’ve ever seen! Matt’s home, it’s time for a real party!”  
“Whoop whoop! Okay, that’s our cue to vacate the kitchen. I want to hear all about how you snagged Rieva. She’s totes out of your league, you know that right?”  
“I do. Let’s head to the living room. I want to hear all about what you’ve been up to here”

The kitchen vacated at near vampire speed as Pidge pulled Matt along with her. Lance watched them go from over Hunk’s shoulder. The only one who stayed was Keith, which Lance found reassuring. His boyfriend wasn’t jealous over him hugging Hunk. He took it as Keith making a real effort to be involved more with Hunk and his stupid emotions nearly made him cry again. Keith was like the missing piece none of them knew they needed. Breaking the hug, Lance wrinkled his nose over his fogged up glasses  
“These things need to come with a warning. Right. Well. We’ll need to head to town. We need milk, and I have no idea what’s in the fridge”  
“I’m on it”

Hunk gave him one more hard squeeze before walking over the fridge, Lance feeling Keith’s fingers brushing against his hand. Turning to his boyfriend, he gave him a wobbly smile  
“Hey, you. Here to help?”  
Keith nodded, he looked a little lost over what’d just happened  
“Pidge is a bit too much right now... are you okay?”  
“Yeah. Yeah. All these family feels... bit much”

Lance fanned his face with his glasses, Keith nodding again. As his boyfriend started to let his hand drop, Lance reached out to squeeze it gently  
“Are you okay?”  
“I don’t know. I’ve never... felt like that”  
“Let me know if you need a break”  
“I should be saying that to you”  
God knew how much Lance wanted to kiss Keith right then. But Hunk was in the room and he didn’t want to make things more awkward for Keith  
“I’ll be okay. It makes me wanna see Miriam”  
“You should... You... we could go... or tomorrow. You could come with us tomorrow”  
“Someone’s gotta be here to keep an eye on things. I’ll call her tonight”  
Keith frowned of him  
“You’ve wanted to see her for days... it’s not fair...”  
“Sometimes things mean you can’t do what you want to do. I once went three months without seeing her and it was the absolute worst”  
“I can’t imagine that”  
“I know... anyway, you ready for another cooking lesson?”  
“Yeah... Yeah, it’s like you said. It’s a good skill to have”  
“Careful there, Keith. That nearly sounded like you were saying I’m right”  
Keith snorted at him, Hunk calling out from where his head was still in the fridge  
“What was that?”  
“Keith admitted I’m right”  
“As shocking as it seems, it happens. You’ve got a lot in here, so you can go to town while I get started”  
“Sounds good. Wanna come for the ride?”

Keith nodded quickly, Lance smiling at the thought of Keith wanting to escape all these damn people, as he’d say  
“Perfect. Hunk, gimme a list. We’ll be back once the shoppings done. Better pick up some wine while I’m at it. Pidge does love an excuse to party”  
“That she does... I’m already dreading tomorrow morning”  
“It’ll be fine. You’ll see”

*  
Keith hated shopping. He hated shopping even more when it meant going up and down each isle, but today that was the plan and he was grateful for it. Both he and Lance needed a moment away from all the family stuff. Keith was “allowed” to push the cart, as Lance walked beside him, hands brushing occasionally in a way that made Keith want to hold his hand in public. Nudging him with his hip, Lance was definitely feeling better. It wasn’t fair he wasn’t able to see his Mami because of everything going on  
“What?”  
“Nothing. Felt like it”  
Keith huffed, hiding his budding smile in the sound  
“You’re so annoying”  
“Yep. Still. This is nice... kind of like a da-... like none of that drama is waiting for us back at home”

Keith had heard that “da”. He didn’t know what the “da” was leading to. Nudging his boyfriend back, he took a guess  
“We’re you going to say date?”  
Lance couldn’t have meant date. What was date like about shopping together? They’d shopped together before...  
“Pffft. Who said date? I didn’t say date. Just two dudes, two bros, doing bro things like shopping together...”  
That wasn’t fooling Keith. He’d heard the way Lance called Curtis his cousin when Hunk tried to ask more about him  
“How is this a date?”  
“I didn’t say it was a date”  
“You clearly said “da”. “Kind of like a da-...“”  
“Nope. I have no memory of that. Oooh, look, we need that”

Keith intercepted Lance reaching for cake mix. The hunter had a feeling Hunk would be insulted if they brought the premade stuff home  
“We don’t need that. If this was a date, wouldn’t I know about it? Does shopping for food even count as a date?”  
“Noooo. Ugh. Fine. I mean... like, because we’re alone. Not alone, like “alone” alone, but it’s the pair of us hiding together”  
“You’re making even less sense”  
“I mean we haven’t been alone for like a week now... and it’s like... nice”  
“It hasn’t been a week...”  
“You know what I mean. With that many people around it feels soooooo much longer”

So their alone time at home did count? This dating thing was confusing  
“That’s true”  
“See. And we have to be only a little bit careful and not fully careful in front of people”  
“It’s still not a date. You’d know if I took you on a date”  
“You’d be cranky because you’re all flustered and awkward?”  
Keith nodded, that was the most likely scenario  
“Pretty much”  
And pretty much how he normally was around Lance when Lance started paying too much attention to him  
“Maybe when you’re settled we can go on a date. I mean, only if you want to. Totally, zero pressure. We can totes just go as friends... two bros hanging out...”  
Keith really liked this awkward side to Lance. It reminded him Lance was nearly as human as he was  
“I’d like that... as friends... or whatever”  
“I like the sound of that “whatever””

Keith felt himself growing red, especially when he realised he was the whole conversation happened with his hand around Lance’s wrist. Quickly letting go, he turned away from his boyfriend. Being alone with Lance was dangerous. He wanted to kiss him, or at least slip his arm around Lance’s waist, but Garrison had already proven backwards enough. There was just something about when they were alone together that made Keith feel stupidly comfortable. Tomorrow they’d be off to Platt, and Shiro’d force him through a full medical, but that wasn’t even bothering him like it usually would. 

Yeah. Normally he’d fixate and work himself up before those kinds of things, no matter how much he tried to deny it. Lance had a point about needing someone at the house in case something happened. Matt could easily mess up all their cover stories when being pestered incessantly by Pidge over things. Lance was needed there to keep things running smoothly, but it wasn’t fair he couldn’t see his mother when he really needed her right now. Maybe they’d get the chance on Monday? Shiro could stay home with Matt, Rieva and Curtis, while they went to Platt?

“I’ll “whatever”. What about Monday?”  
With his thoughts in his head, Lance had every right to look confused as Keith’s sudden suggestion of Monday  
“For a date?”  
“What? No. You could go see your mother on Monday”  
“Oh... do you think Shiro will be okay with that?”  
“I could say I’m going with you, then find some way to kill time?”  
“Or you could come with me?”  
Keith was touched that Lance would invite him, but he didn’t want to crash their alone time  
“I think there’s a lot you want to talk to her about that you should do on your own”  
“What about a compromise? You come pick me up and stay for a bit?”  
“I could do that... I don’t what to say though”  
And what if he said the wrong thing? What if he upset Miriam?  
“You’re overthinking things again. Mami knows you’ve been with me and that we’ve gotten close. I want her to spend time with you too, but only if you’re comfortable with it”  
“I’ll think about it”  
“Okay, I don’t want you feel pressured... but... I do want to tell Mami that I’ve found someone I like”  
“You want to tell her about us?”  
A vampire and a hunter seemed a bad joke  
“I want her to know that even with everything going on, I’ve got someone by my side and on my side. I’ve been as honest with her as I could about everything from day one”  
“Yeah. I know that... but won’t it bring up questions?”

The way Lance sighed hurt to hear, Keith feeling bad for prying  
“Probably. I’m not going to tell her about Luis. I hate to admit how old she is now, but I don’t want to drive them apart. Mami is so full of love for her family. She doesn’t need to know what he did to me... besides, if you think about it, he hates me so much that he brought you into my life”  
“I feel like he’d have a heart attack on the spot if he knew”  
Keith maybe kind of wanted to see Luis lose his shit again.

“As much as he’s a dick, let’s not joke about that. Some people never get over that fear. Luis couldn’t handle it. He couldn’t control his fear and... well, my sister Rachel wasn’t much better. My other sister Veronica used to reach out, when I was in university the first time around, but Luis didn’t like it. He just wanted to keep everyone safe. Especially with the thought that monsters really do exist. He had to grow up realising anyone could be a vampire and he wouldn’t know until it was too late. You know that kind of pressure. Plus he had a super traumatised brother, so most of Mami’s attention was constantly on me”

Lance sounded as if he’d accepted this, and repeated the same story over and over. Keith frowned hard  
“But you’re like the least vampire vampire in existence”  
“And you saw what happens when my ego gets too big. Imagine your kid brother not able to control that and constantly being scared of everything. No matter how hard it was to adjust, it took time that humans just don’t have. Life goes on. That’s why I’m so nervous with you. I don’t want to bind you to me. I don’t want you to suffer because you chose to date me. It still feels like a dream”

Yeah. It was probably going to be rough, but Keith had never wanted anyone like he wanted Lance. Things had been so shaky getting to where they were, he wasn’t going to give up now  
“I don’t regret it. We’re still working things out”  
“I know. But if you ever feel like that, I want you to be honest with me”  
“I’ll try. What else is on Hunk’s list?”  
“Milk, which we both knew we needed... ugh, that reminds me, there’s a mug of hot chocolate in my room still and it stinks”  
“Is that why you threw up yesterday?”  
“Nah. Food’s gotta come out someway. It’s honestly fine”  
“That’d suck, if you asked me”  
“Okay, so it does, but I’d rather eat like a normal person”  
“Says the guy who’s started bringing blood to the breakfast table”

Lance shrugged, bumping Keith again with his hip. Keith was about ready to grab him by the hips and kiss him like they weren’t in public. Having all of Lance’s attentions was going to his head  
“My house, my rules. I’m turning into a slob”  
“I think you’ve earned the right to rest”  
“It’s more like I can’t find effort to gather up my scattered fucks and get things together with everything so up in the air”  
That was true. For both of them other than Shiro and Adam he’d never really had anyone he’d felt like he was leaving behind, and even that felt different to leaving Lance  
“Fair call. I’ll see if I can get phone while we’re in Platt tomorrow. You can show me how to set it up”  
“I’d like that... plus, Pidge won’t be there to order you a crazy expensive one. Like, all I need it for is talking to everyone and taking photos of Blue. I don’t need so many damn features”  
Keith snorted, he could appreciate that  
“Yep. Pretty much. I’m kind of nervous about being in a chat with everyone”  
“It’s mostly memes. Everyone appreciates a good meme. Sometimes Shay and Pidge get pretty savage. Just don’t make the mistake of getting caught up in Pidge going on a new conspiracy craze. She’s been so focused on Garrison lately that we’re about due for her to pick some new interest on the other side of the country and decide we all have to go road-tripping to investigate”  
“So don’t feed the gremlin?”  
“Exactly. See. This is why you fit right in. You’ve already developed that healthy fear of Pidge. And Hunk, man, he’s the ray of sunshine you need in your life. Shit day? He’ll be there right when you need him”  
“I’m not good at making friends”  
“Neither am I. But those two are like us, you just can’t seem to stay away”

Keith felt all stupid again. His heart was being stupid again. Sure, Shiro said it was a crush and sure it mostly went stupid around Lance, but this was ridiculous. Coran better give him answers tomorrow or he might just go insane with how Lance was making him feel and react. Would it always be this way with him? Or would moving cool things off between them and turn them back to strangers like the last month meant nothing? He didn’t want that. He didn’t want to be strangers with Lance... or Pidge, or Hunk... Matt was a little “eh” but he came with Pidge, kind of like a package deal. Keith couldn’t help but think about Lance describing this as a dream. He didn’t want to wake up if it was... because... he kind of, maybe, really didn’t want to be alone anymore.


	46. Chapter 46

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update number two!!!! May your Halloween be filled with cute bat Lance and his adorableness!... unlike this update...

46

Keith hadn’t expected to be moving in to his apartment on the following Wednesday. He also didn’t expect said apartment to be three blocks away from work. The hunter had a feeling Shiro was behind that. His brother cautious over any potential dangers Platt had to offer.

He’d seen Miriam on Monday, not that he’d admit it but he’d waited in the car for Lance to message, never leaving the parking lot. Miriam seemed in good spirits as she talked about Lance and how happy she was that he’d found someone like him. Lance was a lot like his Mami. They both had this way of talking that drew you in. She also had a razor sharp sense of humour, and the way their faces scrunched up as they laughed was obviously a family trait. A family trait that left him feeling both grateful and anxious as his own thoughts kept coming back to his mother. He hadn’t said goodbye to her. He’d up and moved country, leaving her behind and it felt weird. Almost as weird as it was to be working for Coran now.

Coran seemed to like him too much. He’d asked all about how Lance was getting on. Keith felt kind of like he was betraying his boyfriend by explaining everything that had happened, which the fae seemed to pick up on as he smoothly changed the topic to how Lance was getting on with Matt. Lance seemed to be getting on better with Matt now. Matt was a tech geek like his little sister, he’d set himself up in the living room with his laptop, he and Pidge dissolving into techno-babble that only Hunk could keep up with. Now he was in Platt, all Keith wanted to do was go back to Garrison. Their apartment was already furnished, owned by Voltron, and had three bedrooms. The windows showed views of the city streets, where far too many noises drifted up to reach them on the fifth floor. Shiro said he wanted to find them apartment, yet somehow they’d ended up going with the flow. Coran meant well, but it kind of felt like they were being kept under his thumb. Keith wouldn’t have been surprised to find hidden cameras in all the light fittings like some dumb movie.

Their stuff had been delayed in delivery, so wouldn’t be there for anything from two more weeks up to a month, making things feel even more sparse and unhomely. Like he was a stranger in someone else’s life. Pidge already blown up the chat that morning complaining that he hadn’t said anything about his sudden moving and he owed her big time for leaving. Sure, he’d left, but Pidge was where he wanted to be. She wasn’t lost. She hadn’t left Lance’s house since Matt’s return. Neither of them would be there tonight when Pidge’s parents came to dinner at Lance’s. Lance was stressed over it that morning when they’d cuddled in bed. This “move” couldn’t have been on a worse day, nor did it make much sense to Keith. Sure, Coran wanted to do skill assessments on both on them first thing the following morning, but he could have dragged his arse out of bed at ungodly o’clock if it meant not seeing Lance trying to be happy for him. 

That wasn’t to say Lance wasn’t happy that he’d be working through things with Shiro. He was and he’d told him that so many times Keith had to kiss him to shut up. It was more... more... like Lance had given him a taste of what it felt like to be in a real home where hunting was secondary to living. Throwing himself down on the red pleather sofa, Keith pulled out his new phone. Blue and Lance were his Home Screen, his Lock Screen a random photo of the desert he’d found on the internet. Sure, he was being sappy and stupid, but he could really use a cuddle from Blue right about now. With his leg slung over the sofa, he hated the piece of furniture. The only thing going for it was the fact it was red  
“Well, this is it. Coran said we can find our own place once things settle down. We need to go shopping for the essentials. You’ll probably want more clothes”

Lance had packed him a backpack filled with the few things he’d bought him in their time together, plus a few shirts and pairs of jeans that he’d been borrowing  
“Keith, did you hear me?”  
Keith kept tapping on his phone, opening his chat with Lance up. Lance had messaged him, because his boyfriend was far too damn nice. His message along the lines of guessing Keith was frowning right about now, but he needed to remember that it wasn’t forever and Garrison really wasn’t that far away. Keith couldn’t help smiling slightly. Even apart, his boyfriend still cared  
“Yeah. You want to go shopping”  
“Unless you’re intending on sitting there sulking”  
Keith frowned, his tone huffy  
“I’m not sulking”  
“Right. You do know Garrison is down the road”  
“I’ve been told”  
“Look, Lance will be fine with Curtis. Matt and Rieva have started settling in, and he’s got Pidge”  
“I didn’t say he didn’t”

Keith’s thumb paused over his phone. He wanted to tell Lance how much the apartment sucked... yet... if he did that than Lance would worry. The apartment didn’t really suck. It was clean, styled around the primary colours, plus green and black. Not his colour theme, but not hideous and not Lance’s house  
“Am I allowed to send him photos?”  
Photos would say what he couldn’t   
“Not of the outside, or from the windows. It’s for our safety and his. You’ve got your private phone, but if you lose it, it’s safer it doesn’t trace back to this place”  
Keith nearly rolled his eyes, feeling like he was channeling a little Pidge as nearly corrected Shiro over “GPS” being a thing. Pointing that out would mean Shiro would probably say no to him sending photos   
“I’m going send him photos first. He’ll be worried”  
Shiro sighed at him. They’d picked up the keys from Coran, so it’d been like 2 hours since he last saw Lance. Talk about being pathetic   
“Keith, you only saw him this morning”  
“So? It’s not my fault it feels weird being here without our things. We were supposed to take this move thing slow”   
“Coran wanted us...”  
“I know. Let me message Lance, then we’ll go shopping”  
“Okay, kiddo. You want to pick a room?”

He kind of had to. Keith knew Shiro knew he was in a flunk over moving. When they’d come back after meeting with Coran, the first thing Lance had done was wrap his arms around him and welcome him home. Was it stupid he wanted that for here to. He wanted Shiro to wrap his arms around him and welcome him back? They’d kind of moved on from doing that and Keith had forgotten how nice it felt.

Out of the three bedroom, Keith picked the one with the least amount of light. His sleep schedule had been pretty messed up before Lance came into his life. Insomnia had come with the job, long nights of tossing and turning unable to switch off after work. Lance soothed that. He didn’t question Keith’s nightmares. He didn’t make a scene or a fuss. And Keith was grateful for that. Coran had tried to make the bedrooms more homely. The beds were all queen sized, each with a flowery duvet cover and small crappy trinkety things on the bedside table. His new room was okay in it’s own way, if you liked something that looked like it’d been put together by someone who was at least several decades out of style. Taking photos, he hesitated before sending them through to Lance. He didn’t want Lance to feel he was rubbing this new distance between them in his face, so followed up with “I wish you were here”. He hoped that didn’t sound too lame. He already knew he was being stupid and lame over the move. He’d lived for his job for so long, that he really should be used to it. 

“Why am I not surprised you chose the room with the least amount of light?”  
Keith tried to act like he hadn’t been so absorbed in waiting for his messages to be read by Lance that he hadn’t jumped at Shiro’s voice behind him  
“Because mornings can go fuck themselves?”  
“Keith, I know it’s hard, but this is a fresh start for both of us. I think it’s what we both needed. Adam wouldn’t want us to be stuck on his memory. He loved you, kiddo. He’d want you to be happy”

Playing the Adam card was a dirty trick, because Keith knew Shiro was right. His brother probably had a lot of bad memories in Rome, and hell knew he wouldn’t miss James and the rest of the werewolves  
“I know. Do we really have to go shopping?”  
“Unless you want to start our night with figuring out how to eat the sofa, then yes. We really have to go shopping”  
“Fiiiiine. I’m getting a new cover for the bed”  
“I don’t think Coran will mind”  
“I don’t care if he does. Lance said he’d judge me on me, but he talks so much about Lance that it’s kind of weird”  
“Well they have known each other longer than we’ve been alive. He’d got to be better than Iverson”  
“Iverson can suck my dick”  
“I didn’t know you felt that way. Better not tell Lance”

Keith rolled his eyes. Out of all his instructors Iverson had been the worse. Always going on about how he could do better. Always going on about how he should be more like Shiro and Adam. He’d punched him hard enough to detach the man’s retina in his left eye. He felt like shit for it. He’d very nearly been thrown out of it, but Shiro had stepped in. Needless to say he hated him even more after the incident  
“Lance and I are taking things slow”  
“That still doesn’t mean you don’t want Iverson to...”  
“Say that again and I’ll punch you in the dick”  
Shiro gave a laugh  
“Okay. Okay. Point made. It’s not every day that you mind out your brother is into older men”  
“I’m not. It’s just Lance. And stop making me talk about him. I don’t like missing him”  
“You don’t want to miss him?”  
“I don’t like feeling like I’m on the other side of the planet... I feel like... like something’s going to happen”  
“I know it’s hard, but he’s not alone”  
“That’s the problem. What if he turns into a bat?”  
“Then they’ll cover it”  
“What if he goes into heat and something happens?”  
“Keith, he was perfectly okay on Sunday, and we’ll be back in Garrison for the weekend. If anything happens he has your number”  
“I’m overreacting, aren’t I?”

Keith stared down at his phone, Lance hadn’t replied yet. He didn’t like that Lance hadn’t replied. He was probably busy with the others, but what if he was busy he forgot about him? Coming up behind him, Keith was lifted off his feet by Shiro, his brother dumping him down on his new bed, before collapsing next to him  
“I forgot how big you’ve gotten”  
“You’re just getting old”  
Shiro snorted at him. Keith huffing as he slapped his brother’s stomach   
“Geez. Thanks for that. Look, it’s a new relationship, I get it”  
“I just feel like...”  
“Lance isn’t about to forget you. He isn’t about to skip town. He’s probably busy making lunch for the others”  
“I know. I feel stupid for missing him”  
“Nah. Not stupid, only human. Now, can we please go shopping? I’m starving”  
“Lance fed you this morning”  
“So? All this morning has me hungry”  
“What moving? It was three bags and your suitcase. You could have at least packed clothes for me”  
“Let’s not dwell on my mistakes. This is going to be good for us. I can feel it”  
“Yeah... maybe”

That was all the enthusiasm Keith could muster. He really was pathetic. He’d survived all those years without Lance, a few more days wouldn’t change anything.

*  
Saturday took its sweet time rolling around. For an underground complex, VOLTRON wasn’t as bad as it seemed. There gym complex was kind of awesome. It had everything Keith could ever want from a gym, including a pool which he was excited to try out. Thursday had been all about testing physical strengths, once they’d been through full medicals... his heart passing with flying colours. Friday gave him flash backs to high school he could have done without as Coran tested their base knowledge with written exams. Allura had offered to show them the sights around the city, but Keith wanted to do that with Lance. 

It wasn’t that he disliked Allura, she was just someone he didn’t know. Friday he’d tried out the gym, sensors stuck to him so Coran could analyse the data. The man pointing out the few jumps in his heart rate which he delighted in pointing out coincided with messages from Lance. Lance sending him stupid gym work out memes, despite Keith telling him Coran was monitoring his physical condition. He’d turned into one of “those” people in the last three days, those kind of people who waited for every message and leapt to check their phones at the first chance. He’d never been that before. He’d never worried over what to say, or cared what kind of face he was making. Shiro called it his “Lance face”. Keith called him stupid. He missed his boyfriend and when Saturday came, he couldn’t have been happier.

Having barely slept, thanks to over thinking seeing Lance again, his two coffees didn’t agree with him during the car ride. Shiro had to pull over twice because he’d gone pale, his stomach rolling the whole drive. Apparently the car came with the job, it wasn’t anything remarkable, a plain sedan designed to be like the other thousand plain white sedans in Platt. The only difference being it was teched up, and carried a small arsenal in the trunk in case of emergency situations. Shiro thought he was hilarious as he’d bought a solar dancing thing for the dash which was a vampire whose head and arms moved. Keith could only groan at him, supposing it was better than a dancing hula girl. If he’d said as much out loud, Shiro would have made it his mission to find one, so the hunter wisely kept his mouth shut.

Pulling into Lance’s drive, Keith nearly threw up as his nerves bloomed on top of everything. It felt like every time his social worker had pulled up at next foster home. He’d be there for a time, proven too much effort, then move onto the next family. By the time reached Lance’s house, Lance was out the front waiting. Blue trying to escape from his hold. They’d finally made it and the drive couldn’t have felt any longer if Shiro had actually tried  
“I didn’t think my driving was that bad”  
“I think I used the wrong milk”  
Shiro had his own milk. Living with Lance, Lance automatically swapped to lactose free and he hadn’t given it any other though. Not all milk turned his insides into a pit of boiling lava, but apparently Shiro’d found another brand that did. Maybe it was easier to hide his butterflies under the guise of bad milk when it meant ignoring memories of the past  
“I’ll swap it out when we get home. Need help getting inside?”

Keiths stomach gurgled, Keith hoping things weren’t about to get any worse than this in front of Lance. Lance could probably hear them... he didn’t want his boyfriend knowing. He was grown man. He shouldn’t be this nervous. This was Lance. He had no need to be nervous in front of Lance, plus, what would he say about Keith showing up sick?  
“It’s an upset stomach, not a broken leg”  
“Okay. Let me know if it gets any worse. I can pick up something from the chemist if you need?”  
“Don’t blow this out of proportion”  
“I forgot how moody bad milk makes you”  
Shiro was lucky he was his brother. He wasn't being moody... Shiro should be grateful he hadn't brought up Curtis, like a moody anger loaf might. They might need to check on Matt, Rieva and Lance, but Keith would bet money that Shiro and Curtis were a hell of a lot closer than his brother wanted to admit. But no. He wouldn’t say that. Because he wasn’t moody.


	47. Chapter 47

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance just wants to look after Keith... and Keith needs to sleep. Soft boys being boyfriends

47

Shiro promptly dobbed him into Lance. He literally said “Hey, Lance. Be careful with Keith he drank normal milk”, before letting himself into Lance’s house like he owned the damn place. Still feeling queasy, Keith was reduced to shuffling. His intestines felt filled with needles, and other not so pleasant stuff. Letting Blue finally jump down, Blue ran off towards the sedan as Lance stepped down the last two steps and carefully wrapped his arms around him. Keith all but melted. His nerves still there, but so was Lance  
“I missed you”  
God. His boyfriend was the sweetest. Keith opened his mouth to tell him how much he’d missed him too, only to fart and ruin the whole moment.

Mortified, Keith went tense as he cringed, waiting for Lance to laugh. Instead, his boyfriend simply pressed a kiss to his neck before pulling away and taking his hand  
“That bad, huh? You don’t look too well. Let’s head upstairs?”  
Keith felt like he should apologise for blowing their touching reunion. He felt like maybe Lance should have laughed, even it’d been at him  
“Keith, it’s okay. Unless you’re standing there literally shitting yourself, because that’s what the look on your face is saying”  
“Shut up. It’s Shiro’s fault”  
“And you can tell me all about it when you feel better. It hasn’t been the same without you around”

Lance was happy to go at a snails pace, Keith embarrassed enough that he was dragging his feet the whole way. Maybe he had drunk the wrong milk. He’d stopped thinking about it when he lived with Lance, trusting Lance wasn’t about to poison him with the dreaded lactose. Led into Lance’s room, his boyfriend shot him a shy smile  
“If you’re not comfortable, I can set you up in Curtis’s room”  
“No. No... God. This is... embarrassing”  
He may have kind of farted again... Lance’s super nose had to have smelt the fresh scent of internal death  
“Keith, you literally can’t control the way your body reacts. If you can see me in my heats, and still be there, I can be there when you’re suffering from drinking the wrong milk”  
“But...”  
Heats and milk were two different things   
“Shhhh. It’s okay. I’ll take farty you over no you any day. Take your jeans off, the pressure’s probably not great against your stomach”

Lance settled on his bed, Keith even more embarrassed over taking his jeans and boots off, he felt incredibly lame. Climbing into bed beside his boyfriend, Lance stayed on his back, Keith hesitant, as Lance beckoned him closer  
“Get over here already, you’re acting as nervous as I feel”  
“You’re nervous?”  
Lance chuckled, Keith finally climbing into his hold. Kissing his forehead, Keith wished his nerves would fuck off. Lance’s bed felt so much nicer than his   
“This is my fourth change today... so was aiming for casual, but nice casual, but not too nice casual, but not so casual as you thought I didn’t make an effort”  
“That’s too much effort”  
“Curtis said the same thing”

Keith didn’t like the way he felt when Lance said Curtis’s name. He was reminded that he wasn’t part of anything that’d happened since Wednesday, outside of what Lance, and the group, messaged him   
“He did?”  
“Yep. He’s actually not that terrible... He still likes to point out things he shouldn’t, but I’ve been mostly working since you left”  
“You didn’t think he was terrible before”  
“He was on thin ground for murdering my toaster. He covered for me on Wednesday”  
“That’s right, Pidge’s parents were coming to dinner”  
“Yep. And guess who went into heat? He got me out the room, then covered for me saying I had to lie down thanks to a migraine. Then he kept Matt off my back. He doesn’t think I should keep dealing with heats alone”  
Jealousy bubbled up   
“Who? Matt? If he...”  
“No. Curtis. Matt was being Matt. His idea of comfort was yelling through the door that I should picture you to jerk off to”  
“That sounds annoying. Why didn’t you tell me?”  
They’d talked that night, and Keith hadn’t even known   
“Because, dummy, I didn’t want you stressing out further over it. You had enough to deal with in Platt”  
“You could have called to tell me”  
“I know... but when I hear your voice, I want to see you, and you know I blurt out things”

Still. Lance should have told him. This was exactly what Keith was afraid of. Matt could easily have broken Lance’s door down, so could Rieva. His boyfriend was kind of cute, and he did have a nice arse. Lance had more in common with the pair of them...  
“Keith?”  
“I don’t want to be on the outside. I’m supposed to be your boyfriend. Would you have told me if there wasn’t a risk of the others bringing it up?”  
“Yes. I planned to tell you today. Maybe not like this, with you feeling sick... Yeah. Basically. I wanted to let you know... It doesn’t feel like... something to talk about on the phone”

Keith’s jealousy died down. The fact Lance wanted to be honest doused it. Tripping over his words, Keith feared coming across controlling or bossy  
“Can you call me? If it happens again, can you can me?”  
Lance sighed softly, wriggling to adjust himself around him   
“I don’t want to put pressure on you. Tell me about those tests Coran put you through. I told you he’d be...”  
Keith’s stomach gurgled again, yeah... moment over  
“I need the bathroom”

When Keith came from the bathroom, he was ready to die. Milk was evil. Cows were evil. Dairy was evil. He felt far grosser than when he’d gone in, and the bathroom window being wide open was testimony to that fact. Climbing back into Lance’s arms, Lance rubbed his back gently  
“You should get some rest. Try to sleep off some of the symptoms”  
“No... I came all this way to spend time with you”  
“And we will. I tried looking up how to help you but the internet’s not very helpful”  
“It’ll pass”  
“I know. I wish I could do something though”  
What was he supposed to say to that? Lance was doing something. A whole lot of something. He was accepting that Keith wasn’t making things up and that he couldn’t control the way his body reacted   
“Maybe a small nap?”  
“Sounds good to me. I’ll stay here with you. The others are preoccupied. Pidge had Matt working on lighting requirements for the stupid tunnel system again. Hunk and Shay are in the kitchen. Hunk is giving her a cooking lesson, he was pretty proud of the last one he gave. They’re gonna be at it for a while”

The last cooking lesson Hunk gave had to be when he’d tried teaching Keith. Keith had tried... but he felt like he hadn’t lived up to Hunk’s standards. He now knew there was a wrong was to grate a carrot, and that Hunk didn’t appreciate him peeling them with a knife. Hunk had the potato peeler, limiting Keith’s choices. He hadn’t cut his thumb off so he was taking that as a win. Lance had laughed over it all, caging Keith’s body as he showed him how Hunk liked his carrots grated, which was basically like normal only you used a fork when you got close to the end instead of your fingers to hold the shrinking nub of carrot.

Hiding his face against Lance’s chest, he’d forgotten that Lance constantly felt a few agreed above rock cold. Shivering, he found himself half squashed as Lance reached over him, pulling the blankets up so he was covered properly. He couldn’t ask for anyone nicer   
“I don’t know if he should be proud”  
“You should be. You survived a master class with the best cook in Garrison. You should see them. They’re still grossly in love”  
“I’m sure I’ll see them tonight”  
“Yeah. Okay, no more distracting me. It’s time for little vampires and little vampire hunters to have a nap”  
“I’m not a kid. Don’t make punch you in the dick”  
Lance let out a faked gasp of offence   
“I can’t believe you’d treat me like that”  
“And I can’t believe it’s not butter”  
“Oh my god. You must be sick, because that was absolutely terrible and totally not the line. Maybe I should call a doctor?”  
“You’re an arsehole”  
Keith’s tone held no bite, Lance kissing his hair took all the playfulness out, and instead shoved feelings into the gap. He felt safe enough to rest when in Lance’s arms... he just wished he felt better physically so he could enjoy every what time they had.

Keith completely zonked out. Lance didn’t seem to mind, but Keith did. Sleeping through to dinner time, he was woken by Lance softly shaking his shoulder  
“I didn’t want to wake you, but it’s dinner time”  
Whaaa... oh... groggy from waking it took him a long moment to process he was at Lance’s and slept the whole damn day. So much for spending time with Lance  
“Fuck... fuck...”  
“It’s okay”  
“No it’s not. I came to spend time with you, not sleep”  
“Honestly, it’s okay. You couldn’t help feeling sick”  
“But...”  
Lance brushed his hair back from his fringe, Keith finding he was still cuddling him despite how long he’d slept  
“Nope. No. You don’t get to feel bad over something you can’t control”  
“I came to see you. God. What about the others?”  
“Are fine with it. Shiro already told them you got car sick”  
“That doesn’t explain you looking after me”  
“Dude, it’s what friends do. Trust me. I’ve done the same with Hunk and Pidge, plus, I’m a pre-established worrywort. And I think I’ve earned myself a few hours to spend them how I want”  
“You didn’t stay here the whole time, did you?”

Keith would have been farting like there was no tomorrow. He still felt bloated and gross. Not at all a manly and brave vampire hunter. God. How the tables would turn if the vampires knew he could be taken out with a glass of plain milk  
“Yep. It doesn’t matter what we do when we’re together, it means enough that you came to visit”  
“You’re going to have this memory forever, while I’m laying here crop dusting in your sheets”  
“Eh, I stuck tissues in my nose, problem solved”

Keith was frustrated by how easily Lance was accepting this. He’d slept the day away. He’d shown up on Lance’s doorstep and then proceeded to sleep. Lance should have been mad at him, his tone was snappy as he said  
“Why can’t you just tell me you’re upset? You’re acting like it’s not a big deal”  
“Because I’d like to think if I turned up on your doorstep feeling sick you would do the same thing I did and be there with me. No matter how upset and embarrassed I was”  
“That’s different”  
“Nope. Nope. Noooo. It’s really not. I get you have a hard time accepting affection, but no one made me stay here. No one made me bring you up here. I did it because I care about you”  
“And I slept...”  
“You’re being a dick. Can’t you accept I care about you?”  
“I know I’m a dick, I fucking slept!”

Lance groaned at him, proving Lance was annoyed  
“We’re not fighting about this. I don’t know why this is a big deal to you, but I care about you. This, doesn’t make me care any less. I’m not annoyed, I might be a bit annoyed that you’re arguing with me over it. This what people do when they care about someone. They’re there for them. I could tell you were exhausted and in pain so I let you sleep through. Now, however, you have to get up and head down to dinner”  
“Pidge is going to...”  
“Understand. Trust me. I have a fair few incidents I can use if she says anything”  
“You’d stand up for me?”  
“Well I’m lying down for you at the moment, but you know...”  
Lance’s attempt at humour was lame... and Keith appreciated it  
“You’re a dick”  
“Yep. Now let’s get moving or there’s going to be nothing left”


	48. Chapter 48

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I am going to get to each and every comment my loves! It’s just been one of those days spent designing business cards, business window decals, and business car stickers. My boss is moving 400kms away and opening a second store, meaning I’m moving out of having 4 jobs to hopefully just 3. I say that, but 3 current jobs are volunteering sooooo...
> 
> Anyway... soft bois are soft

48

Lance couldn’t wait for the day to be over. Matt was as passionate about technology as Pidge was, Pidge was living on his sofa because she missed her brother. Work had sucked and he actually had to make an appearance in Platt thanks to a case, which he hadn’t told Keith about yet, and Keith was still feeling the effects of drinking milk.

Dinner had been loud, Rieva and Shay had hit off, Lance learning more about her during dinner than he’d learned the whole week before. Hunk and Shay kept making “lovey” eyes over the dinner table, and he hadn’t been able to do the same with Keith. Pidge had teased him gently about getting faking sick to get Lance into bed, Keith had laughed it off, but hell, he was only kind of human and he’d really missed having Keith around the house. Curtis had tried to fill in on the role of kitchen hand, but he really didn’t get along with technology so it was easier for Lance to just do everything himself. Matt had peed on his death soil, while as a wolf, and Lance had felt he seriously deserved some major Keith time after cleaning that up. He hadn’t spent three months making it just for Matt to decide it smelt funny and needed his scent instead. Yeah. He was bummed that Keith wasn’t feeling well when he’d turned up, but he had scored pretty much a whole day of relaxing in bed as boyfriend slept it off. Keith couldn’t help that he was lactose intolerant, but of all the days he could have messed up, it really could have been the day that he wasn’t coming over.

After dinner Pidge insisted on a games night... Lance just wanted to cuddle with Keith and pretend they weren’t keeping their relationship on the down-low, but Pidge wanted Keith to spend time with them before he left again... Keith was towed away by Pidge to the living room, Hunk and Shay staying to help with the dishes. He still proud as hell that Hunk had snagged Shay, and loved having Shay over. She came with great customer service stories, and was just so likeable that he’d wished he’d cornered Hunk into asking her out sooner. Yet he totally felt like the third wheel. At least when it was him, Curtis, Matt, and Rieva, he and Curtis both had each other to hang with. He’d gotten Curtis into teen rom-coms, the exhunter soon as invested in them as he was. And there was the fact Curtis had started to loosen up. He still pointed out things he didn’t need to, but things were moving more towards friendship rather than babysitting.

Pidge’s game night consisted of breaking up into three teams. Her, Shay and Rieva. Shiro, Hunk and Curtis . Him, Keith and Matt. Hooking her tablet up to the TV the first game was Pictionary, where they all failed miserably at using the stylus to draw. After five rounds, Pidge’s group claimed victory, which she was well and truly smug over. It totally wasn’t his fault that Keith and Matt were as hopeless as he was when it came to art. In his mind he knew everything he needed to do, but that didn’t translate to his drawings. Adding alcohol to the mix, they moved onto charades. Lance liked to think he was a pretty good actor, but somehow that was taken out by Shiro’s team, who’d definitely had found favouritism somewhere along the line as their prompts were much easier than everyone else’s. When Pidge got mischievous and suggested strip poker, Matt firmly noped out of that. Pidge instead setting up JackBox.

It was well after midnight before they headed up to bed. Keith acting nervous again. Sending his boyfriend to the bathroom to change, Lance changed into pyjamas before climbing into bed to wait for him. His anger loaf had loosened up, his competitive side showing that he didn’t take losing well. Spending the night with Keith and having fun was something he’d missed. Even when all they were doing was watching some lame movie, it was different when Keith was there. He’d never felt as pathetic as he did over the way he missed Keith in his adult life. Still, he was kind of proud that Keith seemed to be adjusting to living alone with Shiro again. Their apartment looked pretty nice, and Keith had sent him a photo of his bed with his new duvet cover. His boyfriend hadn’t been able to find a red one, so instead he had a black duvet cover with red pillow slips. It was very Keith, and only made him miss him more. Well aware of how pathetic he was acting, Lance tried not to snatch up his phone each time he got a new message from Keith. Trying to play it cool, while wanting to reply straight away. He hadn’t been lying when he’d said he planned to tell Keith he’d gone into heat, he’d planned on telling him... just not that it’d happened more than once. 

Lance was mortified the second time it happened. Matt and Rieva releasing pheromones before they’d gone to bed. Half an hour later the whole house was filled with the sounds of sex, leaving him feeling like a pervert as his body reacted. He’d washed and changed his sheets, yet Keith’s scent hung in the air, his body missing the way his boyfriend held him. He still found himself turning to say something to Keith only for him not to be there more than once. He couldn’t see why Keith was ashamed of being lactose intolerant, when being in a heat was far more shameful. He could only chalk it down to something happened, someone had said something and he hadn’t gotten over it.

Coming back into his room, Lance’s sweats he’d offered as pyjamas were too short for his boyfriend. The shirt a little tight, Lance blushing hard as Keith pointedly didn’t look at him  
“Don’t say it”  
“Nothing to say”  
Nothing to say about the way Keith’s snail trail and hips were showing... There was something sexier about Keith in his clothes. He’d seen him naked and fuck... he had no words for that, but there was kind of an air of mystery when he was wearing clothes  
“This is ridiculous”  
What was ridiculous was how hot Keith was, even when he was sick  
“Get into bed already”  
“I can’t sleep like this”  
“Then strip off... or at least take the shirt off”

Keith huffed as he did, and damn was Lance’s blood supply fast heading south. Being that grizzled and chiselled should have been illegal. Lance wasn’t in the mood to be fooling around with his boyfriend, not when Keith was ill, but damn if he didn’t want to touch him. Stifling down a groan, he knew if he continued on this train of thought, his stupid heat would pop its head up. Today was about Keith recovering, not him being a horny idiot with no filter on his mouth. He preferred the intimacy of cuddling, because at least then he had some experience in that area.

Climbing into bed with near him, Keith turned his back towards him. Lance didn’t know what to do. He hadn’t been mocking Keith. He’d just given him the first pair of clothes that he’d grabbed out his closet. Keith had been fine with cuddling him before, so why not now? Maybe he liked his own bed better and was regretting staying the night? Hunk and Shay had left. Pidge was downstairs becoming one with the sofa. Curtis was sharing a room with Shiro. Everyone was paying attention to everything other than them... so was Keith... being self conscious or had he said something and upset him without meaning too? He couldn’t think of anything he’d said wrong. Maybe Keith just didn’t want to spend the night next to him? That thought hurt. He was doing his best to get his life back on schedule around missing Keith. Crying wasn’t going to change the fact that Keith had his own job, which Lance wanted him to prioritise. Why was there this weird difference between them now? Rolling away from Keith, Lance pushed his face in his pillow. He didn’t want to cry. He didn’t know why he was making a big deal out of this. Keith probably still felt sick and didn’t want to cuddle because of it. 

Laying in this awkward silence, Lance sniffled took loudly, drawing Keith’s attention to the fact he was crying. Feeling Keith move up behind him, his boyfriend slipped his arm around his waist. Lance hated that it took crying to draw his boyfriend’s attention, and he hated that he liked Keith cuddling him. He’d tried to downplay his concern over his boyfriend’s health because he really didn’t want Keith feeling self conscious. He wanted Keith to be able to relax when he came home... when he came back to Lance’s house.

“Hey, what is it?”  
Keith asking made him feel infinitely worse  
“It’s nothing”  
“It’s not nothing”  
“It is. Just tired. Long day and all. You better get to sleep”  
Now he was brushing him off... why was he being so lame?  
“Lance, talk to me”  
“We’re talking”  
“You’re crying”  
“It doesn’t matter”  
“Yes it does”  
Why did Keith had enough to be so Keith like?  
“Did I do something wrong?”  
“Why would you ask that?”  
“Because you didn’t want to... I might just sleep downstairs tonight”  
“What the hell? Where’s that coming from?”  
“I just thought you might be happier up here alone”  
“What the fuck?!”

Now Keith was mad at him. He didn’t know what he kept doing wrong. Keith made him forget how to think straight  
“I didn’t mean to make you mad. I’ll go”  
Taking Keith’s arm off him, Lance slid from the covers  
“Lance!”  
“I’m sorry”  
Yeah. He was being a coward. They’d had fun as a group and now it felt like he didn’t know what to say and do to keep that mood between them. Grabbing up his robe, Lance fled from the room. Rushing down the hall and nearly falling down the stairs in his rush to hide his shameful side from Keith.

He would have fallen down the stairs if he hadn’t run smack into Shiro. The hunter letting out a grunt of surprise, as Lance quickly bounced back then moved to keep fleeing down the stairs  
“Lance?”  
Why was he being like this? Keith was leaving again tomorrow. Things had to stay good and normal until then...

As he reached his office, the first cramp hit. His stupid heat hitting as his head began to swim. It didn’t explain his less than stellar behaviour, but it’d definitely come on because of it. Shutting the door behind him, Lance locked it. All this thanks to Keith wanting to sleep on his side of the bed was pathetic. He was overreacting big time. He didn’t want to be like this with Keith. He needed to apologise to him. 

“Lance, it’s Shiro, can we talk?”  
Now wasn’t the time. The only person he should be talking to is Keith. He should be fucking begging him to forgive him... or fuck him. No. That was the heat. He didn’t deserve Keith forgiving him  
“Now isn’t good!”  
“Are you okay?”  
“I’m fine. Just vampire things!”  
“If you’re in heat...”  
What? He’d send Keith down to satisfy that burning desire bubbling inside of him?  
“I’m staying in here!”  
“Okay... okay, but if you need help...”  
Oh god. No. He didn’t just want anyone. He wanted Keith. Shiro might be all tall and handsome, but he wasn’t Keith. He wasn’t the one he wanted to bend him over his desk and make him scream  
“Shiro, now isn’t a great time! Thanks for concern”  
“Okay... I guess I’ll see you in the morning”  
“Yep, sure thing buddy. Sleep tight”

Lance flinched at his own lameness. Shiro would go straight to Keith. Keith would tell him he’d been a giant dick about things. Keith would be upset that he didn’t trust him enough to tell him. Falling in love wasn’t perfection. It wasn’t like in the movie. A kiss wasn’t an apology. A million roses wouldn’t be enough of an apology for what he’d done. His Mami had been so happy for them, but the truth was that Keith was in love with a monster... he was a monster who’d hurt Keith.

*  
Keith had no idea what had happened. Lance hadn’t curled up around him. That was what his boyfriend usually did. He preferred holding Lance, but Lance liked holding him... and now Lance was crying and he didn’t know why. 

Trying to stay away, Keith couldn’t. Lance obviously had something on his mind. But he preferred to clam up instead of talking to him. Sure, Keith was embarrassed. Lance’s clothes had been way too small. For a moment he’d wondered if it’d been a dig at him, until he told himself that Lance wasn’t like that. Maybe Lance thought he still felt sick? He did, but he’d thought they’d had fun... Kind of? Matt was a dumb smart person... and Lance had zero luck at drawing... Then they’d headed upstairs and Lance got weird... and he got weird. He’d slept all day and now they were going to bed again... That was a little weird? Or was he making too much out of it?

Heading out of Lance’s room, Keith shivered. He should have brought a blanket along, the house was bloody freezing. Tucking his hands under his armpits, he kept his steps light, not wanting to run into Shiro. Having zero luck, he ran into him on the bottom step of the stairs  
“Fu-... Keith? Don’t do that”  
Shiro clutched his chest. The old man was showing his age. Did people just not go to bed and stay in bed?  
“What are you doing up?!”  
“I was trying to go bed, then I ran into Lance”  
“How was he?”  
Shiro had seen Lance? He should have gone after him  
“Crying. Did something happen?”  
“I don’t know. That’s why I came down to ask”  
“He’s locked himself in his office. You’re going to have to wait until morning, I think he’s in heat”  
Keith shook his head. There wasn’t any scent when he’d l  
“He wasn’t in heat when he left. Did you hear anything?”  
“Only him trying to cover his crying. Do you want to talk about it?”  
“Nah. I’ll talk to him. You head up to bed”  
“You’ll be alright with him?”  
Keith snorted, hoping to cover his nerves  
“You left me with him all afternoon. I’ll be fine”  
“If anything happens, get Matt”  
“Yeah, yeah. Go to bed already”  
“If he doesn’t want to talk, don’t push it tonight. We’re not leaving until the afternoon”  
That was change in plans, but a welcome one. Keith assumed it was to do with the fact Shiro and Curtis had time to talk alone. Whatever, he had his own relationship to think of.

Knocking on Lance’s office door, Keith then pressed his ear against the wood. He could hear Lance crying   
“Go away, Shiro. We’ll talk tomorrow”  
“Wrong brother. Lance, open the door”  
“Can we talk about this tomorrow?”  
“No. I want to know why you apologised to me and why you wouldn’t stay and talk”  
“Keith, not right now...”  
“If I did something...”  
“It wasn’t you. It was me... I’m sorry. I thought... I thought I made you mad... I’m sorry”  
This was getting nowhere   
“Just open the damn door”

The lock on the door clicked, Keith quick to grab the handle and turn before Lance could change his mind. Opening the door, his boyfriend’s scent smacked him, Keith barely had time to process before he had his arms full of a crying Lance  
“I’m sorry. I was horrible and I’m sorry and I’m sorry... thought you were mad at me and I couldn’t work out what I did... and... I really want you to want me still, but I’m a monster who hurt you because you didn’t hug me when you got into bed”  
Lance’s explanation came out in a panted mess. Keith kind of shocked that the action had reduced Lance to tears, and upset Lance was calling himself a monster again   
“You usually like holding me... Hey, no. No more tears, it was a misunderstanding”  
“I thought you must regret coming here because I can’t even hold your hand. I can’t kiss you... and...”  
Pidge was bound to hear Lance crying and his scent was pungent enough that Matt and Rieva could smell it  
“Come back up to bed with me”  
“I can’t... I’m barely controlling myself as it is. Right now all I can think about is having you beneath me. I don’t want to rush things”

There was no pressure to rush, provided that didn’t include the rush of blood southwards in Lance’s tight sweats  
“Hold onto me”  
Lance was confused as Keith lifted him up. The vampire’s teeth scraping against his neck as Lance shook in his arms. They’d had a misunderstanding and Lance had stressed himself into this. This wouldn’t do. 

Keith struggled up the stairs, but was determined to prove his point. By the time he got Lance back to his room he’d worked up a sweat. Getting Lance on the bed, Lance turned away from him as he gripped the blankets beneath him. He’d spend all night wanting to touch him. To kiss him. Hunk and Shay could be open and in love. They were taking it slow and without the complications but it was hard not to let it show. Keith hadn’t very social, taking a while to warm up to everyone during dinner, then they’d had a games a night and he still hadn’t been able to touch Lance. Now he finally had him alone again, he wasn’t sure what to do with him. Lance was in heat and Keith’s self control was slipping. 

Pulling Lance onto his back, his boyfriend stared up at him with hooded glassy eyes  
“I’m going to kiss you now”  
Climbing between Lance’s long legs, he pressed a kiss to his boyfriend’s lips. Keith had been dying to do that all damn day. One kiss turned to another with ease, Lance’s teeth scraping his lip as his boyfriend rocked against them, the pair making out like the inexperienced idiots they were. Grinding against Lance felt more than good, it was like all the confusing stuff had been chucked out the window and it was just the two of them again. This wasn’t how their first time would go. Keith wanted that to be special, and not in a house full of their sleeping friends. Breaking the kiss, he kissed his way down to Lance’s Adam’s apple, nipping lightly at the smooth flesh. Moaning, Lance rocked his hips harder, clothes now in the way of him touching his boyfriend   
“Shirt... off”  
Lance moved to obliged, Keith eager to see him beneath the light of the bedside lamp. He loved Lance’s reactions. Loved his little gasps and moans. Everything was amped thanks to his heat, and he smelt incredible.

Lance grew shyer with his shirt off, Keith’s hands sliding across his torso  
“What do you want, babe?”  
“Babe” had slipped out, Lance was being extra careful with his teeth, normally he’d be biting his lip   
“You...”  
“How”  
“I want you... I don’t care... just mess me up inside”  
Keith felt himself smirk, Lance’s legs were still wrapped around him. Thrusting against his boyfriend’s grinding hips, Lance fisted the blankets beneath him as he moaned  
“Is that what you want? Me to pin you down and make you come?”  
Lance nodded quickly, eyes scrunched tightly closed as he fought to control himself. Keith didn’t know where his burst of confidence had come from... They couldn’t have sex... but there were other ways to have sex  
“I want you to get your hands and knees for me. Put your hands on the bed head”  
“K-Keith?”  
“Let me touch you. I promise I won’t cross that line”

Lance got on his hands and knees as Keith asked. Settling himself behind his boyfriend, Keith pulled Lance’s pyjama bottoms and underwear down, before freeing his erection. He wasn’t sure how the mechanic were going to work, only that he had a vague idea   
“Okay, sit back against me”  
Lance did as he was told, wetness smearing across Keith’s dick as his boyfriend sat back. With a little manoeuvring, Keith slipped his dick between his boyfriend’s thighs, rolling his hips experimentally  
“Fuuu...”  
“Keep your thighs together for me”

Lance sitting for him wasn’t working the way he wanted. Moving to kneeling, it made it easier for Keith to slide between Lance’s legs, his boyfriend wet enough that he didn’t need lube. He may or may not have seen this in porn, and may have some reservations until Lance started moving, matching every thrust as he panted. Holding his boyfriend against him, when Lance turned for a kiss, Keith was quick to kiss back, drunk on that sweet smell and being with a man who truly cared for him. Broken kisses fell between the sharp hitching in Lance’s breathing, moving his hand, Keith gripped Lance’s erection lightly enough not to take control, but loosely enough that his boyfriend was fucking his fist. Shuddering, Lance came with a garbled kind of whimpering moan. Keith continuing until his own orgasm hit. Riding the waves of bliss, he pulled Lance down to sit in his lap as he came between his thighs. Moving from kissing, Keith nuzzled into Lance’s cheek, panting as his body shook  
“Fuck... babe...”

Staying like that until they’d recovered, Keith pressed kisses to Lance’s cheek  
“You okay?”  
“I don’t know”  
It was an honest answer. They’d both gotten into it and maybe a little carried. It wasn’t penetrative sex, but it was still sex  
“Was that too much?”

Keith went into panic mode as Lance sniffled. Ignoring the mess and his pants around his knees, he pulled his boyfriend back so they were both sitting semi-properly  
“Lance, talk to me?”  
“My heat...”  
He sounded so guilty   
“It’s okay”  
“It’s not... you’re sick...”  
“Not as sick as I was”  
“I... I was so mean to you”  
“You weren’t”  
“I was. I was horrible to you and you... I wanted to take care of you but... I got all worked up and acted so rude. I just wanted to cuddle”  
Keith’s heart fell  
“You didn’t want to do this?”  
“I want to be able to do with you without my heat”  
“Lance, it’s okay”  
“It’s not... I feel like I’m going crazy. I miss you so much. I keep going to talk to you and you’re not there and I wanted to have a normal night but my body can’t even settle down... I really like you. I like you so much”

Could Lance be any nicer?  
“I’ve missed you too. I’m so angry at myself for wasting our time together sleeping. I was looking forward to today. Then I got sick, and you got your heat... but you know, we did look after each other. And it’s kind of natural that I want to touch my boyfriend”  
Lance’s scent had lessened since coming, but was still there. He knew his boyfriend’s stomach had to hurt with craps similar to his earlier ones   
“I just... want to be normal with you”  
“I think normal went out the window a long time ago. Have you met our friends?”  
Lance snorted wetly as he nodded  
“Yeah... yeah. I’m sorry. I think my ego was sad you didn’t cuddle me”  
“I wanted to. All night I wanted to”  
“Me too. Can... can we clean up and cuddle?”  
Lance definitely felt nice in his hold, he might just have to fight his boyfriend for the right to be the big spoon. Kissing Lance’s shoulder, Keith then nodded  
“That sounds good to me”


	49. Chapter 49

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg... ima have to write some more chapters I’m only 28 ahead now 😛

49

Keith had no idea it’d be another month before he saw Lance again for longer than half an hour. His boyfriend had been to Platt, their schedules not lining up in the slightest. He’d only been able to see Lance as Lance was picking up blood and checking in with Coran. He’d seen Lance again at a festival Platt was holding, he and Shiro there to make sure nothing supernatural happened, so he’d only been able to see him from afar. He’d wanted to blow off work and join Lance, Miriam, Hunk, and Pidge, but he had a responsibility to the festival goers. Lance had called him that night to fill him in on his day, but it wasn’t the same as being there with him. His schedule was brutal, not by Coran’s design, but thanks to there being so much to learn about his new home city.

Perhaps sensing the distance, and the fact they missed each other like crazy, Coran suddenly gave him the weekend off. Keith couldn’t wait until the Saturday morning, pestering Shiro into going down to Garrison on the Friday night.

When they reached Lance’s house, Keith was disappointed to find Lance’s car not parked out the front with Curtis’s and Hunk’s vehicles. He hadn’t told Lance he was coming, he wanted it to be a surprise. They’d talked daily since the last time he’d stayed the night, not that they hadn’t before, but any time Keith had the time to call, Lance would answer. Anytime anything happened at home, even when Keith couldn’t answer, Lance would write him a near essay and message it through. If he boyfriend found it funny, he’d leave it as a voice message, knowing it’d make him smile. There hadn’t been that much to smile about of late. He and Shiro had spent far too much time sussing out vampire, and werewolf, bars. As well as being forced to meet other hunters in the city. His sleep pattern had done nearly a full flip, most nights he found himself falling asleep just before dawn. Coran wasn’t working them hard, that was Shiro being a hard arse... not that they really had the luxury of sitting back when something was definitely bad stirring within the vampire community. Making connections was vital. But all Keith wanted to be was connected with Lance. Talking him through a heat wasn’t the same as being able to hold him when he cried.

Shiro let him take the lead, his brother casting him a glance, Keith ignoring it. For all he knew Matt could have borrowed Lance’s car. Knocking on the front door, Keith ignored the doorbell. If Lance was home, he’d have heard him and come down. His surprise had gone as sideways as the last time he’d be here. Opening the door, Hunk’s face lit up momentarily, fell slightly, then Keith was pulled into a tight hug   
“Lance is going to be happy to see you. Come in, man. He’ll be back later tonight”

That didn’t sound ominous. Leading them through to the living room, Matt raised an eyebrow at him  
“The prodigal boyfriend returns. ‘sup, Shiro”  
Curtis wasn’t there. Rieva was lounging back in a recliner, nose buried in a book as Matt paused the video game he was playing   
“Where’s Lance?”  
Hunk patted his shoulder  
“Platt. He took off so fast he left his phone here. Curtis went with him, Miriam is grandmother after all”  
Keith felt like he was supposed to know what was going on here, and he didn’t want to admit he didn’t. Shiro cleared his throat   
“Something happened to Miriam?”  
“A bit of a cold, but at her age it could turn nasty fast. He picked up on it last weekend. Apparently he’s having trouble with an uncle too. Pidge and I never really pried about his family, sometimes you just kind of know not to, but he’s been down about it. Having his cousin here’s helped. He’s going to be so happy to see you. Don’t worry man, Pidge has no clue”

Hunk tapped the side of his nose, Keith wondering what that mean. Did he smell? Why would Pidge care if he smelt?  
“”No clue” about what?”  
“You two. Don’t worry, Lance hasn’t said anything, but for someone he’s not dating, he talks about you a lot”  
Keith internally panicked for a moment. Did he confirm he was dating Lance? He wanted to confirm he was dating Lance. But he was shocked that Lance hadn’t told him about Miriam. His boyfriend must have been in Platt more than he thought... Luis was a dick. Maybe Lance was so stressed from dealing with things that he’d been keeping it to himself again. Or maybe he didn’t want Keith in the same room as his brother...   
“What were you tapping your nose for?”  
“Because I “knows”... Is that not a thing any more?”  
From the sofa Matt called   
“It’s a thing. Keith is just dense. He’s too busy thinking about Lance not being here. At least the house has been quite now the heats died down”

Matt emphasised the word “heats”. Keith felt like he was taking a jab at him for not being there through Lance’s heats. His boyfriend had told him his body seemed to be settling down. Keith relieved for him. He knew how much of a toll it took. Hunk shrugged  
“Yep. And now Pidge is limiting to visiting instead of sleeping here, we don’t have to put up with you two fighting mid game”  
“We weren’t fighting. She doesn’t like losing”  
Holding his hands up, Hunk clearly didn’t want to go there   
“That’s between you and her. I’m just here for Lance”  
It was good Lance had that support network, but it meant hiding so much away. At least he hadn’t had to confirm he was dating Lance... even if he kind of wanted to, it felt like the moment passed.

Barely ten minutes had passed before there was the crunch of gravel and headlights in the drive. Keith had sat, but he was on his feet and moving for the front door before his mind had caught up. Opening the door, Lance walked straight over to him. Wrapping his arms around him, his boyfriend melted into his hold  
“I’m so fucking happy to see you”  
Lance meant it, and Keith knew he meant it  
“I’m happy to see you too”  
They stood there long enough that Hunk came to check on them as Curtis waited outside for the doorway to be clear  
“Lance, how is she?”  
“They’re monitoring her. Thanks for being here”  
“Any time, man. I made dinner, it’s in the fridge and there’s left overs”  
“You’re the best”

Lance broke the hug, moving to hug Hunk   
“I’m going to go now that Keith’s here, but I’ll be back tomorrow”  
“Thank you. I wouldn’t know what to do without you”  
“It’s fine. I’ve got this, you just get some rest”  
“That’s the plan. I really can’t thank you enough”  
Hunk hugged Lance back, Keith waiting patiently to steal Lance back into his hold  
“Be good and I’ll see you tomorrow. Sorry to just leave, Keith. It’s good to see you, man”  
Keith wasn’t offended. He was too worried about Lance and too sleepy to be offended  
“Yeah, you too. Drive safe”

When Hunk left, Keith followed Lance to his office. Grabbing out a blood bag, Lance seemed a little lost  
“What’s up?”  
“I want to hug you, but is it weird while I’m eating?”  
“Nah. It’s fine. I did kind of show up without messaging”  
“I know... God, I’m exhausted”  
“Want to go bed and talk about it?”  
Lance gave him a tired smile  
“Other than showing up tonight, that’s the best thing I’ve heard today”  
“I was worried when your car wasn’t here”  
“Mami took a sudden turn. She’s fine. Well, she’s okay. They’re monitoring her closely to make sure it doesn’t develop into pneumonia. I was planning on asking to see you tomorrow in Platt, but I’m just so fucking happy you’re here”

Things clicked. Coran suddenly giving them weekend off. Lance went to Coran over everything, Coran loved Lance like a son. Lance would have told him about Miriam, he probably would have told him not to interfere with his work schedule, and put Keith above his own needs. Keith could almost kiss Coran. Almost. The man was seriously weird and oddly happy most of the time. Yet... he wasn’t like any boss Keith had ever had. He always enquired over Keith and Shiro, like making sure they were doing okay in the apartment and not over working themselves... beyond Shiro being a slave driver. Coran probably knew, he probably knew that they both needed each other right now for different reasons. It was meddlesome to have his love life discussed, but he really fucking missed Lance.

*  
Lance was a stumbling mess as he tried to undress. He’d started yawning as they made their way upstairs and hadn’t stopped. Stripping down to his underwear, Lance gazed at his pyjamas like it was too much effort  
“Skip them. It’s just the two of us”  
“You don’t mind?”  
“Not really. I didn’t bring a change of clothes...”  
He’d brought himself. That was about it. He’d left both phone chargers at home with him impatience to get to Garrison  
“You can borrow whatever you want”  
“I know. Let’s skip changing tonight”

That’s how the ended up cuddling in bed in just their underwear. Lance curled against Keith with his blood bag sitting on Keith’s chest as Keith played with his hair. Letting Lance eat, he didn’t know where to begin when it came to bringing up Miriam, so let Lance take the lead. Half a bag of blood later, Lance sighed softly  
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Mami right away. I thought it was just a bug, but they called me today to tell me she was sounding worse. I kind of dropped everything and went”  
“You were going to tell me tomorrow, weren’t you?”  
“Yeah. I didn’t want to interrupt your work until we knew what was going on. I was actually hoping to have you to myself tomorrow night”  
“Coran suddenly gave us the weekend off”  
“He knows... about Mami. Curtis goes there when I go see her. He came to see her too”  
“How is she? Like, really?”  
“Not good... Her memory’s playing up. She knows me, so that’s okay. Luis... she tried to cover not recognising him when he came with Lisa to visit”  
Right. Lisa was the sister-in-law   
“And you?”  
“I’m... I’m scared that this is it. I wanted to bring her home to care for her, but it’s better she’s in Platt”  
“I’m sorry I can’t do anything”  
“You have no idea how much you being here tonight is everything I need right now. It’s probably not what you had planned”  
“It’s fine. I wanted to see you. I’ve missed seeing you”

Lance started to cry, Keith moving the blood bag aside to pull him in close  
“I’m sorry... I miss you so much. I know you’re working, but I think lately the only thing keeping me sane is talking to you every night”  
“I don’t think I’ve ever kept anyone sane”  
“You need to think higher of yourself. Fuck... let’s not talk about me. How’s work?”  
Keith snorted. Work was work  
“Next question?”  
“Shiro still being a hard arse?”  
“Yeah. At the moment we’re still getting used to Platt. Shiro insists on going out every night to snoop around. Coran’s given us a briefing on what’s happening, so at the moment it’s all about watching and learning who’s who”  
“I’m sure you’re loving that. Not having to talk to people”  
He wasn’t that bad... He could trade memes with the best of them now  
“I talk to people. I talk to you, and I talk to Pidge, and I talk to Hunk”  
“I know. So proud of you”  
Keith shoved Lance playfully   
“Wanker”  
“Takes one to know one. Hey... thanks... for coming”  
“Anytime I can... Things sound like they’ve settled down around here”

Wiping his face, Lance then stared down at him  
“Matt told you, didn’t he?”  
“Matt told me, what?”  
“He had a go at you about my heats again, didn’t he?”  
Matt had said it’d died down?  
“Nope. But apparently you’ve got something to tell me?”  
“I feel like you just tricked me”  
Keith pursed his lips, in though. Lance leaning down to kiss him. Not the plan but definitely not something he was going to object to. Keith found he was the one tricked as his boyfriend moved from kissing him to cuddling against him again  
“Did you just kiss me to distract me?”  
“A little. They’re not as bad as they were, I mean, they still hit randomly, which you know about. I... just... um... Matt got mad at me for neglecting my body. Apparently I’m making sex a bigger thing than I needed to. He bought me a flesh light, threw it at my head and then screamed that we should bone already because our phone calls are ridiculous and he doesn’t know how we’ve survived this long. I think he was ready to drive me to Platt and kick me out at your apartment next time it hit”  
“What does Coran say?”  
“It should have settled by now... but... um... everything’s um... there now”  
“No more growing pains?”  
“Only heat cramps”

Keith squeezed him tightly   
“Why didn’t you tell me?”  
Keith felt like a terrible boyfriend. He kind of forgot things were growing inside his boyfriend and it wasn’t always heat pain. He’d kind of not wanted to know all the details   
“I don’t know... growing a womb is kind of weird when you’re a 44 year old man. Coran did a scan, everything’s like... there now. My heat periods should settle now that it’s all grown. I’m still meant avoid extreme stress, and my stressors. He said to leave it another two months then I can go on some kind of birth control”  
This was all good news. Good news that Keith felt came with not so good news, because this was them  
“And long term”  
“I’m going to be really horny come spring. Nah. He’s not sure. Breeders aren’t generally free to live their lives. Plus I’m like ancient for this to be happening”  
“He doesn’t have more answers?”  
“Not really. I could still go into heat any time and have to be careful”  
“That’s hard”  
“It is what it is. At least I’m not like a wolf and have no self control”  
Lance spoke up, clearly ribbing Matt, Keith couldn’t help but tease him  
“So no more randomly blurting out you want to ride my dick?”  
“Not tonight at any rate. He gave me shit for days after you left. He was very disappointed that all the noise we made wasn’t... you know... doing the penetrative do”  
“Let’s not call it that again”  
“Yeah that felt weird. Anyway, you need to tell me more about work”  
“You really want to know?”  
“Of course I do. My badarse boyfriend’s out there keeping us all safe”  
“Hardly”  
“So I didn’t see you at the festival?”

Talk about being sprung. His ability to tail people had obviously slipped. How lame must he have looked  
“You saw me?”  
“I felt someone watching. You really like your black suit, don’t you?”  
Keith groaned  
“It’s official Blade uniform. Coran had us working security”  
“I kind of figured that much out. It felt a little safer with you out there”  
“Only a little safer?”  
“Well, you are kind of an idiot...”  
Visions of their first encounter as hunter and prey made Keith groan again. He’d never live that down   
“Your faith in me is outstanding”  
Lance sniffled, rubbing his cheek against Keith’s chest  
“I’ll always have faith in you. Thank you for existing”

Keith was struck dumb at that. What did one say to that when he’d been such a burden to so many people. Leaning up, he buried his face in Lance’s hair  
“Can I come with you to see Mami tomorrow?”  
“Yeah... yeah, that’d be nice. She likes hearing about what you’re up to”  
“You talk about me?”  
Keith knew they did, talk about him. He just didn’t know what how one talked to their parent   
“She likes hearing about the normal things. How you hate traffic. How your furniture hasn’t arrived. How bad your jokes are. How you hate those sensors Coran makes you wear because they make you itch”  
“That doesn’t seem something worth talking about”  
“It is... because all these things make you, you. God. I sound like a dad. It’s okay to be yourself son. Just give it your best shot, slugger!”

Keith let his head drop back  
“That was terrible”  
“I spent my whole life actively not being a dad. Let me have my moments”  
“And complaining about remembering when rides were 75cents doesn’t count?”  
“Hey, you have no idea. And petrol. Petrol prices are so high these days”  
“Let’s not forget how excited you got finding those LP’s in that second hand store”  
“Pidge talks too much”  
That was Pidge alright. She appreciated vintage, but when it came to Lance it was fair game  
“And the those bear books”  
“It’s Berenstain Bears! Now you’re insulting my childhood. They were quality books”  
“Pidge said you screamed and scared the shop assistant”  
Lance huffed. Yeah, Pidge was great for spilling Lance’s secrets from college  
“Because they were readable”  
People usually read books... Why would they buy a book otherwise?  
“And your glam rock playlist? It’s like being in the car with Shiro”  
“Your brother has impeccable music tastes”  
“We both know it’s not true”  
“You’re learning too much about me. It’s not fair”  
“You can ask you know”  
“I don’t want to push you. Can we go to sleep now? I’m a terrible host, but I’m exhausted”

Lance was still probably worrying himself in circles over his mother. He couldn’t change that, but coming out tonight had been the right move. He needed this. He needed Lance. He had to talk to Coran about his schedule because this with Lance... He needed this. He wanted this. Even on the worst days, he wanted to be there with his boyfriend. The distance of not seeing him for weeks felt like a life sentence. He couldn’t go that long again. Well, he could, but he didn’t want to. He wanted to hang out and do all the fun things Lance wanted to do with him  
“Yeah, I’m beat too. Let’s get some sleep, then tomorrow I’ll drive you to Platt and we’ll spend the whole day with Miriam”  
Lance kissed his chest  
“Thank you...”


	50. Chapter 50

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What’s that? Chapter in 50 of our soft boys? I do believe so.

50

Lance slept solidly for the first night in a week, waking to find Keith spooned around him, he still couldn’t believe his boyfriend had shown up exactly when he needed him. Naturally, he felt bad for it. Keith was always having to support him and it’d be nice if it was on the other foot for a change. The most he’d been hoping for today was lunch with Keith, and a chance to breathe a little easier thanks to distraction. Instead Keith was actually here, in his bed, snoring his head off as he held him up against him. It’d been such a long month. There were so many things he wanted to say to Keith in person that really sucked because he couldn’t. He’d learned a little in their group chat, and in their private chat, the number of messages between them would alarm some people, but Keith... he’d always reply. Maybe not right away, but when he could and fuck if it didn’t make him feel special. 

Basking in being held, he wanted things to stay this way. He wanted Keith to stay. He couldn’t push those feelings onto Keith so he’d enjoy what time they did have together. Keith hadn’t had a great childhood, but he’d already known that. When Keith told him to ask, he’d wanted to, but his boyfriend was exhausted. He knew Keith would tell him, if he asked, but he didn’t want to make him feel obligated to over share. Things like falling in love was something he didn’t think he’d ever have or deserve, no matter what everyone else said. Keith made it so damn easy to fall. He was the strong silent type, not quick to trust, just like him, so he got that Lance needed thing to go slowly between them. Now if his brain could get the same message then that’d be great. Pidge was always teasing him about how much he talked about Keith. He didn’t mean to, but word vomit seemed to happen each time he thought about his boyfriend. He couldn’t help but wonder what Keith was doing. If he was safe or if he was on some secret mission to save the day. Keith didn’t know that Lance kept up his sparring with Matt. He never wanted to put Keith in the position where he was forced to protect him. 

The full moon had been absolutely crazy. All three days went out the window. Matt and Rieva had gone at it hard enough that he and Curtis had to leave the house. Both werewolves a mess of hormones and lust. Matt had made a pass at him and Rieva had then thrown him into the stairs for it. His own heat came, so he and Curtis spent the night parked up in the middle of nowhere. Lance trying to sleep and ignore how damn embarrassed he was, Curtis having let his mouth get away from him over werewolves mating, but he’d meant well. Next full moon they were going to be prepared and stay in Platt.

Letting out a snore loud enough to wake himself, Lance couldn’t help but laugh at Keith, carefully wriggling in his hold to lay on his back as his boyfriend blinked in confusion, before a dopey smile came to his lips. Lance couldn’t help but kiss him, his own smile just as wide. He’d missed this. Keith’s morning breath might rival paint stripper in potency, but that didn’t matter. Sharing several deep kisses, Lance hummed happily as he broke them, Keith still looking confused, and ridiculous with his bed head  
“Mmm... what was that for?”  
“For you. For being here. For being a great boyfriend”  
Keith scrunched his nose up, Lance finding himself laughing again  
“Oh, babe. You don’t do well in the morning”  
“Nmhm... good morning”  
“Good morning”

As Keith started to doze back off, Lance heard footsteps on the stairs, his bedroom door flung violently open as the pair of them were rushed by Hunk and Pidge   
“I knew it! You two dirty rotten liars!”  
Whatever might have been happening under the blankets didn’t stop Pidge and Hunk. Climbing under the covers, Pidge hugged him as Hunk got in behind Keith, the pair essentially sandwiching them in. Keith looked even more confused, but didn’t try to argue his way out of things  
“Good morning to you too”  
Pidge pressed a very wet kiss to his cheek, Lance wrinkling his nose up at her, he knew what was coming   
“Why didn’t you tell me you two were dating?! And you, I know you think you’ve got immunity because you’re knew to the group, but you’ve been totally hiding this you jerk”  
Keith groaned at Pidge, Lance laughing as his boyfriend closed his eyes again, hand digging just that little more into Lance’s side  
“Be gentle. He doesn’t do mornings”  
“Nope. You kept this from us”  
“Fiiiine. You’ve sprung us. I’m dating Keith”  
“No shit. How could you not tell meeeeeeeee?”  
“Because it’s new. Since when are you awake this early?”  
“Since I didn’t go to bed, obviously”

Hunk let out a heavy sigh  
“She came and woke me up. Apparently if she’s awake, we’re awake... We thought we’d grab breakfast at Sal’s”  
“Sal’s?”  
Keith’s sleepiness was adorable. He’d probably never been woken up like this. It get good though. The four of them all happy in their own ways  
“Where we got pizza from that time”  
“Ah...”  
Keith didn’t remember  
“Yep. So you two losers need to get up”  
“We were... we were about to get up, in more ways than one”  
“Ewwww! No! Don’t do that to me! Keith how can you let him lead you astray!?”  
“He’s fine...”  
Lance leaned in to kiss Keith’s forehead, Pidge making a faked gagging noise  
“Oh god. They’re gross. Hunk, our friends are being gross”  
Hunk hummed, his chin resting on Keith’s shoulder like it was perfectly natural  
“I don’t think they’re being that gross”  
“That’s because you have Shay. Ugh. I totally have to get out of here before you two ruin my appetite. I expect you downstairs in 10 minutes, or Hunk’s coming back up to get you”  
“Why me? No offence...”  
“Because I’m too young and innocent. You two owe me the biggest explanation”  
“We’ll explain... provided you get you of my bed before I have to kiss you”  
Lance pursed his lips, Pidge making a show of flying back out from under the covers  
“10 minutes! Hunk, let’s gooooo”

As quickly as they’d appeared, the pair had left. Keith letting out a long groan as he moved his arm up to drape it around Lance’s shoulder  
“What was that?”  
“That was their way of saying they missed you”  
“It was so loud”  
“Do you really expect anything else?”  
“No... I don’t wanna move”  
“I know, but I’ll treat you to breakfast”  
“Nah, I’ll pay”  
“Or, I could pay”  
“Nope. I’m paying”  
“Babe, I’m pretty sure you just did. On the plus side, we can be that disgusting couple now”  
“The one where we have sex?”  
Lance laughed  
“Not quite. The one where we can cuddle in front of them”  
“Mmm... that’s true. I like that one...”  
Lance’s heart swelled with affection. Keith was just too cute  
“Me too. Now up we get. Shower, teeth, clothes, coffee”  
“Coffee?”  
That got Keith’s attention, Lance would never be so mean to deprive Keith of his coffee   
“As if I wouldn’t let you have your coffee”  
“Best boyfriend like ever”  
“I know”

It was decided they’d all go for breakfast at Sal’s. Shiro would come back and spend the day with the others while Keith and Lance went to Platt. Lance had already pushed his luck for that morning finding the blood bag he’d went to bed with under the bed. He hadn’t forgotten it, a vampire never forgets, but it had slipped his mind. The near disaster would have meant an explanation he wasn’t sure he had. Keith kicking himself for not putting it away, even though it wasn’t his fault. Now the evidence had been disposed of, and a fresh bag sat under the passenger seat, waiting until he’d finished his human breakfast.

Piling into Sal’s, Lance could how Pidge wanted to announce Lance was dating Keith. Only the crowd there had tourists and she was forced to keep her “enthusiasm” inwards. That didn’t mean they were off the hook though. Despite the small booth size, she squashed herself in next to Lance, who’d let Keith in so he could take the corner seat and escape having to sit next to her. Yeah. He had manners. He also didn’t want Keith having Pidge hanging off him as she started her interrogations. Hunk solved the small space problem by borrowing two chairs, for him and Shiro, as Matt, Rieva and Curtis smooshed in on the opposite bench.

Lance had to give her credit, it took her all of 10 seconds before she started  
“What are you intentions with my brother?”  
Matt paused as he grabbed a menu, cocking his head. Lance explaining   
“She means Keith”  
“Oh, that brother... as in Keith’s intentions with you”  
Lance nodded, Pidge nearly internally imploding. His ear copping the yell directed at Matt  
“You knew?! Why didn’t you tell me?!”  
“Not my business”

Lance was grateful to Matt. Sure. He was a mangy mutt and a stranger, but he was so much like Pidge that Lance couldn’t dislike him. He could have castrated him for pissing on his grave soil, but that wouldn’t have been fair on Rieva, whom he also liked. Rieva appreciated a good skin care regime. She was likeable, and knew not to take anything about his drooling over her floor less skin as flirting. She was also level headed and did a great job of keeping Matt under control. He didn’t pry on her life, and she didn’t pry when he’d wake up screaming the house down. Her attitude was very much “shit happens”, and if it wasn’t happening to her than everything was all good. She also loved reading, tolerated him and Curtis blubbering over rom-coms, and was already looking at finding work in town after declining an inviting from Pidge. She was great with Pidge too, able to steer the conversation away from the possible existence of werewolves and vampires. Her biggest plus was her “fist of love” that came out when Curtis and Matt didn’t clean up after themselves. 

“How could you say that? He’s my brother from another mother, which means he’s you brother too!”  
Matt shrugged at Pidge   
“Maybe you’re not the super sleuth you thought you were?”  
“I’ll fight you. He said they weren’t”  
“He is me. And we weren’t”  
“Mhmm. And how long has this secret trist been going on?”  
“Just over a month... about a week before Keith and Shiro left”  
“Lance!”  
Lance cringed. She was so damn loud.

“Keep it down, you ferals!”  
Now she’d set Sal off. Hunk looking worried as he apologised, before scolding Pidge  
“Sorry, Sal! You’re going to get us banned from here”  
“Puh-lease. Sal loves us. And why aren’t you telling them off. They lied to us!”  
Lance felt the guilt of the lie in the base of his stomach. That wasn’t the only one...  
“Uh... um...”  
Hunk scratched the back of his head. Groaning, Pidge slumped over the booth table  
“You knew?”  
“I had a feeling... We both noticed how much Lance talks about Keith”

Lance blushed. Okay. He got it. He liked his boyfriend too much. But in his defence he bragged about Pidge and Hunk all the time. Keith leaned forward, to talk past him  
“We were taking it slow... can you stop yelling? I need coffee for this shit”  
“I don’t want to stop yelling, I want answers. Like who asked who out? Your both awkward as fuck”  
Matt snorted, Lance kicked him under the table. Supernatural eavesdropping didn’t count. Lance picked a menu, using it to smack Pidge in the face   
“We talked about it and decided to see where it went. Now stop pestering him. He’s only had one coffee today”  
“But Laaaaaaaance, you’re dating. You never date. I can’t remember the last time you went on a date... Let me have this”  
Lance smacked Pidge in the face with the menu again   
“Not until Keith has had another coffee. You’re torturing him”  
“You both deserve it. How did I not know?”  
“Because I didn’t want to make things hard or complicated for him. He’s barely known us for like 2 months now. He’s not used to your crazy”  
Pidge snatched the menu off him, opening it despite Lance knowing she was going to order the pancakes. She almost always did  
“He’s fiiiiine. Now, can we please go back to where Keith explains his intentions with you?”  
“Um... to date him... and stuff?”  
Lance hung his head. Keith was out of his depth with Pidge  
“And?”  
“And what?”  
“And... I don’t know. You’re the one who’s all “date him and stuff””  
“I don’t want to hurt him, if that’s what you mean”  
“Good. I will hack every media device you own if you do. He’s my brother. And if hurts you, I swear I’ll kick his arse”

If the world could open up and swallow him right now, that’s be perfect. Keith was flustered, Lance didn’t know what to say. And Shiro had the nerve to be smiling at the pair of them  
“Pidge, you’re embarrassing me. Look, yeah, we’re dating and we’re taking things slow as we get to know each other. Miriam likes Keith. She knows about Keith. Now you know about Keith. Can we please talk about this without making it awkward”  
“It’s only awkward if you pop a boner”  
Why god? Why did he love this gremlin so?  
“Pidge!”  
“I’m just saying”  
“No more saying! Sal, can we please order before I die of embarrassment in your booth?!”  
Sal yelled back at his question  
“Hey, no dying. I’ve got enough to clean up in this place without hiding a body! Pancakes for everyone. I know the drill!”  
“And 6 coffees with milk, one with soy, and tea!”  
“Drink coffee like a normal bum, you weirdo!”  
Everyone was ganging up on him. Fuck it. Letting himself flop against Keith, Keith wrapped his arm around his shoulders  
“Keith, please forgive our heathen friends and don’t judge me too harshly”  
“The judgment train left a long time ago”  
Lance groaned  
“Not you, too!”  
“Sorry. Of course I won’t judge you because Matt can’t control his sister”

Lance stifled a laugh, happy Keith was alright with everything. Matt raising his hands  
“Man, I tried. Some beasts come from hell itself. One Halloween she wanted to dress up as “Satan’s sweaty arsehole”. Feel free to use it against her. I told to her to dress in brown and go as the shit she is”  
Pidge groaned at her brother  
“Don’t talk about young Pidge. She made a lot of mistakes”  
Matt raised an eyebrow  
“You were 17. Mum would have grounded you for life if she could have”

That just made it funnier. Lance got the distinct feeling he’d been too much of an old man at dinner, and talked above his age. Pidge’s mum, Colleen, was incredibly learned. Hunk mentioned he was constantly cold, Colleen then giving him a suggestion in herbal medicine that’d help with his circulation. Thank God they’d survived that night... because Colleen honestly scared him. It was like she knew... and like she was compelling him to tell her more. Never again... or maybe when he didn’t have a million other things to deal with, or a frightening paranoia of turning into a bat mid soufflé.

“Keith was too cool to go Halloweening with his brother”  
Keith tensed, shooting Shiro a glare  
“Don’t you dare”  
Pidge said the same thing Lance was going to, maybe not the same way, but now he had to know  
“Ooooh! Now you’re obligated to tell”  
“Well... Keith was too cool. My partner and I dressed up, ready to scare the kids. So when a group of trick-or-treaters came to the door, he gave them all an apple and told them to fuck off. Then ate the whole bowl of candy as he downed a bottle of tequila. Threw up all over my partner, stripped down to his boxers and tried to jump off the balcony because he was mothman, and mothman is very real”

Lance snorted with laughter, he attempted, poorly, to hide it, yet couldn’t help himself  
“Oh, Keith. That’s like... terrible”  
His boyfriend was blushing hard  
“Fuck off. Like you don’t have embarrassing Halloween stories”  
“He chased a cat six blocks, while dressed as a vampire because he wanted to pat the kitty, does that count?”  
Now Hunk was betraying him?! Game on  
“What about you? Don’t think I’ve forgotten our first year of college at that party. Yeah, you dressed up as mummy, then started trying to clean the kitchen, while drunk, and somehow managed to set your hand on fire”  
Hunk worried his pointer fingers together, Pidge was laughing so hard she was crying. His ray of sunshine mumbling   
“That wasn’t my fault... Who disrespects a kitchen like that?”  
Keith was obviously pissed at his brother  
“Yeah, well, Shiro got drunk at a work party and had sex not so quietly while dressed as werewolf, in his office. He howled... it wasn’t fun”  
Shiro looked less than amused  
“How did you even know about that?”  
“James”  
“That little fucker... I mean... fuck. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Lance was dying to ask who James was, but the way Keith said his name stopped him. His stomach doing a hard flip, like he was jealous or something  
“Because I hoped the memory would fuck off and die in a corner. You brought this on yourself. Mothman for life”  
Pidge reached out, the pair first bumping. Again, Lance was jealous or anything. He just didn’t have the whole mothman thing that he now knew Keith had  
“Still... Fuck... I’m glad we don’t have to go back there”  
“Amen to that”  
Pidge wiped her eyes  
“Who knew finance could be so interesting. What about you, Curtis? Any funny stories about Lance to share?”  
“There was that one time we had to leave the house because people were having sex too loudly”  
Matt and Rieva both blushed. Good. But kind of not. They were only doing what their egos told them... Pidge managed to bring the conversation   
“What about Lance and Keith? Any embarrassing stories about those two?”  
God. Yes. Them trying to work their shit out... Curtis was struggling not to say. Lance caught the change in Shiro’s body language   
“Now, now. I’m sure there’s plenty of time to embarrass them”  
Curtis had to say something. His stupid curse wouldn’t let him keep quite   
“Last time Keith was here he’d been drinking milk. Lance was worried about him”  
Pidge blew a raspberry   
“That doesn’t count. He can’t help that, so that’s not cool. I bet you two are secretly gross and talk about feelings and shit”  
That’s why he loved his gremlin  
“Yep. Took us weeks to figure out shit out... but, he’s a good guy for a brooding emo”  
When Keith dropped a kiss on top of his head, Lance swore he’d died and gone to heaven. He didn’t think Keith would kiss him, and it wasn’t even a requested display of affection. This was better than lunch. This was the friends he called family being together. He couldn’t be happier... even if it wouldn’t last.


	51. Chapter 51

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg! I forgot this was the chapter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

51

Luis was a douche. Luis was a douche and Lisa was sick of his shit. Taking Keith with him to see Miriam, Luis tried to intercept the pair of them, Lisa not having it as she towed her husband away from the doorway, hissing at them both not to make a scene. Lance could only roll his eyes mentally at it. Luis had tried taking him off his Mami’s visitors list, it sucked for Luis because unlike him, he’d never pulled that shit and treated the staff with respect they deserved. Having bought flowers the day before, today’s gift was himself and Keith. Luis going through the five stages of grief as he realised Keith was with him. Hooked up to a nasal cannula and BP machine, his Mami looked tired but thankfully awake, her face lighting up at the sight of them  
“Mijos!”  
Keith froze in the door. Maybe he should have mentioned Lisa to him. Honestly, after breakfast, he didn’t feel like bringing the mood down. Taking him by the hand, he tugged Keith along and over to his Mami’s side. Leaning down, he kissed her on the cheek  
“You’re looking beautiful today, as always”  
“And you’re a terrible liar. I see you brought your boyfriend along”

Lance wasn’t sure if Mami had forgotten Keith’s name or was teasing him  
“Yep. Keith spent the morning being harassed by the gang, so we escaped to Platt to see the most beautiful woman this side of the equator”  
“Keith, don’t fall for his bullshit. He’s a sweetheart but he’ll never make for a good liar”  
His Mami started to cough, Lance’s heart ached at the sound. He could hear the congestion in her chest  
“I’ve noticed. But he’s alright”  
Keith’s voice trembled. He wasn’t used to this. And needed an out   
“Keith, this Luis and Lisa. Lisa is Luis wife. Lisa, this is my boyfriend Keith. He knows, so we don’t have to skirt around the whole evil bloodsucker thing”  
Lisa flashed Keith a very tight smile  
“Nice to meet you”  
“Yeah, you too”

And then it was awkward again. Recovering from her coughing, his Mami wiped at her lips with her handkerchief   
“Don’t you four start fighting. I might be sick, but I will yell if I need to”  
Lance snorted   
“Mami, the only fighting going on here today will be Keith fighting to steal me away from you”  
“He can have you”  
Ouch. Mum burns were the worst, but he smiled wider  
“I’m wounded. Your youngest and you kick me to the curb like that. Good thing Keith’s a good man”  
“I know. I wouldn’t trust my mijo with a hunter if he wasn’t. Now, Keith, tell me honestly, how hopeless is he?”  
“I don’t know I can. Coran’s my boss now, and he seems to like Lance... gotta keep the peace”  
“Ah, Coran. He popped by again. Him and that lovely young Allura. Then sourpuss came”  
Mami glanced to Luis who did not look happy  
“You’re my mother. I’m worried for you”  
“I seem to have raised a family of worriers. Marco called, then Veronica. She’s bringing the girls for a visit, Rachel too. She seems to be doing better”

Okay. So maybe Lance hadn’t told Keith that he wasn’t the only gay in the village... well, family. Though Veronica was bi, and Lance was kind of certain she had a girlfriend right now, Lance kept his nose out of it. It hurt less being on the outside when he didn’t know everything he was missing  
“We’re allowed to worry. I’ve spent 44 years perfecting my worrying. Keith will tell you that I am a grade A worrier. Honour student and all that jazz”  
Keith squeezed his hand  
“You really are”  
“Pfft. Like you aren’t”  
“Shiro’s worse than me”  
“Fair point”

His Mami started coughing again, Lance trying not to step back into Keith’s arms. Trying not to show anyone he was terrified. From the other side of the bed, Lisa fussed over, straightening up the nasal cannula and pulling the quilt up higher. As his mother regained her breathing, Lisa grabbed the glass of water off the bedside table, holding it and the straw so their mami could take a sip, before collapsing back against her pillows  
“Now, who’s Shiro? And is he as cute as you?”  
His mother was unstoppable   
“Shiro is Keith’s older brother. He hunts too. He lives at a like a Hunk level of worry”  
“So he’s a sensible worrier?”  
Keith sighed   
“No... He’s... complicated”  
“I’m sure he is dear. Family is a complicated thing. It’s a warm and loving thing, and it’s a hard thing. I can you love him”  
“He’s like my only family”

Lance’s heart melted. Pulling Keith closer, he then let go of his hand before wrapping his arm around his boyfriend’s waist   
“I think someone’s trying to tell you you’re not alone. My son does have good taste, at least as far as looks go”  
This was true. Keith had been ogled as they sighed in. He’d made the day of more than one old aged pensioner   
“You should have seen when we signed in. thought I was going to have to have to steal a walking stick and start smacking kneecaps to keep them back”  
“Jokes on you, most of us have had knee replacements”  
Mami liked to joke that having a teen looking son kept her young and “on top of the lingo”. Lance blamed the lunchtime soap operas for being a bad influence. And Pidge. Definitely Pidge  
“Then walkers are going to have to go walking. You should have seen Mrs Pennox. I think her teeth literally fell out. Is that a courting thing here? Taking your teeth out and giving them to your crush?”  
“At our age it’s all about the pills. The better the pills you have, the more sway”

“Mami!”  
Luis sounded angry as he scolded their mother. The wanker was jealous. Maybe if he’d been around more, he would have been able to joke like this  
“Stop being as stiff as a toilet brush. You tell him, Lisa”  
Lisa didn’t want to get involved. Lance didn’t hate her for being a protective mother bear to their kids  
“Now, now, Mami. They told you not to get too excited or exert yourself”  
“Phooey. My boys have come to visit. Now, Lance, you take good care of this man. Poor dear looks ready to faint”  
Keith was all peopled out for the day. Hopefully Lisa would convince Luis to leave for a few hours  
“Pidge asked him about his intentions this morning. He got the full experience of her crazy”  
“She certainly is energetic. And Hunk? He’s such a good boy”  
“Yeah. He was happy Keith came to see me last night. He’s totally worrying though. Filled my fridge with enough food for a week”  
“You be sure to thank him”  
“I have. Though, I’ve got the feeling my fridge will be literally full when we get home again. Even with two... guests under the roof, Hunk manages to keep them fed”  
His Mami looked confused. They’d talked about this more than once. It probably wasn’t smartest to talk about living with werewolves   
“Matt and his girlfriend, they’ve just come back from being in Rome. He’s the whole reason Pidge was sleeping on my sofa”  
“Oh. Yes. Yes, that’s right”

Mami was upset that she didn’t remember. She was covering, but Lance knew she was. Old age was so fucking cruel  
“Enough about them. Wanna hear how Keith came down to surprise me? I had no idea he was coming. But Coran went and gave him the whole weekend off. So he was already there by the time I got home last night”  
“That was certainly a very nice thing of you to do. I hope he isn’t giving you too much trouble”  
Lance wondered if his Mami had another UTI she’d been really muffled the last time she did. He’d have to check with the staff over it. Keith probably didn’t have any idea why they were going there again  
“No, ma’m. I mean, he’s trouble and you can’t help but wonder how he’s managed when he’s been left alone, but he’s been fine”  
“I’m very happy to hear that. He talks so much about you. I seem to remember he said you’re living here now”  
“With my brother. It’s nothing like Lance’s house”  
“That must be nice. Family is important. These two are always butting heads, but deep down they still care about each other. They seem to inherited their stubborn streaks from me”  
“Pfffft. You, stubborn, no way, Mami. I simply can’t believe it”  
“There he goes again. Tell anymore fibs like that and you nose will grow”  
“It’s been the same way for long enough that we both know that’s not going to happen”

Luis scoffed   
“Must be hard never aging. You can do what you want to who you want, then skip town when things get hard”  
Greeeeeat. Here they went again  
“Yep. Being a bloodsucker will do that. No cares. No responsibility. No growing older than looking like jail bait, oh let me count the ways that this isn’t a great life”  
“You’ve never taken anything seriously, have you. You’ve always had everything you wanted handed to you”  
Lance bit down a groan. Goading his brother would only upset Mami   
“Yep. Had my boyfriend delivered to my house. Only cost me a hole in the wall and a new coffee table”

Luis couldn’t admit he was to blame for bringing Keith into Lance’s life. His brother clenching his hands into fists... like that was supposed to scare him or something. His Mami started coughing again, and Lance kicked himself for being petty. Luis just knew how to get under his skin and push all the wrong buttons   
“The new coffee table is nicer”  
Lance smiled at his boyfriend over his shoulder, Keith smiling back. Thank god for Keith changing topic  
“I know right. The new toaster is pretty sweet too. Curtis hasn’t killed it, so that’s nice”  
“It must be a nice life not working for everything”  
Nope... he wasn’t going to take the bait... And Luis could go jump for making Keith’s happiness shift like that. His boyfriend didn’t deserve to put up with Luis  
“Don’t talk about your brother like that. He was in court not that long ago”  
Damn. Mami had had enough. Wiping her lips again, her coughing fell between her words  
“It’s okay, Mami. It was just a custody and restraining order thingo. All sorted now. Mum got full custody and the dad got his arse handed to him by the judge”  
“There you go again, making a joke about those people’s lives”  
Lance rolled his eyes mentally. If the father could put down the bottle and straighten himself, and maybe not threaten his ex, then they wouldn’t have ended up in court  
“Look. I don’t know why we have to be like this when we’re all here to see Mami. I’m tired of fighting with you. I love Mami. I’m here for Mami. Can we stop fighting?”  
“And now you’re weaselling your way out”  
Lance sighed. He wanted more time with his Mami, but this was only going to stress her out when she didn’t need it  
“Keith and I are headed out to lunch, is there anything you’d like us to bring back?”  
“Just some soap, dear. And something to read, if you don’t mind. I don’t want you going out your way for me”  
“Mami, I could walk around the whole planet to see you, and that still wouldn’t be an inconvenience. I love you, and I’ll be back after lunch”

The hug goodbye he gave his Mami, really drove home how frail she was at the moment. He was terrified of squeezing her too hard, but he really didn’t want to let go of her, despite the fact he was trying to look all adult and responsible. Mami wanted a hug from Keith, who obliged, barely holding her because his poor boyfriend didn’t know how good a hug from a mother could be  
“I’ll take care of him”  
“I know you will. He’s got a good one in you”  
Keith blushed, and Lance’s mood picked up for all long enough to leave the room.

Then Luis followed them out.

Lance didn’t need to turn around to know his brother was standing behind them. Counting to ten, he turned to face him  
“Do you need us to pick you up something too?”  
“I can see what you’re doing. It’s disgusting playing on Mami’s guilt like that”  
“Look, Luis. Ya hate me and I know it. I ruined our whole family by being turned. I know. I watched it all happen. I heard every single damn fight. I begged god to kill me off when trying didn’t do anything. Mami is sick. Mami is sick and we’re all fucking scared that this could be it. We all love her. We’re all worried about her. I know you hate me, but I still care about you. I’ve always cared about you. You were my big brother and like the coolest person I knew when I was a kid. We’re past all that now. I’m the nasty family secret. But I have never, ever, wanted to harm any of you. I know having brother with PTS ruined things. I know I scared the fuck out of you with my fangs and fucked up face. But this isn’t about us. This is about our mother. She’s not well. I think she’s picked up another UTI too. So while you hate me, I’m going to use my energy trying to be there instead of sharing that feeling. I’m done with you making me feel like this”  
Luis looked furious, switching to Spanish so Keith couldn’t understand  
“You think you have everyone fooled, but I know you. You can’t be trusted. You bring pain to everyone you know. You lie to them. Manipulate them. Then throw them aside. I won’t let you do that to her. She’s pretended she’s loved you all this time, but you have no idea what she’s gone through because of you. What she’s had to sacrifice for you”  
“I know. I know all of it. And Mami knows I know. I’ve always been your dumb kid brother, no matter how little I mean to you now. I loved you Luis. I loved all of you. I’ve never stopped. I won’t hurt you, so can’t we get along? Even Lisa isn’t laughing anymore”  
“You scarred our fucking kids. You and those fangs. Stop pretending you’re something you’re not. You’re not human and God has no love in his heart for your type”

Keith took his hand  
“I don’t know what you two are saying, but we’re going. We’re here for Miriam. I don’t know how two brothers can be like this... My brother is an arsehole and he’s done some messed up shit, but I love him. I could never treat him like this. If you keep this up, Miriam will die with none of this being fixed”  
Keith made himself a target of Luis’s rage  
“What do you know? You’re dating a monster. You’re as sick as he is”  
“Don’t you dare turn this on Keith. He’s human. He’s not like me. He was supposed to kill me and after everything he’s lost at the hands of vampires God knows he still deserves to. Vampires, witches, werewolves and demons all exist. And how many of do you think want to be this way. I was attacked. I was tortured. I screamed for someone to help and they never came. I’m stuck in this limbo watching everyone I love grow old and die. Leaving behind friends. Moving and changing my name. I’m sick of it. I never dated. I never felt allowed. I let you drive me away because I know what I am. Keith isn’t like me and I won’t stand for you standing there bullying him because your hearts racing with fear. Never have I told Mami what you did. And I intend to keep that secret for the rest of my life. Even my 22 year old friend has more brains and tact in her little gremlin fingers than you do in that head of yours. Now go back to Mami. She’s worried we’re out here fighting”

Lance considered the conversation done. He hadn’t cried and he hadn’t yelled. He was just so done with this. Fucking Luis. God. He wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him until he saw sense. This wasn’t about them. This was what’s happened with Papi all over again. He’d never been able to say everything he’d wanted to tell him towards the end. Kept on the outside until it was too late... The things left unsaid were always the hardest. Tugging Keith, Keith insisted on being a good boyfriend. Wrapping his arm around him, he kissed Lance’s hair  
“I’ve got you. Let’s get out of here”

*  
Lance was off in space. Keith didn’t know where to take him so they could talk. He wanted to take him to the apartment, but Lance would protest over Shiro “not wanting him there”. There wasn’t a whole lot of places he knew around town for this kind of conversation... So maybe it was for the best that Lance was driving and he was keeping his mouth shut, offering support silently by was of his hand resting on Lance’s thigh as he drove.

Pulling into the underground parking of the shopping centre above, Lance remained silent until he finally cut the engine. Letting out a long groan, his boyfriend slumped forward to hug the steering wheel  
“I know. I know I shouldn’t provoke him. I know it and I do it and then this shit happens”  
“Lance...”  
Keith wasn’t quite sure what to say. He’d never really talked to old people and Miriam was not old only but sick. Her memory not working as they repeated pretty much the same conversation  
“It’s okay. I know. You’re wondering what to say right now. It’s just... god. God knows I get it. But Luis has no idea how much I want to be a normal human”  
“He’s a dick”  
“Kind of. Maybe. Okay, yeah. But he’s my brother... I’m so tired of fighting. It’s like, what does he want from me? To bare my god ugly teeth so he can scream “Monster!” at the top of his lungs? And where does he get off judging you? He doesn’t even know you! You’re like the best dude out there, and he’s all like... ugh. Argh! I’m sick of this”

Keith undid both their belts, sliding over to wrap his arm around Lance  
“Don’t let him do this to you”  
“I can’t help it. I hate that it hurts Mami. And you. Today was bit over your head wasn’t it? Mami’s memory is a bit... so we have the same conversations again and again. I really do think she’s got another UTI. Then again, she’s sick... Anyway... I guess we’re getting lunch. Thanks for putting up with me... and everyone at breakfast”

Keith had enjoyed breakfast. He’d gotten to learn more about pretty much everyone there. He wasn’t sure he’d enjoyed Pidge and Hunk climbing into bed with them, but breakfast was fun  
“Breakfast was fun. It was nice feeling included”  
“That’s because we all like having you around, idiot”  
Keith didn’t think he deserved being called an idiot, but Lance’s version of idiot didn’t always mean what everyone else meant. Yeah, he had next to no social skills, but being with the others he found he didn’t need to, they just... seemed to accept him  
“I’m not the idiot. You’re the one who chased the cat for pats”  
Lance sighed at him  
“It was a cute cat. So fluffy... Blue would be disgusted”  
“She wouldn’t like you cheating on her with other cats”  
“Luckily this was before her. My poor princess. Her whole house has been invaded. I should get her some treats for being such a bad parent”

Seeing he was dating Lance, Keith guessed that kind of also made him a “cat dad”. He loved Blue, secretly jealous when she’d make a fuss of Matt or Curtis, because he’d never gotten to have a pet of his own. He, Shiro, and Adam, proved hopeless. They’d had goldfish for all of three weeks before they’d turned belly up and Adam had flushed them down the toilet  
“I don’t think she cares as long as she gets her wet food”  
“That’s true. If she had opposable thumbs I’d be useless. Still, she’s my baby”  
Keith knew that, even before Lance had spammed him with photos of Blue and “her precious toe beans”  
“I know. Maybe we could find something for her together”  
Lance tilted his head to look at him, glasses skewed by the angle  
“I’d like that. I know you’re not keen on shopping, but this place has the soap Mami likes best. She probably doesn’t need it, but extra won’t hurt anyone”  
“I don’t see the point of walking up and down each isle. It’s like, go in, get what you need, then get out”  
Lance smiled at him, and Keith’s heart gave a flip  
“Remind me not to bring you when I go with Hunk and Pidge. Pidge likes touching everything, and Hunk can never make his mind up”  
“Shiro makes puns. The worst puns you’ve ever heard”  
“There’s no such thing as a bad pun”  
“He bought a vampire bobble head for our car because we’re dating”  
Lance snorted  
“I kind of want to see that now. So we’ll go in, get the soap, get some lunch, then hit up the pet store? And you’ll tell me if this gets too much?”  
“I should be saying that to you with your super senses”  
“It’s fine. I know that it’s only for a short while and when someone’s with me, I can focus on them. Which means you have my full attention”

Keith felt himself blush. Having Lance’s attention sounded awfully like a date, but this wasn’t a date  
“Don’t say it like that”  
“Why not? It’s true”  
Keith wasn’t sure if he wanted his first date to be a shopping trip. Maybe if thought of it as a practice run for the real thing... What if Lance thought this was a date? Nah... His boyfriend would have called it that to begin with   
“Just don’t. You ready?”  
“As ready as one of two men casually going shopping can be”  
Keith opened his mouth, before promptly shutting it. Sometimes it was like Lance was in his head  
“Keith, I’m teasing you. It’s okay”  
“Shut up. I’m not used to this”  
“I know. Let’s go”

*  
This wasn’t a date. This was not a date. Not at all... unfortunately. Keith was the perfect distraction as they shopped, and fuck if Lance wasn’t kicking himself for reassuring Keith this wasn’t a date. Sure. He had huge plans for the first time they went on a date. He knew where he wanted to Keith, what he wanted to show him, how he’d surprise him with a hotel room at the end of the night, not for sex stuff but for cuddles and room service in bed... but this not date... was kind of a perfect dry run for the real thing. Like how they’d gone on Hunk’s practice date with Shay.

Buying soap for Mami, and the guest bathroom, and a few other things that Lance thought Shay and Rieva might appreciate, they’d ended up in the food court... being ridiculous. Snagging one of the too few booths, Keith was to blame. Lance had felt like sushi until Keith had bought himself a burger... with wedges that were begging to be be shared. Keith didn’t want to share. Lance didn’t want to buy his own when Keith’s were right there... His sushi looked sad in comparison. Stealing a wedge, his boyfriend glared. Stealing a second one, he moved it away, Lance “forced” to reach past him. The hunter was totally hinting he needed to be hugged into cooperation. Clinging to Keith, Keith tried to ignore him until Lance slung his leg over his boyfriend’s legs. Groaning at him, Keith finally gave in, stabbing Lance in the nose as he tried to feed him a wedge without turning to face him in defeat.

So yeah. They were definitely being that gross couple. When Lance had to throw lunch back up, Keith kept watch on the bathroom door for him. His boyfriend even kissed him when he finally emerged, regretting his choice of wedges and sushi. Sure, the kiss was on the cheek, but Lance damn near swooned on the spot. He wanted to kiss him more, but that’d have to wait until they were home again. Keith’s touch was like a drug to his body. A spark of life that soothed him, no matter the situation. He wanted to fool around with him more. He wanted to touch him more, but they couldn’t do that at home without an audience. Hell, he wasn’t even sure he didn’t want to keep waiting to take that next step. People did dumb things when they were in love, and Lance was fast falling head over heels for Keith. Not that he’d tell him. Forcing Keith into his mess of feelings wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted to nurture and grow this thing between them... but it was hard when he could still remember the last time they’d been intimate so vividly. He was ashamed of how good Keith made him feel. He wasn’t sure he would have protested if Keith had slipped and something more had happened. Yeah. He was stupid and he knew it. He wanted that first time to be special, and with Keith, he knew it would be. Spacing out in his thoughts, he’d come back to reality when Keith tried to wipe his mouth for him. He might be stupid, but his boyfriend was an idiot.

Not for the first time that day did their good mood slip. This time it happened in the pet store. Looking at collars for Blue, Lance found he was watching Keith more out of the corner of his eye, than he was at the actual collars. He knew Keith had a shit childhood, but he hadn’t thought about the fact he’d probably never grown up with a pet. In the crowded store, he couldn’t reach out and kiss Keith until he felt better. Instead he followed his gaze to the display box where the puppies were. Despite the countless number of kids, that Lance personally thought should be in school even if it was the weekend, there was this one puppy no one was paying any attention to. He might have mentally referred to Keith a big dog himself, but Lance could see how the neglected pup was something Keith could see himself in  
“Wanna go say hi?”

Keith jumped, Lance hadn’t meant to scare him  
“No... it’s okay”  
“You’ve never had a pet, have you?”  
“We had goldfish for a bit, but they died. A couple of homes had dogs... but kids would get jealous”  
“Let’s go say hi. I won’t even tell Blue you were fawning over a puppy”  
“I’m not fawning over it”  
Keith grumbled, crossing his arms as he glared at the floor. Wrong choice of words on Lance’s behalf. Everyone loved puppies, there was nothing to be embarrassed over   
“Sorry. I mean... If you want to look at the puppies, I won’t judge... I’m making this worse. I’m sorry. I’m just saying that puppies are cute. I’m going to grab some catnip treats for Blue”

Separating from Keith, Keith wandered around seemingly lost until he ended up near the puppies. The same little puppy was trying to get Keith’s attention, Keith wanted to give in. Lance could see he wanted to give in. The puppy was as drawn to Keith, as Keith was to the little longer with big paws. He was caving. He was caving and he knew it was a terrible idea... but all the puppies and kittens were rescues. Maybe if Keith could cuddle the puppy, both of them would be happier. Yep. He was about to do something very stupid.

Looping back around the store, Lance picked out the things he wanted for Blue, before heading to the counter. The woman behind the counter was staring too much at his boyfriend, Lance dumping the things out his basket and causing enough noise to be on the impolite side. Turning from watching Keith, the woman plastered a fake smile on her face  
“Hello, just these today?”  
“In a moment. My friend needs some help with the puppies”  
“Oh, you’re with him? The good looking guy? He doesn’t want that one. Runt of the litter with no clear indication of lineage. He’s been here for weeks now”

Lance’s heart just about shattered for the poor puppy  
“Well, that’s up to him. But if you’d be so kind as to unlock the door, so he can hold him, that’d be great”  
The saleswoman retrieved the key from the till, Lance letting her walk over to Keith ahead of him. Offering to show him the puppies, she fluttered her mascara caked eyebrows at his boyfriend as Keith tried to decline. She ignored him. Her only good quality to date. Opening the door, the little puppy tried his damn hardest to get up out, tail going a million miles an hour as his brothers and sisters lazed about. Deciding it was time to head over, Lance could see it was love at first cuddle. The woman passing Keith the puppy who immediately started licking at the hunter’s fingers for pats  
“I think he likes you”  
“He’s so tiny”

Staking his claim to his boyfriend, Lance moved to his side, holding his hand out for the puppy to sniff. Animals knew. They knew when they’d found their person. This poor puppy had found his in Keith   
“We have other breeds. Maybe you’d be happier with one of them. We’re not sure about the breeds in this guy. His markings don’t make it easy”  
Lance had a feeling German Shepherd was mixed in. The pup had the coat for it, and being a mongrel came with less complications than a purebred  
“Nah. I think he’s the one”

Keith jerked his head back as he looked to Lance in confusion   
“The one?”  
“The one coming home with us”  
“No. No, no, no, no, no. We can’t just adopt a dog”  
“Why not?”  
“I have work... I live in an apartment. We can’t adopt the first dog we see”  
“He’s not the first. Besides, look how happy he is with you”  
“We can’t...”  
Keith looked ready to hyperventilate   
“Then I’ll adopt him. I’ve got the space. He can run free as much as he likes at the house”  
“You can’t adopt a puppy because of me!”

The puppy was squirming in Keith’s arms, trying to lick at his face. Adopting him would be the right choice  
“I can do what I want. Right now, I want to take this little guy and give him the best doggo life he can have. And if makes my boyfriend happy, than that’s even better”  
“I don’t know how to look after a dog. I kill goldfish”  
“A puppy isn’t a goldfish. We’ve got two big dogs at home, remember? Yeah. This little guy is definitely coming home with us. So we’ll need everything he needs”  
“But what about your bat problem?”  
“We’ll get him a harness and he can ride around on his back. It’ll be adorable. Yes, it will. Who’s a cute doggo? Yes, you are. Yes, you are little man”  
The puppy happily pursued trying to kick Keith. The saleswoman still seemed unsure about all of this and somewhat sour about the pair of them dating. Then again, she might just be creeped out seeing he looked like a teenager.

So, yeah. He was stupid. Keith wandered next to him in a semi-daze, his precious puppy against his chest the same way Keith could carry him when he was a bat  
“Which bowl do you like?”  
Keith blinked at him, pausing stroking the puppy’s head. His bottom lip was quivering   
“We don’t have to adopt him. You don’t have to because of me”  
“You know what she told me? She told me this little guy was the unwanted runt who’s been here for weeks. How could I let him stay here any longer? I see the way you two look at each other. It’s puppy love. Now, he needs all his own stuff. You pick it out, and I’ll pay”  
“But, I don’t know what a dog needs”  
“Food, bowls, bedding, toys. Don’t over think it. We’ll get the basics today and I’ll make a vet appointment for his shots and microchipping”  
“Shiro won’t let me have a dog. We move too much and work too much... he’s going to end up neglected”  
“Nah. He won’t. You’ll be in charge of training him. We should get a harness now, so he can get used to wearing them for walks”  
Tears finally started to roll down Keith’s cheeks  
“I’ve never had a dog”  
“I know. I’ve already got the dog doors in place for Blue. And he’s not sleeping on the bed with us. He gets his own bed”  
Princess Blue got the bed. It was her royal right to have first dibs.

Keith nodded. Lance pathetically in love with how in love Keith was with his new puppy. It was like him and Blue all over again, with less biting and scratching   
“Okay... Can you help me? I don’t want to choose the wrong thing”  
Lance doubted that could or would happen   
“Sure. Your new fur son gets the best. You’ll need to think of a name for him too”  
“I don’t know what to name him”  
“What did you name your goldfish?”  
Keith cast his gaze downwards  
“Fish”  
If that wasn’t classic Keith, Lance didn’t know what was. A goldfish called Fish. His boyfriend definitely needed some help in the naming department. The poor dog would be confused his whole life   
“Let’s not call the puppy “Fish”. I’ll think about it and you have a think. Now, do you want all his accessories to be the same colour?”  
“I want a red collar”  
That was the spirit. And it kind of felt like the first time Keith was actually asking for something just for himself. Lance wanted him to be selfish, and to have the things he liked  
“A red collar for our little man. Okay, let’s find him a red collar”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kosmo! So, he’d border collie x German Shepard. Always happy and always on the move... and Keith is the happiest puppy parent.
> 
> Also... Be responsible fur parents! Adopt when you can!


	52. Chapter 52

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance loves Keith’s eyes. He could stare at them all day.

52

Keith couldn’t believe Lance bought him a puppy. An actual puppy. A real life puppy purchased with him in mind. He’d never thought he able to actually have his own pet, let alone a puppy. His boyfriend insisted on paying for, and carrying, everything they’d bought at the pet store, other than his new and very precious little puppy. He’d seen the little puppy trying to get everyone’s attention. None of the other puppies were playing with him, or paying any attention to him. The puppy kind of reminded him a bit of Lance in the way he fell on his back and bottom each time he tried to jump up at the plastic side of his cage. He was clumsy, with big paws and bigger ears, but he was so warm and tiny against him. Shiro wouldn’t approve, but if the puppy was staying at Lance’s then his brother couldn’t really be mad.

Sent to sit in the front of Lance’s car, Lance loaded up the back. His boyfriend seemed to take forever, and Keith was confused that he seemed to be talking to someone. Climbing into the driver’s seat, Keith noticed he was on the phone, which explained the random talking. Thanking whoever was on the other end, his boyfriend grinned at him  
“Guess what?”  
“What?”  
“I called the vet I usually take Blue to. They don’t have an opening today, but they can see our handsome little man tomorrow afternoon”

Keith frowned. What if there was something wrong with him? What if the puppy didn’t like him? What if the vet found something wrong and they had to put the puppy down? He didn’t want to lose his puppy already... but it’d be on par with his life if he did. Reaching over, Lance ruffled his hair when he thought his boyfriend was going to pat the puppy   
“Hey. He’s a good doggo. It’s for his needles. We can’t take him to the park until he’s had his injections. The puppies they get are rescues, they all get basic vet checks before hand. You heard what was said, this little dude has been waiting for weeks to meet his human. You’re allowed to be happy right now. You’re allowed to love him already, because he’s goddamn adorable”  
“It feels like this is too good to be true... I didn’t... I don’t...”

Shit. He was getting teary. A fish was one thing, but a puppy was another. Lance pulled him to a one armed hug, kissing his hair as he did  
“Hey, you deserve good things. And this puppy, he’s going to be your responsibility. Shiro might not be cool with a puppy right now, but once he’s bigger and out of his chewing phase, he’ll be able to stay with you in the apartment. Let yourself have this. Because you’re the one going to be cleaning up all his messes”  
Keith snorted wetly, raising his head to look at Lance  
“Sorry...”  
“Don’t be. People are quick to judge but trauma never really leaves us. You don’t have to hide that side away from me. I’m already a sucker for you and those galaxy eyes. It’s like you’ve got the whole cosmos in there”

He’d spent years bullied for them. They were the only thing Krolia had gifted him other than 40 weeks free rent in her womb... No that wasn’t being fair. She had no idea his dad would die and leave him behind  
“People never liked my eyes”  
“I do. They’re pretty amazing”  
Lance wouldn’t lie, but he couldn’t find it in him to believe him completely   
“They called me a freak”  
Lance raised his top lip to expose his teeth  
“As a freak, I can promise you that you have a long way to go before you’re one of us”  
That was kind of true, but Keith didn’t mind Lance’s fangs. His boyfriend better at controlling them so he only cut Keith’s a little bit when they kissed now  
“I don’t know...”  
“I do. Now, let’s go introduce this little one to Mami. She’s going to love him. But that’s only if you want to. You can totally wait in the car with him and I won’t be offended at all”  
Keith didn’t want Luis to see his new puppy. But he kind of wanted to see Miriam happy. She was important to Lance, which made her important to him. Kind of how that elevated Shiro from annoying brother  
“I’ll think about it”  
“I can always ask the staff and make sure Lisa and Luis aren’t there”  
“No... I don’t want to kick them out”  
“Zero pressure, babe”

Keith blinked at being called “babe”  
“That’s like the third time you’ve called me that”  
Lance’s cheeks hinted red  
“If it makes you uncomfortable...”  
“No. No... it’s... kind of nice. Makes me feel wanted”  
That hint of red bloomed, as Lance smiled at him   
“Babe. Keith. Other father to our new puppy, I want you. I want you around and in my life. I’ll take as much of you as I can get”  
Keith felt awkward under the praise  
“I thought you wanted to wait for that?”  
It was Lance’s turn to blink  
“Did you just... wait... what?”  
“You started it”  
“And now I’m not going to be able to stop thinking about it. Thanks, babe”  
Keith leaned in, pressing a small kiss to Lance’s lips. He wanted to remember this feeling. Him, his puppy, and his boyfriend, all being happy   
“You’re welcome”

*  
“Keith, what is that?”  
Sitting on the sofa with Curtis, Shiro was the only other person in the house when they finally got home. He’d been carrying his puppy around the whole time, the little pup deciding to pee in his lap as Lance drove them back to Garrison. He’d had a big drink while they visited Miriam, who’d had carefully pats with the excitable pups  
“My jeans got wet?”  
That wasn’t what Shiro was asking. Keith didn’t want to fight, but his puppy needed food and he needed a shower  
“Don’t tell me Lance has turned into a puppy. Actually, tell me Lance turned into a puppy and you two didn’t buy a dog”

Carrying the shopping in behind him, Lance laughed at Shiro   
“If you don’t know what a puppy looks like by now, you never will. And he’s not a “that”, he’s a “him””  
Walking over to the space in front of the television, Lance dropped the bags from the pet store  
“You got a dog?”  
Keith shifted his weight. He knew it’d been too good to last. Lance didn’t seem to care, stretching after placing the bags down as he nodded   
“Yep, we got a puppy. I mean, Keith’s kind of like a big puppy, but now we’ve got a little puppy”  
“How does visiting Miriam result in Keith coming home with a puppy?”

Keith bit his bottom lip. He didn’t want to cry. Not in front of Shiro and Curtis, who were sitting too close to each other. Coming up behind him, Lance wrapped his arms around Keith’s waist  
“I think he’s pretty cute, and so’s the puppy. Yeah, he’s Keith’s, but, big but here, until he’s trained and a little older he’ll be living here at the house”  
Shiro sighed as pinched the bridge of his nose  
“Okay. Okay. But how? Why?”  
“This little dudes been waiting weeks to be adopted. He’s the cutest little pupperino, and he does like the biggest pees ever. That reminds me, you need to take a shower. I’ll watch over our little man while you get cleaned up, then you can feed him. And I have to find Blue. I have to tell her about this”  
Lance kissed neck, just below his ear, before whispering  
“It’s okay. You’ve done nothing wrong”  
Then why did it feel like he had. Who was he kidding? He couldn’t just have a puppy out of nowhere. Slipping around him, Lance put himself between him and Shiro   
“Now, gimme the puppy. I want cuddles with our resident cutie’s cutie”

When Lance took the tiny puppy, Keith instantly missed him. He didn’t handle things too gracefully as he all but ran from the room and up to Lance’s. Shiro wasn’t happy. He wasn’t happy and Keith had made him that way. A horrible sick feeling set in, because he really didn’t want to have to return the puppy. Those display boxes at the pet store were no place for animals. This little puppy probably had a hard enough life as it was. Lance had said it was okay... so why couldn’t Shiro be okay with it?

*  
Lance waited until he heard the shower turn on upstairs before redirecting his attention from the puppy in his arms to Shiro   
“Okay, right. Did you have to scare him off like that?”  
Shiro raised an eyebrow at him  
“What do you mean?”  
“I mean, you upset him and it’s not cool”  
“Lance...”  
“I get it. A puppy is a big deal. A pet is a big responsibility and you guys work crazy hours. What I don’t get is breaking Keith’s heart like this. He’s certain that he doesn’t deserve a dog. That he’s not allowed to be happy about it. A dog is a serious commitment. They’re not like a cat, even if Blue is a damn princess. But you should have seen him, Shiro. He was so happy. He’s been so happy since he held him the first time”  
“We’re barely home with work”  
Lance could see both sides here. But Keith was his boyfriend, and the puppy was his idea   
“That’s why this little one will stay here. Maybe he was an impulse buy, but Keith deserves this happiness. He was so scared to tell you. He’s been scared since we left Platt. This little dude has been waiting weeks to be adopted. It was like... like they were waiting for each other without knowing it”

Shiro tiredly scrubbed at his face, with a soft sigh  
“I’m not trying to be the bad guy. We would have a dog if we’d been in the position. But as you said, they’re a lot of work. I’m scared he’s not going to take things well if something was to happen”  
“I get that. I don’t want to hurt Keith. I know it was rash and impulsive, but... His happiness... He was so happy. Out here is safer while he’s growing up. He’s got space to move with no traffic. I’ll work on getting him toilet trained, but Keith will do most of the training. This pup is for him. Even if... we don’t work out, I still want to know he had a friend there for him. No offence but there’s some things you can’t say out loud, so we say them to our pets”  
“I guess... He is kind of cute”  
“The dog or your brother?”  
Shiro rolled his eyes at him  
“You really want me to answer that?”  
“Nope. Here. Have a cuddle and get him used to you both. I’m going to check on Keith”

*  
Keith felt better for having showered. He didn’t know how to face Shiro, yet he was happy to no longer be covered in puppy pee. Thinking Lance as downstairs, he nearly dropped his towel in surprise when he found Lance sitting on the end of his bed, waiting for him  
“Careful, don’t go dropping that towel”  
“I... what... where’s the puppy?”  
Keith didn’t mean to focus on the puppy, but Shiro wasn’t happy about it and now the puppy wasn’t with Lance  
“Uncle Shiro is having cuddles. I’m letting our little dude work his magic on his uncle. Come sit next to me”

Keith did as Lance said, sitting down beside his boyfriend. Taking him by the hand, Lance interlaced their fingers   
“Now. I had a talk with Shiro and explained that the puppy would be staying here for now”  
“He wasn’t happy”  
“No, but, he understands now. And he’s okay. It might have been impulsive, but if you hadn’t adopted him, I would have. Blue was all the company I needed. Well, Pidge and Hunk too, but I think having a dog around might be good thing too”  
“You would have got him because of me?”  
“Yes and no. Mostly yes, but that puppy, he didn’t ask to be born. He didn’t ask not to find a loving family, or to be surrendered. I know pet shops have rules and regulations but whenever I’m there I just want to take all the animals home. When I saw the way you looked at him, I knew you were seeing yourself, weren’t you?”

Keith didn’t know what to say to that. Yeah. He had. He’d been alone and ignored for years. He’d never been enough, no matter how good he was. He didn’t have his family and he never felt like he belonged at any of his foster families. He’d been a run away when Shiro had found him. So jaded and warped by life that he’d made Shiro’s life as hard as possible trying to drive him away  
“Maybe...”  
“I know your past is hard to talk about, but you can talk to me. Have you thought of a name yet?”  
“No... I mean, every name seems... not right”  
“You’re over thinking things. You and your galaxy eyes have the right name in there somewhere. Blue got her name from her Blue eyes. She was vicious as a kitten and that just made her cuter”

Lance was back on about his eyes again. Maybe... maybe they weren’t as weird as he thought? Maybe... he... maybe he was starting to like the colour thanks to his boyfriend. Shiro had reassured him like a million times over them, but this wasn’t his brother feeling obligated  
“Do you really think they look like that?”  
“What looks like what?”  
“My eyes?”  
Leaning in Lance kissed him softly, his lips against his as spoke, free hand coming up to cup Keith’s cheek   
“I could get lost in them. They’re beautiful, like the rest of you. You’ve got your own little galaxy happening in there”  
Keith malfunctioned. Awkwardly replying   
“Your eyes are... pretty too... like the ocean and shit”

Lance drew back with a laugh, Keith internally dying that little bit more on the wake of fucking up his compliment  
“Like the ocean and shit... shit isn’t pretty”  
“Oh shut up”  
Way to make him feel embarrassed   
“I’m sorry... it was so you I couldn’t help but laugh. Anyway mine are just blue”  
“It’s a nice blue, arsehole”  
“My arsehole isn’t blue, but Blue is an arsehole”  
He couldn’t fucking win  
“I give up”  
Lance shook his head, laughter dying down  
“Sorry. Sorry, I shouldn’t have laughed. As for the puppy, you have nothing to worry about. Shiro and Curtis are bonding over him. I’m not trying to eavesdrop, but they think he’s pretty cute”  
“You think he’ll let me have him?”  
“Babe, the puppy is already yours. I’d give you the whole cosmo if that meant making you smile like you were today”  
Just like that warmth was filling his chest and his heart was doing stupid things  
“I don’t want the whole cosmos...”  
“I know. Hey, do you like space?”

The question made Keith draw his brow in confusion  
“Why?”  
“Because I’ve got an idea”  
Lance seemed excited about whatever this idea was  
“I’m glad you do, because I have no idea what you’re on about”  
“I was thinking if you liked space we could give him a space name to go with those eyes of yours. So when you’re with your puppy, you can remember that you have someone in your life that thinks they’re pretty. Like, even if it doesn’t work out between us, I’ll never stop disliking you or your eyes... Man, it sounded much lamer when I say it out loud”  
It was lame. Very lame and very Lance   
“I... um... don’t know”  
“Cosmo. But with a “K”, like for Keith. So it’s K-O-S-M-O”  
Lance was way too excited now  
“That’s a dumb name. I was kind of waiting for him to tell me his name in his own way”  
Lance sighed at him  
“I thought I was onto something there. Then I’d have my own galaxy and Kosmo...”  
Keith felt himself starting to smile  
“I thought the puppy was mine?”  
“He is. But I’ve got you... so you know, by default and all that”

Lance was making him stupid with happiness. Lance didn’t judge him, nor had he pushed the topic  
“You really like me, don’t you?”  
Lance frowned at him, his expression slightly wounded   
“Isn’t that obvious?”  
“It is... but I wonder if it’s too obvious. Like you’re trying too hard to see anything in me”  
Lance sighed at him, leaning in again this time to rest his forehead against Keith’s  
“That’s because you don’t see your own worth, idiot. You’re all “Me hunt! Me stab!”, when you wanna be all “cuddle me”. You’re not the tough guy you think you are”  
“I’m pretty tough...”  
“And very manly. And very sexy. For an idiot hunter who convinced he’d gotten himself turned”  
Keith wasn’t about to let Lance win again  
“Just how sexy am I?”  
“Ummm... like very sexy”  
“Like sexy and shit?”  
Lance didn’t laugh like he thought his boyfriend would, instead he nodded, practically whispering   
“Very sexy and shit”

It felt right to kiss him. Lance responding openly, Keith’s hands finding Lance, pulling on him until his boyfriend was in his lap. The towel wasn’t offering much in the way of modesty, and Lance’s kisses were making him dizzy. Hungry and horny, they kissed less than innocently, Lance starting to grind against Keith’s semi. Holding his boyfriend’s hip, Keith body rocked to meet Lance on instinct, Lance’s sweet moans lost in the kisses. Then Keith was in his back, Lance diving back in for more kisses.

When Lance finally pulled back, his eyes were half lidded, sweetness starting to roll off of him  
“We better stop”  
Keith didn’t want to stop. Not with Lance in his lap like this  
“Why?”  
“Because I don’t know if I can hold back”  
“Then don’t”  
“Keith...”  
A trace of warning hung in Lance’s tone. The day had been all over the place but it was one of the best days of Keith’s whole life. Their “not a date but a shopping trip” had felt a lot like he thought a date should feel like  
“I’m not saying we have to do anything, but if you want to, I want to do it with you. Not because of your heat, but... because... I really like you”  
Lance’s eyes widened  
“Keith... I...”  
“I really like you too. And today... today is a day I never want to forget”  
“I don’t want to rush you. Or pressure you. We don’t have to...”  
“No. No. It’s okay... I want to be... with you”  
And he did. Sometimes Lance could be an arsehole, sometimes he messed up and made his boyfriend feel shitty, but at the end of the day, he wanted to be with Lance. He wanted to be physical, or try to be physical, with his boyfriend  
“Okay”


	53. Chapter 53

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well... I was supposed to update yesterday but I had to human and it was a long day...
> 
> Anyway, our soft boys figure out the next step in their relationship...

53

Lance was blushing so hard he was surprised he had any blood flow to his dick. Stripping him slowly, Keith’s hands had been shaking, neither of them knew what to do, but that was okay because they were working this out together. His scent might have changed, but he felt fully focused on Keith. Keith, his beautiful little anger loaf of a boyfriend.

Dipping into the supplies brought by Curtis, Lance was almost glad the hunter had forced them on him. With Keith slotted between his legs, he was hyper focused on his boyfriend being hard for him. He wanted him. He wanted to do with this him... and God did Lance want this, while fearing it at the same time. This some whole next level shit. Next level boyfriend shit that made him feel a little lame for not knowing what to do. Kissing Keith was like dying and going to heaven. Sex... he expected it to hurt, but his heart was pounding with excitement, his needy body already growing wet  
“We don’t have to if you’re not ready”

Keith shook his head, Lance swallowing hard as he stared into his boyfriend’s beautiful purple eyes  
“I want to be with you”  
“You are... you have me. I’m completely here with you”  
“I... don’t know what I’m doing”  
“That’s okay. We’re figuring this out together. Just go gentle on me”  
“I will... um... lube first”  
“That’s a great start...”  
“Right...”

Lance didn’t laugh as Keith popped the cap on the lube, then realised that he couldn’t open the condom packet with lubed up fingers. The first condom ended up tearing, his boyfriend getting more flustered and nervous by the minute. Lance wanted their first time to be special, but he also wanted to make things easier for Keith   
“Hop up for a second, I’ve got an idea”  
His idea was rolling over to get onto his hands and knees. That was Keith could see what he was doing... despite it being kind of embarrassing to be completely on display for his boyfriend. God, he was fucking nervous. Each movement behind him had him jumpy... and when Keith’s lubed up finger rubbed against his opening, he damn near forgot how to breathe as he buried his face in Keith’s pillow. He wanted to crack a joke to ease the tension, but he didn’t know what to say. After 44 years of nearly exit only, his arse wasn’t sure what to make of the digit pressing lightly against the his opening  
“Ok... I’m gonna... well...”

Lance tried not to fight the initial discomfort. He knew he needed to relax his body, but his boner had already gone soft as his body went “what the actual fuck do you think you’re doing to me”. Feeling Keith’s finger in him was odd, more so when he moved it. It was kind of unpleasant, yet Lance was also feeling those cramps of need starting to build. Nervous over all of this, he wanted that feeling to build. He wanted that to strip away his fears  
“Does... it feels alright?”  
“Mhmm...”  
Nope. It didn’t. But this was Keith. He wanted this with Keith. It wasn’t the romantic hotel room for the night, buuuuut, maybe it was better this way. They were in a safe place. Keith knew this was safe place. Once the initial awkwardness passed, they’d have gotten their first super clumsy time out the way.

Two fingers felt weirder. Keith sounded as if he was really getting into it. His breath catching, as he watched his fingers moving in and out against his sweet spot, sending conflicting feelings through his body. He wasn’t fond of the intrusion, but that spot... felt amazing. Flipping the cap, cold lube drizzled over his arse made him suck in a breath  
“Lance?”  
“‘m okay... cold”  
“Okay”  
Keith asking him if he was okay made Lance fall in love with Keith all over again. Reassured he was okay, Keith’s movements grew bolder, Lance shorting out mentally. His heat was getting it now, teeth elongating, as that discomfort finally got the hint to fuck off.

When Keith moved onto three fingers, Lance felt like his arse was being split in two. Head shooting up. Eyes wide. A whole lot of “nope” from his arse, with a whole lot of “yes” from his sweet spot  
“Lance?”  
Gritting his teeth, he was going to get through this  
“Don’t stop”  
“You’re really tense... if it hurts...”  
“Don’t stop. It’s okay... just... fuck...”  
“We don’t...”  
“Keith, it’s okay... keep going”  
“I don’t want you hurt”  
“You’re not hurting me...”  
“Okay... um... this is really hot watching... my fingers... in you”  
Lance bit back his groan at Keith enjoying watching himself fingering him. He wanted his boyfriend to feel good... He wanted to feel good. Never sticking anything up there mid heat, and touching himself there was different to what he’d tried to train his body to be used to. Now he was getting what his ego craved, everything felt almost too much. 

By some small miracle, Keith stretched him enough that the burn had subsided. His heat smacking him as Keith’s fingers slid from inside him. Being full felt weird, being empty felt... empty to a painful degree  
“Babe?”  
“I want it”  
“Let me know if I need to stop”  
Keith should have been high on his scent like every other time. His boyfriend fighting the pheromones in the room to put his well-being first. Feeling overly emotional, this wasn’t how Lance wanted to do the next bit. He wanted to see Keith. He wanted to wrap his arms around him and kiss him. Feeling Keith rubbing against him, Lance needed to tell Keith that   
“Wait... I want to see your face”

Keith was patient as Lance turned back over and shimmied down the bed. He didn’t feel terribly sexy, but he did feel a whole lot better facing his boyfriend. Reaching out with both hands, he cupped Keith’s face  
“Okay... I’m ready”  
“If I mess up...”  
Lance smiled softly, it was kind of a given they would stuff up somehow  
“It’ll still be okay because it’s you”  
Keith nuzzled into his palm  
“I’m nervous”  
“Me too. But I want this with you. Now ravage me”  
Keith snorted, pressing a kiss to Lance’s hand  
“I’ll try”  
“Then let’s do this”

Keith slipped twice as he tried to press into Lance’s wet heat. Third time lucky had Lance’s back arching as he gasped, semi trying to shoot up the bed to escape the feeling, while simultaneously trying to shoot you the bed and ruin this for both of them. Maybe Curtis had been onto something with the suggestion of toys. Slowly burning himself balls deep, Lance had his eyes scrunched up, breathing out the window, that jolt from being filled sent specks of red across his eyelids  
“Babe?”  
“Gimme a sec”  
“This isn’t going to work”  
The slow drag of Keith’s dick made Lance gasp. They’d made it this far  
“Don’t pull out!”  
“Wha...”  
“Just... move slowly... and kiss me”

Keith’s rhythm took a while to find. Stuttered and clumsy, his boyfriend tried to hold back, his kisses making up for any loss in technique, even if Lance was near bent into two so Keith could reach his lips. Hyper focused on each movement, his heat simmered in the background, letting him focus too much on what Keith was doing to him... all of it adding up, but not quite enough to push him over the edge and into that orgasmic high. It wasn’t an “oh Jesus” moment when Keith came, a whinied kind of grunt forced from Keith’s nose, as his body tensed, pushing down on Lance with what felt like was full weight. Being caged by Keith felt good. Like the moment was protected from the outside world and those who’d disapprove of them being together. Riding out the last of his orgasm, Keith’s lips crashed into his, blood spilling across Lance’s gums, in a way that made him want more. Gradually the kiss ended, Keith panting against his lips  
“Did you come?”  
“Not yet...”  
His boyfriend looked disappointed   
“But, this was our first. And that makes me happy”  
“You didn’t come”  
Keith went to pull out, Lance clenching around him   
“Don’t... let me get off having you in me”  
Keith didn’t seem sure  
“Sit back... I’m close”

He was. His arse was throbbing like mad, his body so close to coming that he barely had to jerk himself off before he finally came across his stomach. Keith’s eyes were like a hungry predator as Lance’s damn near rolled back in his head. Slumping back, Lance’s legs shook like crazy, hand still wrapped around his dick as he milked the last drops from his spent dick  
“I could watch you do that all day”  
Blushing, Lance couldn’t deal with the praise  
“I could have you fuck me all day”  
Keith pursed his lips, Lance would have kicked himself if he didn’t feel so satisfied   
“I don’t... was it bad?”  
“No. No. Babe, trust me. It was weird, but it wasn’t bad”  
“Weird good?”  
“Weird verging on next time I’m gonna come so fucking hard”  
“So it was okay?”  
“Very okay. And you’re very okay. Pretty good for two virgins, if I say so myself”

That made Keith smile. Fuck. It should be illegal to be that cute  
“Does it hurt?”  
“A bit... but that’s because we haven’t done it enough... I’m very much okay with this”  
“Good... I thought...”  
“You thought because I didn’t come it was bad. It wasn’t bad. But we did make a mess”

Suddenly Keith’s eyes were going wide  
“The puppy! Shit... we forgot about the puppy!”  
Listening out, he could hear Shiro worrying about what was taking them so long. So much for enjoying some post sex snuggling  
“It’s okay... I’ll tell them I needed something... but are you okay?”  
Keith nodded, worrying his bottom lip before replying  
“It... you feel good”  
With the way his arse was throbbing, he’d hope Keith felt good   
“I’ll take the compliment. And I’ll take round two later. For now we need to clean up. You’ve got blood on your face”  
“You’ve got more on yours”  
“But I’m a vampire, I’m used to it. Blood tastes gross to you humans”  
“So you’re fine with my blood?”

Keith had got him there. Maybe he was a little too fine with Keith’s blood, which wasn’t what he wanted to be   
“Kissing blood is okay, drinking not so. Now, are you going to pull out? Or is this a new thing we’re trying”  
“No... I’m... I forgot...”  
“You forgot you were still inside me?”  
“You distracted me by jerking off”  
“Ugh. Right. Totally blame me. I see how it’s gonna be now”  
Keith missed the joke  
“How what’s going to be?”  
“Never mind. We need to take a shower”

*  
Keith’s after care with almost too much. Sure, Lance’s knees buckled when he went to get out of bed, but now his boyfriend was hovering. Not in the mood to cook, he’d sent Curtis and Shiro to pick up pizza, while Keith fed his puppy. Shiro gave him a look that pretty much told him he knew what they’d been up to, but Keith insisted Lance was being paranoid.

Blue was no impressed by their new family member, hissing no smacking the puppy on the nose when got to close to her. Lance was now curled up on the sofa with Blue in his lap, while Keith was laying on the floor, playing with his puppy. Through Curtis they’d been told the others were in Platt watching a movie, which gave Lance and Keith pretty much the whole house to themselves... if you ignored the other two hunters. Scratching Blue’s head, he was off in his own world. He’d had sex with Keith and now he couldn’t stop thinking about the next time... And the fact his heat had been weird. He’d had too much brain power. His heat had been weird. It’d edged in, taken some of the edge off, but not stripped away his inhibitions. He’d felt the start of need, then the loss of Keith’s fingers... but he’d been amazingly clear headed and it was weird. He hadn’t blurted out the things he wanted Keith to do to him... and he hadn’t lost control... his ego hadn’t come into it.

Sitting down beside him, Keith drew him back of out his thoughts, as did Blue clawing him in her rush to escape the puppy in his boyfriend’s lap  
“Are you okay? It seemed pretty hard on your body”  
Keith had asked thing in the shower. In the bedroom as he tried to pester him into accepting help drying and dressing. In the kitchen... and now again. The shower had been nice, Keith washed his hair for him, and his legs, and his arse... and held him when Lance couldn’t be bothered getting out the shower. He wasn’t even that sore anymore, just throbby... and dying for snuggles with his boyfriend. Snuggles because his boyfriend wanted to, not because he felt he’d broken Lance’s arse.

Sometimes you just have to cuddle the man yourself. Drawing his legs up, Lance wrapped his arm around Keith, resting his head against his boyfriend’s shoulder  
“I’m okay. I was just thinking about how weird it was”  
“You... didn’t like it?”  
Using his right hand, Lance let their new puppy chew at his fingertips, wanting to bond with the little pup, and the comfort that having a pet brought   
“It isn’t that. My body was weird. It was like my heat was there, but it wasn’t there and it felt calmer. Like I could focus on you and wasn’t all foggy, but it was still there. I don’t know if I’m making sense. It was weird. But you weren’t what made it weird”  
“Is that why you didn’t come?”  
“No. I’ve been pretty much all about “exit only” down there. I’m already thinking about the next time”  
Keith kissed his hair  
“As long as you’re okay”  
“I was okay in the bathroom, I was okay getting dressed, I’ve been okay sitting on the sofa patting Blue. I’m okay, babe. I might just hit you in the dick if you ask again”  
“I thought maybe it... it wasn’t special enough”

Nuzzling Keith’s shoulder, Lance felt all silly with love again  
“I think I liked being here better than any rich hotel room. Figuring out things with you, when we’re in a safe place, that’s all I could ask for”  
“I’ll do better next time”  
“It’s not something you have to get better at. It’s something that’ll get better as we work out what we both like”  
“It still looked like it hurt”  
“Well, little Keith is pretty manly... I’m still really confused about my heat”  
“Do you think that’s why Coran suggested something physical like that because it keeps to clear headed?”  
“I don’t know. I don’t even know how to explain it to you. But I’m glad I could focus on you. Without my body being stupid”  
“It’s you’re head that’s stupid, not your body”  
“Did you just call me a “Stupid Head”?”  
“Maybe”  
Hit by an infamous boyfriend burn, Lance pouted, faking his hurt tone  
“Babe, I’m wounded. Absolutely wounded. How could you say that in front of our fur son?”  
Keith smiled at the puppy affectionately   
“It’s not my fault he’s got big ears”  
The puppy cocked his head. Playing with Keith had worn him out, his tail flicking lazily as he huffed and dropped his head back down again  
“You’re going to give him a complex. Baby boy, your ears are perfect”  
“He is kind of perfect. Thank you...”  
Lance hummed happily. For the first time since his Mami got sick, he was actually truly happy and it was all thanks to Keith   
“You’re welcome. Now where’s my pizza, Shiro and Curtis are taking forever”


	54. Chapter 54

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here Lotor walks into the tangle that is Keith’s life...

54

Keith had a bounce in his step come Monday morning. He loathed mornings, but the weekend had left him on a high. His new puppy was healthy. He’d spent most of Sunday with Miriam, Pidge, Hunk and Lance. Lance and Pidge were visiting Miriam again today. Everyone loved his puppy, which Lance made sure to repeatedly tell them was Keith’s, and that they couldn’t steal him. He’d had sex with Lance... twice. Three times if you counted staying inside his boyfriend and going for another round. The second time Lance was much more into it, and it’d been a great way to start Sunday morning. Slow and sleepy sex with plenty of cuddles. Lance seemed really into being jerked off during sex, and the sounds he’d made... Keith couldn’t stop grinning every time thought about it. Shiro definitely knew, but was keeping his mouth shut, letting Keith figure out this whole dating and sex thing for himself. So yeah, come Monday morning he’d woken, had his two coffees, FaceTimed Lance and his puppy... who’d been named Kosmo when he’d panicked over the vet asking him for his fur son’s name. It felt like one of those mornings where everything was possible.

Meeting them at the elevator, Coran was his usual perky self. Casting Keith a glance up and down, the man played with the end of his moustache   
“Someone looks happy. Did you have a good weekend with Lance?”  
“Don’t get him started on it, Coran. Lance brought him a puppy... amongst other things”  
Coran’s eyes lit up  
“A puppy! What a wonderful idea! I knew there was a spring in your step”  
Shiro sighed   
“It’s not because of that... but let’s not get into it. What have you got for us today?”  
Coran wasn’t having it   
“No, no. Let’s get “into it” as you humans say. Did you have a good weekend with Lance?”  
Keith felt himself smiling again, Shiro pinching the bridge of his nose. Yeah. His brother totally knew he’d slept with Lance in more ways than one  
“Yeah. It was good. We visiting Miriam for a bit, Lance is headed there again today with Pidge”  
“Excellent. He’s found two wonderful friends in her and Hunk. And you two are still...”  
“Still dating. After today’s briefing, there’s something I want to ask you about. But yeah, the weekend was good. And my new puppy is adorable”  
“Have you got photos? Is he living at the apartment? You can bring him here if you’d like”

Keith pulled out his phone, opening Kosmo’s album. He’d gotten a bit snap happy, but Kosmo was too cute even if Blue disagreed  
“Here. His names Kosmo with a “K”. Lance suggested it”  
Showing Coran photos of his precious fur son, Coran awed over them while Shiro mumbled something along the lines of “of course Lance did”  
“Kosmo. Did he say why?”  
Keith felt his cheeks redden   
“Um... it’s an us thing... He’s staying at Lance’s for now”  
“Very well, I won’t pry. He is rather adorable. I’m glad you enjoyed your weekend off, I’m afraid I have a rather pressing task for the both of you. Allura’s already waiting in the briefing room”

Sitting in the briefing room, Keith sent Lance a quick message to let him know he was working, then shifted his full focus to Allura. Maybe it was just him, but she really looked like she needed a break. Tiredness etched into her face, and her normally perfect hair seemed limper. Clearing his throat, Shiro was probably dying for something to think about other than him and Lance  
“Shall we get started?”  
Allura nodded, picking up the projector remote, grainy photos of three individuals came up on the far wall. Keith guessed that they were stills from surveillance footage   
“Okay. First, welcome back. Secondly, we’ve got a bit of a situation. We have reason to believe that there’s been a recent spate of vampire murders. These are our three victims”

Keith didn’t quite know what to say, or how to feel. Vampire’s being murdered meant less evil out there. Vampires being murdered also meant Lance might be at risk  
“What do we know about them?”  
Keith hoped his question didn’t sound Lance related. Coran nodded at Allura, then taking over   
“All permanent vampire working human jobs in the region are required to register their names and locations through us. These three weren’t registered, nor do we have clear information on their identities. The information was provided to us from a local club owner. There was no prior altercations, prior to their bodies being discovered. All three were poisoned with high doses of mercury, hearts run through with a leaded stake. Nasty stuff. A very old method of killing. Now, we theorise their blood was first poisoned, allowing them to be easily subdued. We’ve reviewed the footage and come across nothing from the bar of this venue. It serves both humans and vampires. It’s a legal place for masters to bring their pets”

Keith was glad to see Coran shift with discomfort at his own words. There shouldn’t be any pets. Yet going against the flow meant not being able to regulate what they could from Voltron... and thanks to Lance, he’d come to see that a vampire could care for a human, and not just see them as a warm meal  
“You want us to hit up the club?”  
Coran nodded at Shiro  
“Yes. You’ll need disguises of course, and a chaperone”  
Keith crossed his arms  
“I’m not putting Lance in danger”  
“No, of course not. We did entertain the idea of having Lance work for us years ago, but he has such a soft soul this line of work would only bring him pain. No. We’ve reached out to a contact and they should be making contact with us tonight”  
“Can we trust them?”  
“No. Honestly we would prefer someone else, but time is of the essence. They carry a lot away in the European vampire community, and we don’t know what to make of his sudden return to U.S soil. His name is Lotor”

Allura pressed the button for the projector and the next photo came up. The vampire in question looked like a total dick. His hair the same white shade as Allura, ears tapered too... Keith had a horrible feeling  
“Is he part fae?”  
Shiro had noticed the same thing asking Keith’s own thought, Coran nodded as he explained   
“His mother, Honerva, is part fae. His father is a nasty piece of work. There was once a time we both on friendly terms with them, but Honerva’s obsession over magic damaged her mind. The family moved to Switzerland about 100 years ago, steadily establishing a power base there. The rumours haven’t been favourable”  
“And you want us to work with him?”  
Allura cut in before Coran could reply  
“We want you to observe. We’ll be covering your natural scents, and providing you with pet attire for tonight. We’ll also require you to leave all personal belongings here. When I was younger I was quite close to Lotor. I don’t want to believe the rumours are true, but Honerva does have a great deal of magic at her disposal. It is possible that has affected Lotor. Don’t pry for information, and at the same time, don’t remain silent. He’ll suspect immediately that you’re investigating him, so will be pushing you to mess up”

Keith didn’t like this at all. He still couldn’t get his head around magic being real, and now they had to deal with a vampire that could potentially use magic  
“If I may, I believe that Lotor will assist us. Vampire murders endangers his own interests... whatever they may be”  
Keith didn’t want to meet Lotor. He seemed like he was going to be more of a hinderance than a help with things. He oozed ego. Lance was so careful to keep his ego in check. And he knew that was hard work for his boyfriend. If Lotor hadn’t kept his ego in check then the man was going to be a nutter... a nutter with him and Shiro masquerading as his pets. It was almost enough to wish that Coran and Allura had reached out and asked Lance...  
“What time will the mission start?”  
“That’ll depend on Lotor’s arrival. We’ll be monitoring the clubs surveillance, and have hunters in place in case things go south. Not that we expect them to. Now, Lotor chooses not to travel alone. Allura has prepared a file for each of you. You’ll find information on Lotor, his family, and his coven. You’ll also find the schematics for the club inside. I recommend memorising everything in that file. I also recommend you spend your day here, and return to your apartment tomorrow. Lotor may already have the bookstore under surveillance, and Lance would never forgive me if I allowed either of you to come to harm. I must admit, I have grown fond of both of you in your time here. You’re both just what this place needed. Now, Keith, I believe there’s something you wanted to discuss. Why don’t we take a walk? Allura can answer any questions Shiro has in the mean time”  
Great. This mission was going to suck and he wasn’t going to be able to contact Lance. Fan-fucking-tastic.

Coran kept his curiosity at bay, Keith pretend to skim the slim file Allura had given as they walked to the man’s office. Holding the door open for him, Keith always felt nervous when alone with Coran. He never quite knew what was going to come out of his mouth, and he kind of felt bad he was going behind Lance’s back like this. Taking a seat beside Coran’s desk, he ignored his vibrating phone, knowing that Lance would be wishing him luck, because that’s what his idiot boyfriend always did. Sitting himself down, Coran clasped his hands together, as if they were about to have the most serious conversation of Keith’s life  
“Now, my boy. What can I do for you?”  
“I wanted to talk to you about Lance”  
Coran didn’t seem surprised   
“Sure, I’m all ears”  
Couldn’t the man have given him an easier segue into the conversation?  
“Um... it’s about his heat”  
“Oh, no. Don’t tell me the poor boy is having issues with his heat again”  
“It’s not that but... so... um... we... had sex. But his heat was weird and he was kind of worried”  
“Describe weird”  
“Like his scent changed, but he didn’t lose control of himself. We’ve... um... touched and that during his heat, but... sex was different. He was pretty much himself, and he was worried about that”

Coran beamed at him. Keith embarrassed enough as it was  
“That’s excellent! It means his heat is settling down. What he experienced was heat like symptoms from arousal. This is a good sign. It means his hormone levels are levelling out and he should experience very little in the way of true symptoms for the time being”  
“That. I don’t get that. You’re like saying he won’t go into heat? So why did his scent change?”  
“Lance has already accepted you as his partner. His body was ready for mating, releasing pheromones and growing wet during arousal. It’s the same as you growing erect when aroused. His scent is letting you know he’s in the mood to do the do”  
“So he’s okay. He’s not going to come down cramping and bleeding again?”  
“Hmmm. That is a little tricky. His body is technically still adjusting, despite the hard part being done. He may experience symptoms due to living with two werewolves and he may enter an early heat cycle dependant on Matt and Rieva”  
“You don’t know, do you?”

Coran’s face softened. So far he wasn’t hearing anything overly alarming. Maybe a bit alarming... and scary... more scary for Lance than him, but Lance’s body was settling down and that was the main thing. There was nothing wrong with Lance   
“Not really. I may be an old man, but even I have very limited experience with breeders. I would like to get a few samples from Lance to distinguish his reaction to various pheromones. Any potential scent could send him into heat. Once we know that, we can ensure his heat doesn’t hit at an inopportune time”  
“These tests won’t hurt him, will they?”  
Coran chuckled  
“Gracious, my boy. My intention’s not to hurt him. I can’t say he won’t feel minor discomforts, or an accidental induced heat. Now, are you okay? Lance content with taking things slowly, this was a big step for the pair of you”  
“I’m alright. I was more concerned about Lance. It’s harder on him than me”

Coran tapped the side of his nose twice, Keith wasn’t sure he was using the gesture right. Keith was flushed with embarrassed, the whole conversation had barely risen above a loud whisper on his side.  
“Your secret is safe with me. Now, I’m afraid I must ask a favour of my own. I don’t want to involved Lance with Lotor, not until we know where Lotor’s loyalty lies. I may be being overly suspicious, yet he and Allura parted on bad terms. I do not wish to see her hurt again”  
It made no sense to Keith that they’d team up with Lotor. He didn’t see why they couldn’t pose as bar staff, or as pets of the owner   
“If he’s such a bad guy, why work with him?”  
“Because we can’t afford to say no right now. He may have hurt Allura, but they were both a lot younger then. People have the power to change, and we can’t judge a person on rumours alone. Vampires are rumoured to be ruthless soulless killers, hurt you’re seen for yourself how Lance is”  
“Lance is... an idiot. So many things would be much easier on him if he let himself do what he wanted”  
“That might be true. He has a brave heart”  
“He does... I think... I think he’d be a good hunter. He notices things that other people don’t. I’m not saying I want him to be a hunter, but... maybe he could help in someway?”  
“Are you suggesting that because you miss him?”

Yes and no. Keith really fucking missed him right now, but... taking Lance on a hunt was a whole other issue  
“I do. Miss him, I mean. I don’t know. I feel like he’s wanting to know more about being a vampire now that it isn’t as simple as drinking blood”  
“Let me handle Lance. He has gone through waves of this before, yet he insists on living as a human. All of this has always been hard for him to process. Perhaps I could find him a job in the legal department?”  
“I don’t think he needs a job... maybe some answers? What am I say? We all need answers. Sorry for the weird chat. I... I wanted to make sure he was okay”  
“He’s as fit as a fiddle. Now, off you pop. You’ll need to memorise that file before tonight”

*  
Lotor proved to be everything Keith thought he’d be. First he showed up with a dozen long stem red roses for Allura, then he produced two thick leather collars that he expected Keith and Shiro to wear for the night. And the way he talked... Keith wished someone would drive a stake through his heart already. His heart. Not Lotor’s. No. Lotor got to play with him like he was a goddamn pet, because it didn’t seem enough that he already looked like he’d walked right out of a budget porno. 

Shiro was alright. His brother dressed in tight black leather pants, black leather boots, and a black singlet with weird holes in the sides. His clothes were normalish. Keith’s, on the other hand, were not. Both of them had weird black masks covering their face, with black semi-transparent material in the forehead eye bit. He was also wearing a pair of bright blue contacts to cover his eye colour, as Lotor could probably see through the fabric with no hassels. Had it been just the mask, Keith would have swallowed his pride, but he looked like a damn hooker. 

Lance might have pulled it off, but Keith was sure he wasn’t. Black high cut shorts with an enormous silver belt buckle. A black jacket with shoulder pads that were more ‘80’s than his mullet, and kept making him think something was beside him as he caught them in his peripheral vision thanks to their size. A thin silver mesh shirt was the only protection he had under the jacket. His boots were swapped for some hideous black platform thigh high lace up looking things. There wasn’t anywhere to hide a blade, let along a gun. And he looked fucking ridiculous. Coran obviously hadn’t set foot out of his fortress in the last thousand years. Keith fearing he was going to be arrested for crimes against fashion, as Lance would say. Being collared by Lotor was humiliating. More humiliating than stinking like a walking potpourri bowl. He only knew what potpourri was thanks to Adam. 

Dressed in a lilac suit, Lotor had slicked his hair back into a high pony tail. His white dress shirt as white as his hair and dress shoes, that into served to make his pale skin tone look paler. A white carnation tucked into his breast pocket. He was easily as light skinned at Keith was, as if he hadn’t seen the sun in a long time. Which made sense, most vampires couldn’t stand the sun like Lance could. His boyfriend would have laughed at how appalling he looked, but sympathised over the fact he was well and truly out of his comfort zone. They’d barely even spoken. Keith assigned the name “Two” for the night, as Shiro was “One”. Allura kept casting them both looks of sympathy. Coran hadn’t stopped playing with his moustache since Lotor had entered the near deserted bookstore. The only one present was the woman behind the counter, Keith wouldn’t be surprised if she had a sleeping bag under the counter seeing she was always there.

Smiling, Lotor looked all that more sinister as his teeth protruded. He wore his fangs long, not like Lance who always kept his hidden as much as he physically could. Comparing the pair of them was like comparing apples and oranges. They both may be vampires, but Lance carried himself with an approachable air. Lotor seemed to suck the air from Keith’s lungs, his instincts telling him not to trust Lotor further than he could throw him. Bidding them fair well, Coran watched as Keith and Shiro were literally led from the bookstore and out to waiting white limousine. Of course Lotor travelled by limousine. His ego would probably keel over if he ever set eyes on Lance’s bronco. Lance understood he was working, but wanted Keith to message him as soon as he was safe. His boyfriend worried too much. Both he and Shiro had done undercover work before, though usually they were much more covered than this.

Sliding inside the limousine, Keith felt sick to his stomach with momentary shock. There were four other people in the back, but that wasn’t the shock. The whole interior was blood red. Plus red carpet, custom red leather seats, red trim and roof lining. All the red gave the impression a massacre had only just happened in the back. The chain connected to his collar made it hard, the leather already rubbing harshly. Lotor slid in next to him, then Shiro. The three of them sitting across from four very intimidating women Keith knew as “Lotor’s Generals”. The file was pretty sparse. Only that Lotor kept company with them. Dressed in black, the women wore matching purple cloaks. Something Keith was a little envious of given he was currently freezing.

Across from them, one of the women started to laugh. Lotor promptly silencing her with just her name. Ezor. She was tiny compared to the woman next to her. As the limousine pulled away from the curb, Lotor sighed  
“I’m sorry about that. Allura and I parted under hard circumstances. As you know, I’m Lotor. These are my generals. They will be accompanying us tonight in case any unforeseen circumstances arise”  
That wasn’t part of the plan. Keith didn’t like that they’d suddenly gained four more in their already overcrowded party  
Ezor started giggling again   
“I think the smaller ones frightened of us. He smells delicious”  
If smelling like old woman was your kind of thing. Keith now glad his face was covered and she couldn’t see his disgust   
“Ezor. I will not tell you again. It is imperative tonight’s mission go off without a hitch. Do I make my self clear?”

Ezor nodded. Unlike his and Shiro’s full face masks, the women wore masks that only covered across their eyes... like something out of a masquerade in a movie. Lance would have loved this. Well, maybe not the situation but the theme. It was very tacky vampire. Lotor continued   
“Good. Now. This is “One” and “Two”. You will refer to them in this manner, as they will be my pets for the evening. From right to left, we have; Axca, Zethrid, Ezor and Narti. My four generals. All natural born magic users, and vampires”  
Yay. More fucking vampires. He was filing that away for later. He probably now knew more about the four of them Coran and Allura did  
“Nice to meet you, all”

Keith cast Shiro a mental glare. Trust his brother to blindly trust a pack of vampires. Nothing good came out of vampires... apart from Lance, but Lance didn’t count. He was too human. Even if his ego did scare Keith at times, his boyfriend was a walking dumbarse  
“And nice to meet the pair of you. Coran failed to mention that one of you was part vampire”  
What the what now? He and Shiro were both human  
“We’re not”  
Lotor pursed his lips, look displeased at Keith’s denial  
“My mistake. You carry such an unusual scent that I was sure you must be part vampire”  
“Well, I’m not”

Keith’s heart rate rose. He’d been very careful. He’d left his devices with Coran, showered with the soap provided, then changed into the clothes provided. He hadn’t touched anything that Lance’s scent was on. Ezor was smiling. They all would have heard the change in beat. Maybe he needed to lie and say he actually did have a heart condition. Except he didn’t know the names of any heart conditions. Lotor picked imaginary fluff off his suit jacket  
“Again. I apologise for my mistake. Tell me then, have you worked for VOLTRON for long?”  
“No. We’re out of towners. We’ll only be staying as long as the investigation”  
It was nice to hear Shiro lie. It soothed his nerves to know his brother wasn’t making friends with an undead bunch of freaks  
“Ah, I see. Such a shame. I too, am new to the area”  
Keith pried  
“What brings you here?”  
“This and that”  
And was promptly shut down  
“He’s been in love with Allura for years”  
The one named Zethrid had a surprisingly deep voice. If they were magic users, he hoped they couldn’t read his mind or he’d be fucked  
“I must admit I do harbour feelings towards her, though they are purely platonic. She has made that much very clear”

Ezor snorted, stretching her legs out and crossing them at her ankles  
“That’s one way to put it. I believe she threatened to leave you at the bottom of the Marianas Trench”  
Leaning forward, Narti smiled widely, her teeth just as wicked looking as Lotor’s  
“That was Haggar. Allura threatened to in prison him inside his own mind”  
Ezor scrunched her face up in contemplation  
“Are you sure? I’m sure it was the other way around”  
“Yep, because Zarkon gave Haggar leave to do as she wanted around the castle and Lotor wasn’t paying enough attention to the fresh pets”  
“Eh. The point is he’s still hung up over Allura”  
Narti nodded at Ezor. Lotor looked uncomfortable, and unimpressed, but Keith was no longer paying attention to him. His eyes were on Axca. She’d so far proved the least annoying. And her expression said she didn’t find gossiping interesting. If he was going to get anything out of her, he’d have to play things carefully. Tonight was going to be an even bigger headache than the one he already had being a walking potpourri stand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys!!!!!!!  
> This is the art for this chapter by the amazing Codingss on Tumblr!!!!! Please give as much love as you can!
> 
> https://codingss.tumblr.com/post/632523785223929856/so-this-is-art-inspired-by
> 
> https://codingss.tumblr.com/post/632929496878759936/so-i-was-gonna-post-this-later-on-today-since-its


	55. Chapter 55

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith has a fun night... pet life is not for him at all

55

Keith felt the night was a waste. No one wanted to talk to them thanks to Lotor. It was hard to be inconspicuous when Lotor stood out in a room. The only consolation was that there were pets dressed as badly as he was, but being the pet of a rich vampire meant looks of envy and undisguised disgust. Lotor didn’t appreciate Keith sticking to water as it wasn’t the norm for pets. Keith hated to admit it, but they probably would have gotten more out of the night if Lance had come with with them. His perpetual sulk didn’t help matters. Lotor made a show of them being his pets. One or two vampires had approached to greet him, their pets looked happy enough, but it was hard to feel the same. He was used to doing things, getting up and moving, having a few drinks and listening to the conversations on the dance floor. Instead of being useful he’d spent most of the night being interrogated by Lotor’s generals, and listening to Shiro talk to Lotor... which he supposed had some use. Lotor was apparently here because he needed time away from his family. He objected to the way his family treated pets. For someone who objected, he seemed awfully familiar with “pet society”. It was enough to make Keith hate vampires all over again. If someone came up to him and told him Lotor had killed Adam he wouldn’t have been surprised.

Dropped back at the bookshop, the night was still dark, dawn soon around the corner which meant Lotor and his gang were headed home to sleep. Keith had the feeling his fae blood would protect him from the sun and he was just playing the part of needing to be inside, to maintain whatever this thing he had going on was. The first thing Keith did was remove his collar. His neck felt raw thanks to the fucking thing. Shiro might not be as vocal with his complaints, but his brother also has his collar off before they reached the front door.

Coran and Allura were waiting for them at the elevator. Keith was ready for bed, his nose itched and his headache felt like someone repeatedly bashing over the head. Holding two mugs of something, Coran smiled warmly  
“Welcome back. I’m glad to see you safe”  
Iverson would have preferred to choke to death than welcome them back, let alone welcome them back with a genuinely relieved tone. Fuck it. Keith was couldn’t pretend it didn’t feel nice to have a boss who cared. Managing a pained smile, Keith gave a nod  
“Thanks, Coran. It’s good to be back”  
“You two did very well. Now, I’ve got two hot chocolates here, almond milk with you in mind. Lance happened to mention you both enjoy them”

Coran looked exceptionally proud, Keith didn’t want to crush him. The last thing he wanted was hot chocolate. He wanted to scrub Lotor’s presence off his whole body. The man might not have a scent like Lance’s, but it was there and it was rank. Shiro patted his shoulder  
“Thank you, Coran. I hope you don’t mind if we shower first”  
“Not at all. Those collars have done quite the number of the pair of you, I’ve got some ointment for those rub marks. Now, before you shower, we need to collect your clothes. Outer clothes will be just fine”  
Shiro tilted his head, Keith sighing. His bother so tired that he wasn’t thinking  
“Let me guess, you want to collect as much physical information off our clothes as you can”  
Coran’s eyes widened, Keith had the feeling he would have clapped his hands if he could have   
“You’re learning number two!”  
It wasn’t a big deal. He missed his boyfriend, huffily he replied   
“Lance releases pheromones. We all know that”  
“Ignore him, Coran. It has been a rather long night. Are there collection bags in the bathroom”  
“As well as a change of clothes. Allura prepared a room for you both, and your devices are fully charged”

Keith got the implied message. Coran wanted him to call Lance. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to call Lance, but a lot had happened and so Keith wanted to process it first, sleep off this ridiculous headache, then call his boyfriend and assure him he was okay. 5 hours of intense music was not his idea of fun when sober. He had no idea how the vampires could stand having the music so fucking loud. Keith almost snorted at himself. A wild vampire party where the music was barely above voice level thanks to their hearing. Anyone rocking up to the club to party would be confused as fuck.

In the communal locker room, Keith and Shiro both stripped down. Shiro stuck in his leather pants, and Keith sorely tempted to set the pair of shorts he’d been wearing on fire. The stitching hadn’t been too kind to his junk. His junk less than impressed by the confines of his shorts. Being free of them was a god bless. Shoving their clothes into the provided bag, Keith then had to muster up the energy to move. Shiro placing his hand on his shoulders when he hadn’t automatically moved off the bench and to the showers  
“Tonight wasn’t great. How do you feel after meeting Lotor?”  
“If he lost his head, I can’t honestly say I’d be sad”  
Shiro snorted  
“Yeah. He’s not that great. We really lucked out with Lance”  
“I don’t get how two vampires can be so damn different. I mean, I do... but there’s no way you can compare the two of them”  
“That’s true. You gonna call him?”  
“Who? Lotor?”  
Why the fuck would he call Lotor when he was happy enough to never see him again?  
Shiro chuckled at his confusion  
“I did mean Lance”  
“Oh. No. Not yet... my head feels like shit”  
“That’s funny, it doesn’t look like shit”  
“You’re not funny, old man. What about you? Did you get anything out of him?”  
“Only the impression he doesn’t like his parents. We’ll need to follow up with Coran over his general’s and Haggar. I hate to say it but tonight was a bust”  
It was bad when Shiro was agreeing. He hadn’t been able to do much either. Never did Keith want to see his brother acting like a collared pet again, especially at the hands of someone like Lotor   
“If Lance was there, it wouldn’t have been”

The words just slipped out, Shiro deciding now was a great time to hug him from behind  
“Awwww... My little brother misses his boyfriend”  
“Shut up and get off me. That’s not what I mean. Lotor was too flashy and scared everyone off. And his creepy arse generals”  
“Axca seemed alright. She didn’t say much”  
“Because Ezor and Zethrid did all the fucking talking”  
“Lotor did let them out of his sight. We’ll need to review the footage”  
“Is there really any point? Any leads we could have gotten probably fled from Lotor’s presence. We should have gone alone. You’re big enough to pose as a vampire. And you’ve done it before. I don’t know what Lotor‘s deal is”

He didn’t know and it worried him. Lotor must have picked up on Lance’s scent, despite all Keith’s careful measures. Lotor wouldn’t forget that scent... which meant he could easily come after Lance. The thought chilled him to the bone. Lance was going through enough as it was  
“Coran and Allura will let us know if they find anything. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready not to smell like a florist”  
“This shit reeks”  
“Has to. Come on you, let’s get Cinderella back to bed before he gets all cranky”

The shower didn’t help with Keith’s headache. By the time he was changed into sweats and a singlet, his eyes were barely open. Sipping on his now cold hot chocolate, Keith just wanted sleep. But his phone seemed to be staring at him, telling him to message Lance. Shiro was in better shape, he’d stepped outside to make a call. Keith would bet anyone $100 that Shiro was calling Curtis. He still hadn’t called his brother out on that, only adding to his already mentally long list of jobs to do. Giving into temptation, Keith traded the mug for his phone, turning the device on to see Lance had messaged him a dozen times. He couldn’t help but smile. Lance had sent through photos of Kosmo, the puppy sleeping in Lance’s bed, where he wasn’t supposed to be. The last photo was of Blue and Kosmo. Blue curled up on Keith’s pillow with Kosmo sleeping on his back. According to Lance Matt had told him to tell Keith to come get his son. Kosmo having chewed through one of Matt’s shoes, then walked around the house miserably crying out of Keith. He felt bad for Kosmo. He loved him ridiculously for a puppy he’d only had a couple of days. There were another few messages in the main chat, mostly photos of Lance and Pidge with Miriam. In Keith’s favourite Pidge had her arms around Lance, while Lance was trying to push her off. One of the staff must have taken the photo for them. Miriam still didn’t look very well, but Lance was smiling so things must be okay. Keith would never tell Pidge, but he saw a lot of himself in her. The awkwardness. The coffee obsession. The teasing insults that were secretly filled with love. He thought there were times when Pidge didn’t care about anything other than her self interest, then she’d be cuddling Lance and he’d have whiplash from the personality change. Lance was used to it, Keith only able to offer an outsiders perspective.

Glancing at the time at the top of the screen, his phone informed it was 5:55am. A perfect time for sleeping, but now he’d read Lance’s messages, he wanted to hear his voice. Every time he left Lance behind there was always an aching to go back. His shit night would have been so much better if he knew he was coming home to Lance. Pulling up Lance’s number, his thumb hovered. He shouldn’t wake Lance up. He shouldn’t be selfish because he wanted to hear his voice... but he was going to be. He needed to hear his Lance. His dopey sleepy boyfriend, who wasn’t an ego obsessed douche like Lotor. Hitting dial, Keith settled down on the thin bed, phone against his ear.

Lance answered just as Keith thought the phone was going to ring out   
“Keef?”  
His boyfriend sounded like he had been sleeping, but Keith instantly relaxed against the pillows at the sound of his mumbled name  
“Hey, babe”  
“You okay? It’s early”  
How could he not smile at that  
“I’m fine. I wanted to let you know I’m back at VOLTRON”  
“Good... have you slept?”  
“Not yet. I didn’t want to worry you when I didn’t reply because I was”  
“You could have just messaged me... but I’m glad you called”  
For a second Keith thought he was being brushed off, before he melted at Lance’s words  
“I thought about it, but I wanted to hear you voice”  
“Me too... are you okay? You didn’t get hurt?”  
“Nope. I have a whole story to tell you when I see you”  
“Mmm... now I’m curious”  
“You’ll have to be curious a little longer”  
“That’s mean”  
“I feel like you’ll be mad if I tell you”  
Lance was silent for a long moment before softly replying   
“You know I get it. The things you need to do for work... I want to know. I want to be there for you”  
“I know. Tonight was just a shit night. We were in a club and it sucked”  
“Oh no... don’t tell me you found the tequila”  
Keith snorted  
“Not ever club story involves me and tequila. No. We had a meeting and it was a giant pain in the arse”  
“I’ll give you a giant pain in the arse”

Despite his tiredness, his dick gave a very half hearted twitch of interest  
“Mmmm. I think it’s meant to be the other way around”  
“That’s true... you should get some sleep”  
“I know. I’m in bed”  
Lance went silent again, this time long enough for Keith to worry  
“Babe?”  
“Can I stay on the phone until you fall asleep? Or is that creepy?”  
“Nah, you’re fine. I knew you loved my snoring”  
“Let’s get this straight, I tolerate it because of you. Get some sleep, Samurai, and I’ll talk to you later”  
“Okay... night, babe”  
“Night night. Don’t let Shiro bite”  
“Pfft. He’s on the phone to Curtis”  
Lance sighed  
“I know... If I listen I can here them. Now go to sleep. We can discuss their love life later”

*  
When Keith woke up, he found Lance had slept for another two hours before ending the call. His boyfriend was bringing Blue to see Miriam, while Matt and Rieva puppy sat Kosmo and Pidge. Wording it like that, Keith snorted, thumbing over to open their main chat and warn Pidge not to get any ideas about kidnapping his fur son. Left sleeping by Shiro, Keith ignored the prangs of abandonment. Shiro hadn’t abandoned him. He wouldn’t have left him and gone home without him. Having his phone and an outlet, he was able to focus on that rather than his missing brother. At his age he really felt it was rather embarrassing to keep leaping straight to abandonment each time he woke up alone. He hadn’t been abandoned. He was just left to sleep off his god awful headache. 

With no idea where Shiro was, Keith headed towards the gym, only to end up at the elevator rather than his destination. Not that he’d admit he was lost. A walk outside would totally do him good... Hitting the up button, the elevator doors slid open to reveal Curtis and Shiro. Keith’s heart flopped. His brother was off with his... whatever Curtis was, while he was sleeping  
“Oh, hey, kiddo. Curtis just arrived”  
Tell that to the two coffee cups in their hands  
“Sure he did”  
Shiro raised an eyebrow, his brother not getting where his mood was from  
“I had him pick up coffee for you on the way here”  
Keith eyed the cup with suspicion. He was definitely being lied to  
“Sure. Whatever”  
Curtis held out the cup he’d been holding  
“Lance did the actual ordering. It’s probably cold by now”

And like that, Keith was feeling like a dick  
“Is he with Miriam?”  
He might have checked his phone but that didn’t mean he’d checked the time  
“Yeah. Miriam was being bathed, we stepped out so she could have some privacy”  
“Lance isn’t here?”  
He didn’t smell Lance, nor did he feel like his boyfriend was in the same complex as him. Shiro nodded, stepping out the elevator and taking the offered cup of coffee as he did. His dumb brain needed a moment to catch up. Of course he couldn’t smell or see Lance, he wasn’t in the same suburb, let alone building   
“Yep. Here, drink this. You’re an arsehole without your coffee”  
Keith was confused as fuck. Too much blood and not enough caffeine   
“Luis was visiting Miriam. As was his elder sister. We left so the nurse could clean Miriam’s more intimate areas. Lance was quite distracted today. Perhaps his mind was on you? He easily could have made time to visit”  
Lance wouldn’t push a visit. Luis would upset him, then he’d feel like he was relying on Keith too much...   
“Luis can jump in front of a truck”  
Veronica better not be causing trouble either  
Curtis looked a little pained, Shiro, however, snorted with laughter  
“That’s no way to think about your potential brother-in-law”  
“He constantly goes out of his way to belittle Lance. I don’t like him”  
Shiro sighed, pushing the cup of coffee into Keith’s hands   
“It’s complicated and not our business. Let’s go find Coran and find out what’s happening”

Keith felt like the third wheel as he sipped his coffee while they walked. The hunter sorely wished he knew which doors led to supply closets' so he could shove both Curtis and Shiro inside. Maybe not Curtis, Curtis knew the way to Coran’s office by heart. So if he shoved Shiro in a supply closest that would be the fastest way to solve his third wheel problem. Knowing all the signs from when Shiro was dating Adam, his brother was either dating the fellow hunter, or denser than a loaf bread and forgotten what boundaries were. 

Knocking on Coran’s door, Coran cheerfully called out to come in. Ogling something under a microscope, Coran flashed the three of them a smile  
“Just in time. Curtis, splendid to see you. How is it going with your curse?”  
“Better. Lance has stopped calling me up on my slips ups”  
“Excellent. I knew the pair of you would hit it off. Now, I was just taking a look at the only hair recovered off your clothing. Judging by colour I would assume this belongs to Lotor”  
That sounded riveting. Absolutely riveting. Not. Better Coran than him. Letting him continue sipping his coffee, Shiro asked   
“Did you find anything?”  
“Nothing of consequence, yet, there were a few traces of magical residue. Perhaps due to his fae nature, or contact with polluted magic. Without further samples we currently have nothing to reference it against”

Keith closed his eyes, almost able to imagine Lotor laughing at the group of them   
“Any news from the club?”  
“The owner is anxious for a private audience with Lotor. Lotor has also called to say he was very impressed with the pair of you and quite eager to help in the future”  
Keith grimaced. He was never dressing as a pet for Lotor again. Shiro would probably try be diplomatic, but Keith wasn’t feeling human enough to take trying   
“He ruined everything. The only vampires that approached were interested in being able to say they met him. He stood out too much, making it hard to investigate. We also weren’t allowed to move freely, limiting our information gathering to talk at the table”  
“Yes. Unfortunately last night didn’t give us any new leads on the murders. However, Shiro was able to keep conversation with him. That first step was taken”

First step to what? Keith hoped it’d be pushed Lotor down the stairs and watching him topple like a slinky   
“No offence Coran, but Lotor isn’t someone we can use for undercover work. Last night would have gone smoother with Shiro posing as a vampire”  
Shiro wouldn’t have ordered bloody champagne. Literally blood champagne. Champagne with blood in it. It was revolting. Keith felt like throwing up as he watched him drink it   
“Perhaps not right now. However, if he believes we trust him, perhaps we’ll be able to use that in the future. It’s all about the future, number two”

Great. Coran had gone off the deep end again. Fuck trust. And fuck the future   
“We can’t use Lotor. Despite that soap stuff, he was still able to smell Lance on me. He asked if I was part vampire. If he smells Lance is breeder then Lance could be in serious trouble”  
Coran started twirling the left end of his moustache with his fingers. Human could hide their scents easier than a vampire could... or Lance could. Lance’s scent had a mind of it’s own  
“I see. That would be a very bad thing. I do not believe Lotor would harm Lance. He would drive a wedge between him and Allura forever. However, Lance is in a delicate state. Perhaps it’d be best to ask him not to visit here for a bit”  
Keith blinked  
“You can’t do that. Not with Miriam being sick and his siblings in town”  
“I assure you Lance understands it’s for his own safety. There’s been a time or two in the past where I’ve had to ask the same of him before”  
“Yeah, but now he’s going through a lot. You know he’s going through a lot”  
“I understand, but this is for his own safety. Though I really do not see Lotor going after Lance. Honerva could easily arrange for a European breeder to be sourced, and yet no such rumours have come to light. Maybe I am being overly cautious but I do love him like a son”

Great. Lance wasn’t going to be happy Keith got him banned from seeing Coran. Lance might have no interest in Lotor, and Lotor... until they knew what his game was...  
“Fine. But you’re telling him and you’re telling him why”  
“Very well, I’ll call him this evening to let him know. Now, I’ve had hunters scope out your apartment, and all signs are clear. Perhaps you’d like to return home for the night? We’ll be continuing surveillance of the club, yet as you said, Lotor may have driven any leads to take cover”  
“Or he could have drawn more in”  
Keith looked to his brother, brows drawn in confusion  
“If they’ve heard one of Europe’s elite has visited, they may try for an audience with him”  
Keith supposed all those vampires who’s egos had been trodden on may act out... They may also act out in other ways seeing something was already happening behind the scenes  
“We can’t go back. If Lotor’s there tonight he’ll make us from our scent and voices”  
“Not if we go European too”  
Keith groaned  
“No”  
“It’ll be fun”  
“That’s what you said last time”

The mischievous look in Shiro’s eyes told him his brother was committed to this terrible plan. He didn’t want to be European, he barely even wanted to human   
“Not tonight. We’ll go Thursday or something”  
Curtis cleared his throat, before saying  
“Don’t forget to leave the weekend open. Pidge and Hunk have decided this weekend is the perfect weekend to go under the pub again. She had wanted to go last weekend, yet with Miriam’s condition she postponed until Lance felt she was doing better”

Keith watched the way Coran tilted his head  
“Tunnels you say?”  
Seeing he and Curtis both knew about them, Keith didn’t know why Curtis looked to him to explain what he wanted. If ever there was a use for a truth telling curse, now would be the time  
“There’s some old tunnels under Garrison. Last time we went there, Lance got ill. Pidge wants to carry out an investigation down there, but we didn’t have enough light. I’m honestly surprised she waited this long”  
“Lance got ill? Tell me, did he describe his symptoms? What did it feel like?”  
“He got sweaty and sick from it. All kind of clammy and he didn’t like it down there at all”

Thinking back, Keith was kind of glad the stranger had walked into the bathroom when he did. He also regretted his drunken antics which heated his cheeks  
“Perhaps we should postpone this investigation. Taking two werewolves and Lance into such a situation could be problematic. Not many people know magic was used in Garrison, though the tunnels have laid empty, that doesn’t mean that magic isn’t still down there”

Fucking magic  
“Coran, are you sure? Maybe if you call Lance...”  
Coran shook his head, Shiro’s words petering off   
“I’ll visit Garrison tomorrow. I can also explain in person to Lance. And you do have a new puppy I’m thrilled to be meeting”  
Like that Keith was sure the sudden trip to Garrison was purely puppy motivated   
“Aren’t you being overly cautious? Curtis will be with them”  
“It may also affect Curtis’s curse. One of the reasons young Katie has been kept safe so long is thanks to Lance’s attachment to her. I would hate for an incident to occur. No. Allura will continue the investigation and analysis. A quick trip to Garrison in the morning, then back to Platt before lunch”  
Curtis probably couldn’t keep it a secret long enough for Coran to talk to Lance properly and explain the situation. It was going to be a shitty phone call, nothing like their last one  
“I’ll let Lance know”  
“Thank you, Keith. Now, I have a few things to finish up here. You boys go home and rest. Curtis, I could use your help”  
Curtis glanced at Shiro, Shiro giving a tiny shake of his head. Whatever they’d been planning was now out the window... and selfishly, Keith was relieved.


	56. Chapter 56

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun duuuuuuuuuun! Drama ahead!

56

Lance had cleaned through his house twice, slightly panicked after Keith had called to say Coran was coming to speak to him in person. As far as he knew, he hadn’t done anything wrong. He’d kept his scheduled checkin calls with Coran, even secretly keeping a journal of his moods as Coran had asked. Sure, Coran sometimes came out for no reason other to than “to take a break from Platt”, he wasn’t stupid enough to believe that it wasn’t Coran checking in on him. So now that Coran was coming for some other reason, he’d cleaned every surface he could think of, changed the cat litter, cleaned up Kosmo’s morning puddle, baked a fresh tray of chocolate chip cookies, and had a small breakdown, all before 9am. Keith had said it was related to the feeling he had in the tunnels and that Coran would explain it all. His boyfriend doing a bang up job of making him worry instead of relieved to hear Keith’s voice. Curtis hadn’t been much company on the drive back, Lance suspected it was because he’d arranged to meet at Shiro at VOLTRON, only for his plans to fall through. It was kind of Hunk and Shay all over again, except Curtis was kind of half cursed and Shiro was... Shiro. The man had more moods than his phone had settings. If Shiro felt it was finally time to move on from Adam, then Lance would do everything he could to help the pair of them. He liked Curtis. He liked having someone else to talk to, even if all their conversations were slightly weird. Not that he’d ever replace Hunk or Pidge. Hunk just had other priorities now he and Shay were figuring things out, and Pidge was worried about him too much as it was. She didn’t always let it show, awkward about those kind of things. But she was more family than Luis and Veronica at this point.

Thinking of his siblings only added to his stress. Veronica and Luis had gotten into a small fight over him, with Veronica actually taking his side. If he’d wanted to hurt their Mami, he easily could have a hundred times over by now and she was sick of Luis being a busy body. It’d been years since he’d seen his sister and her two girls. But age had been kind to Veronica, barely a free hair visible. For a second Lance had wondered if she’d been turned, she was exactly how he last remembered her. Upset of his impromptu cleaning, Kosmo pawed at his leg. With no idea when to stop filling his face, his food now lived up on the bench with Blue’s. His precious daughter didn’t love having a brother, but he’d caught them snuggled together. Sure, Blue’s tail had been wagging and her expression one of “what the fuck is this thing?”, but gradually Kosmo was worming his way into her heart.

Picking up Kosmo, the puppy wagged his tail happily. He really didn’t like being alone. The first night Lance had tried to have him in his own doggy bed since Keith left, Kosmo had cried for hours, so Lance had moved him up to his bed. Waking to find a very large wet spot thanks to puppy pee. Thankfully he already had a waterproof mattress protector on his bed, thanks to his heats it was kind of necessity. Kissing Kosmo on the head, the puppy tried licking at his face, Lance tucking him up against him as he went about making tea to go with the cookies. He didn’t know why Coran couldn’t just call him. This waiting thing sucked. He wasn’t good at it. Not when it came to people he cared about.

Matt and Rieva were sent to clean up when they finally crawled out of bed. Matt grumbling over Lance disturbing their sleep. Flashing his teeth, his housemate backed off, Lance throwing his dramatic arse into the closet seat. He shouldn’t be freaking out. Coran had known him for years. He liked to think they’d long passed awkward house visits, but he was on edge as it was. He wanted to hurry up and be done with the tunnels, so Pidge could be excited about something else.

It was 10 o’clock when Shiro’s white sedan finally pulled up in front of his house. Rushing to the front door, he found Coran enthusiastically praising Shiro’s driving. Bounding past his feet, Kosmo klutzed up and fell down the front veranda steps with excitement, picking himself back up, his whole body was wagging as his little body bounded towards Shiro. Scooping up the excitable pup, Shiro was lucky he held Kosmo away from him as the puppy peed in excitement. Shiro grimacing, waiting until Kosmo was done before handing him off to Keith. Keith didn’t care about the pee as he cradled his fur son, smiling as Kosmo licked at every part of him that he could  
“Hello, baby. I missed up”

Resisting the urge to gush over his boyfriend was easy when he felt sick to stomach over Coran. Coran’s enthusiasm turning to gushing over the puppy. If Coran was this cheerful then Lance was overreacting   
“Hey, guys. Come on in”  
Causal. He hoped he sounded casual. Shiro started towards the house, Coran and Keith much slower as they fussed over Kosmo  
“Hey, Lance. How’s things?”  
“Good. I’ve got fresh cookies and tea waiting”  
Coran shot him a smile, yet Lance knew his attention was still focused on Kosmo  
“Excellent, my boy. Sorry for the unplanned visit”  
“It’s fine. Keith called ahead”

Keith paused on the front steps to kiss his cheek. Lance kind of disappointed it wasn’t a proper kiss, but happy he was there for whatever reason. Heading indoors, Lance led the group through the kitchen. Matt and Rieva had already started on the cookies, but seeing he’d made four dozen, there were still plenty left to go around. Sitting in his usual seat, he left his lap open for Keith, Keith instead sitting next to him. Coran being Coran went straight to pouring tea for everyone, as Shiro sat himself down at the opposite end of the table and next to Curtis.

When the tea was ready, Coran started passing out the cups  
“I expect you’re somewhat confused what I’m doing here”  
“A bit. I mean, it hasn’t been that long since I saw you”  
“I know. I wouldn’t have come, but Keith mentioned you were heading back into the tunnels beneath Garrison and you had a negative reaction the first time”  
Lance squirmed. Negative was putting it nicely. And Coran coming out over the tunnels seemed overly weird  
“I told you about them before”  
He had. He didn’t get why Coran was making a fuss now. Maybe he’d found something?  
“That you did, but I’m afraid I have a bit of bad news. I thought perhaps offering assistance on this would help ease what I have to say”  
“You know I hate it when you word it like that”

Coran set a cup of tea before him. Lance taking the cup in his hands to give himself something to focus on  
“I do. There’s... a bit of an issue at headquarters. You know we service all vampires in the area. We have a new vampire in Platt. I don’t believe he’d be interested in you, yet it has been many years since I last saw him”  
Lance couldn’t help the laughter that came from relief. The rest of the table staring at him like he was crazy  
“You had me worried! If you want me to keep my distance you could have told me on the phone”  
It wasn’t that funny. His laughter dying away within a few moments. He felt so much lighter for knowing, even if it did compound the fact he’d stupidly overreacted   
“I know. I wanted to tell you seeing how things have been lately. It seems he may have picked up your scent. I’m quite confident he has no idea who you are, only that you’re quite unusual”

Lance sobered. That was one way of putting it. The other was saying he was basically catnip to vampires, which he was  
“I get it. You told me I was going to have to live more carefully than ever before”  
“I’m so glad you understand. I must admit I didn’t sleep well last night. I care quite a lot for you, my boy”  
Lance nodded  
“I know. You’re not being mean, you’re trying to protect me. It’s fine. Now, why are you asking about the tunnels”  
Coran sat himself down beside Keith, nursing his cup of tea near his chest   
“I’m concerned you may be more in-tune with death than ever. Can you describe what you felt?”  
Lance sighed. He didn’t need to see ghosts any clearer than he already did... or didn’t   
“Revolting. Like someone had filled the whole place with residue of death, and like... like I had confess all my sins. I wasn’t feeling that great before we headed in, but I definitely started feeling better again above ground”

Coran hummed, Matt stopping munching long enough to ask  
“Should we be worried? I know Lance was in the mine shaft tunnels, but if he’s feeling ill from the town ones, does that mean something’s down there that could hurt Pidge?”  
“I’m not sure. A creature down there for that long would have long gone mad. I felt it best I give it a quick check, before you and your friends make the trip down”  
Coran must have really been on edge thanks to this new vampire. He didn’t need to come make the precheck on Lance’s activities, still, he had. Lance wondered if Coran was feeling overly cautious and fearful for his safety because he knew this new vampire was bad news, or if it was related to him being a breeder and the vampire being new to town  
“It didn’t feel like something living. There was much pain and regret. It was like... I don’t know. I wanted to go church the moment I came back up again”  
Lance closed his eyes, trying to block the feelings of the tunnels rising inside him  
“That concerns me. Let’s enjoy our spot of tea and be in our way over”

*  
Lance drove Keith, Matt, and Rieva to the pub. Matt was excited over seeing the tunnels ahead of the weekend, Rieva annoyed their morning had been interrupted by something so trivial, and Keith kept casting him sideways glances because Lance has suggested maybe he and Shiro stay home at the last moment. Lance unable to share any enthusiasm Matt had. He’d been left cold and clammy at the mere thought. Pulling into the first parking back closest to the pub, he most definitely didn’t want to go in there.

Keith and Lance hung back as the group, now led by Coran, headed into the pub. Brushing shoulders was the most intimate they could be, but Lance was struggling not to hold Keith’s hand  
“Babe?”  
Of course Keith wanted to talk  
“I’m fine... I’m a bit edgy”  
“I can see that. If you don’t want to go down there, Coran will understand”  
To have the luxury not to go would be nice  
“No. I have to. Coran could be in danger, plus he probably wants to observe the effects of the tunnel”  
“If everything goes smoothly, why don’t we have lunch here? We can send the others back ahead to your place”  
“That’d be nice, but I don’t think I’ll be much company”  
“I don’t mind. Or we could leave them here and head back to yours”  
“Mmm. That sounds better. No offence”  
“None taken. I’m sorry I freaked you out”  
“Some warning would have been nice, but it is what it is. I really don’t want to do this. I was still psyching myself up for the weekend”  
“I would have come, if I could have”  
Lance felt a tiny bit better about that. He wanted to head home and cuddle with Keith, not be forced to adult   
“I know. Can you answer something for me. Is Coran worried because I’m a breeder or is this new vampire dangerous. I totally get if you can’t and all...”  
“He’s up to something. He used to be friends with Allura”  
“The fact he used to be friends isn’t making me feel better. Allura is practically one of the nicest people I know”  
“I can’t say much... but I don’t like him”

That was so Keith. His boyfriend had walls a mile thick. Not quick to trust but when he did, he was the kind of man who’d do anything for the people he cared about  
“Okay. I’m sorry for asking about work”  
“It’s fine if it’s you. We better join the others”  
Coran was already talking to the publican. The poor man opened at 10:30 and now they were ruining his day already. He didn’t seem happy to see Keith and Lance, not that Lance could blame him. Pidge could be a tyrant at negotiating for what she wanted, and he had a business to run. The man didn’t have time to deal with paranormal investigators.

Coran pulled some kind of Jedi mind trick, getting them access without fighting or yelling. As they headed downstairs, Lance’s hand slipped into Keith’s, Keith squeezing firmly   
“It’s okay, babe. I’m right here. A quick in and out and then we’ll be headed home”  
Leaning into his boyfriend, Keith nuzzled into him, kissing the spot on his hairline . Lance wishing the kiss was enough to force the sick feeling from his body. It was already taking everything he had no to throw up on his feet. Talk about psychosomatic symptoms right there  
“Yeah. I know... I hope Coran lets you stay the afternoon”  
Keith probably had to go straight back to work. Lance didn’t want to interrupt him working, but he was pathetically addicted to Keith’s cuddles   
“So do I... but we probably have to go back to work. We’re in the middle of investigating this shitty club”  
“Let me guess, it’s shitty because you can’t drink?”  
“That’s part of it. There were pets”

Lance wrinkled his nose. Keith was probably more used to seeing pets than he was, but that didn’t make it any more tasteful. The thought of collaring Keith stroked his ego, as much as it hurt his heart to think of a caged Keith. Keith with his freedom and sense of self worth was the Keith he wanted. Obedient Keith would be too freaking weird... Nope. He wanted his anger loaf as his partner not his pet   
“If I ever make you feel like I pet, I hope you punch me in the dick for it”  
“I will. You ready?”  
“As ready as I’ll never be”

Letting them through to tunnels, Lance felt ill immediately, covering his mouth with his hand as Coran examined ahead. Shiro was using the light of his phone to guide him, Curtis and Keith. Following Coran for a good 5 minutes of torturous silence, Coran finally came to a stop   
“How do you feel?”  
Like there was an itch under his skin and he really shouldn’t be there. Like whatever lingered wanted him gone  
“Not great”  
“I’m going to try something. Let me know if you can see it”

Coran placed his hand on the wall, blue lines radiated outwards like spiderwebs. Lance reasoned in awe that this had to be what magic looked like. Coran trigging it with his own. The feeling of death now so heavily pushing against him that his shoulders hunched. His head felt ready to split in two, as his fangs lengthened. Behind him, Shiro started to call out as a savage snarl filled the space, half turning, he found himself eyeing Matt, who Rieva was trying to hold back both her boyfriend and her own transformation, her eyes already yellowing as wrapped her arms around Matt in a losing battle  
“Keith, look out!”

Acting on instinct, Lance shoved Keith aside, his body acting as shield for Coran. Sharps claws tore through his jacket and shirt like a knife through warm butter. Screaming in pain, Matt’s teeth sank deeply into his shoulder, his weight driving Lance to his knees as something snapped. Blood filled the air, Lance fighting to stay conscious   
“Get out of here! Move, now!”

Grabbing Keith by the arm, Coran pulled him to stand behind him. Shiro already helping Curtis towards the way out. Falling under Matt, Lance twisted, driving his hand up to smack under the wolf’s jaw. His right arm looked nasty, the blow only stopping Matt for a moment before his claws were tearing into Lance’s chest. Coran was saying something, saying something then grabbing Matt around the neck. When Matt went to snap at Coran, Lance’s left arm round its way into Matt’s mouth by accident as he was trying to grab the wolf by his bottom jaw. For a moment, Matt’s eyes glowed yellow, before his wolf form was slumping over Lance. Everything was happening too fast. Lance couldn’t keep up. Dimly he heard Keith calling his name, followed by a voice he definitely didn’t want to hear... then there was nothing.


	57. Chapter 57

57

Cradling Lance against him, Keith couldn’t stop shaking. There was so much blood that a normal person would be dead. Coran had done something, then both Matt and Lance had freaked out, Matt attacking Lance who went full vampire protecting them. Curtis had collapsed on the spot, needing Shiro to support him. Rieva already running towards the tunnels exit  
“Keith, we need to move. Get Lance”  
Lifting his unconscious boyfriend, Keith was in shock. Matt had turned and Lance shielded him and Coran against the wolf... He couldn’t believe what had happened. Whatever Coran had done had stopped Matt, the man turning human in Coran’s hold as Coran lifted him. So caught up in the drama of what was happening and getting Lance out of the tunnels, Pidge barely registered on his radar as he strode through the dark, afraid that being cautious would cost Lance his life. This was bad. It was beyond bad. People were going to see. People were going to know... They’d fucked up. He’d fucked up. He never should have let Lance down here. He and Shiro should have accompanied Coran, not the whole group. 

Between the tunnel exit and the car was a blur for the hunter. Rieva had turned, her large wolf form following Coran to Shiro’s car, scared for her mate and probably scared over whatever had made Matt turn in the first place. With Shiro able to drive, and function, Keith placed Lance in his bronco, before climbing up beside his boyfriend. The only thing he had to stop the bleeding was his shirt, stripping it off he pressed it hard against the scratches on Lance’s chest, Lance still completely unconscious. Throwing himself in the driver’s seat, his brother moved to fish Lance’s keys out his pocket  
“Coran said to head straight for the house. Lance needs serious medical help. I want you to monitor him”  
Shiro’s words felt distant. Like his brother was talking to him through a fog. All he could do was shake, surprised he wasn’t crying as he held Lance close to him. His heart was racing, he couldn’t calm down and this was his fault. His fault... Lance could die... permanently... because he didn’t follow his instincts... because he hadn’t followed Lance’s instincts. He should have spoken up. Why hadn’t he spoken up? Why hadn’t he told Lance “no”?  
“I know you’re scared, kiddo, but he’ll be okay”

It wasn’t until halfway home that Keith remembered Pidge. Pidge was human. Pidge was human and she’d seen  
“Pidge!”  
“She’s following us... focus on Lance”  
Lance was still bleeding. Keith didn’t know how make the wounds close faster. Tilting his boyfriend’s head back, Lance complexion was an ashen grey  
“He’s dying... I don’t know what to do”  
Keith’s voice trembled, holding Lance didn’t mean he was helping him  
“Is his mouth clear? Can he breathe?”

Lance’s lips were bloodied, his fangs still extended. Wiping them with his hand didn’t do much of anything, Keith felt like he was only smearing his boyfriend’s blood around as he wiped his hand off on his stomach before moving his hand back to see if Lance was breathing. As they went over the ditch at Lance’s turn off, Lance’s teeth scraped across the one bit of his hand that was blood free. The action reminding him of how he’d stupidly thought he’d been turned. He never thought Lance could mean so much to him. Groaning weakly, his boyfriend scrunched his face up in pain. It was the most motion Lance had shown since collapsing   
“Shiro, I think he’s waking up”  
“It’s okay, we’re just about at the house. Lance, it’s Shiro. You’re going to okay. Keith, talk to him”  
What was he meant to say? What would Lance say?  
“I’m here. I’ve got you, babe. I’ve got you”  
Lance mumbled softly, his words filled with exhaustion   
“I think I got hit by a car”  
Keith couldn’t even manage a smile  
“Not quite a car”  
“I feel like shit”  
“You look like it”  
“Love you too, babe”

Keith’s heart damn near stopped. Whatever strength his boyfriend had fade as he fell silent again. What kind of... who... who just said that and passed out like it was perfectly fine. Keith almost wanted to stab Lance. Was it a joke? He had to be joking? He wasn’t anything special. He was an emotionally compromised hunter who was now second guessing his every move because Lance was everything he’d never been taught or told. He’d never felt the things Lance made him feel. He’d never worried about anyone other than Shiro like this.

Shiro pulled up as close to the front steps as he could. Climbing out the car, Shiro jogged round to the passenger side, opening the door for him  
“Climb out, then I’ll help you with Lance”  
“I’ve got him”  
“Keith...”  
“I’ve got him!”  
Snapping at his brother, Keith didn’t want Shiro touching Lance, even to help him. Wracked with guilt, he didn’t anyone else touching Lance. Climbing out the car, he pulled his boyfriend to the edge, before awkwardly sliding him out. It was so much easier to get Lance in than out, Keith stumbling under his weight. Had Shiro not moved to stand behind him, they probably both would have ended up on the ground.

Keith had all of two seconds to straighten himself up, before Coran was pulling up. Pidge slamming her breaks on so hard to avoid rear ending him as she jerked the wheel, that her car skidded, spraying gravel as she stopped just short of the grass. Out the car before Coran, Pidge was angry  
“What the fuck happened to Lance?!”  
In his arms, Lance stirred, wriggling so much that Keith had to stand him upright or risk near dropping him again. Meeting his boyfriend’s eyes, Lance bared his fangs, teeth sinking into Keith’s shoulder. Crying out in pain, Shiro pulled Lance off him, but the damage was done. As Keith felt the blood running down his shoulder, he turned to Pidge who was backing away  
“Pidge, wait... I can explain...”  
“No... no... stay away from me...”

When Matt climbed out the back of the car, bloodied from attacking Lance, Pidge’s eyes went wide. Matt didn’t look pretty, he could barely stand, eyes still yellowed from transforming   
“Take Lance and get him in the house...”  
That her brother was acting so calm drove Pidge over the edge. Letting out a cry, she rushed back to her car. Keith’s heart breaking for all of them. Pidge had always wanted to be part of this world, now she was seeing all her nightmares coming true. Matt started towards Pidge, but Pidge was already starting the car again. Moving to stand in front of her car, Pidge slammed it into reverse, kicking up gravel again, before taking off.

Finally climbing out the car, Coran sighed, maybe Matt, Rieva, or Curtis had explained during the drive   
“Let’s get Lance inside. We’ll need towels and fresh blood. Number one, grab the first aid kit from Lance’s bathroom, Number two, we’ll use the kitchen table. Matt, clean up then see if you can get Miss Katie to return. Curtis, you’ll be my second set of hands. We have quite the mess on our hands”

*  
Lance’s kitchen table was turned into a makeshift operating table. Coran had sent him to shower, Keith throwing a swing at his brother when Shiro tried to remove him from Lance’s side. Things were worse now Keith could see every wound clearly. Shaking hard enough he could barely stand, Shiro was finally able to lead him away. Operating on autopilot, his brother helped him wash. The red running down and swirling with the water in the bottom of the shower seemed never ending. He wasn’t shocked Lance had bitten him. He was, but he wasn’t, but he was. The bite stung, but he hadn’t torn the wound when he’d been pulled away. Lance had probably fainted all over again in fear of having bit him.

When his shower was done, Shiro helped him dress in borrowed clothes. From somewhere Shiro had found Kosmo, the little pup snuggling against his chest in a way that hurt. He felt like the worst boyfriend ever. He didn’t want to see Lance. Not when he was in so much pain, and felt shittier by the second for not being with him. Shiro kept trying to talk to him, but too shocked over what had happened, Keith couldn’t find words to reply. He felt so fucking sick he wanted to throw up. The only silver lining is that Pidge, Hunk, and Shay, hadn’t been there to deal with Lance and Matt freaking out... even though Pidge now knew something of the truth. God. The pain in her eyes. He got why Lance was so scared of her finding out. She’d looked... betrayed. Betrayed, broken, and shattered. All valid feelings. All feelings Lance was going to feel when he was coherent again.

Shiro led him back to the kitchen, where Keith’s stomach finally turned. Rushing to the sink, Kosmo whimpered as Keith threw up. His puppy wiggling against him, as those tears finally hit  
“This is my fault”

The words came between heaves. Shiro kept his arm around Keith’s shoulders until there was nothing left to throw up  
“This isn’t your fault. This isn’t. You did nothing wrong”  
Shiro was trying to be soothing. Keith hated himself too much to listen. First he’d let Adam down, now he’d let Lance down  
“You didn’t let Adam down. He loved you. He was proud of you. Lance loves you. He’s going to come back to you”  
Keith hadn’t realised he’d vocalised his self blame. From over his shoulder, Coran’s voice came  
“It’s not pretty, but he’ll recover. Shiro, why don’t you take Keith into the living room”  
Now he was in the same room as Lance, he didn’t want to leave   
“I’m staying”  
“Keith...”  
Shiro’s voice carrier a gentle plea  
“I have to stay for him... I have to... I have to”  
Lance would stay through all the shit if their roles were reversed  
“Keith, you can see him when Coran is done”  
That made it sound like Coran was fixing up Lance’s corpse for viewing  
“I’m staying...”  
“Okay. Let me fix your shoulder up. Come sit over here”

Shiro sat him near the doorway, chair facing the fridge. Kosmo nipped and sucked on Keith’s fingers, as Keith tried not look at Lance... tried and failed. Bloodied towels lay on the floor, Coran’s face set in concentration, stitching Lance as Curtis cleaned him up. He couldn’t take not known  
“What happened down there? What happened to Lance and Matt?”  
Coran hummed, Keith expected to be told to wait, instead the fae went on to reply  
“Magic. Old magic bolstered by death. Designed so those not so human wouldn’t stay hidden beneath the earth. Did you see the magic?”  
“Not really... but no one’s been down there for years”  
“Magic is the manipulation of the quintessence all around us. It grows and changes with the times. This magic was designed to target those parts that aren’t human”  
“Then why weren’t you effected?”  
“I was born fae, my boy. No human side like our four friends”

Right. Four friends. He hadn’t even asked about Curtis, Matt, or Rieva  
“Where are the others? I didn’t even ask you, Curtis...”  
Keith looked to Curtis, bottom lip wobbling. That nub on his head now a twisted red horn of maybe 2 inches...  
“I feel much better, still somewhat shaken. You did have other priorities. Lance was quite brave shielding both you and Coran. He never fails to amaze. He was quite shaken over his sister yesterday, yet today all he could think of was Coran’s visit”  
“Matt and Rieva?”  
Keith hissed as Shiro wiped the bite over with the antiseptic cream, his brother answering  
“Rieva is patching up where Lance scratched Matt. Which reminds me, what was that you did to Matt, Coran?”  
“A little quintessence manipulation. Matt never wanted to harm us. He simply couldn’t help himself. Never a dull moment around here”

Keith would take a dozen dull moments over today. A hundred dull stupid moments with his idiot boyfriend. They were supposed to come home and cuddle until Keith had to be responsible. He was going to ask Lance about his siblings, Lance would turn the conversation back to work. Keith would kind of break the rules and mention a little bit about under cover. Now this had happened and his patience was being tested waiting for Lance to wake back up.

*  
When Lance was stitched up, Coran set up a blood bag. Some of his wounds finally starting to heal properly. With Lance laying on the table, Keith couldn’t cuddle his boyfriend, but Coran had covered Lance in a blanket and he was allowed to hold his hand. Cleaning himself up, Coran came back in, the man looking remarkably collected   
“Never fear, number two. He’ll heal right up”  
“Then what happens? Pidge knows something happened. She was scared”  
“Ah, yes. Katie knowing does complicate things. Especially when she doesn’t know the full story. No doubt it was a nasty shock for her”  
“Lance loves her like a sister. We never should have gone into those tunnels”  
“I’m afraid I’m quite in agreement. I considered Garrison a rather safe place. You encountered no similar symptoms on your other trip to the tunnels, did you?”  
“No. Not the first time in the coal mine”  
“Excellent. I shall make a note of this. Now, young Matt hasn’t been able to contact Pidge. I have suggested for the time being we return to Platt. This does complicate things with Lotor, yet everybody is currently emotionally compromised. I suggest you come up with a cover story for what Pidge saw”  
“What about the publican? What about the blood?”  
“A little quintessence manipulation and he’ll soon forget”

Keith wasn’t happy. Putting distance between Lance and Pidge wouldn’t solve the issue... but he didn’t feel like picking a fight trying to protect his boyfriend and keep the existence of vampires and werewolves secret   
“This feels like running away. She needs some kind of explanation, Lance is going to be heartbroken when he wakes up. Why was she even there?”  
“From what I know, I assume she noticed Lance’s car. Lance had always been fond of mentioning that Pidge can be quite scary with her powers of observation”  
“That’s true”  
She figured out their feelings for each before they did. She probably already thought Lance had a medical condition he’d been hiding from them   
“I know this is a distressing situation, but I’ve treated far worse cases than this. He’ll make a full recovery”  
Keith had kind of lost his head. Lance was a vampire, werewolves cuts and bites heal faster... at least faster than a broken heart  
“Is that you’re way of telling me I over reacted?”  
“Perhaps a little. Though it is always harder when it’s the people we love. Might I impose on you to pack for Lance? A week’s worth of clothing should be enough. I’ll remain with him. I think he’d feel much better knowing you’re the one who packed for him. And we’ll take both Blue and Kosmo with us... and the box of death soil he keeps in his closet. We can’t leave him buried on the off chance Pidge or Hunk return. I’m afraid that’d only make the situation more complicated”

Keith didn’t know how things could possibly be more complicated than they were right now. Lance and Matt were both going to be beating themselves up for what happened, and both of them were going to be upset over Pidge. All she’d wanted to do was see her friends. Now she’d seen both Matt and Lance bloodied and bruised, and a damn werewolf climb into a car like it was normal. Keith wanted to reach out to her, but he had no idea where to even begin. This sucked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it a spoiler alert to say our sweet Pidgeon will return. All she was was curious as to why they were at the pub without her... She just wanted to be included...


	58. Chapter 58

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do we want  
> “Paragraph Breaks!”  
> When we do want them  
> “Your author doesn’t know”
> 
> Fire me.

58

Lance left him hanging until the weekend to wake up properly. His boyfriend had woken sporadically over the last few days, only really long enough to express his relief that Keith was okay, then fall back to sleep. His external wounds had healed within the first 48 hours, all of them breathing easier for it. Coran had said Lance would wake when he felt, probably run down emotionally from Miriam being ill and neglecting himself because he worried too much for other. Matt’s wounds took about the same time, the bottom of his face swollen and bruised, teeth missing and a few hair line fractures in his lower jaw. Matt had tried talking to Pidge, but she wasn’t ready. Keith had more luck talking to Hunk, who’d called demanding to know why Pidge wasn’t making sense and what had had happened to Lance. Telling him there’s been an accident in the tunnels and that both Matt and Lance had been hurt, Hunk demanded answer, Shiro plucking the phone from his hold, and reassuring Hunk on the way to Platt to get them both looked at, before hanging up. Keith had tried messaging group chat to say both Matt and Lance were okay, but had gotten no reply. He couldn’t help but empathise with Pidge, probably understanding her feelings better than everyone right about now. He wanted to reach out, but was scared of the rejection he might face.

While Lance had slept, Keith had done everything he was suppose to. Eaten. Showered. Slept. Trained. Training helped him vent his anger. He wasn’t even sure who he was angry at any more. Kosmo was eager to follow him everywhere he went, Blue preferring to stay with her human, curled up on Lance’s chest except for the times the door opened and closed. Keith didn’t understand cats with doors. They knew what was on the other side, but every time a door opened they seemed curious as if seeing it all again for the first time. Keith didn’t have the time to be curious... despite being on a whole new floor at Voltron. It made sense there was more to the place than what he could see, but now they were further under ground, Coran having his access card over the elevator panel, bringing up a whole panel of underground levels. They were using rooms normally reserved for hunter. Keith and Lance sharing a room, Curtis had his old room back, Shiro between VOLTRON and their apartment, with Matt and Rieva returning to Garrison. They were all worried about Lance, but things needed to be done. Plus Matt was majorly depressed overly hurting Lance, Coran suggesting he visit once Lance woke so they could talk. The incident in the tunnels had to be reported, Coran had promised he’d take any all blame “for the blunder”. 

It was some ungodly hour Saturday morning that Lance woke. Keith wasn’t sleeping, instead he was playing with his camera, brought by Shiro to distract him. Kosmo sleeping curled up against his side after a hard day of being adorable. When his boyfriend spoke, Keith nearly jumped out of his skin   
“Hey there, come here often?”  
Fumbling his camera, Keith rushed out of his bed and to Lance’s. There were two singles in the room, not quite able to fit two fully grown men when Keith was paranoid about hurting Lance in his sleep. Catching an armful of him, Lance held him tightly  
“I see I was missed”  
“You fucking idiot. You had me worried”  
“I know... God, that hurt. Are you still okay? I know I was out of it, but you didn’t get hurt, did you?”

Keith deflated a little, this was how their brief conversations had been going  
“I’m okay. Shit hit the fan, but I’m okay”  
Lance nuzzled into his chest, poor Blue was now stuck between Lance and the wall thanks to Keith   
“Good. I would have to punch you in the dick if you weren’t”  
“You wouldn’t”  
“No. I feel like I’ve slept for a month”  
“Only since Tuesday”  
“What’s today?”  
“Saturday”  
Lance groaned, his boyfriend trying to sit up while simultaneously not let him go. Keith moved to be less in Lance’s lap, Lance nearly squashing Blue as he pulled himself up to sit. Blue jumping on Lance’s shoulder before bolting off the bed   
“Fuck... hold on... fuck...”

Keith wasn’t going anywhere. Lance’s words falling time with Blue’s leaps. Sitting back against the wall, Lance covered his mouth as he yawned. This was the most progress he’d made in days   
“Babe? You okay? You had a huge shock to the system  
Lance slid his hands up, rubbing at his eyes before sliding his hands back down to cover his cheek and nose  
“Please tell me I didn’t bite you and tell me I don’t remember Pidge being there”  
It’d be nice if Lance didn’t remember. He’d barely woken up and there he was making more sense than he should   
“I’m sorry”

Keith didn’t know what to do other than apologise. He’d messed up... Lance swearing softly  
“Babe. It’s okay...”  
It wasn’t okay, because this was Pidge   
“Is she okay? Have you heard from her?”  
“Not really. Matt tried to talk to her, but she didn’t want to talk. She talked to Hunk, and Hunk was kind of freaking out...”  
“Fuck... God... I didn’t want to her find out. What did you guys tell her?”  
“I said there was an incident in the tunnels...”  
“Couldn’t you have lied and said a prank gone wrong?”

That would have been the smart people’s approach to things. His brain unfortunately decided he need to try and tell the truth because he cared about Pidge and Hunk. Lowering his gaze, he mumbled   
“Rieva turned too...”  
Lance started to draw his knees up. Keith tearing up. He’d ruined everything for Lance  
“Lance, I’m so sorry. This is my fault... if I hadn’t let you go... this wouldn’t have...”  
“Stop it. Stop right there. Right now I can’t... You didn’t do anything”  
“I should have...”

Hauled up from sitting beside Lance, Keith was manhandled into Lance’s lap like Lance was picking up Blue. Wrapping his arms around him, the vampire rested his forehead against Keith’s arm  
“Keith. Just stop. Stop it. No. You didn’t know. You had no idea. Coran wanted to see the tunnels, and we would have been stuffed without him”  
“I fucked up. Pidge saw. Hunk and Shay won’t talk to me. Pidge saw Rieva as a damn wolf. You got hurt. Matt got hurt. Curtis popped a fucking horn. Why didn’t I say something?”  
“You did. You told me we could totally blow it off. It was fine until Coran poked at the magic”  
“He said it was some kind of spell to stop supernatural things from living down there”  
“If I had to feel that every day, I wouldn’t want to live down there either. But anyway, how are you?”  
“You already asked me that. I haven’t even asked how you feel”  
“I’m okayish. My arm’s not broken anymore, so that nice. What happened to Matt?”  
“Busted jaw. Coran did some kind of fae magic on him. I feel like you’re changing the topic”

Lance sighed at him. Neither of them were not thinking about Pidge. Nosing at his arm, Lance was no doubt beating himself up internally  
“I’ve never... I didn’t want Pidge to find out like this. What I want to do is call her, but she probably won’t answer me. I know there’s magic in the tunnels now, and that’s why we snapped, but I feel like a douche for being mad at Coran for touching it”  
“Coran’s been here a bit. Allura too. I didn’t want to leave, but Shiro said you’d be disappointed if I didn’t try to take care of myself”  
“I think I would have been angry, but I would have understood. You needed time to process things. I get it. I’m sorry I scared you, but I’m not sorry that you didn’t get hurt”

It clicked in Keith. Part of that anger was because Lance had been hurt. That Lance willingly let himself be hurt.

“You can’t just do that to me. I was covered in your blood. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t even know if you’d make it through. You can’t do that to me. I swear I really will punch you in the dick as hard as I can if you ever let yourself get hurt like that again”  
“I know... but... God. When Matt turned, I thought... I didn’t even think. It was all instinctual. I just wanted you to be safe”  
“You’re still an idiot and I’m still mad at you”  
“Join the club. I guess this is it for me. Pidge and Hunk know. I’m going to have to start all over again”  
“Pidge might come round...”  
“Or she might be at home researching every known way to kill a vampire. She’s going to think I was using her... but... I really loved her... I love her, Keith... she was family and now she hates me”

Keith knew this was coming. His heart broke all over again to hear Lance say it. He’d heard all his boyfriend’s fears before. Turning in Lance’s hold, Keith straddled his boyfriend’s lap. Cupping Lance’s face, Lance shook as he cried  
“Hey. We don’t know that. She could just need time. I know I needed time when I found out. Shiro can tell you about it. I didn’t know anything... and Pidge... she’s not like me. She was open to the idea before she saw”  
“I lied to her for years”  
“So did my mum. She... she left me behind. She knew everything and she left me behind. Pidge... Pidge knows now, but you... You two... You two are tight. Pidge needs to calm down and work her own thoughts out”  
“But... but now Hunk knows. They... I’ve had friends before, but never like them. I love them so much. I know pushing her now will only make her mad, but when I think about how much she’s hurting... This is why... why I shouldn’t...”

Whatever Lance was going to say was cut off as he dissolved back into tears  
“Don’t give up on Pidge before you jump to to the worst. Okay. This is Pidge. She’s probably going to storm in here and start kicking everyone’s arse”  
Lance sniffled wetly, Keith wiping away his tears as he attempted a wobbly smile  
“She... she would”  
“Damn straight. Our little gremlin is a force to be reckoned with”  
“I’m sorry... for... she’s your friend too...”  
“You don’t have to be sorry. Unless it’s sorry for getting snot everywhere”

Lance barked a laugh before sniffling again  
“I’m sorry about that... Hey... thanks... I know I slept a lot... but thanks...”  
“I would say anytime, but I don’t want to see that ever again. I was a mess. Hell, Shiro had to bath me because I was so out of it”  
“Should I be worried?”  
“About Shiro seeing me naked? Nah. About the other stuff, we’ll figure it out”  
“I don’t deserve you”  
“My boyfriend thinks I’m a catch”  
“Your boyfriend would be right. Seeing I don’t see him here, would he be mad if we cuddled?”  
“I think I can convince him it’s okay. He’s got this thing where he’s like ridiculously nice to people”  
“I heard it’s only to people he cares about that”  
“I heard that too... but I think he just cares about everyone”

Lance snorted, but it wasn’t a happy snort. It was a “I’m now beating myself up about something else”  
“Babe?”  
“I haven’t even asked about Mami...”  
Oh...  
“I think Coran’s been to visit her. And we can totally go see her too”  
“I left her alone again...”  
Keith bit back telling Lance that his siblings had probably been with her so she hadn’t been alone, but that would probably be taken wrongly  
“She’ll understand. I know you spent the last few days sleeping, but you still need to rest”  
“Yeah... probably... you’re probably right... Can I hold you?”  
Keith should be the one holding Lance, not the other way around   
“I think I can manage that”  
“Good... I still... I’m still scared... that I’m going to wake up and find...”  
“And find me snoring? That’s more than likely”  
“You know what I mean”  
“I do. I’m okay, you know. Matt didn’t hurt me, and no signs or symptoms of suddenly turning”  
“My blood is dangerous... you should have left me”  
His boyfriend was so stupid. He wasn’t leaving him  
“Don’t be stupid. I’m not going to leave you when you’re torn to shreds”  
“If anything happened to you, I’d never forgive myself”  
“Then it’s a good thing nothing’s going to happen to me”  
“You can’t make promises like that”  
“I can for the rest of the night. Let’s get some rest and talk about this in the morning”

*  
Lance still felt the lingering tenderness of being a werewolf chew toy. When Keith fell asleep in his arms, Lance laid awake for hours processing. Pidge knew his secret, and he really couldn’t blame her for not wanting to see him. He remembered biting Keith, he felt his face all wrinkle up as he showed her his vampire face. Matt and Pidge would be fighting. Matt as stubborn as Pidge was. He’d be trying to talk to her, while she shut them all out as she processed. If she hadn’t approached Matt, asking what was happening, then that was a bad sign. Pidge had waited months for Matt to come home. She would have been glued to his side if this was some rumour she was checking out.

Ever since they’d met, Pidge had been Hunk’s best friend. Lance adored the pair of them, and never wanted to be in the way of that friendship. Giving Hunk the “choice”, Lance wanted him to choose Pidge. But Hunk was the greatest and most forgiving man to ever walk the Earth. He’d talk to Lance, upsetting Pidge, and possibly causing a rift between them. If that was the outcome then it was better he left Garrison. Pidge might come around, but if he was in town there was always that chance of upsetting them. He couldn’t go home. He didn’t have a home to go back to... Not until... not until Pidge had had enough time and space to make her mind up without pressure.

And then there was Keith. He was dating Keith... yet... Pidge and Hunk were so good for his boyfriend. Keith was making friends, starting to see he was worthy of love. And god if Keith didn’t deserve love. He was awkward as fuck, had a low people threshold, and completely hopeless on recent events... He fitted in. He filled the gap and Shay smoothed the edges. Shiro was stuck in this too. He was best friends with Matt. Curtis had a horn! Curtis and Shiro were on the cusps of becoming more and now his curse had been ramped up.

Then there was Coran. He loved Coran. Coran had shown him such unconditional love. Coran couldn’t have know the magic would... but... he... Surely Coran had felt the magic. He should have said something earlier... If he suspected. If he cared... Coran did care. Lance just didn’t understand how one afternoon could turn things upside down. They were lucky that it hadn’t happened on the weekend. Not when Coran hadn’t been there to subdue Matt. He... But if it was in front of Pidge, Shay, and Hunk, then... He didn’t know. He couldn’t have protected all of them. Matt had the jump on him. He’d acted without thinking. Proper thought went out the window when Matt’s claws raked down his back. And Matt... he hoped he was okay. He wanted to talk to him. He wanted to see he was okay. Matt hadn’t been in control, so he couldn’t blame him.

And then he was back to Keith again. He adored Keith, but Keith could have turned. Keith was covered in his blood. That must have been so traumatic for him. Then he’d left him alone to mentally abuse himself as he buried himself in the waves of misplaced guilt. Lance was glad they got Keith out the room and doing things. He had the time to sit by his boyfriend’s side, but Keith didn’t. Keith was human.

So where did that leave him now? Coran hadn’t wanted him coming here thanks to the new vampire in town... but he couldn’t go back to Garrison. He could work from anywhere, provided he had his phone and laptop. Coran kind of owed him... so maybe he could live here until the dust settled. Blue and Kosmo were already here. There was no way he was asking to stay with Keith and Shiro. That wasn’t even a question, and if it was, he’d say no. He wouldn’t put them in danger, nor drive a wedge between them. Shiro probably had a few choice words over him biting Keith. If he could, he’d punch himself in the mouth for that. Keith was precious to him. Moving to the step of having sex was right for them. He felt closer when Keith was buried inside of him, and not just proximity wise. He felt accepted by his boyfriend, and while sex might have happened, he still wanted to take things slow with Keith. He wanted to build a real relationship with him. He wanted to support him. Not financially or anything like that. He wanted to support him the way his boyfriend always supported him. He’d been awake a little while before initiating conversation, trying to process all that happened. But he couldn’t do that when he had so many questions. Keith was stupid enough to think that they could just go see Miriam. He loved that in Keith. He was broody, hot headed, and he’d grown since Lance met him. Or maybe he’d finally been able to open up? To be himself? When morning came, he’d message Pidge. He’d apologise and let her know he’d be staying in Platt, and he’d be ready to talk when she was. That was the only solution to the situation. Until then, all he could do, was bask in the feel of his boyfriend against him.


	59. Chapter 59

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did someone let Keith plan a date? I think they did... Lance really isn’t too sure about this.

59

Three weeks passed without a word from Pidge, Lance feeling helpless. He’d turned off his private phone in the end, and kind of guilt tripped Coran into letting him stay for the time being. He knew his moods were up and down, he also knew he couldn’t ask Keith to stay when they were. He’d had a word with Coran about Keith working, he wanted things to be clear. When Keith was meant to be working, then he wasn’t allowed down to visit Lance. Keith wasn’t thrilled, but Lance felt it necessary, or he’d spend every moment thinking about his boyfriend rather than pretending he was being useful to Allura.

Allura was nice about everything, like she usually was. He didn’t push her about her friendship with “Loturd”. Keith had accidentally let the name slip, after his boyfriend came to see him. His and Shiro’s furniture had finally arrived. Keith bringing his favourite blade to show Lance, and Kosmo. Lance missed having Kosmo around. He had Blue for company, but Kosmo was too adorable, and his precious princess was hoing herself out for pats and attention from everyone she came across. When they’d agreed Lance could stay, he’d asked Shiro if he would Keith take Kosmo home with him. He wanted his boyfriend to have that feeling of coming home to his waiting puppy. If they were going to be out overnight, Kosmo came for sleepovers. Keith was such a proud dog father that Lance kind of felt like the only time he was happy was when Keith was gushing over his fur son.

Lance’s mood hadn’t gone unnoticed. Allura had planned a “spa night” for the both of them. Curled up on the sofa with face masks on, they’d watched movies and Lance painted her nails for her, and complimented her over perfect skin. It struck him how lonely it must be for her, and he silently swore to himself that he’d find a way to invite her out for some fun on the town. His Mami had noticed his mood. Luis wasn’t there the first time he visited after the “accident”, meaning he had his Mami to himself. Climbing into bed beside her, he’d fallen asleep in her safe and loving hold, her cold hadn’t progressed into pneumonia, proving there was plenty of life left in her. He hadn’t been to see her with Keith again, she understood he had work, so Blue came in her carrier.

Called to Allura’s office, through the personal phone he had in his room, Lance powered down his laptop before heading out. He had a nicer room now. His single bed now a double, plus there was a desk and wardrobe and space for Blue. Matt had come to check on him, apologising for what had happened. They’d hugged it out long enough that Shiro tugged Matt off of him. He hadn’t heard from Pidge either, so it was what it was. Leaving Blue sleeping on his bed, Lance headed out. He’d kind of been pretty much an errand boy for Allura, “helping” by making copies of things or running things between her office and the labs. His mood had picked up when he had something to do. It got him out of his head and not thinking about how much he missed his best friends.

When Lance reached Allura’s office, he knocked lightly on her door before opening it. His eyes totally bugging out as he eyed his boyfriend. Dressed in tight black jeans, a black T-shirt, a cropped red leather jacket and a thick pair of leather boots, his boyfriend looked hot. Hot and happy. Clapping her hands together, Allura looked particularly proud  
“Lance! Excellent. Now, you may be wondering why I called. You and Keith are going on a date today”  
Lance raised an eyebrow. He didn’t particularly want to leave the complex. He’d only left to see himself Mami and that was it  
“I am?”  
“Yep! Consider this a little thank you for allowing us to steal Keith away. The work he’s doing is vital to help ensure Platt remains relatively peaceful. Plus, you haven’t had a break in the last fortnight. Tonight is completely on me”  
“You’re kicking me out?”

Lance was half joking, maybe more like he hoped his tone his that he was serious. He wasn’t supposed to go anywhere. His pheromones could be a serious issue. Allura didn’t see it as a joke, quick to give a shake of her head  
“Not at all! I love you having here. No, I thought you and Keith might enjoy each other’s company. Keith has proved himself a valuable asset, and we want to thank him for his work”  
“What she means is they think I might snap if I have to go one more undercover mission”  
“You have been rather stressed of late”

So stressed Keith had snapped at him for not understanding. It’d been a small fight, Keith easily brought back under control when Lance wrapped his arms around him and told him while he didn’t, he was still there for him. It was weighing heavily on Keith not to be able to tell him everything. In some ways being in Platt made it harder for both of them, another reason Lance didn’t want to move in with Keith. He wanted Keith to have that safe place at the of work to relax and destress. Keith sighed at Allura, Allura ignoring it  
“Now, you have a few hours before your dinner reservation. I’m sure the pair of you can find something to do. I don’t want to see either of you back here tonight. Keith, I give you permission to discuss things with Lance, though that is left to your discretion” 

It was now Lance’s mind went into panic mode. He wasn’t dressed for a date. He wasn’t dressed any different from normal. His hair wasn’t tamed. He wasn’t wearing nice clothes. He didn’t know how to date! He’d never done a “date” date. And Keith... Keith was standing there looking calm and collected! What... what was he supposed to do? Why couldn’t he remember what normal people did on a date? Keith wanted to go on a date with him? Him of all people? What did they talk about? What did normal people talk about? What did Keith like to talk about? Letting out a squeak, he could have died on the spot of embarrassment. Keith hiding his laughter behind his hand  
“I think you broke him”  
Allura giggled, playing along   
“Oh, dear. Don’t tell me you don’t want to go. Keith and I planned this days ago”  
“I... me... you... we... date?”  
He was short circuiting. Keith’s goddamn smile made him feel all goopy inside  
“That’s how a date normal works, babe. Do you not want to go with me?”  
“Yes! Date me!”  
Now he was yelling? And Keith was laughing again. What was he even saying?  
“You guys have fun tonight. I’m leaving him in your hands, Keith”

Allura left them. Lance covering his burning face with his hands. Coming up to him, Keith kissed him on the forehead, Lance peaking up at him  
“It’s okay. I didn’t plan much”  
“I... are you sure you want to go with me?”  
“Well, you’re the only one I’m dating. Plus, you’re not the only on freaking out”  
“What are you freaking out for? You’re all dumb and hot and smiling and can work English”  
“Because I’m going on a date with you”  
“But you planned it!”  
And he was yelling again  
“I’m freaking out because it’s a date with the guy I’m dating”  
“But I’m me”  
“That’s why I wanted things... You know, what, let’s just go”  
“But... I’m... not even dressed”  
“Pretty sure you’ve got clothes on, babe”  
“That’s not what I mean. You’re all... hot”  
“Do you want to get changed? I think you’re fine in what you’re wearing”  
“But... I look like me”  
“And I like you. God. You’re making me even more nervous and shit”  
“Can’t forget a good shit”

Lance swore he could almost see his soul escaping from in the inside. Groaning, he slid his hand back up  
“Just leave me here. Here lays Lance. Killed by his boyfriend’s niceness and unfair hotness”  
Keith wrapped his arms around him. A date with Keith... an actual declared date. Like a boyfriend date. Keith’s scent was wonderful, Lance’s knees going a little weak  
“Oh, babe... hey, if you’re not up to this, that’s okay too”  
Nope. Keith had said date. He was having his date. He was having this date and going to prove he could function like a normalish human not a mess of a vampire   
“No. I want to... God, I want to. How are you not making a fool of yourself?”  
“I already made a fool of myself asking for the day off. I asked Allura, because I know you two have been hanging out...”  
Allura hadn’t told him, see if he was going to braid her hair again when she couldn’t even give him a heads up  
“I feel really happy right now... and like I’m going to throw up”  
Keith’s hold meant everything, his boyfriend hiding his face against Lance’s shoulder. Fuck... it should be criminal to be this awkward   
“Me too... okay. We’re doing this. Just two boyfriends going on a date. Doing boyfriend things... and shit”  
Keith wasn’t going to let him forget. So he was going to have to make him forget  
“I’m going to date you so fucking hard you’ll forget shit”  
“I’m looking forward to the full Lance experience”  
Lance huffed, feeling like someone more adult should be supervising them   
“You just had it”  
“Over so quick? Babe, I knew I was good, but damn. Should you be bragging about it”  
Oh fuck... now he was thinking about sex...  
“Shut up. God. Let’s go already before I really do expire from embarrassment”

*  
Keith’s brought his motorbike. Keith had brought his motorbike and Lance wasn’t sure how to feel. With his arms around his boyfriend’s waist, he spent the first 5 minutes trying to accept he was on the back of a death machine with Keith weaving in and out of traffic like a mad man. He felt like he’d left his stomach somewhere behind on the trip, the vibration and noise taking a bit of getting used to. Keith called him brave, but Lance liked to think he was more like Hunk in this situation, safely cautious. 

Despite his nerves, Lance felt strangely disappointed as Keith pulled up to a stop. His ears still ringing, despite the helmet he was wearing deadening some of the noise. Raising his head, he questioned Keith’s idea of a date. The sign above the door read “SPlatter-field”. A not so clever play on the business being in Platt. In the window was a sign advertising it being a shooting range. Climbing off the back of the bike, Lance tried to hide his confusion, and some of his disappointment. Dates meant romance. He wasn’t sure how guns said romance. Keith climbed off, pulling his helmet off as he did. Noticing Lance hadn’t taken his off, his boyfriend’s face fell  
“You don’t like it?”

Keith had gone to a lot of effort to plan this date. He probably wanted to do something different and unusual. Pulling his helmet off, Lance shook his head  
“It’s not that. I just wasn’t expecting a shooting range”  
“Allura said you went hunting as a kid.... I messed this up...”  
Keith was crushing his heart right now  
“No. No. Look, sure, not a place I would think of, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be fun. Besides, I’m a total crack shot at fair games”  
“You don’t need to try and make me feel better”  
He was a dick. He’d hurt Keith’s feelings  
“I’m not. But you better be prepared to have your arse kicked”  
“So it’s okay?”  
Lance gave Keith the warmest smile he could muster  
“It could be fun”  
“If you don’t like it, we’ll go”  
“Okay. Let’s give it a shot”

With Allura being Keith’s co-conspirator, she’d given Keith his wallet ahead of time. Lance hadn’t even noticed it was missing. Which probably said a lot about how distracted he’d been lately. The man behind the counter didn’t seem so sure about him being 26, but his ID was valid and he was forced to swallow his tongue, as they signed all paperwork related to their outing. Trying to remember the last time he’d held a gun, he flushed at the memory of telling Keith to shoot him. God. He’d been so lame. He was struggling to remember ever being “cool” in front of his boyfriend. Allocating them two hand guns each, Keith produced his firearms licence, which was enough to let the man take over explaining how things worked. Lance was pretty sure Keith hadn’t meant it as a bragging move, but he did delight in the man being taken down a peg. Which was probably his ego showing. 

Following Keith through to the range, he found they were the only two there, other a bored looking supervisor who made to follow behind them, Keith leading them to the last two cubicles, before turning hot instructor of him, Lance blocking out the man watching   
“I know you know how to use a gun, but it’s important not to treat it like a toy”  
“So I don’t point the end at my feet and pull the trigger?”  
His boyfriend scowled  
“No. Each magazine holds twelve rounds. You fire all twelve then put your weapon down on the desk. Seeing you’ve got a sight advantage and I’ve got an experience advantage, we’ll set the targets at the furtherest points. On the paper there’s zones, each zone is worth a number of points. I know you don’t want to shoot to kill, but I think it’s important you train up on your skills”

Lance jerked back a little, not expecting Keith to be so serious. Behind him, the man supervising the range backed off  
“Should I be worried? Am I in danger?”  
“No. But if you ever are, I want you to be able to protect yourself. The investigation is getting nowhere fast... and... the targets are all vampires. I know we could have done this at VOLTRON, but I didn’t want you to feel self conscious while handling a firearm. Taking the shot is never easy. Even when you tell yourself it it. I’ve had to shoot before and the first time left me messed up for days”  
Keith was chasing a vampire killer? Lance tried to pretend he was surprised... Well, more surprised. He wasn’t actually all that surprised given vampires were most douches. Now it made sense. Keith wanted to make this as stress free as possible, knowing he disliked guns and the Coran would fuss if he was training with them  
“Okay. I understand”  
“Now, the way you hold the gun depends on the make and model. We’ll use two hands on these. There’s a little bit of a kick back, so when you press the trigger, make sure you’re not squeezing or you’ll end up shooting something you’re not meant to. I’ll set the targets up. Put your safety glasses and earmuffs on”

Lance did as he was told. Keith knew his way around a shooting range. Lance wondering if the one at Blade Headquarters was anything like this. Probably not. He could picture a whole wall of guns and other dangerous weaponry. Sending the sheets to the back of the room, Lance was starting to feel nervous. A shotgun wasn’t the same as a hand gun... or one of those weighted guns at a fair. He didn’t feel guilty for winning at a fair when the owners used cheap tricks. Coming back to his side, his boyfriend tugged Lance’s earmuffs off his ears   
“I’m going to show you how to stand and how to hold the gun. It’s important to control your breathing”  
Lance rolled his eyes, Keith didn’t find it funny. He needed to be serious. Gun’s weren’t toys. He knew guns weren’t toys. His ego was flaring again, and he kind of wanted to shoot himself for it  
“Sorry. I’ll behave... please teach me all you know, Samurai”


	60. Chapter 60

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided that seeing were up to chapter 92 on tumblr I might update daily for a bit... I’m sorry ya’ll who thought this would be short...

60

Lance found himself having fun. Not having his glasses on made his vision too good, so he’d had a rather lousy start. His first bullet hit Keith’s target square in the groin, completely accidentally. Both of them feeling sympathy for the poor piece of paper. For the last three rounds they turned it into a competition. Lance losing the first one because a smiley face wasn’t approved marksmanship. He won the next two, Keith accepting that he could handle a gun if needed. Lance praying that it’d never be needed. He didn’t like the feel of pulling the trigger, even to hit a bit of paper. A smiley face was his way of coping with it... quietly certain Keith would never let him near a gun again, despite it majorly because he declared himself the “sharpshooter of their date”.

With time before dinner, Keith took him on a longer ride on his bike. This time Lance having the courage to watch the world a pass by. It was kind of how he imagined flying to be. Kind of weightless, except way louder... Seeing Platt from a bike gave him a whole new perspective. Seeing Platt from a bike while openly able to hang onto his boyfriend was kind of nice. Lance totally didn’t think Keith had done as much research as he had. Not until his boyfriend took him up some random dirty track that lead up the hills to the east of the city. Parking at the top, Lance realised they were were at a look out. The whole of Platt below them just as the sun was setting. One by one lights were coming on, lost in the orange and pink hues of the sun. He might not have been keen of the gun range, but this was nice. Or it was nice until Keith realised what the time was and that they’d be late for their reservation. Next time they came up, Lance would bring a picnic so they could watch the sunset and then the stars. Maybe bring Kosmo... He missed Kosmo.

With Keith’s driving, and a few “oh, god were going to die” moments, they were 10 minutes late for their reservation. Keith flustered when told their table had been given away. His boyfriend nearly in tears as he apologised for ruining things. Leading Keith away from the restaurant’s reception, a fancy dinner in a hotel would have been nice, but honestly he was just happy to spend time with Keith in the outside world. Finding the bathrooms as he panicked over where they could talk, he dragged his boyfriend in with him, locking the door behind them.

Leading Keith over to the bathroom counter, Lance wasn’t sure what he was doing, only that he wanted Keith to know he wasn’t mad  
“Babe...”  
“I’m so sorry. In my head we had time and I was going to spoil you...”  
Keith’d head was hung, unable to look him in the face  
“I don’t need fancy food”  
“But it was going to be special”  
“It is special”  
“It’s not what I had planned. We were going to have dinner then spend the night. Allura already picked the keycard up and the room was all organised and now we...”  
“Hang on. We have a room here?”  
Keith nodded, a hand coming up to wipe at his tears a little too forcefully  
“Allura helped me find this place... it was supposed to be a surprise”

With his free hand, Keith dug the hotel keycard, sniffling as he did. Lance instantly seeing how the night could be “unruined”  
“Babe. I’ve got an idea”  
“What?”  
“We have a room. And you know what, we can order room service”  
“But that’s not special. I wanted this to be special for you”  
“I don’t need special. I need my boyfriend to be happy. Besides, we can order whatever we want, and we don’t even have to wear clothes, and I won’t have to leave the table to... well, you know”  
Keith let out a shaky breath, before replying  
“I feel like I let you down”  
“No, babe. We were barely even late. They were the ones who gave our table away. Both of us are so awkward we’d probably forgotten how to use a fork, or totally choked, or I would have laughed too loud and shown off my fangs probably making some rich old lady faint into her soup. I’m totally fine with room service, if you’re fine with going upstairs with me”  
“You do laugh pretty loudly”  
Lance groaned. He couldn’t help that sometimes Keith said some of the funniest things he’d ever heard   
“I can’t help it”  
“I like it when you laugh”  
“Funnily enough I like it too. Oooh... let’s take a shower before room service, then in then in the can steal the bathrobes”  
“You’re really okay with this?”  
“Yeah. Yeah, babe. All I want to do is spend some time with you”

*  
Their hotel room had had the Curtis and Allura treatment. The pair were a menace. Sitting on the plush white blankets was a gift basket, initially the gesture was sweet. Two bottles of Lance’s favourite wine, a bag of blood, some chocolates. Things were looking good... until you looked under the top layer. Condoms. Lube. A pair of handcuffs... something pink in plastic... something with lace. Keith was struck dumb as he looked at the basket, Lance covering things back up with the bottles of wine  
“Let’s just pretend we didn’t see that. Curtis is off my Christmas card list”  
Picking up the basket, Lance carried it over to the two seater dining table... the basket looking a little sad there.

The whole room was beautiful. Tones of teal and white with soft wood furnishings. The art above the bed was probably questionable given as educated as he was, he couldn’t work out what it was supposed to be other than greenness on a canvas. It had its own small kitchenette, living area, and the biggest mirror he’d ever scene, which covered the fact it was a TV. Now they were alone Lance was feeling nervous again. Moving to stare out the floor to ceiling windows, he watched Keith come up behind him, a shiver running down his spine as Keith kissed his neck, arms looping around the vampire’s waist  
“Pretty”

Lance didn’t know what Keith meant   
“Yeah. The view from here is amazing”  
“I meant you, idiot”  
Nuzzling into Lance’s neck, Lance wondered if Keith was happy or horny. Maybe both? His boyfriend’s boy up against him in the shooting range had definitely gotten to him. He felt safe as Keith caged his body with his, kind of like they were two puzzle pieces coming together. It was fitting really. Lance was trying to puzzle out what Keith saw in him  
“This room is kind of amazing”  
“Yeah. I’m sorry about before. Allura might have a point about me being stressed”  
“I know you don’t have the easiest job and you don’t have to tell me, but you don’t have to think about that tonight”  
“I’m definitely not thinking about anything other than you... and food”

Lance went weak. Turning in Keith’s arms, Lance’s lips found Keith’s. Weeks of small kisses, the occasional make out section bubbled over. Keith pushing him up against the glass as he kissed him back as hard. Stopping as he tasted Keith’s blood, Lance let out a deep breath. Keith was hungry and this rate they were likely to skip straight to dessert  
“We should take a shower”  
Whelp. Fuck. He’d meant to say Keith should take a shower while Lance ordered them room service   
“Yeah. We should”  
Keith’s voice was low and Lance knew he was fucked... or very soon to be.

*  
Keith didn’t know what it was that put him in the mood. He still felt bad about missing the dinner reservation, and knew a Lance hadn’t been keen on his self defence lesson. He’d planned a nice long ride with his boyfriend, misreading the time on his phone when they’d left. But now he was in the shower with Lance, he couldn’t keep his hands off his boyfriend.

Keith had wanted today to be perfect. Pidge still wasn’t talking to Lance and Keith had to work with Lotor who was feeding them nothing. 4 more dead vampires, all over the damn city. The last one was a vampire and a werewolf left in a park. Not a pretty sight or a fun time. Then there was the fact that even though Lance was in Platt, he felt so far away when they weren’t together. Allura had Lance helping her, Lance was also keeping up with his private work, Keith’s schedule was shit and Kosmo didn’t want to pee outside when the grass was wet instead saving that for next to Keith’s bed. Keith would never press Lance for sex, they hadn’t done much more than kissing in weeks, so maybe that was why now that they were finally really alone, he couldn’t stop touching his boyfriend.

On his knees, Keith had one of Lance’s long smooth legs over his shoulder, Lance’s hands in his hair as he rocked his hips. The tiled floor wasn’t working for him, not the way Lance’s moans were. Lance’s wetness rolling down his fingers as he prepped his boyfriend. Pulling off Lance’s dick, Keith gazed up at his boyfriend, jaw kind of aching and not sure if he’d been doing things right as Lance hadn’t come   
“Babe?”  
“I’m good... come back up here and kiss me”

Keith’s knees cracked as he stood, feeling old rather than sexy. Rinsing his mouth under the warm water, Lance giggled at him  
“Who thought someone who sucked dick so good would show such manners. I knew you were a catch”  
Keith rolled his eyes, pumping out a little more body wash to use as improvised lube  
“Tell me that again when you’re screaming”  
Lance smiled coyly, hand sliding across Keith’s side and down to grope his arse  
“You best come closer then...”  
“Oh, yeah, why’s that...”  
“Because if you don’t fuck me right now, I think I’m going to break”

Keith was ashamed... kind of.. the sex was good. Hard, fast, sloppy, with Lance’s shoulders against the bathroom wall, arms over Keith’s shoulders, legs around Keith’s waist as he gripped his boyfriend’s arse fucking Lance on his dick more than his boyfriend riding him. Lance was flushed, fangs bared, hot as hell as he came up his stomach. Keith barely remembered he didn’t have a condom on and pulled out to come across Lance’s arse and the wall, legs shaking because fuck if he hadn’t come and hard and nearly had his orgasm torn out of him by Lance clenching around him. Leaning in, they both panted into the kiss, smiles on the corners of their lips. Keith wouldn’t say it, but he’d definitely come to appreciate Lance’s arse in a whole other way. He felt close to Lance when they had sex... not like... he didn’t know really. But like... it felt right with him. 

Resting against each other, Lance suddenly jerked his head back, voice shaking  
“Fuck... condom...”  
Shit. Fuck... right... he’d made it in time... only just   
“I pulled out...”  
Lance kissed him hard, then peppered kisses to his lips, thanking him between them  
“Thank god... I mean... just...”  
Keith got it. Zero offence. They could barely work themselves out. He couldn’t even work a toaster and he was kind of sure there were laws against giving your kids nothing but coffee  
“We’re not ready for kids”  
“No”  
“It’s fine”  
Lance kissed him again  
“Good... fuck... I think you’re going to have to carry me. I can’t feel anything beneath my hips other than my heart beat”  
“Is that a good thing?”  
Keith didn’t get it...  
“Oh, babe... it is when you’re to blame for it”

Drying off after their prolonged shower, Lance insisted they were the fluffy bathrobes provided. Keith feeling a bit weird about nothing covering his junk... or Lance’s junk. His cheeks red when his boyfriend let his slip a little to show his thigh. Lance was either messing with him, or completely unaware as he picked up the hotel file on the bedside table. Keith swallowing hard and looking away... He couldn’t just jump Lance again... even if he wanted to... but he was also happy sitting on the bed with him, arm around his shoulder as Lance lent his head against his shoulder   
“Ta-dah! Now, somewhere in here should be the room service menu... and before you say it, I know I’m a snack but you can’t eat me”  
“You’re the one with the fangs. Shouldn’t I be worried about you eating me?”  
Lance started flicking through the file  
“Nope. What do you feel like?”  
“Kind of squishy, a bit muscly... Human, I think”

Lance snorted with laughter, shaking his head  
“Babe... that was bad and you should feel bad”  
Keith pouted. He thought he was being witty. His brain cells had been taxed enough worrying that he’d ruined their whole night by being late   
“I thought I was funny”  
Lance elbowed him lightly before snuggling closer   
“Totally hilarious. Ah, here it is... Jesus... I could make this... some of this... I could make the garlic bread”  
Keith looked over Lance’s shoulder to read the menu. The problem with fancy places was that they couldn’t just give things normal names that were easy to pronounce. He felt kind of dumb  
“I don’t know what most of this is”  
“That’s because you didn’t grow in a house were food meant family time... or have a Hunk and a vampire’s memory. I think I’m going to have the pork”  
Keith couldn’t see anything about pork  
“It says pork?”  
“It says porc with a “c”. “Agnaeu” is lamb. Aaaand my French is terrible. I wish I could forget being taught French... high school was not fun”  
“How come?”  
“Because like every damn test I’ve had in years I have to be careful. I can’t be... it’s weird if I’m getting perfect scores, but I don’t want to be too dumb...”

Keith hadn’t thought about it. He’d done what he could in high school but there gaps in his schooling. If he did too good in class they’d made fun of him. If he did too badly then he was a dumb delinquent. He didn’t want to think about it  
“I get that... I don’t know what to order”  
“Ohhh.. look, they’ve got pizza”  
Lance was trying too hard now. He probably meant nothing by it, wanting to keep the mood   
“We can get pizza any time”  
“Ahhh... but can you get pizza with blue cheese, balsamic glazed fennel, fig and pear?”  
Keith wrinkled his nose  
“That sounds revolting”  
“I think the term you need is “abomination” ... oh they have meat lovers”  
“Babe, we can’t order pizza”  
“Why not?”  
“Because we’re in a fancy hotel room”  
“And?”  
“And I might be dumb but you don’t have to baby me”

Lance snapped. Slamming the hotel file shut, as he turned to glare at him. Keith wasn’t sure how he’d set him off  
“You’re not dumb. I’m not babying you”  
“You swapped to pizza when you realised I couldn’t read the menu”  
“It says under everything what it is, in that super small slopey print. You’re not dumb. Hell, if French hadn’t been forced upon me because Spanish wasn’t acceptable I wouldn’t know either”  
“What do you mean Spanish wasn’t acceptable?”  
“Wasn’t white enough for the public school we went to”  
“That’s bullshit”  
Lance settled back against him, fingers rubbing over the gold hotel logo on the file   
“Mhmm. So I’m not trying to make fun of you or anything. I don’t know... I thought maybe pizza was more us?”  
Pizza was more them.. but they could have pizza whenever   
“Not tonight... I owe you a fancy dinner”  
“Then do you want me to order for both of us? There’s pork, lamb, pasta, pizza...”  
“They usually use heavy cream in pasta”  
“Amateurs use heavy cream. Carbonara is supposed to be eggs”  
“Is pasta fancy?”  
He didn’t want to be... Uncultured  
“Babe. If you want pasta, you’re having pasta. I’m dying for some properly cooked vegetables... and I think I’m going to try the French fruit tart”  
“I think I’ll try what you’re having...”  
“Okay. But I’ll order a different dessert so we can share. Why don’t you find something to watch?”  
Keith didn’t like being confused again. He hadn’t seen a TV  
“Watch?”  
“The mirror is a TV... did you notice?”  
“I was too busy looking at you”  
“Smooth. I might choose to believe that. Just don’t pick porn, they charge extra for that”

It took Keith a few moments to realise Lance said porn  
“They have porn?”  
“Oh, babe... Oh... On second thought you order that porn. You have a lot to learn about being skeevy in a hotel room”  
He’d never done this before...  
“When did you become an expert?”  
Should he be jealous? Lance let out a bark of laughter   
“I’m highly trained in the ways of movie watching... plus, I’m planning on doing some pretty skeevy things with you later”  
“Like watching porn?”  
“Like eating dinner in bed while watching a bad horror movie”  
“I don’t know if that qualifies?”  
“Then it’s a good thing you’re in for the “full Lance experience””

And what an experience it was.


	61. Chapter 61

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://dammitadolfnomorecake.tumblr.com/post/634971409125408768/masterlist
> 
> So guys, this is the link for the master list that I don’t actually know how to link, but it’s got the extras like the outfits, Lance’s bat forms, and a chapter list. I had two amazing readers help me with it... because I’m 30 and don’t know what I’m doing since I haven’t touched coding in a decade now.
> 
> Allura and Coran ship them so damn hard. Our Soft Bois are so soft for each other.

61

Coming back to VOLTRON was a little disappointing after the night before. Lance felt like he was walking on air right up to being greeted by Coran and Allura. Allura with a waiting blood bag, Coran with a knowing smile. Lance had had Keith drop him off, they’d showered the night before, and again in the morning before they left, but Lance figured Keith could use some time to check on Kosmo and get changed  
“Well, come on my boy, you must tell us everything”

And that was that. Heading to Coran’s office, Lance let Allura have the chair as he sat on the edge of the examination bed, before twisting the top off the bag of blood  
“So? Did you two have fun? What did you do?”  
Coran nodded at Allura’s questioning. Both of them too obsessed with his love life  
“He took me on a ride on his bike and went to the hotel. We kind of talked about things and stuff”  
Allura groaned  
“But did you enjoy the date?”  
“Yeah. Talking was nice”

Lance wasn’t about to say that after dinner had been had and digested they’d had sex again, the laid tangled up in each other as Keith explained more about the murders and Lotor. Lance was shocked to hear Lotor’s name again. It must have been a good 2 decades since Allura mentioned him.

Burying her face in her hands, Coran wrapped his arm around Allura  
“My boy. You must understand, we wanted this night to go well for you both”  
“It did. I mean... the room was amazing. The food was good. The company was good, but I want to keep somethings to myself”  
Sucking deeply on the blood pack, Lance didn’t want to talk about being intimate with Keith. That was something special and between them  
“You two were intimate?”  
Lance blushed at Coran asking. Did Keith sucking his dick count? Because fooling around was one thing. Sex was something else, especially with Keith   
“Is that important?”  
“Only in the terms of data. Did you experience any heat like symptoms?”  
“The usual scent and stuff happened”  
“And you remained clear minded?”  
“In the way you’re asking... is it bad?”  
“No, my boy! This is excellent. Now, Allura and I have had a little chat. We know you living with us is sadly temporary and currently unavoidable. With your permission, we would like you to help us”

Lance felt a little betrayed  
“You set us up on a date so you’d make me feel obligated to say yes”  
“Not at all, my boy. Both Allura and I are firm supporters of you and Keith. As the kids these days say “we ship it”. No. We were thinking it was quite unfair the time apart you spend due to your schedules. Our current investigation is failing to divulge leads as fast as fast as we would like and were wondering you’d possibly help us. This means being in contact with other vampires. We wish to perform a couple of tests on scents to ensure you won’t go into heat”

Lance crossed his arms. He wouldn’t be against it, but didn’t they have Lotor now?   
“What can I do, that Lotor can’t?”  
Allura finally raised her head   
“Both Shiro and Keith have taken issues with Lotor. Lotor’s status ensures that he is noticed wherever he goes. We have tried to talk to him about it, but I’m afraid his ego is only fed by being half fae. I feel that we may have more chance is we run two operations, Shiro, Keith and Lotor in one location, the two of us in another”  
Oh. So they needed a plain and boring vampire. Way to make a man feel special...  
“What about my scent?”  
“If we can capture a sample of your scent, we can analyse it and figure out a means to temporarily deaden or shift it. Keith and Shiro will both be sitting this one out with the pair of you, due to Keith’s natural scent. It’ll be you and Allura, for one night. The fact that the murder pattern is changing means something has changed with our killer. None of what I’ve told you obligates you to help”  
No, but loved Coran. He’d repay the man for the warming family feeling he’d gifted upon him so easily. Waving his free hand, replied  
“It’s fine. I’ll do it. But Keith won’t be happy”  
“Ah yes... I do not want to complicate things between you two. Perhaps have a little think and a talk with him?”  
Keith was coming back as it was... now they just had something else to talk about  
“Yeah... I’m gonna head back to my room now”  
And get cleaned up before Keith got there  
“Long night?”  
Coran sounded so pleased, like the question was going to make Lance crack and spill how nice it had been down to every detail. Throwing them a wink, Lance slid off the examination bed, thankful that blood would soon take away the lingering pain in his hips   
“I’ll leave that to your imagination”

Heading down to his room, Lance was now torn between the feeling of happiness every time he thought of Keith, and his boyfriend being angry about him putting himself in danger. If he was out with Allura he should be safe... but Keith had been deeply traumatised by him being hurt. He didn’t want to put Keith through that again... but he honestly had hit his limit of feeling useless. He still hadn’t heard from Pidge and Hunk. The two never far from his thoughts for very long... Maybe he should try reaching out again? But if he was going out and there were bad guys he didn’t want to lead them home. His poor house was probably traumatised for life putting up with two werewolves... Maybe it was time to bite the bullet and just go home? If Pidge wanted to burn his house down, she would have by now. Rieva ensured him she was keeping Matt in line, but things had gotten damaged when the full moon came. It was funny. He thought he could some kind of silent protector for Garrison when Matt and Rieva first came. Like keep the big bad wolves under control. He couldn’t even keep his post for a night... He missed Matt and Rieva. He missed people... People who understood and didn’t judge... He missed Pidge and Hunk, even though he knew seeing them would probably lead to a boat load of judgment in his direction. It hurt his heart to think that maybe the pair didn’t think he cared about them because he hadn’t reached out again.

Flopping down on his bed, Blue let out a “roow” as she came flying up to jump on his stomach. His princess settling herself down to knead at his chest as she flicked her tail. She missed her house. She missed prowling around at night, and running around the house like a lunatic. If Allura and Coran wanted his help, he’d give it, but this wasn’t fair on Blue. He seriously needed to get his act together. When Keith came he’d message Pidge... after he’d asked Keith if he thought it was time for Lance to return to Garrison. He was supposed to be the adult. He was supposed to be the cooler more mature one. Ever since Keith came into his life, it’d been one thing after another... but that was okay. It was okay because he had Hunk and Pidge. It was okay because things changed and evolved with Keith. Keith’s life turned upside down because of him, but he functioned. He did what he had to do. He took pride in his job, even letting Lotor parade him around as a fake pet...

Scratching Blue between the ears, Lance drained the rest of the blood bag. Last night felt more like a dream. Him and Keith... the warmth of his boyfriend against his cold body. Laying in bed, trading secret whispers. Keith opening up to him about Lotor and work in general. He was tired of all the negative feelings in his head. He knew Pidge and Hunk wouldn’t understand or want him around. But having that cord between them cut so suddenly... Maybe he could reach out to Hunk first. Arrange a meeting. Him, Hunk, Curtis and Keith. Keith because this concerned him too. Curtis because he missed him. Curtis had his own work to do. The time they’d seen each other drastically cut. He really missed his house, but he missed those days when they were all together. He hadn’t appreciated Curtis leaving sex stuff for him and Keith, but that was Curtis being Curtis. He liked that about him. He cared. Lance knew he cared, but he didn’t know if Curtis knew he cared about him  
“Blue, what do you think? Is it time we go home again?”  
Blue bunted into Lance’s hand, purring loudly as she did. The glare in her eyes telling him she didn’t care. She hadn’t had her wet food and that Lance’s actions disgusted her  
“Okay. Up we get. I’ll get you your food, but then you’ve got to let me sort our life out. We’re better than this, princess”

*  
Keith had finished cleaning up Kosmo’s mess as his personal phone chimed. Shiro was still sleeping, so his return to there apartment was kind of a let down. The hunter had hoped his brother would be awake to ask him how his date went with Lance. Normally he wasn’t a “gusher”, yet he’d had such a good time with his boyfriend that he wanted to tell Shiro. He wanted his brother to ruffle his hair and tease him... but no. He’d come home to find Kosmo had chewed up a shoe, and left a trail of pee from the bathroom to the now dead shoe. Two more chimes went off, Keith having to ignore them as he took the mop and bucket to the laundry. Kosmo had a grass mat for doing his business on, but his fur son seemed to pee every time he found something exciting.

Returning from the laundry, his phone chimed again. Knowing the messages had to be from Lance, Keith scooped Kosmo up before retrieving his phone from the kitchen bench. Opening up chat, he found three new messages in group chat, and four in his personal chat with Lance. Nerves washed over him. Thumb hovering before clicking on his personal chat with Lance. Too chicken to check group chat in case it was Hunk, Shay, or Pidge saying their friendship was over.

Though he’d parted with Lance a little over an hour ago, it’d taken that long to clean up the pieces of shoes, dispose of the evidence, then mop the floor, his boyfriend hadn’t gone back to his room to rest. No. Apparently Lance had gone back to his room and started thinking. Keith didn’t have a problem with Lance thinking, what he had a problem with was “We need to talk”, “That sounds bad”, “it’s not bad”, “I don’t want to break up LOL, but we need to talk”. Most people dreaded the “we need to talk” message. Keith could imagine Lance had written a great long message, before deleting it and sending that instead, then realising how it sounded. He just didn’t know what they suddenly needed to talk about.

Gathering up his courage, he checked the group chat. “I’ll be in Garrison next week”, “I know I’ve been giving you space, but I miss you guys”, “If you’d rather I left you alone, let me know”. So Lance going back to Garrison was what they needed to talk about? Why couldn’t Lance just say it like that? Did he think Keith was going to be mad? That he wasn’t going to support him for trying to reconnect with his best friends? How could Lance think that after the night they’d spent together? He’d support him. Hell, Garrison was probably safer than Platt right now. Lance had taken the news of the vampire deaths rather well, considering. Was that why Lance was moving back home? Because he didn’t trust Keith to keep him safe? Groaning at himself in annoyance, Keith opened up his contacts list, calling Lance, only for his call to not connect. His boyfriend wasn’t elevating his worry. Who messaged someone, then turned their stupid phone off? Lance, that’s who. His boyfriend was an idiot.

Now unable to call Lance back, Keith forced himself up off the sofa and to his room. Setting Kosmo on the bed, he changed his clothes, put on his sneakers, grabbed Kosmo’s lead and sighed heavily at the thought of walking to work. He should have just gone in with Lance. Then his boyfriend wouldn’t be overthinking things and making him overthink things thanks to his thinking. Clipping Kosmo’s lead to his harness, the puppy tried to lick him to death, wagging his whole body with excitement as Keith tried to put the harness on. Slowly Kosmo seemed to be learning that harness meant an outside trip to the closest patch of grass for pees. Very slowly. Kosmo was a special kind of “smart stupid”, with Keith suspecting he was the one being trained instead of his puppy.

The walk to work was slowly, Kosmo wanted to sniff and pee on everything he could. Every stranger had the possibility of being a friend, which worried Keith enough to wonder if he should get a muzzle in case someone tried to feed Kosmo something bad as a joke. He’d never known that grapes could kill a dog. The fruit now banned from the apartment, and a list posted on their fridge so he and Shiro didn’t accidentally poison his precious pup. Shiro might grumble about Kosmo’s “accidents” and how he wasn’t responsible for Keith’s dog, but he’d caught the pair of them snuggled up sleeping on the sofa, Kosmo’s nose against Shiro’s cheeks. He now had photographic proof that he wasn’t afraid to hold over Shiro’s head the next time he complained. 

Reaching the bookshop, Keith scooped Kosmo up so his son couldn’t cause chaos inside the car. He’d barely opened the door before he heard a voice that made him jump  
“I don’t think they let you bring dogs in there”  
What the hell was Narti doing here? It was the middle of the day. Turning towards her, he found Narti and Axca both bundle up in thick jackets, long pants, and sunglasses  
“Oh? Um. Thanks for letting me know. He’s my... um... companion. I’ve brought him here before”

Leaning forward Narti sniffed at him  
“You smell really good. If this place allows pets, maybe we should bring ours next time?”  
Narti shouldn’t know it was him. He and Shiro kept their faces covered... so why did this impromptu meeting not feel so impromptu? He felt like a Narti was showing up deliberately to fuck with him. She was annoying like that. All Keith really knew about her was that she really liked blood and making everyone uncomfortable like it was a game. Lotor had no patience for you, yet let her get away with it all the fucking time. Keith didn’t have the patience for it   
Narti reached towards Kosmo, hand stopping just short  
“It’s a shame when something happens to a pet because their blind to their master’s true nature. Sometimes the closer you are, the less you see. let’s go. I don’t feel like being here anymore”

Turning away, Keith felt his eyes meet Acxa’s as she turned. Axca was still very quiet and level when they spoke, Keith felt that she was hiding something big from them. If only he could talk to her alone. Not that he was great at talking, but he was sure she had something she needed to say. Hugging Kosmo tighter, Keith stepped into the bookshop wishing he’d never bumped into those two with his face uncovered. His puppy wasn’t something he appreciated having threatened. Kosmo was his precious boy and best boy. Narti could die in a ditch for all he cared. Now he was going to have to tell Coran... and hopefully not be benched from work because of it.


	62. Chapter 62

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These boys are so soft for each other that they’re dumb

62

Lance’s room was a mess when Keith finally got there. He’d run into Coran, blurted out what had just happened, then Allura showed up and he had to repeat himself. Then both of them insisted on accompanying him down to Lance’s room, purely to quiz him on his date with Lance. He felt like he’d been through the ringer, letting himself into Lance’s room without knocking. Lance was currently half in his wardrobe, which had Keith raising his eyebrow  
“Babe? You know you’re not going to find Narnia in there”  
“Don’t ruin my dreams... and that’s not the problem”

Sitting himself on Lance’s bed, Keith’s cheeks reddened as he tried not to stare at Lance’s butt. He’d definitely been dick deep in there and that he could fit up there was still kind of a miracle  
“What’s the problem?”  
“I knocked over my death soil. You know the stuff Coran put in bed with me”  
“Ah...”  
He remembered and remembered being told not to clean it up  
“Yep. So what brings you by?”  
“You said we needed to talk”

Lance stood up so fast he smacked his head on the wardrobe rail, stumbling out and swearing loudly, his hand went to his head  
“Motherfucking ow”  
“You okay?”  
“Yeah... just who puts a rail so damn low?”  
“Someone who doesn’t expect someone to be cleaning the bottom of the wardrobe?”  
Lance rolled his eyes at him  
“That’s obvious. Sorry, I got totally preoccupied trying to clean up. Did you message back?”  
“No. I kind of got changed and came here... but I called”  
Lance’s lips formed a silent “oh”, his boyfriend dropping down next to Keith and Kosmo as he rubbed his head  
“Sorry. I used up all my bravery telling Pidge I was coming back home”

Keith knew this wasn’t Lance’s home, yet wasn’t prepared for the wave of loneliness that the comment brought  
“I... yeah. I mean, I saw that”  
“It’s not you, it’s me. Well, that sounds even worse than we need to talk. No. What I mean is I can’t hide here forever... and that’s not the only thing we need to talk about”  
Keith’s stomach clenched. He’d thought they’d had a good night together. Why was Lance leaving?  
“You’re breaking up with me?”  
“No. God. No. Didn’t you read all your messages. No. You’re great. It’s me. I feel like... I’m kind of useless here, other than running errands”

Lance abandoned rubbing his head, to wrap his arm around Keith. Keith didn’t know what to say. He knew Lance wasn’t happy... but this felt sudden  
“Did I do something to make you feel like this?”  
“No. Hey, no. If anything I want to get my life sorted because of you. You are good. Me... I’m just me. I mean, I can work from here, sure, but I kind of miss my house. And Blue misses her freedom... plus... you’re about to be super mad at me”  
“What did you do?”  
“Um... before you freak out, I’m not going to be in any danger. Allura and Coran offered me a pity mission. I kind of think they’ve run out of things for me to do”

Keith went stiff. He felt ready to snap, anger bubbling when he didn’t know the full story. Strained, he asked  
“What do you mean?”  
“I think... Okay. So, Allura and Coran mentioned that Lotor was a bit too showy. I think she wants you guys to take Lotor out for a night so we know where he is, while her and I snoop around”  
And Keith snapped. How could Lance be so stupid?  
“And you agreed didn’t you?! I was just threaded by one of his generals. This isn’t a game Lance”

Lance cringed, withdrawing his arm from around Keith’s waist, mumbling   
“I know”  
“You obviously don’t know if you’re putting yourself in”  
“I know. I told them I was going to talk with you”  
“But you’ve already decided!”  
Kosmo whimpered at Keith snapping. Patting his puppy, he felt stupid for these anger issues... But he also felt he wasn’t strong enough to see Lance hurt again... Standing, Lance walked over stand in front of the wardrobe. Hugging himself, Keith knew he should be relieved that at least Lance wasn’t turning his back on him  
“Look. I know you’re mad. I know. I’m not part of your hunter world... but... I’ve been out with Allura before. Sure, years ago and all that... I’m going to be safe. Coran was really good about my scent, like he’s going to find a way to make me smell normal”

Lance’s words hung in the air. Lance wasn’t normal. He was a vampire and a breeder, but that was easy to forget when he was with him. He felt like Lance not having his scent was taking away a part of him... though it would make things safer if everyone thought him a normal vampire. He knew he couldn’t protect Lance all the time, and this boyfriend didn’t want him to. Lance had the right to agree do things, even when Keith felt he was doing something really dumb  
“I don’t like you not having backup”  
“I’ll have Allura. She might not look it, but she’s secretly a total badarse. And... I don’t know. It might be fun? I know it’s serious, but Allura is here all the time. She hardly ever gets to go out and I know we’re there to gather information, but I want to do something nice for her too”

Jealousy poked its ugly head up. Lance wanted to do something nice for Allura. He was being stupid. Allura had known Lance for years. If anything was going to happen it would have by now  
“Do you know when and where you’re going?”  
“Nope. Coran and Allura only filled me in when I came back. I think they were more concerned with our date instead of setting a date”  
“Did you tell them?”  
“What?”  
“About our date?”  
How he’d messed up more than once  
“No. But not because it was bad or anything like that... I just... last night felt special and I totally wanted to brag, but at the same time I didn’t want to share that. I wanted to keep those memories between us... if that makes sense. Honestly if I hadn’t just smacked myself stupid I would have still been waiting to wake up”

Keith took a deep breath, forcing himself to then slowly exhale. He was overreacting. He was overreacting. Lance wasn’t going to come home covered in blood. He wasn’t leaving because he’d messed up. He was leaving because he wanted to work things out. He hadn’t pushed him away or hurt him. He wasn’t leaving him  
“Keith? Babe? Are you okay?”  
“Yeah. Sorry. I didn’t...”

Lance stepped back near the bed, kneeling before him. Placing his hands on Keith’s knees, Lance gave him a wonky smile  
“You’ve got issues. Look. I’m not looking for a fight or for trouble. I don’t want to get hurt and I sure as heck don’t want to hurt you. It’s because you are so fucking good to me that I feel like... I feel like I can face going back. I want to spend maybe another week until I go back... maybe head down for a day or two... see if I’m up to it?”  
Keith nodded  
“I could come?”  
“I know you could, but I think I have to do this for myself. Believe it or not, I used to be a semi-functional adult”  
Keith’s smiled was barely on his lips, yet Lance knew it was still there. This situation sucked but fighting with Lance sucked more  
“I don’t know I can’t believe that”  
“I’ve got degrees to prove it. I would have the crippling student debt too if it wasn’t due to part scholarships and this place. And Mami and Papi, they made college possible the first time around”  
“I thought you didn’t like people knowing you were secretly smart?”  
“My family was poor. You did what you had to. They’d already put four of into college, so I had to be the best I could be. Plus, the thought of getting some kind of penance for being a monster was a major driving factor”  
“You’re not a monster”  
“I am... and I think I’m starting to really be okay with it. I’ll never be okay with leaving people behind, but I feel like maybe I might be okay looking at myself in the mirror or photos... I want to see what you see when you see me”

Keith saw Lance for Lance. He saw all the times he plastered a fake smile on his face and now that they were dating he’d seen him being more open and relying on him. He’d become better at talking about being a vampire. Better at admitting things weren’t perfect or he wasn’t feeling great. Keith wasn’t sure he could say the same. Shiro had said he was more open. Then again, being in a place that didn’t treat him as “Shiro’s kid brother” or “Krolia’s son” made him feel like he was standing more on his own two feet. He hadn’t made any embarrassing bungles like his first lead mission to kill Lance... He liked it here. He liked the gym not being full of werewolves or other hunters casting him looks he couldn’t decipher.

“I get it. I mean. I get this place. I was angry that Shiro transferred us without asking. And I know my schedule isn’t the best. I like being here and part of being here, a big part of being here is because of you. I’m not good with friends and any kind of relationship with people... but I miss Pidge and Hunk. I know I was the new friend, but you guys...”  
“I know it hurts you. That’s why I need to start moving forward again and figuring this out. I know things might be over, yet there’s this part of me that just thinks if I can talk to Pidge then maybe it won’t be. I’ve had friends before, but Pidge is like a sister to me and Hunk... he’s the... he’s the best. I miss being home. I miss having everyone over. I miss having to endure Pidge on a rant and Hunk’s baking like a mad man when he’s stressed out. They were the best thing in my life until you came along”  
“I’m nothing special”  
“That’s where you’re wrong. You make me go all stupid and I can’t think straight, and sometimes I want to shake you, but you’re like no one I’ve ever met”  
“Usually that’s not a good thing”

Keith felt like he was testing Lance and he didn’t know why. He had nothing to be jealous of... other than Lance being further away and back in a life that he only had glimpses of... He didn’t know what was wrong with him. Maybe it was Narti’s words on his mind. About being too close to see the big picture...  
“It is. I know you noticed. I know you noticed I have no photos of me up at home. And most of the mirrors in my house are smashed because I couldn’t... I couldn’t cope with seeing myself. For so long I thought... that I didn’t ever deserve anything good. I still don’t know if I do. I’ve done some shit in my past that I can’t ever forget... and no matter how many times I go to church, I feel every part of this sinner’s body. I have PTS and anxiety. I have nightmares and sometimes I wake up full vampire mode ready to tear the throat out of anything close... but I think... things haven’t been as hard because I finally have someone who I don’t have to hide from. You did this to me. You and your damn mullet”

Keith flushed red. He’d pushed Lance into saying what he wanted to hear and it felt kind of good and kind of hollow at the same time  
“It’s not a mullet”  
“It totally is. I know you’re worried but if I can help bring an end to these murders, then I have to help. Even if it’s for a selfish reason like spending more time with you and not because we have more than on psychopath out there killing supernatural people for whatever sick thing is in their heads”

Lance could easily be one of those that ended up dead... He would help a serial killer if it meant making them feel better... or more likely he’d be oblivious all obvious signs and then spend months still trying to process how he’d missed it   
“I can’t cope with you being hurt”  
“That’s why I’m not going to be alone or let myself be in a situation where I am. You need to teach me what you know, then maybe we work this out together”  
“This isn’t your world”  
“It is when it endangers the people I care about. Let’s put all that aside for now. Seeing you’re here, you can help me clean up”  
“Can... we maybe just cuddle for a bit? I... think I just need that right now”  
Lance beamed at him  
“Of course we can. I’m like totally made for cuddles”  
“You’re cold and boney”  
“But I’m warm where it matters”  
Lance shot him double finger guns. Keith only able to groan at the vampire. He was setting such a bad example for their fur son. No wonder Kosmo walked all over him, Lance did too... yet he didn’t really mind at all.


	63. Chapter 63

63

Lance nearly turned back to Platt twice, and he was pretty sure he would have had Allura not come with him for the day trip home. He was taking Blue home ahead of returning on the weekend. His precious princess curled up in Allura’s lap, after working her way out of her carrier. Filling up at Balmeria, he was relieved to see Rax working rather than Shay. He didn’t want to put Shay in any kind of awkward position with Hunk, nor did he know how to explain his absence to her. Allura was trying her best to keep his spirits up, pointing out various things as they drove, or singing the words wrong to the songs on the radio. Lance nearly felt as nervous as he did the first time he drove out to see the house he’d call home.

Parking in the drive, Matt and Rieva couldn’t help messing with him. He’d barely cut the ignition and climbed out the car before the pair of werewolves were bounding out the house, knocking him down and dragging” him by the hem of his jeans towards the front steps  
“Really? Out of every single way you could have greeted me, this was your best idea? You two are lame”  
There was more laughter in his tone than he’d intended. Matt and Rieva both letting go of his jeans in favour of body flopping on top of him. The offensive smell of wolf not nearly as offensive when he felt they’d actually missed him  
“Oh, no. Lance, I’m afraid I’m going to have to tell Keith your cheating on him. Look at you”  
Allura giggled, raising her hand to cover her mouth. Blue taking he opportunity to jump and run away towards the open door. His princess didn’t have time for such “goings on”  
“I love how you rush to help”  
“Who you end up under is completely up to you”  
“You wouldn’t think so. Now, will you two get off? The gravel’s itchy”

Matt and Rieva turned back, Lance covering his eyes  
“Guys! Clothes!”  
Matt didn’t care  
“You know you love it. What’s not to love?”  
“Your ugly arse junk forever imprinted in my head?”  
“Here how he talks to us?! Blah. Keith can have you if you’re going to be like that”  
“He did and he has and he will. Now go get dressed!”

Waiting until Matt and Rieva moved away, Lance uncovered his eyes to find Allura staring down at him  
“Need a hand?”  
“I wouldn’t say no. Remind me again why I decided coming back was a good idea?”  
“I’m still not quite sure myself. They seemed to have missed you”  
Allura helped him up, Lance then brushing the loose gravel off his body  
“They’re a menace! Matt needs to be neutered! I hope you hear that!”  
“Oh dear. I don’t think he’ll take that well”  
From inside came a yelled “Fuck you!”  
“He didn’t. He’s just lucky I haven’t taken his mangy arse to the vet yet. Then again, he’d probably like a thermometer stuck up his arse”

Looping her arm through his, Allura was still giggly  
“I’ve never neutered a werewolf before. Coran may have. Perhaps we should enquire when we return?”  
“Yep. And I want tracking collars for the pair of them. I’m surprised they didn’t graffiti the town sign and edit the population to say “plus one vampire”. He’s as bad as Pidge. No. He’s worse. He should know better by now”  
“You know, I’m sure we could change that sign if you really wanted?”  
“I think I’ve caused the town enough dramas. Let’s head in. I bet my poor house needs therapy. Is that a thing? A house needing therapy?”  
“I don’t see why not? Though that would mean discussing what you and Keith have been up to here”  
Lance pulled a face  
“Why do you do this to me? You know I miss him as it is”  
“I do. He really is very fond of you. I’m sure you moving back here will leave him missing you even more”  
“You know we talked about it. I’m not hunter material”  
“I don’t know. I think you’d make an excellent hunter. You’re very perceptive and very kind”  
“If you ask Keith, I’m kind of an idiot”  
“Yes, well... You do have your moments”

Lance gaped at Allura, Allura giggling again. Sighing dramatically, he started leading her towards the house. Why did everyone he knew have to be so weird? And why was if after all the years that he finally not keeping his walls so high was giving him everything he ever needed? Maybe because now he had a group of friends that were all weird like him, he was starting to see that maybe... just maybe... he liked himself more than he thought... and maybe he liked company more than he thought too.

*  
Inside the house wasn’t the mess he’d expected. It smelt heavily of horny wolf, but everything seemed in order as he flopped down on his sofa. It smelt suspiciously clean... Like Rieva and Matt had cleaned it knowing he’d smell more than he was suppose to. Walking into the room, Matt ignored the perfectly open seats in favour of sitting right next to him. Normally he would have headed straight to the kitchen to make tea for Allura, but he had a finite amount of courage to work with. Shoving Matt away from him, Matt laughed  
“I know you missed us. Curtis told me all about the talk you had with him”  
“Curtis is cursed. It’s rude to use that against him”  
Matt shrugged   
“A man’s gotta do, what a man’s gotta do”  
“And how’s that working out for you?”  
“Pretty good”  
“Oh, so you have a brilliant plan to make Pidge loves us again?”

Matt groaned, flopping sideways on the sofa  
“No. She’s totally holed up. Hunk isn’t even talking to me. I think she’s making boards about us”  
Lance flopped against Matt, sighing as he did  
“That sounds like her. I miss our gremlin”  
“I know. I have no one to play video games with anymore. What’s the point of having all these wolf powers if I can’t cheat in video games”  
“What’s the point of being immortal if my second family hates me?”  
“I don’t hate you, bro”  
“I don’t hate you either”  
Very awkwardly they fist bumped before both of them sighed.

Allura stood, hands on her hips, staring down the pair of them  
“I’m ashamed of the pair of you right now. Have you tried talking to Pidge?”  
“She’s ignoring us”  
Matt replied, Lance nodded  
“Then make it so she can’t”  
Geez. Why hadn’t they thought of that?  
“This isn’t a movie. We can’t just show up outside her house with a boom box and win her back”  
Matt snorted   
“Dude, you’re so fucking old”  
“Shut up. You’re nearly as old”  
“Oh, says Mister ‘70s over here”  
He didn’t ask to be this old. He didn’t even know how he got to be this old. One moment he was 20, stumbling through life. Next moment he was 44, stumbling through life and now figuring out dating  
“You got the reference! Dude, you’re her biological brother”  
“She told mum to tell me we weren’t talking. Mum said she was worried about our influence on her”  
Pidge was fierce . Colleen was ruthless  
“Your mother scares me”  
“Try being her son“

Allura clapped her hands, drawing attention back to her  
“Will you two please get over yourselves. Pidge is a human in possession of information she is ill equipped to deal with. Now, Lance, if Keith were to stop talking to you, how would you reconnect?”  
“He’s probably turn into a bat then go bury himself”  
He didn’t know, but if Keith stopped talking to him, Matt was most likely right about what would come next   
“Pretty much”  
Allura sighed at the pair of them  
“You’re not helping by joking”  
“Matt’s right. I get emotional and then I’m a bat. Keith keeps me grounded. I’ve gotten better at not being a bat”  
“Dude. You were so much cooler as a bat”  
Lance huffed  
“Says you. Keith says too, actually”  
“Maybe you could turn into a bat and I could post you to Pidge?”  
Now Matt was being ridiculous. They were being ridiculous. Keith suggested going to talk to her instead of relying on Matt, Lance was reaping what he sowed   
“And have her experiment on me. No thanks. Allura, I know you want to help, buuuuut maybe we can talk about something else?”  
“I’m trying to help”  
“I know you are, but Pidge needs space. I’ve told her I’m coming back next week. Why don’t we just hang out today? We can practice hairstyles and do face masks?”

Matt made a a high “ooohing” noise, Lance sitting up, before shoving at him  
“Shut up. It’s not like that”  
“I didn’t say anything”  
“You did. I’ll have you know, I’m going on a mission with Allura”  
Matt sat up, expression skeptical  
“And what mission is that? To find your balls. Wait, nope, Keith’s got you by them”  
He’d rather Keith have them... and that didn’t quite make sense. Matt talking about his balls felt awkward. He wasn’t a smell mutt to be neutered   
“I’ll chop yours off. I may or may not have been thinking about this, and having Allura here probably means she’s thinking the same thing and I’m only just putting this together, so thanks for that Allura. Rieva, we have a question for you. Have you ever heard of a vampire named Lotor? Or his family?”

*  
Lance was barely home an hour before driving the four of them back to Platt. Rieva had indeed heard of Lotor, but she’d heard more about Zarkon and Honerva, telling them enough that Lance now knew coming home had been a bad idea, as wherever Lotor went, his mother was sure to have sent someone to watch his every move. Hastily they’d packed, Rieva insisting they weren’t safe in Garrison for the one being. Lance throwing together all his precious belongings, before rounding up Blue who wasn’t impressed at all. Rieva was shaken that Lotor was here, Lance certain there was a more personal reason that she wasn’t telling them. The only thing he could think of was that it somehow related to the death of her biological parents... And if Zarkon and Honerva were involved, he couldn’t fault her for being overly cautious. Matt had messaged Pidge to tell her to stay indoor and stay away from crowds, Lance’s undead heart frozen in fear for her and Hunk, and their families. He’d never wanted them roped into this, and now the whole issue was getting out of control.

Parking where Allura instructed. They entered the bookshop through a side entrance Lance has barely used. Practically sneaking their way through to the elevator to avoid drawing attention to themselves. Rieva didn’t know much about Lotor, not personally, she’d heard the rumours having grown up in Europe. Lotor was the son of a fae gone mad and a vampire who’d been twisted by his ego. Not a great combination for a child during the years of formations of self. Lotor had to know his mother sent someone. Maybe he’d thought he’d slipped them? Or maybe he’d paid them off? Or maybe Honerva wasn’t actually keeping tabs on him. From what Rieva said, she’d been a gifted and amazing scientist, using both magic and science to test human limits... and amazingly okay about sacrificing human pets for her research. 

Reaching the reception area beneath ground, a strong weird scent of something unknown hung in the air. Familiar and not. And not completely unwelcoming. The scent making his teeth and nails ache, as suddenly he was falling onto his hands and knees, body screaming at him something he couldn’t decipher. Opening his mouth, nothing came out. Heat flushing through his body as his arms gave out and the world became so much bigger than it had been. Whatever the fuck was happening now, he didn’t like it... 

Matt grabbed him by the collar, Lance finding himself pulled to his feet too fast. Covering his mouth to prevent himself from throwing up, he swallowed hard. That’d never happened. 44 years and he’d never felt like he had right then  
“Fucking shitty vampire scents. What the hell, dude?”  
That was vampire. Sniffing again, his stomach rolled. Submit. God. That’s what that feeling was. His body wanted to submit to something. Heat beginning to boil in his belly... no... not here... not here and not now...   
“Matt, let him go. Lance... you’re okay. Allura, I’ll take him to his room. Lance, is there anything I can get you?”  
“Curtis...”

Curtis’s name came out pained and strangled. Curtis could handle his bouts of heat... Rieva might have offered to take him to his room, but he wasn’t safe with her. He wasn’t safe because his body wasn’t listening. He didn’t... Grunting as a heat wave slammed into him with enough forced to make his knees buckle, tears came to his eyes. Keith was the one who made him feel like this. Not some random vampire... and Keith didn’t make him feel like he had to get on his hands knees and stick his fucking arse out to be bred like this... well... he did, but not so viciously like his head was behind held down and a heat shoved in every opening  
“Okay. Allura call Curtis, then call Keith. We all need to talk, but right now Lance needs his boyfriend”  
“Keith and Shiro are out...”  
People really needed to stop saying Keith. Horny Lance had little control over all things Lance and what he wanted done to him   
“I’m... okay... just... please get Curtis...”  
This was mortifying. He was mortified. A single whiff and this happened. Maybe he was off guard? He had to be after what Rieva had and hadn’t said? Honerva was evil. The Blades knew about her and were yet to stop her. If she came here people would start dying at an alarming rate... Oh... god... shoot him now... he could smell horny Matt and dear god... he wanted something in him...


	64. Chapter 64

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut ahoy!
> 
> I finally decided daily updates until chapter 70. Thanks for all the love you guys have sent my way! I’m so very happy people are still reading about our anger loaf and idiot crumpet 💚💚💚

64

Keith was trying a Lance approach. His boyfriend’s advice was to start at the start all over again. Disregard the whole lot of nothing that was Lotor, and go over the crimes again stage by stage. That’s what he and Shiro had been doing since Tuesday. It was now Thursday and they were looking at the third murder all over again. Trying to get himself in his boyfriend’s mindset, he had sunglasses on, because he didn’t have a fake pair of glasses. Shiro raised an eyebrow, but kept his laughter to himself. Spending days looking at dead bodies didn’t help his mental health. But he was a seasoned hunter and Lance had a point. Lotor had become a distraction and investigating with just him and Shiro felt far more natural.

Feeling his work phone vibrate, Keith pulled it from his pocket, eyeing Coran’s number wearily. He didn’t want another murder  
“Who is it?”  
“Coran. I better take this”  
Shiro nodded, turning away as if that gave Keith some kind of privacy. Answering the call, cautiously he answered  
“Hello?”  
“Hello, Keith, my boy. How are you and Shiro getting on?”  
Keith felt himself start to relax. Coran was calling to check in? He’d take that over murder  
“Alright. We haven’t made any breakthroughs”  
“Ah, well, we’ll nut it out. Yes, well, I’m calling because we’ve had a bit of an incident here. Our Lance is having a bit of a heat, and we’ve had a less than desirable visit and a bad bit of news”

Things were chaos at work. That seemed pretty on par. A less than desirable visit... possibly Lotor? He was less than desirable... so what was the bad news? He was leaving? That sounded like cause for celebration... More importantly, how did Coran know Lance was in heat? Why did Lance call Coran and not him? Maybe something happened to Lance and Allura and that was the bad news? Talk about channeling Lance...

“Is Lance okay? Did something happen on the way to Platt?”  
Coran took a moment to reply, picking his words   
“Ah. Well, it seems young Rieva is more prepared to speak with us regarding Honerva and Zarkon than the Blades of Marmora. Funnily enough I believed us to share a common goal, yet my request for information have been repeatedly knocked back”

In Lance’s terms “Coran sounded quite Salty”. Keith growing annoyed Coran hadn’t given a proper simple answer over his boyfriend. It showed in his snappy tone  
“So where is he?! And is Lance okay? You can’t call me up and dump this on me without explanation!”  
Kicking the dirty floor with the toe of his right boot, Keith knew he was acting out  
“We’re all back at headquarters. Curtis is tending to Lance. We’ll discuss it further upon your return”  
Curtis wasn’t supposed to be with Lance. He was supposed to be with Lance. No. No. He wasn’t going to be jealous. Curtis was a friend. Lance would be safer with Curtis than he would be with Matt and Rieva  
“Yeah. Okay. We’re headed back now. See you soon, Coran”

“What was that? What’s going on?”  
Keith rubbed at his left ear, Coran talked way too loudly in the phone, as if he thought yelling would make the words come through clearer, without actually yelling  
“Lance is in heat. Something happened and Curtis is looking after him”  
Shiro shifted his weight, Keith not in the mood  
“Your boyfriend isn’t fucking my boyfriend. At least I told you I was dating Lance, you’re just running around with Curtis behind my back. Honesty works both ways. Oh, something else happened at work too. Coran was being Coran and left half the damn message out”  
“Keith...”  
What? Shiro wanted to bullshit him on Curtis?  
“Save it. Coran wants us back. You’re driving”

*  
Shiro tried talking to him on the ride back, but it was no good. That ugly jealousy wouldn’t let go of his heart. Curtis was a friend to Lance. That was it. A friend. He should be happier Lance wasn’t alone... but he knew how enticing Lance was as he writhed and pushed his thighs together. A murder investigation wasn’t exactly a boost to the libido. Lance might not even want him in the room depending how bad it was. A mild heat they could fool around through, or... do more if Lance wanted to. Lance would never push him... even it might be more “heated” if he’d been in a heat for a small while. It was hard to be in the mood with murder on the mind... Lance would fret over calling him in... He’d worry about Keith feeling pressured. Shiro didn’t get it. Lance wouldn’t set out to cheat on him... but if he couldn’t control himself...

All the “buts”, “ifs”, and “maybes”, left him in an anxious mood. Shiro gave up trying to talk, somewhere around Keith’s sixth grunted huff. Couldn’t his brother just let him be worried about his boyfriend and the butterflies in his stomach? Why did Shiro always have to be so damn responsible? If Curtis was horny, Keith was sure his brother would be pants less and between the sheets with him before giving Keith a second thought. So why did his love life have to go through Shiro?

Parking out the front of the bookstore, Keith fumbled his buckle undone as his brother turned the car off  
“Keith. If you don’t want to have sex with Lance... that’s okay. You guys are at the age where you know how to use contraception, but even with contraception, you don’t have to have sex if you don’t want to. It’s okay to tell Lance no”  
Shiro was met with a frosty glare, his brother raising his hands in surrender  
“I’m just saying I want you both to be safe”  
“By insinuating Lance is forcing me into sex”  
“He’s in heat”  
“Yeah, and even in heat he’s never not given me the option to say no”  
“I...”  
“I like Lance. I like holding him. We don’t have to fuck to get through his heat together”  
“I’m not trying to...”  
“Well you did. He’s my boyfriend and his heats hurt him so much. What he needs is someone to hold him through it all. I think I know how to help my boyfriend by now”

Shiro pinched the bridge of his nose with his right hand, left hand still raised against Keith’s coolness  
“It’s not my business. I just don’t want you two hurt. Not you and not Lance by ending up pregnant accidentally. That’s all I’m saying. And I’m saying if you two need anything, I can probably make a run to the pharmacy for you. I’m trying to understand”  
Fucking Shiro showing he cared. It made impossible to be mad at him... or, rather, as mad  
“We’ve got it... I mean... god, do you know how awkward is it to talk to you about this?”  
“That’s why I don’t ask...”  
“Please don’t ask again... Lance is going to be scarred when I tell him. We kind of... like keeping it private”  
“That’s okay too. As long as you know I’m here and you can ask. That’s all... and try to keep it in your pants until you two are alone”  
Suddenly Keith was hugging his brother, Shiro letting out a chuckle  
“You’re a good man, Keith. Don’t forget that”  
“I won’t...”

Coran met them in the bookstore, waving his pass over the elevator panel, they descended straight to the floor Lance’s room was on. Someone had sprayed cheap air freshener, but Keith could still smell Lance’s heat. The silence had Keith wanting to ask, but Coran caved first   
“Lance was unfortunate enough to smell the pheromones of our visitor. Sent him straight into heat. Poor boy, he was barely holding it together. Ears. Wings. A proper mess. Curtis has been with him. Said he was burning quite the fever. Refused to eat”

Hang on...   
“How long’s he been in heat?”  
“2 or so hours now. Very insistent he’d be okay and didn’t want to disturb you”  
“Why not? I’m his boyfriend!”  
Kicking the elevator wall, Shiro cast him a disapproving look  
“Ah, yes. That’s why. You see... I’ve never seen a partial transformation before. I’ve was distraught that he was sent into heat by another vampire. It’s not the poor boys fault. We’ve had vampires in and out, but most of them control their egos”  
Lance couldn’t help his heats. He hated them, but to be sent into a heat by another vampire, his boyfriend probably felt like he’d cheated on him  
“You should have called me earlier, despite what he said. Now he’s going to have worked it up in his head”  
“I was trying to respect Lance’s wishes. In addition we needed to clean through so no one else was affected by either set of pheromones. It has been quite the headache. Rieva was quite the help getting Lance back to his room as Allura saw to Matt”

The elevator doors slip open, Keith smelling a fresh wave of Lance’s scent. Blood was rushing south. This wasn’t like Lance’s normal heats. He didn’t usually release this many pheromones. Shit... Lance smelt so damn good  
“Keith?”  
“I’m okay...”  
Mortally embarrassed over his tenting jeans that he couldn’t hide with his hands, still, he was level minded enough that he could ask what he wanted to do   
“No need to be embarrassed. These things are a biological response after all. Coitus between all animals is quite a natural thing”  
Now Coran was sounding like Curtis   
“Coran, maybe let up on him? We’ve had a talk, and he knows to contact us if something were to happen”  
Keith crossed his arms, not entirely sure how to recover from this  
“Can you two not talk like I’m not here... and like I don’t need an escort to see my own boyfriend?”  
“I think we’ve embarrassed him. Should I be worried about him alone with Lance?”  
“Ah, yes, well, they are grown adults and while they are preoccupied, there are a few issues that need addressing immediately. I do believe they should be fine for the most part”  
“That’s what...”

Keith stomped on his brother’s foot  
“You said you’d back off. Can we just let me and Lance have some kind of privacy about these things? Please? I don’t ask about yours”  
Shiro shrugged   
“I don’t have much of one to ask”  
Coran opened his mouth, Keith speeding up his stride. He didn’t need to think about that... nope. Nooooooo. All he wanted to think about was Lance... not be stuck wondering if the curtains matched the drapes, as Lance would say. Shiro jogged to catch up to him  
“We’re only teasing”  
“Say one more word and I will spread that werewolf howl story as far as I can. Even if it destroys me in the process”  
Shiro made the hand signal as he said   
“My lips are sealed”  
Coran’s were not  
“Oh, did you mate with a werewolf? They can be quite voracious in bed. In my younger days...”  
Karma had got him. Keith not expecting his destruction so soon. He gave up. Why did everyone he know have to be so weird?

Reaching Lance’s room, Coran knocked lightly on the door. Keith now nervous about seeing his boyfriend, somewhat scared Lance was going to reject him. Opening the door, the light were dimmed, Curtis slipping out into the hallway as Keith’s knees gave out at the scent. Lance might be the vampire, but god knew Keith wanted to bite, lick and suck whatever bit of Lance he could get his mouth on  
“Keith. I’m glad your here. He’s being rather stubborn”  
Lance being stubborn was nothing new  
“Is he okay?”  
“Refuses to come out from under the covers. Won’t eat. Wont’t drink. Won’t jerk off. Insists it’ll pass. I’ll leave him with you. There’s condoms and lube on his desk. Please get him to see some sense”  
From inside Lance’s room, Lance called his name. Yeah. He had to be in there right about now...  
“We’ll see you guys later”

Before he could be stopped, Keith was pushing past Curtis, letting himself into his boyfriend’s room and slamming the door closed behind him.

*  
The moment the door closed, Lance was on him. Lips pressed hard against his as Lance groaned into the kiss. Grabbing a fistful of Lance’s hair, Keith growled into his boyfriend’s mouth, Lance pulling back enough to eye him like a steak before a hungry dog... His boyfriend was totally in heat... his shirtless torso showed a small pair of leathery wings poking out from behind, bat ears replacing his normal ears. His fingernails long and sharp, digging in slightly where he cupped Keith’s face  
“Keith... I’m... about a second from snapping...”

Lance talked to much. Kissing him to shut him up, proved to “snap” Lance like he warned. Hands going from Keith’s face to tear his shirt open, as Lance pressed his knee between Keith’s legs, his boyfriend’s hands sliding down to grope at Keith’s arse  
“Fuck... you smell so fucking good... makes me want to fucking worship you”  
Kissing between words, Lance pulled back, lips going to Keith’s neck as his boyfriend’s hands moved suddenly from Keith’s arse to his belt buckle. Vampire strength was no joke, nor were Lance’s pheromones. Anything his boyfriend wanted, Keith wasn’t in any state to deny. He wanted Lance to kiss him more, to touch him more...   
“Babe... more...”

Lance growled, Keith’s jeans and underwear down around his ankles before he had time to be relieved at no longer being confined to his jeans like he’d been since stepping foot into the elevator. Sinking down, Lance wrapped his hand around Keith’s aching dick, pretty little mouth sliding over tip. Well... this was new.... Keith knew he should fear for his junk, he could feel Lance’s fangs, but he couldn’t care anything to bring on the release pooled in his belly. Lance bobbing his head as his hand slipped away, taking him completely. Gripping Keith by the hips, Keith cried out in pleasure whatever Lance had suddenly figured out blow job wise had his toes already curling, he wasn’t caring if the other’s were still listening on the other side, everything was focused on Lance’s mouth. Tongue, teeth, the way he sucked the tip before taking him while again. Working him to the point his knees couldn’t hold him up anymore, Lance’s hands left his hips, Keith’s hands fisting his boyfriend’s hair so he didn’t slump on to him. Pulling off, Lance’s hands went back to undressing him, Keith unable not to groan in disappointment, because holy shit was Lance playing his body like a harp.

Whatever Lance had decided, the position wasn’t working for him. Keith hefted up, then sat on Lance’s desk, barely able to kick his legs as Lance pulled his boots, then pants off. Panting heavily, his boyfriend grabbed him by the thighs, pulling him to edge of the desk and burying his face back between Keith’s legs for a whole other purpose this time. Lance had kissed him plenty of times, but now his boyfriend’s lips were against his arse, barely giving him any time to adjust at all... lapping against the whirl, Lance growled when Keith’s hands went to the edge of the desk for support  
“Wanna eat you... gonna eat you out... fuck... you’re so fucking perfect”

After that, things got hazy. Lance’s tongue teasing the taunt rim of muscle in a way that was criminal. Having a tongue up there shouldn’t feel as good as it did, his hips moving as he tried to get Lance deeper. Incoherently babbling he tried to tell Lance he was about to come riding his face the best he could, his boyfriend abandoning his left thigh to jerk him off, Keith coming on the first jerk, orgasm washing through him and that was it... Slumping backwards, he must have passed out for a moment, Lance now licking at the cooling cum across Keith’s belly, a wicked smile coming to his lips as their eyes met, Lance maintaining eye contact as Keith shuddered, back arching as Lance lapped again. Every part of him felt so good almost hyper sensitised. Wrapping Keith’s legs around himself, Lance ran his tongue up to Keith’s collarbone, starting to suck and nip as he rolled his hips, rutting into him. Keith clawed at Lance’s back, head lolling as he moaned. Lost to his heat, Lance started to slam up against him over and over, Keith half hard again and a little numb between his legs. Stiffening, his boyfriend’s hips jerked, fangs piercing the soft skin of Keith’s shoulder before slumping against him.

Having come, they were both drunk off each other. Lance pushing him up, eyes glassy as he pressed his lips to Keith’s softly this time. Still trying to process somewhere in his brain, Keith found up enough thought to quietly ask   
“Lance?”  
“I’m... god... fuck...”  
Lance went to pull away, unable to thanks to Keith’s legs  
“Wait...”  
The word calmed his boyfriend, Lance leaning back in to kiss again, hand coming to rest over Keith’s racing heart as the kiss broke and Lance nuzzled into Keith’s cheek  
“I... you’re so fucking beautiful... how can you look at me?”  
If anyone could read his mind they’d know that right on the tip of his tongue was the words “I love you”. Blissed and feeling so fucking wrecked, Keith didn’t know why Lance would ask so sadly  
“The same way I always have”  
“I’m...”  
“Pretty perfect...?”  
Lance groaned, hips rolling... heat crashing through him again   
“Horny... I want you... I want to fuck you... I... want to love you... I want you... I want to submit...”  
“I want you too... let’s move to the bed”

Lance lifted him, Keith holding on until he was laid down upon his boyfriend’s bed. Lance’s scent was ramping up again. His boyfriend kneeling back as he tried to get his pants undone, letting out sad kind of cry when he couldn’t get the button because of his nails  
“Lance... let me?”  
Lance nodded, Keith pulling himself up an shuffling forward so his legs were spread as he undid Lance’s pants for him. Leaning in, Lance nosed into his cheek  
“You’re so fucking beautiful... I... don’t... I don’t know what I’m doing...”  
“Let me...”  
“I want you...”  
Keith nodded, voice shaky  
“I know... I’m here... I’m here... take your pants off for me, baby. I’ve got you...”

Lance was too uncoordinated to do that. Pushing him back, his boyfriend was too tall for the bed, but he stayed still long enough for Keith to help him out his pants. Already hard again, Keith swallowed as he eyed his lover, his hands moving to Lance’s hips, sliding up to his sides were he massaged gently with his thumbs, Lance’s breath hitching before breathily moaning his name   
“Keeeeith...”  
They could so very easily fall into each other. Lance was so very perfect and real beneath him. It felt as if he had to force himself away, the desire to “breed” was in Lance’s scent so heavily that it’d be so damn easy to try for a baby right how they were. He wasn’t scared by though.. something seemed to tell him not to be. That the smooth belly he was staring at would look so good swollen and gravid. He couldn’t do that. He couldn’t do that to Lance with them not in their right minds  
“Let me grab the condoms”

Lance moved as Keith grabbed the box, pulling out the first line before tossing the rest on the bed. Opening the first one of the first try, Keith rolled it on, impressed he had the brain power to remember them and hadn’t torn it. Joining Lance back on the bed, his boyfriend climbed into his lap, Lance taking him by the face again as he leaned down to kiss Keith’s bleeding bottom lip. Pressing three kisses, Lance leaned back   
“I wish my fangs didn’t cut you”  
“It’s okay”  
“You’re... so beautiful... I could stare at you forever”  
“That might be a bit awkward”  
“I...”  
“Let go. Let me take care of you”  
“I can’t... I can’t hurt you”  
“You don’t...”

Lance didn’t let Keith prep him. Lowering himself he slipped slightly, but somehow Lance managed to still sink himself down as his lips went back to Keith’s. To stubborn to admit it hurt, his boyfriend whined into the kiss. Breaking apart as Lance shook, Keith raised his hand to brush Lance’s fringe back  
“Babe...”  
“You feel so good... like... I’m full of you”  
Rising up a little, Lance dropped down again. Keith taking him by the waist so he didn’t fall off backwards. Those were dangerous words...

The first round had been a blur, Lance unable to contain his desire for him. Lance was just as enthusiastic during the second round, Keith not allowed to do anything other than keep his hands on Lance’s hips, as his boyfriend kissed him deeply. Pushed down as Lance grew closer, Lance took his hands in his, fingers interlacing as Lance rode him. The vampires long nails were beginning to retract, the same with Lance’s ears and wings. His fangs were just as long an pointed, mouth parted as he panted and moaned. Lance tended to transform when distressed, nothing distressed him quite like a heat. His boyfriend was calming down. Letting himself be himself with him. Letting go... and he was so fucking gorgeous... He wanted to kiss him again... Tugging on Lance’s hands, Lance leaned down, grinding on him as they kissed  
“Keith...”  
“Come for me. Submit for me”  
Keith wasn’t sure what Lance meant by “submit”, but the word had Lance grunting out a groan as he came between them. Keith needing a little longer before his orgasm finally washed through him. That was it... it was time for a nap. He was well and truly drained dry.

Lifting his hips enough for Keith to slide out, Lance remained flopped against him. Hands still held, though now Keith was pretty much pinned with them both up near his head   
“Lance?”  
Lance rubbed his cheek against Keith’s chest   
“I’m okay... you okay?”  
“Fucking drained?”  
Lance groaned at him  
“I see what you did there... mmm... I don’t think it’s over...”  
That was different... Lance usually kind of settled enough for his heat to pass...   
“Okay. Wanna cuddle?”  
“Cuddle like this... love cuddling you”  
“Thanks?”  
Talk about being awkward  
“Sorry... I couldn’t... think about anything but you...”  
“You’re apologising for jumping me”  
Lance nodded. Though a blur it’d been a hot as fuck blur   
“Mhmm... couldn’t get you out of my head... would you be mad if I said I think I’m falling in love with you?”  
Keith’s mouth went dry... Lance was saying it all over again, and he, once again, wasn’t in his right mind. What if he was never in his right mind to say it? And did it still count if they both kind of felt that way during sex?  
“You get some sleep, babe. We can talk about it later”  
“M’kay...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance does feel bad about pretty much jumping Keith. He’d been a horny horny boy who wanted no one but his Keith.


	65. Chapter 65

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance defaults to his natural setting of worry after a mishap

65

Lance lay staring at the ceiling, ashamed of his behaviour over the last two days. He would have punched himself in the face if he didn’t know it’d both hurt and potentially wake Keith up. Two days of heat. Two days of heats and he remembered it all like a dream. Not only had he torn Keith’s shirt off him, he’d slept with him. Like... him inside Keith slept with him. Keith half on half off the desk, Lance buried inside of him as Keith cried out his name... slept with him... lubed, fingered, taken Keith’s virginity... slept with him... the sound of wet skin, the feel of Keith around him, the almost hollow feeling in his belly from being filled over and over, only to not be being filled at all... He’d been awkward, driven by heat, unable to let go of Keith’s body... slept with him. He couldn’t stop himself. Keith hadn’t come... both of them kind of stopping after Lance came. His boyfriend cared about him, putting himself in discomfort for him...

Titling his head, he looked from the white ceiling to his boyfriend’s sleeping face. Keith sleeping on his stomach, arm around Lance as he drooled. He could have left. He should have left. Instead he held him. He made sure Lance drank the blood they’d left for him. Made sure they used condoms when they’d fucked. Nothing off limits, not even him riding Keith’s face, face sopping wet and damn did that boy eat arse until his toes curled and he had to be pinned face down and fucked... everything he did was for Lance. Made sure Lance feel like that main character in his favourite rom-coms but what had he done for Keith? Scared him for one thing. What kind of an idiot told his boyfriend he loved him before falling asleep on him?! Was he allowed to tell him? Nearly two months of dating... it was way too soon. It felt like it was too soon. He was being too impulsive. He might have growing feelings for Keith that verged on ridiculous, but things were so good how they were. He could punch himself for it... God... his room was a mess. They’d had way too much sex... If he felt tender as hell, Keith’s junk probably felt drained as hell... He didn’t deserve Keith. Keith looked so damn tired in his sleep. Conked out in a position that couldn’t be too comfortable seeing Lance’s arm was under him. He’d gone into heat over another vampire. Not only was that another vampire he didn’t know. It was very much a vampire who wasn’t Keith. He’d wanted Keith to come, but he’d wanted him to stay away. Confused as to why it’d happened. Coran warned it could happen... just not how hard it’d hit or how it’d make him feel.

Keith woke a very unromantic way, farting loudly, his boyfriend rolled over, nearly falling off the side of the bed as Lance was gassed. Grabbing Keith before he could fall, Lance pulled him against him, Keith wriggling himself so that now he was on his back and Lance was laying on his side again him. Wrinkling his nose, Keith scrunched his eyes closed, asking  
“Did you fart?”  
“Nope. That was all you”  
“That’s fucking toxic. It smells dead”  
“As someone who’s dead, I take offence to that”  
It rivalled an after milk fart. Keith needed to improve his diet because it was toxic  
“You don’t smell like that”  
“Then it can’t be dead unless your insides died from sex”

Keith groaned at him, opening those galaxy eyes of his  
“We fucked a lot”  
“We did. How do you feel?”  
“Like I pooped the wrong way... how can you like it?”  
“Because it’s you. Do your hips hurt?”  
“Not as much as my dick... fuck... how’s your heat?”  
“Finally gone...”  
“That was fucking intense”  
“Mhmm...”  
Letting his eyes start to slide closed again, Lance untangled himself from Keith. Keith whining and sticking a hand out blindly to find him  
“Where are you going?”  
“I thought you’d go back to sleep so I’d go take a shower”  
“Nope... come back and cuddle”  
“Not in that noxious fart of yours”  
“It’s not my fault... don’t leave me here”

Keith didn’t have enough coffee in his system to save himself. Lance had kind of hoped that he’d be able to shower alone... maybe score a few moments to himself. To prepare for Keith waking up and his boyfriend breaking his heart because he’d come to hate him. He was such a push over. He couldn’t leave Keith here... In a fart so bad it tasted like month old death on your tongue  
“I’ll carry you. But if you fart again, I’m dropping you and leaving you behind to fend for yourself”  
“Fair”

*  
Someone had noticed Lance’s heat had ended. Returning from the bathroom, three cups of coffee, a box of donuts, an icepack and bag of blood sat on Lance’s desk. Lance’s bin liner was gone, as were the sheets. Keith would have still been in the shower if his boyfriend hadn’t helped him out, yet to strip and clean Lance’s room up so fast was some kind of miracle. Lance paid it no mind. As far a decaffinated Keith could tell, Lance was in La-La land. He had been since they started cleaning up. Keith insisted on help Lance shower, seeing Lance had helped him and washed his hair for him, but his boyfriend didn’t seem to want to be touched. 

Grabbing a cup of coffee, Keith sat gingerly on the edge of the bed. Lance’s heat had driven slightly mad, he’d wanted to try bottoming, but damn if it didn’t feel more uncomfortable than good. Ignoring the desk, Lance went to his wardrobe, digging out clothes for both of them  
“Curtis came. He left clothes for you”  
“How do you know it was him?”  
“I can smell him”  
Keith couldn’t smell anything other than Lance and sex. He didn’t like the idea of another man’s scent in his boyfriend’s bedroom.

Placing a pile of clothes beside him, Keith ignored them in favour of enjoying his coffee. It was a little cold but that just meant he could drink it down faster  
“If you want to get changed in here, I’ll change in the bathroom”  
“Why?”  
“I thought you’d prefer it”  
Keith had no idea what that was meant to mean  
“Why?”  
“I don’t know. I’m going to change”

Okay. Maybe Lance wasn’t off with the faeries. His boyfriend was acting weird. Surely they’d passed weird having seen every inch of each other naked. With his first coffee cup emptied, Keith tossed at the bin and missed. The groan he let out was as much over missing the bin as it was over Lance acting weird. Feeling it was too much effort to fish the cup out from under the desk, Keith instead used the sliver of effort he had left to get dressed. He didn’t get why Lance was acting so embarrassed now. They’d gone at it like rabbits, and it’d be fine at time. Maybe he was missing something because there to much blood in his blood stream again? Or maybe Lance was overthinking things?

When Lance came back from the bathroom, he walked straight past Keith. Picking up the landline phone in his room, Lance called Coran, confirming they’d be on their way up soon. That stung. Surely they could have stayed hidden away from the world for a little longer. Placing down the receiver, Lance grabbed up his bag of blood  
“Babe, is everything okay?”  
Keith deflated a little more inside as Lance flashed him a fake smile  
“Just hungry. Coran wants us to meet him with the others in the conference room”  
“You’ve been... seem off?”  
“Fine. Just tired and hungry”

Standing, Keith reached for Lance who stepped back. Yep. His boyfriend wasn’t being normal  
“You can talk to me. I don’t know what I did if you don’t talk to me”  
“It’s not you. Okay. You were great. You were perfect. I’m the one who couldn’t keep it in my fucking pants”  
Fumbling the cap of the blood bag, Lance hurled it at the wall. Keith flinching at the action. Giving Lance a moment to calm, Keith then asked  
“Is it your heat? Babe, I don’t mind. I want you to be able to rely on me. You don’t need to be embarrassed”  
“I don’t know, okay. I know but I don’t and I know you didn’t deserve to be used like a fucking sex toy, because I fucking love and respect you! I’m tired. I’m sore. I’m embarrassed! I cheated on you by going into heat thanks to some fucking stranger! I can’t do this right now”

Lance stormed off, slamming the door behind him. Keith remaining standing there. If Lance was going to yell, he could too  
“I fucking like you and shit! I want to be there for you! If you’re going to tell me thing like that, at least give me a chance to reply!”

*  
Lance’s walking job, turned to more of a run as fled from Keith. The condom broke. The condom broke. The condom broke. His first heat and the condom broke. He’d felt something less than desirable slide down his inner thigh a he carried Keith to the bathroom. Sitting on the toilet, he’d gone to clean himself up... and there it was... and now he was panicking all over again. The condom broke... and he didn’t even know when. He hadn’t even felt it half inside of him. Now he was making a beeline for Coran, before he broke down in tears for being a dick to Keith. He’d had enough on his mind with how he didn’t deserve Keith. He’d even yelled at him about loving him. What was Keith supposed to think? He wasn’t impressed Lance took off... but he needed Coran.

Rushing into the meeting room, he ignored everyone as he rushed to Coran. Coran immediately sensing his distress and wrapping his arms around him. Burying his face against Coran, his body was shaking  
“Lance, my boy. Whatever is the matter?”  
“I fucked up!”  
Pretty much wailing in Coran’s ear, Shiro’s voice came from behind them  
“What do you mean!? Is Keith okay?!”  
Lance nodded, letting out a sob at Keith’s name  
“Come with me, my sweet boy. It can’t be that bad”

Coran took him away from the others and to his office. Lance clinging to him the whole way to the examination table. Climbing up to sit next to each other, Lance hid his face as Coran stroked his hair  
“Lance, what happened?”  
“I... the... condom... broke. Keith doesn’t know and I don’t know what to do!”  
Crying harder, Coran hushed him, rocking him gently as he did  
“Oh, my boy. Are you sure? I... this is rather delicate, are you sure you weren’t laying on it?”  
Now Coran said that, he wasn’t... but it’d definitely been up there...  
“I don’t... it...”  
“Okay, okay... you’re okay”  
“I’m not! I yelled at Keith. I was horrible to him. I respect him so much and I... I’m in love with him... and he had to put up with me and I think I’ve ruined everything. What... if he only thinks I love him because of the broken condom?!”

Coran rubbed his back  
“I’m certain Keith knows that not the case. I can give you something to take, but I’m hesitant to do so without you having talked to Keith yet. It is designed for werewolves but it should do the trick in an emergency”  
“He... he’ll hate me!”  
“My dear boy, it takes two to make a full belly. You’ve had a scare, but you’ll be okay”  
Lance didn’t feel like he’d ever be okay again  
“I love him... I love him... I know it’s too soon... but...”  
“Hush. Love comes as it does”  
“I was horrible to him... he did everything he could for me... he should break up with me... I practically cheated on him! Someone else sent me into heat! I don’t want anyone other than him”

Coran kissed him on the temple  
“Come now, you’re overreacting. Keith loves you. He’s made that very clear. You two are good for each other”  
“I’m not good for him... I’m... not a hunter. I’m not alive. I don’t contribute anything around here... I can’t have a baby... I don’t know how to have a baby... I don’t want to poop a baby out my arse...”  
With a squeak, Lance found himself turning into a bat. Coran sighing as pulled him up and out his shirt  
“You’ve had a tough life, my boy. I understand. You are like a son to me, you are allowed to be happy. In fact, nothing would make this old Fae happier than to know you were happy. Now, I was hoping to have a chat with Keith about this, but that will have to wait for now. You’ve come out of heat, your emotions and hormones are a mess, but rest assured my boy, that was relatively short for a heat, though the intensity was quite surprising. I suppose I best call Keith aside and let him know that you’re quite scattered at the moment”

Lance’s little body was tucked up against Coran’s shoulder. Soft sad squeaks coming from him as he continued to cry. Coran should understand how hard it was for a vampire to be with a human. He couldn’t be pregnant. He couldn’t do that to Keith. It was only a few days ago they’d agreed they weren’t ready for children... but what if Keith was never ready? What if he didn’t want weird half vampire babies... oh god... he couldn’t get Keith pregnant could he? He hadn’t used a condom with Keith... What if Keith was pregnant?! No... Keith didn’t have the right plumbing... oh... fuck... what if his sperm turned Keith? Keith had sucked him off before... but what if... what if...

Flapping his wings, he tried to ask all of this of Coran, Coran smiling down at him  
“I have no idea what you’re saying, but you certainly are adorable as a bat. I guess we should head back to the others. Keith should be able to find us easily enough”  
Coran didn’t get it. He didn’t want to see Keith right now. Keith would scoop him up and cuddle him... while Lance was holding onto a secret that could break them up. It was like the worst feeling ever and all he could do was squeak about it.


	66. Chapter 66

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our soft boys muddle through their love again

66

Keith missed the turn off for the stairs upstairs. Locationally misplaced, he carried himself with aura of “anyone approaching could kindly piss off”. Lance didn’t come back. He didn’t come back and explain what the hell that had been. He didn’t get it and his hips hurt. Feeling annoyed because he’d been walking around the complex lost far too long now, he was torn between being relieved and running off when he heard his name being called by his brother.

Turning, Keith barely had time before Shiro was pulling him up against him. What the fuck?  
“Oh, thank god. Thank god you’re okay”  
Releasing him, Shiro cupped his face, staring down at him for a moment, before his brother was moving to hug him again  
“I was so worried. Lance said he’d fucked up. He was crying his eyes out, Coran led him out and they didn’t come back. You scared me”  
What did Lance have to cry about? He hadn’t even given them a chance to talk about his heat before he was dumping Keith in favour of the others  
“I’m fine...”  
“I was scared. You didn’t turn did you? Let me take a look at you?”

Breaking the hug, his brother took him by the shoulders, eyes widening  
“What the fuck happened?!”  
Lance had sucked small love bites across his skin, fed from him too at one point, but that was because Keith spurred him on  
“It’s fine”  
“It’s not fucking fine. Your neck looks like he mauled you. Keith, tell me, was he...”  
“He was fine. It was consensual. I forced him to feed from me. Now back off. I’m not a kid”  
“You were...”  
He was helping his boyfriend through his heat. Lance was scared over it. Apologetic in the lulls between need. Soft and warm, he showered attention on Keith, praising him... plus Keith had found Lance apparently had a kink he’d been hiding   
“If you finish that, I’m going to punch you in the dick. Now what the fuck did Lance say?”  
“Nothing much... he walked into the meeting room, went straight up to Coran and started crying that he’d fucked up. Are you sure you’re okay? You didn’t turn...?”  
Shiro went to move his hand towards Keith’s mouth, Keith slapping it away  
“I didn’t turn. I have no idea what the fuck he’s on about. He wouldn’t even talk to me about what happened. He sprouted some shit about loving and respecting me, then fucking took off”

The corner of Shiro’s left eye seemed to twitch, his brother grabbing him the hand, Keith jerked forward, being dragged along the corridor he’d just turned back from walking down  
“Shiro!”  
“We’re going to talk to him. He owes us both an explanation. Heat or not, he has no right to upset you”  
“He owes me an explanation... not you”  
“He scared the shit out of me”  
“And he’s going through a lot!”  
“He hurt you!”  
“He didn’t mean too...”  
“Words hurt too, Keith. Even if he was ashamed, he should have had the decency to talk to you”  
Yeah... but Lance turned into a bigger idiot than him when he got embarrassed   
“You’re going to make things worse”  
“You’re my brother. I’m not letting this one go”  
“Then at least slow down... my hips hurt”

Shiro stumbled to a stop, free hand going up to pinch his nose as he groaned at Keith’s mumbled confession  
“I don’t think I want to... did you at least... tell me you used protection”  
“Of course we did. I even had a condom stuck to my fucking leg in the shower”  
It was gross. Tied off but gross... it’d ended up pushed into the shower corner with his toes so he didn’t have acknowledged it  
“I didn’t need to know that”  
“He might have been in heat, but we were careful. So just... let me go, and walk slower, and when we find them don’t start yelling at him”  
“I make no promises”

Coran wasn’t in his office, but Lance’s clothes were. Keith biting down an annoyed groan as he surmised Lance had turned into a bat  
“Why’s his clothes here when he’s not?”  
“He probably turned into a bat”  
“So he should be with Coran still?”  
“How should I know?”  
“Can’t you smell him?”  
Keith huffed  
“I’m not a bloodhound. No. I can’t. No more than you can”  
“Well they can’t be far”  
“Coran probably headed to the conference room to look for us”  
“Then let’s go already. I swear... turning into a bat...”  
“He can’t help it”  
“Well it’s past time he learned how to. He can’t weasel out a conversation by being cute”  
Actually... Lance could. Sometimes all it took was a glance at his boyfriend and Keith was forgetting what he was saying   
“Don’t call him cute. And don’t be weird. We don’t know what’s going on”  
“Yeah, well, whatever it is I’m not impressed”  
“It’s my relationship, not yours. So until we’ve found Coran, just back off. You’re making me nervous”  
Nervous Shiro would take a swing at Lance when Keith was the one who deserved too... even if it now seemed like Lance had been really upset and he’d missed it  
“I’m... this is frustrating. I don’t want to see you hurting”  
“I know. But Lance is upset. Coran knows what’s going on, so until we know, back off”  
“Right... okay. I’m not happy you fed him”  
“He’s probably not happy about it either. He doesn’t like it when I offer my blood”  
“Then why do it?”  
“Because he’s my boyfriend. You know... when he’s upset... or hungry, I want to be there for him”  
Shiro sighed  
“You two are as bad each other. I want to know what’s going on”  
“I’ll talk to you, but I need to talk to Coran first”

Shiro led him to the conference room. Letting them in, Lance was sitting on Curtis’s head, little clawed hands around Curtis’s horn  
“Keith, my boy! I was worried you’d gotten lost again”  
Coran didn’t have to say it like that   
“Not lost, just talking with Shiro. Lance, you okay?”  
Curtis raised his hands, lifting Lance off his head. Coran crying out  
“Careful of his stomach! He’s... still tender”  
Lance squeaked up a storm, Curtis smiling as he repositioned his hands to hold Lance under his arse rather than around the middle  
“Wouldn’t you rather go to Keith?”

Squeaking, Lance flapped his wings as he tried to climb up Curtis’s arm. Matt snorting with laughter  
“Whoops. Looks like there’s trouble in paradise”  
Keith shot Matt a glare, honestly hurt over how Lance was acting  
“I see. I’m going to need a moment with Keith and Lance alone. Please prepare the briefing from the beginning. Both Lance and Keith will need to be caught up on the last few days”

Coran carefully untangled Lance from Curtis’s jacket. Lance squeaking loudly in clear objection. Carrying Lance over, Coran cast him a look that Keith couldn’t quite figure out  
“You best come with me”

Taken back to Coran’s office, Keith was glad to sit until his arse objected. How Lance liked bottoming, he wasn’t sure. Sitting in his chair, Coran stared down at Lance, before stroking the top of his head  
“Now, my boy. You need a bit of an explanation. Lance was most distressed when he came to me. Very upset about leaving you, and very upset about another matter, which he’ll talk to you about himself. Firstly, I’m glad to see you up and around. You were both missed”  
Times like these Coran needed a magical button that skipped all this “before conversation” and got right to the point  
“Just tell me what’s going on with him”  
“He’s very upset over how he acted during his heat. He’s also very hormonal right now, heats are designed for breeding. The intensity and the fact that another vampire triggered his heat have him sure you were hurt emotionally by it. He did say he didn’t know why you hadn’t broken up with him over it. He feels he betrayed your trust”  
Keith groaned. That sounded like his idiot crumpet  
“I know he couldn’t help it”  
“Still. He cared for you very deeply. He’s in a state of shock right now. Oh dear... perhaps it is best I tell you. He came to me fearing that things might be over as he was worried about conception”

Lance shrieked loudly, flapping his wings so hard that Coran dropped him by accident. Without thinking, Keith scooped Lance up. The hunter’s heart racing at the thought   
“Babe... is it true? You could have talked to me”  
In his arms, Lance turned back, Keith finding himself holding his naked boyfriend as Lance started crying   
“I’m sorry! I don’t know how it happened... there was... condom...”  
If Lance was doubting they’d been as careful as they could be... No wonder he was crying  
“Hey... we used condoms. I even had one stuck to my leg in the shower”  
Lance shook his head, watery blue eyes looking up at him in guit  
“It was torn! I’m sorry... I’m so sorry... I don’t want you to hate me... I’m scared... and I don’t... I don’t want you think I only want to be with you because something like this happened...”

Coran stepped closer, placing his hand on Lance’s shoulder  
“He’s extremely emotional right now. As to be expected from an intense heat. I’m not doubting him, but it is possible that it was perhaps beneath him and stuck to him as you both slept. I do have a contraceptive I can administer, though it is designed for werewolves and he may experience some side effects. Oh dear... I did tell him I would allow him to tell you, but I hate to see you both hurting so much”  
“I’m so sorry... I respect you so much and I don’t have anything I can give you... and I went into heat because of someone else... I feel like I cheated on you when you’re the only one I want!”

Keith was internally freaking out. He loved spending time with Lance. He loved talking with him. He loved his crap taste in music and old people references. He loved the way he loved his mami. The way he loved his friends with everything he had. It was different for Keith. He didn’t have the plumbing to fall pregnant thanks to an accident. He was pretty certain Coran was right. He’d have remembered if the condom broke and Lance probably would have noticed right away  
“Oh, babe. You didn’t cheat on me. Hey. I get it. I’m scared too. But not because of this. I think we both would have noticed if it’d torn during... so if you’re so scared that you need to take that contraceptive then that’s okay. I respect you too. I wish you could have told me in your room”  
“I went into heat... and I fed... I didn’t... you’re the most beautiful person and my heat was so intense. I respect you so much and I don’t know... I... can’t even look at myself”

Keith looked over Lance’s shoulder   
“What kind of side effects are we talking about?”  
“Because Lance is a vampire I can’t be sure. It will cause a miscarriage, simply put, inducing the shedding of lining of the womb. Headaches. Dizziness. Cramping. Nausea...”  
That sounded like what Lance had gone through growing a womb in the first place  
“Babe. If you want to take it, I won’t stop you”  
“I don’t want things to change between us... are you sure... are you sure you didn’t notice?”  
“I didn’t. I swear to you I didn’t. There were condoms on the bed... I really do think Coran is right. Coran, I know this probably sounds ridiculous, but is there any ways Lance could tell? Like... would he feel it? He said he felt hollow and grateful... does that make sense?”  
Coran nodded  
“I’d say that is a positive sign. Feeling hollow must refer to the use of protection despite how many times you mated. The rational part of him knew enough to know you’d used protection”  
Lance hiccuped, needing a few attempts to rein in his breathing before asking   
“You think I’m overreacting? I... it was... am I?”  
“We can wait a few weeks my boy and go from there. I believe there is a very strong chance Keith took very good care of you during your heat. He’s very fond of you. He’s never shied away from giving his all for you”  
Lance nodded his head, before laying it against Keith’s shoulder  
“I... know. I... don’t want... to lose you...”  
“I don’t want to lose you either. I’m pretty certain”  
He would have freaked the fuck out the moment he’d noticed... though they might have gone at it like mad during sex, as the waves passed, he always made sure Lance was safe and as comfortable as he could be. He wasn’t ready for kids. He didn’t even know if he wanted kids at all. Sex with Lance was amazing... but he knew he had to be careful too. A torn condom would have gone unnoticed during the act, but not after... not with how much attention Lance’s arse had gotten. His heart was still racing as the adrenaline of a near miss lingered in his system  
“Babe, I really don’t think it tore during. You know how much attention I paid to your arse”  
Lance snorted wetly  
“A lot... god... I feel drained... I...”  
“You were terrified. I’m still kind of terrified, but it just means we need to be more careful next time. It was a lot and it was intense, but I’m not turned off you by it”  
Lance made him feel good about himself. He praised him. He called his name, begged him for more, then peppered kisses to his lips as they together  
“I bit you”  
Yeah... he’d bitten him... but it wasn’t bad. It hurt, and the spot on his collarbone hurt because it seemed to be the one place that Lance was okay with drawing blood mid... well...  
“I egged you on. I want to be there for you. I know it’s hard... I still... there’s a lot I’m still not ready to tell you... but I like us”  
“I like us too... I really like us. I don’t ever want to make you feel pressured or just used. You’re worth more than that to me”  
“Trust me, anyone but you and I would have killed them”

And if anyone tried going near his arse again, he just might. Rimming and eating were fine, but anything else... not so much. He couldn’t get over the discomfort, despite what his pleasure spot might be saying   
“I’m sorry for freaking out...”  
“It’s okay. Shiro’s mad, but he’ll get over it”  
“I didn’t...”  
“If you apologise again, I’m going to punch you”  
“Please don’t... but you do deserve to. I should have been calmer”  
“Babe, role reversal and I think I would have been crying on the bathroom floor”  
“That’s reminds me... Coran... I... Keith won’t turn because of... my... um... stuff?”  
Lance didn’t raise his head from Keith’s shoulder, Keith feeling a kind of possessive pride that he was being relied on so much  
“No, my boy. Blood and an intent, or at least the blood”  
“And I... he can’t...”  
Coran gave a chuckle, Keith kind of wanted to punch him  
“Get pregnant? No. He’s very much a human male”  
“Okay... can you give us a moment? I need to get dressed”  
“Certainly. I’ll give you two some privacy”

When Coran left, Keith drew Lance over to the examination bed. Sitting on the edge, he had no idea Coran had held Lance in a similar way  
“I need you to be honest with me. Are you okay?”  
“Other than...”  
Lance stopped himself, shaking his head, then starting again  
“Honestly... I was so embarrassed. I couldn’t calm down at all without you. Then it was like I had no off switch. You’re all I could think about. Holding you. Touching you. The way you touched me. I feel like I love you and I feel like it’s too soon for me to be saying that. I don’t want you feeling pressured... Then... then I started feeling useless. I can’t go back home. I’m not a practicing Law. Rieva says everyone’s in danger by Lotor being here. We keep going two steps forward, one step back. I’m not used to... I’m not used to having sex and showing off my body. I’m not used to seeing a body as sexual anymore. I get frustrated and then I get mad at myself. I feel like my body keeps getting in the way. When I smelt that vampire, their scent told me to submit. Submit because I’m nothing to someone like them. I felt that condom... I felt that cum run down my leg... I didn’t want you touch me because I didn’t want to freak you out. Coran wasn’t supposed to tell you... I was going to... I just... I just needed to process. It’s always me with an issue. I can’t help you back”

Keith kissed the top of Lance’s head  
“When you don’t talk to me. I don’t feel like you want me or trust me. I feel like... like shaking you. I don’t want just the good. And you hating yourself I’m not okay with it. I’m not okay with you going hot and cold. It throws me off and I can’t balance. You can’t tell me you love me and then go to sleep, or leave. It doesn’t mean... I don’t know what it’s meant to feel like or how the fuck to take that”  
“I get so repetitive. It’s always about me”  
“Because you’re going through shit and I want to be there! I want to know these things! We got good at talking on the phone, so why can’t we just get it together now?”  
“Because... maybe... I think... we’re scared? And don’t know what we’re doing?”

It wasn’t always about Lance all the time. Lance had done things to make him happy too. Kosmo. His camera. Lactose free milk. The coffee pods Keith liked. Listening to him when he needed to vent. Training with him. If this heat hadn’t happened, Lance would be helping with whatever the briefing was about. Keith got it. He catastrophised too. Too long without hearing form Lance or Shiro made him almost physically sick with worry that they’d died and no one had told him. Or that they were hurt. He always thought he was being left behind, but when Lance moved ahead of him, he’d hold out his hand for him to take  
“I get paranoid. I get paranoid that I’m going to be left again. When my dad died, I was waiting for him. Now I get paranoid. I push the people I love away. I test them. I get jealous. I don’t want to be like this, but I do it anyway. My mum doesn’t want to know me. You push me away I think you don’t really want me”

Lance’s left hand found his, squeezing gently  
“I’m sorry... I don’t know how to... I’m trying to hate myself less. I’m trying to... You are wanted. I won’t leave... not forever. It’s because... you make me feel like I’m alive, and then it hits me again that I’m dead. I’m not warm. I’m older than you. I should be cool and calm, but you... when I look at you, I want the good and the bad. I want you to be greedy. To yell at me. I don’t know how to love... I’ve only got these feelings. You... you have permission to call me out on all my shit. Help me change. I’m old Keith. I’m old and set in my ways. I didn’t... I denied myself everything. And kept myself constantly in check. Two friends. A cat. A house. A job. Mami. That was my world. Living in constant fear... You... I want more for you. You’re kind and you’re good. I should have told you. I was going to tell you. I didn’t know how not to freak you out”  
“Then tell me. Always tell me so I understand”  
“I’ll try... but can we... can we be patient? It took us weeks to realise maybe we liked each other. I think working out a relationship is going to take us much longer”  
That was kind of true. Neither of them really knew much other than that they both wanted to be with each other  
“Probably. I wish we weren’t this dumb”  
Lance snorted  
“Me too. Curtis would probably say were two halves of the same idiot”

Curtis did insist they were soulmates. Keith didn’t believe in soulmates, he wasn’t sure he believed in compatible quintessence and all that stuff either. He just knew he liked Lance   
“I don’t know if that makes one person, or contagious?”  
“With our friends, I feel like us being contagious is dangerous”  
Keith kissed the top of Lance’s head again  
“Probably. Fuck... I feel drained... no wonder you turned into a bat”  
“I didn’t mean to... I... was so panicked”  
“I know now... Man, it makes me want to blow off the briefing”  
Lance nodded, letting out a small sniffle as he did  
“Me too. I... god, Keith. I’m so tired... you must be exhausted. I feel so bad...”  
“You don’t have to feel bad. You cannot control your heats. You didn’t go into heat because you wanted to. You didn’t intentionally go looking for someone to send you into heat. It scares me that you could have gone into heat in front of that bastard and anything could have happened”  
“It scares me too... I don’t know if I’m more sensitive or if I’ve never come across a vampire with an ego that huge before, but... I would have killed anyone who tried to touch me... I don’t want to be touched by anyone but you”

Sitting there a few moments longer, they both held each other, needing the time to process. Just the thought of a new pregnancy mishap left Keith shaking. He felt like he’d let Lance down... while Lance felt like he’d let him down. They really needed an extra day alone to rest and recover. The only way Keith was able to keep up with it all was Lance’s scent. He wasn’t a teenager anymore, not that he’d messed around as a teen but he had seen movies. Teenagers were horny creatures from what he’d seen and remembered. Quietly Lance pulled away from him, Keith not quite ready to let go. Leaning in, he kissed Lance on the forehead   
“We’ll work this out”  
“I know... Coran’s right... I feel really hormonal right now... I want chocolate, cuddles with Blue and to ball my eyes out on the sofa watching a romance movie”  
“What about me?”  
“I want cuddles with you while we cuddle Blue... oh, and Kosmo. I want Kosmo too. I want you and our fur children...”  
“I can’t give you that now, but after the briefing?”  
Lance nodded  
“That’d be really nice. Kind of like a date”  
Keith kissed Lance’s forehead again   
“Then it’s happening. Let me help you get dressed”


	67. Chapter 67

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little update today with a lot of important talking

67

Lance felt weak and shaky, like his legs wouldn’t hold him up. He was still freaking over the condom, but also knew Keith really had taken care of him. Keith’s honest feelings on it all helped him justify his, yet he was pissed Coran hadn’t let him talk to Keith in his own way... Even if it seemed like the bandage needed to be ripped off of the conversation, he felt raw from panic. Supported by Keith, as much as Keith felt supported by him, they headed back to the briefing room. Lance immediately trying not to recoil at the sight of Shiro. He felt bad enough for all the drama he’d caused. His head wasn’t on straight and he wasn’t going to much use at the moment. He didn’t know what to do and finding his hand resting on his empty belly proved too much for him  
“I’m sorry guys. For how I acted... I don’t think I’m up for this right now”  
Keith semi turned, a crooked smile his attempt at being reassuring  
“Maybe not yet. Guys, we’re going to head back to Lance’s room. He... we’re both drained. We’ll talk later”  
“You can stay...”  
Lance didn’t want to be alone, but selfish for holding Keith back from his work  
“No. Right now my priority is you. This is a bit too much for both of us. Let’s just go back to your room”

Tears started to roll down Lance’s face again  
“I’m sorry...”  
“It’s okay. You don’t need to apologise”  
“I...”  
“Shhh, it’s okay. Sorry guys, but we need to be alone for a bit...”  
“Can Blue come? And Kosmo?”  
Keith looked to Allura who looked to Shiro   
“They’re at ours. I’ll swing by and pick them both up”  
“Thanks. Here that, they’ll be back soon”  
He shouldn’t be this upset over a near miss, but his body was grieving something that hadn’t happened   
“Thank you...”  
As his knees gave out, Keith caught him. His boyfriend too good at that. The vampire didn’t know why his whole body was choosing now to embarrass him like this. It was like all his energy was gone and that was left was the need to cling to Keith  
“I’ve got him. I’ll see you when you drop the fur kids off”

*  
Finding his way back to Lance’s room was thanks to Lance’s directions. He said he felt strong enough to walk, so Keith let him, even if carrying his boyfriend had hurt his tender back he didn’t want to let him go.

Getting back to Lance’s room, they both moved to climb into his bed, Keith spooned around Lance  
“Wanna talk?”  
“Can you just hold me? I didn’t mean to make a scene”  
“Nah. When we walked in, I realised I wasn’t up for it either”  
“It’s not that... I’m okay, but... hormones”  
“I think we were stupid for thinking we could walk into a meeting like that after a scare”  
Lance nosed into his pillow, Keith wiggling down cuddle him better  
“I felt better having talked to you. Then it just hit again”  
“Coran said you might feel like this for a bit”  
“It sucks. It doesn’t feel like after a normal heat”  
“Yeah?”  
“Yeah. It’s probably my mostly in my head and stuff... we’re not ready for a baby... my hormones are being stupid”  
Keith kissed Lance’s shoulder, feeling kind of useless  
“You can’t help it. They’re probably going to continue the briefing, let’s take a nap until Shiro brings Kosmo and Blue back”  
“Stay?”  
As if that was even a question   
“Not going anywhere”

Lance seemed to finally have nodded off when a soft knock disturbed them  
“Wha...?”  
Keith hadn’t napped, he wanted to but feared Lance having a nightmare from stress  
“Shiro was dropping the kids off, remember. I’ll talk to him, you get some more rest”  
“Okay... I’m still tired”  
“I know. I’ll be right outside”  
Kissing his boyfriend’s shoulder, Keith carefully climbed out of bed before heading over to open the door and letting himself out into the hall. 

Shiro had scratched on his arm, and a very pissed looking Blue in Kosmo’s carrier. Kosmo looked proud of himself wearing his harness and lead, body wagging as he started trying to climb up Keith’s leg. Bending down, he scooped up Kosmo, trying not to look Shiro in the eye  
“How’s Lance? I see you’ve forgiven him”  
“He’s resting. Thanks for bringing them over”  
“Keith...”

Keith bit the inside of his cheek. He didn’t want to fight   
“We talked...”  
“Rieva explained Lance might feel down for a few days. She didn’t have an answer for what happened this morning”  
“Shiro, don’t”  
“He hurt your feelings”  
“He had a scare! He... we had a scare”  
Snapping at Shiro, Keith leaned back against the wall, cuddling Kosmo as Kosmo tried to licked his face  
"What do you mean?"  
keith was still kind of freaking out... He'd talked to Lance... and well, if he didn't tell Shiro, then Shiro wouldn't understand  
"He found a broken condom... He thought... well, we both had a scare”

Shiro out down Blue, his brother moving to wrap his arm around Keith’s shoulders  
“I don’t know what to say. Is he okay? Are you okay?”  
“He’s sleeping. He needs to rest. We thought we could face going to the briefing...”  
“Did Coran give him something to take?”  
“Didn’t need to... I don’t remember it breaking during, and we’re both pretty shaken over it”  
“Keith, if there’s a risk...”  
Keith shook his head, words jumbled  
“There isn’t. We just... didn’t clean up that well. Coran said the way Lance felt now was to be expected if he wasn’t... I didn’t stop him, and I didn’t tell him not to take it. And he didn’t try to... We needed to calm down a bit...”  
Shiro cleared his throat, his brother probably felt way beyond awkward  
“Have you... Has he...?”  
“We don’t want to rush into kids. We like us and learning about us, and if he wants to take a contraceptive after he’s calm, he knows I support him”  
“Keith, are you sure that it didn’t?”  
“Pretty sure... I... don’t know to explain it, but, it’s like after... we can think again. I think we would have noticed... He didn’t mean to be rude this morning. He was scared”  
“Keith, you keep talking about him, but what about you. How do you feel about a baby? How do you feel that he could be?”

Keith sighed  
“It feels... scary. We used protection. We like us how we are. I really like him, Shiro. He was scared this would break us up. He panicked and thought I didn’t think he respected me, or cared about me, and didn’t want me thinking he only said it because of the broken condom. We talked for a bit Coran’s office. So we’re trying to be on the same page more”  
“I’m glad you talked. And I’m glad you told me. I don’t want to be the kind of brother you can’t talk to about these things”  
“I know. We’re being careful. His heat really messed things up. He’s so ashamed of them”  
“I can’t imagine”  
“He feels like he betrayed me by going into heat over a strangers scent. I want to punch him for being stupid”  
“He couldn’t help it”  
“He was too upset to listen right now”  
“He probably doesn’t need me upsetting him. You best get back”  
“Yeah. We’re going to take a nap and watch some movies later. I’m sorry about the briefing”  
“Your heart’s in the right place. If we get time, I need to talk to you before we try again tomorrow”  
Keith nodded, before raising his hand to run his fingers through his hair  
“Yeah. Tomorrow. Sorry, my head’s all over the place”  
“Careful of Blue she’s cranky without Lance. She and Kosmo set the alarm off at home getting into trouble. Didn’t want to go in Kosmo’s carrier at all”  
“Lance would say she’s a princess who should be travelling in her own carrier”  
“She’s got the attitude. Call me if you need anything”

That reminded him  
“Oh... Chocolate. Lance said he felt like chocolate. And blood. I don’t know if he’s got any bags here. And some clothes...”  
Shiro kissed his hair  
“Sure thing, kiddo. I’ll drop by later and make sure you both still okay”  
Shiro had his moments, this was one of them  
“Thanks. Thanks for being here”  
“Anytime, kiddo. Don’t forget, no matter stressed you feel, patience yields focus. Be patient with yourself”  
“I know”


	68. Chapter 68

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today’s aim is to catch up all your comments! You guys spoil me so much!

68

Oversleeping by accident, Lance woke cuddled in all directions. Blue near his head, Keith in his arms, Kosmo laying along his back. He and Keith hadn’t talked much, they’d napped, watched a movie that Lance fell asleep during. Keith teased him over it, so they’d put on a movie Keith wanted to watch, then they’d both fallen asleep during it. Shiro brought some clothes and things by for them. Chocolate and blood for him, food for Keith, Kosmo and Blue, clothes for Keith... essentials Keith must have asked his brother for.

Waking Keith up, his boyfriend was his usual zombie self, Lance prodding him along to the shower and do his teeth. For no real good reason he could think of he’s started crying watching Keith brush his teeth. His boyfriend was an aggressive brusher, and Lance knew not to interrupt lest he be stabbed by the toothbrush.

When they came out to no coffee, Keith looked a broken man. Lance dressing in a hurry, grabbing up his phone and wallet, then waiting for Keith to get dressed before promising to buy him coffee. Going out for breakfast would make a nice change, and he needed the distraction thanks to his stupid emotions. Watching a sleepy Keith patting a sleepy Kosmo made him cry all over again, Blue pausing in her grooming to shoot him an extremely judgemental look, like she knew he humans were going out and wondering how long she must be subjected to them before they left. Getting Keith moving again, Kosmo was harnessed up, the walk would do the pup good. If he was too tired, hopefully he wouldn’t be too destructive during the briefing that they’d blown off the day before.

Keith didn’t appreciate the walk to get coffee, and didn’t want to eat anything solid. His grump factor was high, Lance unable to do anything about getting that caffeine into Keith’s blood stream any faster than he was. Sitting in the cafe a block and a half up the road from VOLTRON, Keith barely had time to get through his first cup before Shiro was calling to “ask where they were” and “reminding him they had a very important briefing that they couldn’t skip out on”. Keith acknowledged Shiro in a series of grunts, with the use of the word “coffee”. Shiro must have understood they were getting coffee as Keith hung up the phone with a deep groan, not needing to fill Lance in as he’d heard as it was. It hardly made for the nice distracting breakfast last was hoping for. But it was nice to be outside with Keith, plus they hadn’t gotten in trouble for bringing Kosmo into the cafe.

As they walked back to work, Keith finished his second cup of coffee, now awake enough to talk English again  
“Thanks for that, babe... can’t human without my coffee”  
Keith looked as if he’d climbed out of hell and was ready to wage war if he didn’t have his morning coffee. The world in danger until the beast was fed, and Lance found it completely adorable provided Keith wasn’t being snappy  
“I know, babe. I wish you’d eaten though”

Keith shook his head. They would have been even later if they’d eaten, but Lance was always the hopeless romantic. A nice quite breakfast with his boyfriend and their dog. At least they’d had half an hour in the outside world. He missed the sun...  
“I don’t know how you put up with me in the mornings”  
Lance cast a quick look around, the people outside were all too focused on their own lives to care, Lance kissing Keith’s cheek  
“Years of practise. And I make special exceptions for the man I like”

Making as if taking Kosmo’s lead, Keith wrapped his hand around Lance’s, but didn’t take the lead from him. Lance’s cheeks dusting at holding his boyfriend’s hand in public   
“I’m lucky I have you... Shiro’s going to be cranky. He said he wanted to talk before the briefing”  
Keith mentioned that... Lance hadn’t expected an early morning briefing or he might have let Shiro caffeinate Keith. They’d climbed out of bed at 8:30. Lance normally awake from about 6am  
“We overslept. We both needed the rest”

He still felt like he needed the rest. It sucked. He’d had plenty of blood the night before, but he felt slow and lethargic, like his inner hermit was trying to turn him into a hermit crab. He could have easily pulled his shell on and slept on the pavement if it’d been safe   
“Yeah... How are you feeling?”  
“Still a bit tired and emotionally drained. You?”  
Keith mumbled  
“Kind of the same. It was nice having us time”

Lance’s cheeks grew redder as he nearly tripped over air. It was nice. No fighting. No talking about serious things. Just him and Keith, with Kosmo and Blue, as they watched movies on his laptop. Keith had even indulged in a rom-com Lance had seen at least a dozen times. He’d pointed out that Lance was without his usual red wine and blood, offering to send Shiro to pick up a bottle for him  
“It was. I’m sorry I’ve been crying”  
“As long as you’re okay, babe. I’m sorry I couldn’t function enough to ask properly”

Keith didn’t ask with his words. He asked with the soft touches on his arms... or attempts at soft touches, they were more like uncoordinated smacks  
“I know you’re terrible without your coffee... and I would have told you if it was something else. I feel like crying because you asked me”  
Keith squeezed his hand  
“If the briefing gets too hard, or you’re uncomfortable, tell me. We... we’re taking this slow, and we’re both still getting over things”  
His stomach kind of hurt, but touching it didn’t feel right... He liked it better when Keith quietly held him with hand against his belly. He didn’t feel so scared when it was Keith   
“I know... Shit... I’m about to cry again. I wish these hormones would get it together”  
“Me too, babe... I don’t like seeing you cry. Though, you do cry a lot”

At least twice a day. Feeling his emotions was important and helped him feel more human  
“I don’t like crying over nothing. I cried because you brushed your teeth, how much more whack can you get?”  
Keith nodded sympathetically   
“That is pretty bad”  
“I know! Then you and Kosmo were being so cute that I had to cry and now you’re being nice and I want to cry. I feel like I could probably fart then cry over that. It’s ridiculous”

Keith turned his head, shooting him a soft smile. With the morning sunlight, his boyfriend looked like some kind of emo angel. His smile should be illegal this early in the morning. God, he was weak for Keith’s smile   
“Maybe a little. It’ll get better”  
“Yeah. I have the best boyfriend to help me out”  
“I don’t know about that”  
“You remembered I wanted chocolate. Could have married you on the spot”  
What was he saying now? Lance kicked himself mentally. He was trying not to scare his boyfriend off, not dump love and marriage on him. He was too stupid for words. He should have got himself something other than tea  
“You can thank Shiro for that. He asked if we needed anything and reminded me”  
“Babe, we were both so out of it yesterday, you deserve a gold star for remembering”  
Keith’s cheeks turned red, Lance leaning in to kiss his cheek with a laugh   
“Okay. Let’s save some of that energy for the briefing. But thank you”  
Keith sighed deeply, Lance thinking he was about to be told off by his boyfriend because “he wasn’t a kid”. Instead, he found himself snorting with laughter when Keith said  
“I don’t want to adult”

Keith ignored his brother as they joined everyone else in the conference room after Lance had taken Kosmo back to their room. Taking him by the hand, his boyfriend led him over to the two free chairs between Rieva and Allura. The vampire felt like an old man as Keith sat him down, before sitting beside him and taking his hand. Lance was mortified over the previous day and tired, not at all in the mood for this. He missed his glasses, they’d been crushed by accident in his rush to ride Keith. 

“Nice to see you, Lance. Keith. Sorry your coffee date got cut short. You two deserved a break after your heat. Two days... longest yet”  
Lance couldn’t manage sarcastic reply to return Curtis’s greeting. He’d clung to Curtis’s horn, terrified he was about to ruin everything with Keith. What he didn’t expect was a fresh wave of tears to start rolling down his face. He didn’t particularly sad or sorry for himself, he just felt tired and wanted to be there to support Keith. Shiro was looking at him weirdly, and he couldn’t quite seem to pull himself together   
“Sorry... Hi, Curtis... hi, guys...”  
Lame. God. He needed to get it together again. He’d embarrassed himself plenty in front of all of them before. Coran shot him a sympathetic glance, Lance trying not to look at him  
“Lance still a little exhausted. Heats are a lot, as our Rieva and Matt would know”

Keith had moved his chair a little away from Rieva, kind of like putting a wall between them. Rieva didn’t care. Rolling closer she placed her hand on his arm, leaning in to whisper softly  
“I know how it feels after. Your body tells you to be disappointed, even if you’re relieved. You’re okay now. It’s okay to feel what you’re feeling. Matt and I know what it’s like to be wolves using contraceptives... you can talk to us about it. We’ve missed you”  
Rieva kissed him on the cheek. She didn’t get it, but she kind of did. More than anyone else in the room. He guessed he hadn’t thought about the empty feeling for Rieva before. It must take a lot to keep their egos under control and not blame each other for not conceiving. He’d been trying not to think about it...  
“Thanks...”  
“You’re welcome, cute stuff... now I better roll, Keith looks murderous”  
“Doesn’t he always when the coffee’s still kicking in?”

Matt snorted, Rieva smiling as she moved back to her boyfriend’s side. Keith tried to move closer to him, which wasn’t happening thanks to the chairs  
“Babe?”  
“I’m okay... tell you later”  
Being stared at by everyone was uncomfortable as hell. Rieva had been trying to be kind, and she was, but he felt like he had too much attention. He didn’t want attention. His heat had happened and if they could kindly not be sitting there quietly judging, that’d be great   
“Now, yes. Lance is...”  
Ugh. If it wasn’t Curtis, it was Coran. People needed to stop fussing  
“Exhausted and hormonal, and without his glasses. We get it. Coran, can we please just start?”  
“I was simply... Ah, yes. I see how this might be embarrassing, but we are amongst friends here. Lance’s mood will bounce back as his hormone levels return to normal”  
And there he went again. Lance wanted to slide under the table and die... permanently.

Clearing his throat, Keith drew everyone’s attention away from him, Lance scared for a moment that his boyfriend was about to snap at everyone for making Lance so self conscious   
“Coran, I think we should move on. What happened doesn’t need to be discussed like this. We’ve already talked about it and this is supposed to be a briefing”

Keith standing up for him made him feel all glowy inside. His boyfriend didn’t hate him or blame him for the near miss. Coran was lucky Keith had caffeine slowly seeping into his system so hadn’t started yelling  
“Very well then. Then I guess the first point to mention is that Blades of Marmora will be sending a team led by your mother to discuss our current situation and the recent arrival of Sendak in Platt. Sendak is a high ranking official working for Zarkon. Unfortunately it was his pheromones that caused Lance to react. A nasty piece of work that barely leaves Europe. The Blade’s wish to intercept and detain Sendak, to be prosecuted. Which places this place in an awkward situation as he reached out to inform us he was here to monitor Lotor’s actions”

Lance didn’t care why Sendak was there. Keith was all he cared about and Keith wasn’t in the right frame of mind to be told his mother was coming. He lacked enough coffee for a bombshell like that   
“When will they arrive?”  
His boyfriend’s tone was cold. Lance feeling like the hand holding his might burn him from how cold those words had been   
“Friday coming. Four days from now”  
“She’ll be here before that”  
Across the table Shiro looked concerned. Matt hadn’t tried to joke either. Matt had probably heard from Shiro about Krolia   
“Very well. I’ll be making preparations to house them here. They haven’t provided us with details of how long they’ll be here for, but the team they are sending is compromised of werewolves. I’m assuming you’ll be able to brief us on who we can expect”

Keith pushed his chair back, on his feet and moving towards the door before Shiro could half stand. Lance stood, if Keith was angry he didn’t want him taking it out on Shiro. They were both upright and moving, but they both had a head full of other thoughts. A near miss. A potential baby. Family Keith didn’t know how to have  
“I’ll go”  
Allura softly said his name   
“Lance...”  
“I’ve got this”

Catching up to Keith was easy. The idiot hadn’t gotten very far, having punched the very solid wall next to the door. Closing the door behind him, Lance crouched down beside Keith who was staring it his busted knuckles  
“Wanna tell me?”  
“I hit the wall”  
“I can see that. Wanna come back to my room?”  
Keith nodded, clearly overcome with his feelings and not knowing how to say what he wanted say  
“Come here”

*  
Keith didn’t want to be carried, Lance didn’t particularly care as he piggybacked his boyfriend back to his room. Setting Keith on the bed, Lance ruffled Keith’s hair  
“You’re over thinking it”  
“I stormed out the meeting”  
“Okay. Yeah... but, we have had the mother of a last 24 hours. A potentially pregnant boyfriend. Me crying all the time. You barely caffeinated. Coran should have warned you ahead... ugh... this is probably what Shiro wanted to talk about... Now, we’re going to have a briefing of our own”  
Lance counted on his fingers as he listed. Hoping Keith would find it funny.

Keith raised his head to look at him  
“You’re not going to ask?”  
Keith had been through enough. They’d been through enough for now. Skipping a second briefing wasn’t great, but that was too much to spring on Keith suddenly. They’d all been so quick to talk about him, but what about Keith was going through too?   
“Babe. You’ve told me enough for me to know. I know work there wasn’t fun. I wouldn’t want to see the people who hurt me either. But you know, we don’t need them and their fancy werewolf squad. We’ve got our own squad. Shiro. You. Half-cursed Curtis. Two faes. Two werewolves and me. Half our squad knows this place better than any stinky Rome Wolves ever could. And we have the greatest person for advice in the Earth on our side. I’m going to grab a blood bag and your going to get your phone out”

Keith scrunched his brow up  
“Why?”  
“Because fuck today. Message Shiro and tell him you’re okay... because we’re going to be talking about it all”  
Lance was feeling determined now... Determined to help Keith and give him back some of his confidence  
“We’re going to have our briefing, mullet. You’ve got all the information on your phone. Now you missed out on what Rieva had to say... We’ll get some boards and markers and pens, and make our own investigation boards”  
Keith snapped   
“You’re not a hunter! You don’t know how this works! It’s not a fucking game. It’s not a joke. We’ve looked at this for weeks and now they’re coming in because none of our work was good enough! I fucked my mission to kill you. Can’t find a fucking serial killer. My mother barely acknowledges my existence. I’m just her son when she wants or when people want to point out all my fucking flaws! James and his werewolf pack made my life hell. I punched my old instructor so fucking hard I blinded him in one eye. I don’t know how to be good enough. Everything I could possibly do was never good enough there. Now they’re here. They’re coming here”

Keith had found his words.

“Yeah. Well, fuck them. They don’t fucking know my city. They don’t even know my boyfriend. I know I’m just a lawyer and probably a liability, but if they’re going to be arseholes, I’m going to enjoy working this out before them. People's lives are at danger. I don’t want that life, but I can sure as hell use these messed up senses of mine to work this the fuck out. If they can’t see you and your potential, then fuck them. As for your mum, I don’t know what to say about that, only she’s missing out on knowing the most amazing man. They treated you like shit, but here you have all of us. You have me. You have Shiro. You have Coran, Curtis, Allura, Rieva and Matt. Coran runs this place to help people. So we’re going to help. I want to help. We make a good team when we actually figure out how to talk. Now, get your phone out. I want to go through everything from the very beginning. All of it. Allura’s briefed me. I know what Rieva said. We’re going to work this out”

Lance’s ego may have flared, but Keith hating on himself pissed him off so much. Keith was a good guy. He was just awkward as hell and being bullied by coworkers wasn’t cool at all. He didn’t want to know the Blades if they let this shit happen.

Keith ran his hands through his hair, ignoring the way Kosmo was trying to get his attention   
“Why are you so angry? They... I’m the one with the problem!”  
His anger loaf was as bad a his  
“I’m angry because you deserve to be respected and seen as you. Not Krolia’s son. Not Shiro’s little brother. You. I have a problem when people hurt my boyfriend. I know you and Shiro started again, but that’s the thing, you two are new here and your working your arses off to make those connections that Coran’s had for years. They’re not here because of the murder. They’re here because Loturd and Sendick dumped a heap of trouble in our fucking laps because there egos are so big they’ve forgotten what it’s like to be a human. Keeping hold of that human side is what keeps us sane. What keeps humans tucked up in their beds all safe and sound. You’re not a super hero, you’re Keith Kogane. And I very much appreciate you”

Lance’s stomach grumbled from the tea. Keith looked lost as he continued stared to up at him. Looking back down, Keith fisted his jeans, or tried to, fingers curling but the tight fabric didn’t move  
“If... if you’re going to meet Krolia, I should... tell you more about her”  
Now was not the time to throw up. Keith needed comfort. Sitting down beside him, he placed his hand over his boyfriend’s  
“Okay. If you want to, that’s okay. Like you said, good or bad, I want to know”  
“I don’t know how to start. She abandoned my father and I. She left us. She didn’t even come back when he died. I waited and I waited... until someone must have remembered I existed. I kept waiting... even after the funeral... I never saw his... I never saw him again. I... I had so many nightmares. So many dreams. I kept wondering what he must have been thinking about. Did he regret not seeing me again? Why didn’t he get out earlier? Why did it have to be him?”

Keith started to cry, Lance moving to draw him against him. Mornings were never friendly to his boyfriend. Two bad mornings in a row wasn’t fair  
“I don’t know. I don’t know and it wasn’t fair. He deserved to be there to see the man you’ve grown into”  
“I’m not a good man. I ran away. I stole. I ate out of garbage cans. Broke into places... I... dad had this place in the middle of nowhere I just wanted to get back there”  
“Keith, I’m going to ask you a very important question. When you ran away. We’re you safe? Did you have the money for the things you needed? Or did you do what you had to do to keep living?”  
“I...”  
“No. You didn’t. You did what you had to. You were scared and alone”  
“I was bad. I didn’t eat what they gave me. I told them I couldn’t have milk and they didn’t believe me. They thought I was faking being sick. I had nightmares. I was angry and done. I can’t even remember their faces anymore. I know there had to be good people. But I can’t remember their faces”  
“You lost your dad. You were a kid and you had no one to support you like you needed”

Rubbing Keith’s arm, Lance didn’t know how to make up for all those years of pain. He was lucky he had his family, while Keith was trapped in a system that was way too overstretched as it was. Lance had major respect for the system when it worked. Not everyone knew how to help people, and sometimes trying only made these problems worse without meaning to.

“I thought... mum left because she regretted having me. She said it was to keep me safe, but she never came for me when I needed her. We can barely talk. I feel like I disappointed her by being alive”

Krolia was off the Christmas card list   
“That’s not true! God. Babe. No. You’re human. We make mistakes. I’m not as perfect as you think I am or make me feel. You’re not a disappointment. Have she ever told you that? To your face?”  
“No... but...”  
He’d been told and knew exactly what that felt like. Not by his Mami though   
“Trust me. I don’t think you are. I think you throw yourself head first into everything because you don’t want to lose anything else. I think we need to talk with your mum. I have a few choice words to say to her. I know I don’t understand because my life has been very different from yours, but I swear I don’t see a disappointment when I look at you”  
“How can you not? I fucked your life up”  
“You did, but you gave me something more. You gave me my first friendship that wasn’t because you worked here and because I had to hide myself. I don’t regret meeting you. Even when you wouldn’t listen to me about not being a vampire. I’d totally take having that same argument every day with you to spend more time with you”  
He’d rather not have that argument. Keith had been denser than ill baked rolls  
“Please don’t tell her... she’s going to think I’m so stupid. I think I’m stupid... I can’t believe I tried to drink blood”

Lance pressed half a dozen kisses to Keith’s hair. He might punch Krolia but that’d be about it... And he needed to have a stern word with Shiro. And another talk with Coran  
“I’m not about to tell her. Okay. I need to throw up, and you need to clean that hand up. And we need cuddles... and chocolate. I know none of that is easy to talk about”  
“I feeling pretty talked out”  
“Then it’s definitely time for food and cuddles... and I need to message Curtis. We’ll need supplies. We’ll make a start on our own and then talk to the others”  
“Can... can Shiro and Curtis... help?”  
Keith wanted Shiro close and Lance couldn’t blame him, even if he was slightly sad he wasn’t enough for Keith at the moment  
“Sure. Message Shiro. I want you to feel safe here. This room is a safe place for us. Zero judgment and anyone who judges gets a dick punch and sent into the hall”  
“Babe, you can’t punch everyone in the dick”  
“I can if they upset you”  
“I don’t deserve you”  
“Nah. You’re like the only one in the world to put up with me. I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you. Now, we’ve got work to do”


	69. Chapter 69

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance goes full teacher mode on their friends... Keith could definitely support bad teacher Lance

69

Never had Keith gone about an investigation the way Lance did. The Pidge was strong in his boyfriend, as was the “teacher” vibe. Coloured Markers, corflute boards, budget printer print-out photos of Lotor and his gang, contrasting against the photos of the crime scenes that Shiro had fetched for them. Curtis’s idea of supplies hadn’t been up to Lance’s standards, so Lance had done some online shopping then picked up the order, as well as far too many snacks. Keith kind of thought it was over kill. His boyfriend’s room wasn’t big enough for everything, as it was Keith was squashed between Shiro and Curtis on Lance’s bed. Blue was smacking marker lids across the floor, jumping out to knock down a new marker each time one was taken away from her. Kosmo was snoring on the bed, he’d tried pulling one of Lance’s pillows apart, a sock sacrificed to keep the puppy busy.

Pacing back and forth, they’d lost Lance in the crime scene files. Lance was processing, pausing to ask the occasional question as he read, and drank from the bag of blood he’d tucked into his top pocket. Keith worried that Lance shouldn’t be on his feet, but he couldn’t point that out. His boyfriend was so busy pacing that he shouldn’t notice each time Shiro dug his elbow into Keith’s ribs, or Curtis passed over a snack, he’d fix them with a stare for a moment, before going back to reading. For a team briefing, the three of them were useless, all they could do it wait... awkwardly. Keith wanted to pull Lance into his lap and tell him to rest. He felt like maybe this was too much. That maybe he’d put too much pressure on Lance and Lance wasn’t actually reading the documents before him, and was actually procrastinating breaking up with him because he’d known he’d eaten literal trash. He hadn’t told him he’d nearly ended up a vampires dinner and that was how Shiro had found him.

Shiro caved first. For all his patience, his brother could be pretty impatient  
“Lance, are you going to talk to us?”  
“We have been”  
Keith sucked his lips in to hide his smile. It’d been a while since Lance used that line on him  
“No, you’ve been asking questions and making a hole in the floor”  
“Ahhh, but we did talk, did we not. I think I want to see the bodies? Can I see the bodies?”  
That wasn’t what Keith expected. Lance was gentle and piece loving person... a dead body kind of stuck with you... as did the smell  
“Hold up. Why don’t you tell us what you’re thinking first?”  
“I’m thinking that this was an amateur... No. someone trying hard to look like one. We know they’re not human, a human couldn’t take on a wolf like this. Each of them had to be lured. A vampire and a wolf is difficult, we’ve got egos. Even a lowly vampire has an ego. Top quality blood is a myth, selling dodgy blood to pick a fight is a possibility. We’ve all gotta eat and bad blood is bad for everyone involved... but you guys have already thought of all this...”

Keith tried not to stare at Lance. His boyfriend might be a lawyer, but he’d make a hell of a teacher too. He just had that aura about him right now. Tall, shoulders back, the way Keith kind of felt like a kid again...  
“I don’t think Coran would give us access. There’s autopsy reports...”  
“Yeah, but there’s some things you can’t get a from a photo. Scent, size, that kind of thing... that’s okay. It was just an idea, any scents probably wore off by now. Do we know how long Lotor’s been here?”  
“From talking to him, about a month. Do you think he’s involved?”  
Lance raised an eyebrow  
“He’s not the killer. Can you imagine him messing up his dress shoes with a lowly vampires blood? He’d probably be insulted at the thought, and make them scrub his shoes clean before they expired. If he’s behind it, he would have sent a minion. You can Google up a thousand pages on how to kill a vampire. Nah. Not him. Axca is thinking of turning on him. She’s not happy and you can see it. She’s probably been pushed to the outside, there’s a difference between her and Lotor. Narti clearly lets her ego get the better of her. Ezor and Zethrid are dating. I’d say that’s pretty much the pecking order”

Shiro let out a whistle as he crossed his arms. Kosmo thought he was wanted as he started nosing between the pair of them, his nap interrupted. Shifting enough, his pup climbed into his arms  
“You haven’t even met them”  
“Don’t need to. Can we go to the park? Where the werewolf and vamp was found?”  
“Why?”  
“I want to take a look around?”  
Lance stated it like it was obvious  
“We searched...”  
“I wanna get a feel for it. Use these spooky vampire senses on mine”  
Lance wiggled his fingers, Shiro bringing up a hand to cover his face  
“This isn’t a joke”  
“No, if it was a joke, it’d be Professor Plum with a candlestick in the sewers”

Keith didn’t get the reference, but it made Curtis laugh. Looking at him, Lance sighed  
“Babe, it’s from Cluedo. Shiro, how could you have not played Cluedo with him?”  
Because they weren’t really board game people?  
“Don’t look at me”  
“I am looking at you. Fiiiiine. Can we at least do drivebys?”  
“Why?”  
“Because I’m trying to understand? How else am I supposed to help?”  
“You’re not a hunter...”

Lance waved his hand at Shiro, like he was shooing him  
“Hunter, smunter. You sound like Keith. I’m going to tell you the same thing I told him, you’ve got a team of supernatural people around you who want to help. We don’t know shit on SmallDick, only that I want to punch him and he’s Zarkon’s dog who’s hear to bring back the prodigal son. Blah. Shiro, you should totally talk to Matt and Rieva. Rieva said some pretty concerning things about Honerva being on the nuts side. Out of everywhere in the damn world... Nope. Never mind, Allura is pretty unforgettable, though Lotor has rocks in his head if he thinks she’ll be wooed so easily”  
Shiro leaned in, loudly whispering  
“He does this a lot, doesn’t he?”  
“Yep. He didn’t warn you, but anyone judgmental gets punched in the dick and sent out into to hall”

Lance cleared his throat, reaching over, he plucked up a piece of paper from in front of his laptop  
“Excuse you, you heathens. I made a sign”  
He had indeed. “Free Dick Punches For Judgemental Douches”. Keith tried not to laugh. The orange writing in very neat cursive that didn’t look threatening at all. Especially not when there was a smiley face in yellow at the bottom of the page. Curtis raised his hand, Lance pointing at him   
“What?”  
“You’re not going to keep everything about the investigation in here, are you?”  
Lance shrugged  
“Why not?”  
“Because we still need to fit Coran, Allura, Matt and Rieva in here”  
Lance opened his mouth and closed it. Only Curtis was brave enough to point that out  
“Curtis has a point. We can’t uninclude them”  
“We’re not. We were just... ugh. I don’t want to leave everything upstairs where anyone could see it. We need a secret headquarters”

Lance had gone slightly crazy. Pidge’s kind of crazy. Talking too fast, thoughts a million miles an hour, crazy. They were literally inside a kind of secret headquarters. His boyfriend had used up too much of brain and needed to calm down  
“Babe... You’re talking really fast again. No more permanent markers, or whiteboard markers. Curtis is right. We have a conference room for a reason. I like that you wanted me to feel safe, but if we’re going to be a team, we need everyone’s opinions”  
Lance frowned at him, crossing his arms  
“You didn’t raise you hand”  
Shiro elbowed his side  
“Yeah, Keith. You have to raise your hand”

He was not being teased by the pair of them. He didn’t sign up for that  
“Fuck off. Lance and I will go to the park, while you two move all this stuff to the conference room. Or maybe ask Coran if there’s a storeroom we can use. We’re likely to be laughed at by the Blades for Lance’s use of colour if any of them saw this”  
Lance looked scandalised   
“My use of colour is on point. I’m not afraid to punch them in the dicks”  
God. Okay. Lance needed out before Shiro started pointing out the flaws in his plan... like some members not having dicks. Standing up, Keith moved to take Lance’s hand as he cradled Kosmo against his chest with his busted hand  
“Babe, we’re going. You know we talked about this”

Lance stumbled, lightly resisting being tugged along   
“I knooooow, but every time I think about them hurting your feelings I want to hit them... and it makes me more determined to work this out without them”  
He’d encountered determined Lance before... Determined Lance could definitely be determined, but Keith was briefinged out   
“And we will... just... after we take a break and get some fresh air. I think your high or something”  
Lance pulled out of his hold, crossing his arms again  
“I’m not “high or something”. I’m Lance, and I think you’re fine...”  
Oh lord... Now Shiro was chuckling at Lance’s dad joke. Curtis pointed out  
“Keith’s right. You have grown more animated”  
Lance frowned down at his pocket, pulling the bag out, he sniffed at it  
“I think the blood is super fresh. When it’s really fresh or I’ve drunk too much, it’s all buzzy and my ego gets huge. Am I being weird? I feel like I’m being weird”  
Lance was always kind of weird  
“Yes, babe. You’re being weird. Now we’re going to take a walk and then we’re going to go for a drive”  
“If we’re going for a drive, we need my keys. Our precious fur son is not going on that bike of yours”

Keith took a deep breath, before slowly releasing it. Fresh blood was like caffeine for Lance... Too much “caffeine” meant too much “ego”. Too much “ego” meant a Lance acting without thinking. He’d take Lance and Kosmo to the park, where hopefully Lance would burn off some energy...


	70. Chapter 70

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooft boys. It’s hard to have things happening the background and make the story progress. Chapters 103-105 have murdered me

70

Keith gave up trying to keep up. First Lance up. Then he was down. Then he was getting angry and upset on Keith’s behalf. Then he was pacing. And now he was crying again as they sat in Lance’s Bronco. They hadn’t even left the VOLTRON staff parking area before Lance was apologising about “his ego” and “wanting to punch people in the dick”. He’s thought taking his boyfriend for a walk would calm him down enough that he’d realise he needed to take things easy. But no. He hadn’t even gotten that far. Sitting in Lance’s car, Keith had his arms full of his crying boyfriend. Lance hadn’t had enough blood as far as Keith was concerned, now that he stopped to think about it. Keith’s blood during his heat had made his boyfriend super horny, and a bit egotistical, which Lance wasn’t right now. Now he stopped to think about it, he was sure he was right when he’d been worried Lance was pushing himself. All Lance’s “extraness” was coming from him being determined to find something before Krolia and the werewolves arrived. He was hyped up on emotion, not blood. What he needed was to rest, not go investigating crime scenes.

Keith wasn’t great at admitting he wasn’t good at resting when he needed to. He felt like resting would only cost people their lives. He had to work harder and be better. He had to be there all the time and be hands on. Being with Lance showed him how much pressure that had been on his shoulders. He wasn’t saying Lance couldn’t shoulder helping, he was saying he couldn’t shoulder helping on the back of yesterday and him being overly emotional that morning. He’d made the mistake he’d nearly made the day before. He’d let Lance rush, when he wasn’t ready to. He should have pulled Lance into his lap instead of letting him pace. He should have pulled Lance out of his head instead of sitting there between Shiro and Curtis. 

“Babe. I’m going to say something and I don’t want you to get mad”  
Lance sniffled  
“Okay?”  
“I think you’re still emotionally exhausted”  
“I’m okay...”  
They’d spent so much time together Lance was sounding like him  
“You’re not... and I think I worked it out. I think the blood was okay, but you’re not”  
“I’m fine... I had too much blood”  
“You didn’t though. I think maybe... you did a me. Said you were okay, then tried too hard to be”  
Lance shook his head  
“I’m okay... I’m okay”  
“I think your ego wants to protect me... I think you maybe feel that you want to solve this really badly because you don’t want them to have anything against us when they get here”

Lance sniffled, bringing a hand up to rub at his face  
“Is that what I’m doing?”  
“I think so”  
As they say “Take’s one to know one”. One of Pidge’s favourite lines when Matt accused her of cheating  
“Sometimes I get too focused... I’ve seen Coran for it before. I think maybe... maybe I was looking for something I could throw myself into... especially if I could be some help to you”  
“A wise man once told me I can’t be a superhero”  
“I feel like a super zero. It’s hard when you can’t forget things”  
“You’re not a “SuperZero”. Do you regret not taking that pill?”

Lance shook his head   
“I believe you. That’s what Rieva was talking to me about. I didn’t think about how it’d be to be a werewolf in heat and deal afterwards with not falling pregnant. It kind of makes me feel lame for worrying over a broken condom”  
That subject was still tender, he wasn’t ready for prodding there   
“Does that make me the same for still trying to process it?”  
Lance shook his head again  
“No. No. No, it doesn’t”  
“Then your not lame either. We’ve blown off two briefings now. Do we call it a day?”  
“Can we go for a drive instead? Get out of this place and breathe?”  
Keith could drive. He’d done enough talking. Taking his bike would have really gotten his mind off things, but Kosmo was too wiggly for a bike ride   
“You’ll have to give me directions”  
“I can do that”

Lance leaned in and kissed him. Keith happy to kiss him back. One near miss wasn’t going to get between them.

*  
Lance directed Keith to the park where the bodies were found without thinking about it. It was a nice place. Plenty of grass and open space. Not the kind of space you’d expect to see two dead bodies, not with all the people there today. Kids played in the playground, parents sipping coffees as they played on their phones instead of watching their kids  
“Babe, what are we doing here?”  
“I guess I was thinking about this place. I didn’t mean to end up here”

Keith sighed at him. Lance didn’t blame him. They agreed he was trying to overcompensate for the lack of control in his life and his perceived uselessness. Though Lance couldn’t help it. Every time he thought of Keith being bullied by those wanker wolves, he got mad. Keith was mad too, but he’d let himself feel like he wasn’t worth people’s love or time. Lance loathed it. They’d spent so long talking, learning, and growing together, that sometimes they didn’t know how to follow through after letting themselves be vulnerable. Focusing on the reports meant helping Keith and moving forward. Focusing on reports meant he might be able to help Keith when the crucial time came, or at least show him he really did have his back, despite how much of unlikely pair they made.

Staring across the park through the windshield, Keith sighed as he turned to look at him  
“We were supposed to be taking a moment”  
“I know. I can’t help it. I miss Garrison, and the open air. Besides, it’s not like the park itself is bad. I don’t see a gaggle of lurking vampires or a scurry of werewolves. We can take Kosmo for a walk and he can do his doggy business. I’ve got plastic bags in the back. And I’ve got my jacket on, so it won’t be too bad out there”  
“Babe. It’s not the weather I’m worried about. Krolia is full on. James has no time for anyone he thinks under him. We can’t walk out of briefings with them”  
“I know... I mean, I don’t know. I guess I’m assuming. The park was on my mind, but I wasn’t thinking of coming here to work. I just needed air. We won’t even poke around, because that’s not what we’re here to do. Look at the grass. Look how uniform it is. I wonder what kind of lawnmower they use”

Keith raised an eyebrow   
“Did you just... Your old man is showing. No one cares about how smooth the grass is”  
“I do... my poor garden’s probably half bloody dead. The damn dandelions are probably having a picnic knowing I’m not there to rip the little bastards out”  
“I still don’t think I understand what made you come back so fast”  
“Rieva did. Honerva’s gone mad. Human experiments. Blood lust. Maids and tourists that go missing. Dead werewolves and vamps. Honerva’s barely... she’s not sane and she’s fae. Lotor’s her son. If he’s here, she’s sent people to retrieve him. People like Sendak. People like Sendak don’t have morals. That’s what Rieva is scared of. Killing us would be like swatting a fly. Lotor painted targets on all of us by showing up. Take into fact that you and Shiro are hunters and you’ll be drugged and off to Europe to be pets between bouts of experimentation. That’s the general gist. They’ve got so much power that they don’t care about the Blades or VOLTRON. They’d easily crush both groups without thinking about it. Between you and me, I think maybe they had something to do with Rieva’s parents being killed. She knows a lot about European wolf culture and even the big bad wolves there avoid Zarkon and Honerva’s territories”

Keith leaned back to rest against the seat  
“They don’t teach us about them. They teach us history to a certain point, but it’s not until we’re heading out that we get a full briefing. It’s supposed to be in case someone turns traitor or something like that. Maybe I was too low on the totem pole to know? Krolia would know”  
“Yeah, well, we’ve got Rieva. She was raised by werewolves. We’ve got Matt who can hack just as good as Pidge. Coran can use his fae magic to subdue wolves. And you’ve got me...”  
Keith reached out, tucking a strand of stray hair back behind Lance’s ear  
“Babe, you’re getting worked up again”

Lance couldn’t help it. What good were the Blades if they didn’t share intelligence on targets? No. Fuck. He was stressing Keith out. Keith had been brave opening up to him. He’d wanted to act as normal as possible to show Keith that what he’d told him didn’t change how he felt for him.

“I’m sorry. Maybe you should find another stick, and smack me with it when I’m doing it again?”  
“I didn’t know you were into spanking”  
Keith gave him a crooked smile, acting like he wasn’t being a tease. Keith could spank him and he’d probably beg for more  
“Maybe? Maybe not? Maybe I just wanna be smacked like a piñata? Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out after we’ve taken a walk and taken in the sun. It’s good a source of Vitamin D-grump”  
“I’m not grumpy”  
“You’re not happy either”  
“I’m getting there. I don’t want you pushing it on your walk. You need rest”

Just like that, Keith had him thinking about the broken condom again. This was why he shouldn’t be resting. He could wallow in his room, but he’d rather wallow on his sofa with his wine. He might as well be a wheel of Swiss cheese for all the whining he’d been doing... But if he was Swiss Cheese, he might earn himself a bit of God’s love with how holey he’d be  
“I’ll tell you if a need a break. And you’ll tell me if you need one. I can’t wait until Kosmo is big enough to teach him how to play fetch”  
Kosmo was trying to eat Lance’s shoes because they were taking so long  
“Okay. Let’s head out”

*  
Keith wished he’d had more than his phone camera as Lance played with Kosmo. His boyfriend would jog a few steps ahead and Kosmo would go bounding along after him. There were other people in the park, Keith kind of wishing he’d thought to arm himself before they went out, but it was a much needed moment of normality. Lance laughing and scooping up Kosmo when he chased him. He didn’t feel like a hunter, other than the fact he couldn’t stop scanning the park every so often for potential threats. He felt like he’d felt back in Garrison with Lance. He’d had so much time there to think and be with Lance. Now they were here as two boyfriends taking their fur son for a walk with the sun sitting low in the horizon.

Keith’s idea of Lance taking it slowly wasn’t having his boyfriend jogging, but Lance was so happy with Kosmo and had promised to take it easy. Jogging was probably as much exercise as a brisk walk for a vampire, plus being behind Lance and Kosmo meant he was able to take lots of photos of the pair of them  
“Keith, look how cute he is”  
Kosmo was nipping at Lance’s fingers, Lance having stopped meant he caught up to both of them  
“He is. He is the precious fur son”  
“Having a dog is great. But don’t tell Blue I said that. We should bring her. She’s really good on a lead”

Reaching out, Keith ruffled Lance’s hair  
“Yeah. We’ll have to head back soon, we shouldn’t be here after sunset”  
“Awww, but look at his face. 10. No. 15 more minutes. Please”  
Lance raised Kosmo up, pulling “puppy dog eyes” and a pout as he did. Keith was weak  
“15 minutes. That goes for both of you”  
“Yay! We should totally take some photos too”  
Keith drew his brow  
“Haven’t you noticed I have been?”  
“But they’re all of me and Kosmo. Not me, you, and Kosmo. I won’t forget today, but they’re precious memories for you too”

Keith was a push over as he set a timer on his phone. The next 15 minutes spent taking selfies with Lance and Kosmo. He wasn’t terribly photogenic, and didn’t like the way he looked in most of them, but He couldn’t erase them. Not with the way Lance was looking at him in them. He was looking at Keith like Keith was the only person in existence... and it felt good. He’d lived to survive, now it felt like maybe he was living and not just alive. Lance kissed his cheek, Keith blushed as he hit the button on his phone, just before the timer went off  
“I guess that’s it?”  
Lance sounded disappointed   
“Yeah. We have to head back, but we should do this more often”  
Nosing into Keith’s cheek, Lance kissed him again   
“I’d really like that”  
“Me too. This was nice”  
“Yeah. Next time you should try having Kosmo chase you. He looks so happy running around”  
“You looked pretty happy too”  
“I am. I feel so much better now. I know we vampires are supposed to live in coffins and hate the sun, but I like the outdoors”  
“Have you ever been hiking?”  
“Years ago. We both know how I feel about unnecessary physical exercise”  
“We should go. It’s hard work, but it’s worth it at the end”  
“Fiiiiine. But if I let you find a trail, can you promise you’ll go easy on me?”  
Lance didn’t need him to go easy on him. He could out walk Keith any day  
“No way. You have the advantage”

Lance blew a raspberry on his cheek, before darting away from him  
“Be nice to your elders”  
Keith wiped at his cheek, nose wrinkled  
“You’re fucking gross”  
Lance laughed, setting Kosmo down. The puppy bounding over to Keith happily  
“You brought it on yourself”  
Picking up Kosmo’s lead, Keith huffed   
“I’m going to find a stick and stake your undead arse!”  
“Babe, you don’t need a stick for that. Hey, tripped over a branch lately? How about a root?”

Groaning at his boyfriend, Keith buried his face in his hands  
“Baaaabe. No. That’s terrible”  
Lance came back to his side, slinging his arm over Keith’s shoulders  
“Why is sex in tents always great? Because it’s fucking in-tents. Pidge made me learn a bunch of pick up lines because she worried I was going to die alone”  
“Lance, you don’t need to lie to me. You knew pick-up lines before Pidge, didn’t you?”  
Lance sighed dramatically, leaning heavily against him  
“Yeah, but I never used them. I mean, the only guy I would pick up, I can literally throw over my shoulder at any time”  
“And now I can never show my face in that pub again... You’re lucky your cute”  
Lance eased back, smiling as he did  
“You’re the only one who’d say that”  
Good. He didn’t want to share  
“Hey, babe. Go ahead and feel my shirt. It’s boyfriend material”

Lance snorted with laughter, Keith a little embarrassed, but happier that his boyfriend was happy. Today had been salvaged and now he just wanted to go back to Lance’s room and ignore work.


	71. Chapter 71

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who’s back? It’a almost like I never left

71

It should be illegal to be this tired. Lance felt as if he could sleep for a year, yet sleep had come easy the last two nights. They’d finally had their team briefing, now everyone in their group was on the same page. Everyone other than was smartly tucked up in bed... but Lance and Keith were still sitting in the conference room, staring at the boards that seemed to be mocking them all. Keith was agitated, convinced Krolia was going to shop up ahead of time. But with tonight being Wednesday night, Krolia only had Thursday to be ahead of schedule. Having taken Lance to see his Mami, Miriam’s advice to Keith on the matter of his mother was to talk to her. Which was perfectly reasonable advice, seeing he’d suggested the same thing. The problem now lay with Keith who working himself up so much that every waking moment was devoted to these murders like he had something to prove.

For the last hour they’d say in silence. Keith sitting with his head in his hands, Lance watching over him because Keith knew he was being snappy and was upset over snapping at him multiple times. Lance’s opinion had kind of shifted. He’d shifted from someone trying to make these crimes look amateurish to someone who didn’t care about the bodies being found and was probably a hunter, possibly trained by the Blades or an ex-Blade member. He had mentioned the idea of it being a hunter to Coran who’d conceded he’d thought much the same after finding trace elements in the victims blood, but it wasn’t one of the ones working for him, so he couldn’t pursue that line. That’s why Lance didn’t see it coming.

Hearing footsteps, he’d looked from Keith to the door  
“Babe?”  
Keith didn’t acknowledge the pet name, so deep in thought he nearly fell off the chair when a knock came at the door, shooting Lance a glare for not warning him. Opening the door, Coran smiled softly at the pair of them, before setting his face and showing a ridiculously tall man into the room. Keith gaped at the stranger, Lance caught up in being confused before a wave of scent hit. Vampire... but not... but not the same kind of scented ego that’d sent him into heat  
“Keith, I believe you know Kolivan. Lance, this is Kolivan. Kolivan caught sight of our murder investigation and has come forward to admit that it was Blade related”

Now Lance was nearly falling off his chair. Keith pushing his chair back in clear anger, slamming his hands down on the desk with enough force that Lance whined involuntarily. Quick to cover his mouth, he felt like he had whiplash  
“What the fuck?”  
Lance agreed. What the fuck indeed? Kolivan cleared his throat, eyes on Keith like Lance didn’t exist  
“Keith...”  
“Why are you here? Where’s Krolia?!”

Okay... not the angry line of questioning Lance expected. Coming into the room, Coran closed the door behind Kolivan. Softly he spoke as he moved from behind Kolivan to stand beside him  
“You’ll have to excuse us. We’re all shocked that the Blades neglected to inform us of this investigation”  
“At the time it wasn’t pertinent...”  
Excuse him?!  
“... However the situation has moved beyond our control”  
“What the fuck does that mean?”  
“Perhaps we should sit? Discuss things like reasonable adults”  
Coran was obviously pissed. He was always polite but this politeness carried an edge of barely curved anger.

Keith continued to stand as Kolivan and Coran sat. Lance went to reach for his boyfriend only to let his hand drop. Keith didn’t want to be touched. He could sense it. Almost as if telling Lance he wasn’t really welcome in the space anymore  
“I can see from your... boards you made a few assumptions. Your assumptions over Honerva’s involvement are correct, however the murders were in fact performed by a Blade member, not by Lotor. We had an unfortunate incident, resulting in the death of one of our deep undercover agents in Platt”

Okay. Okay. Blade member death was not good. Shiro and Keith were Blade members... as was Krolia. Now was not the time to freak out over Keith’s safety. Nope. He wasn’t freaking out of it. Keith was right there... Nope... He wasn’t sitting there potentially pregnant with Keith’s kid freaking out, because he wasn’t pregnant. The condom just got stuck to his arse. Keith was fine. He was more than fine. He was damn fine. Oh fuck... He was internally panicking now.

“Perhaps you can tell us more about your investigation?”  
Coran pried gently, Lance regretting not dragging Keith to bed earlier...  
“Antok was acting under my orders. We believe Honerva has developed a blood powder that increases healing by overriding the bodies natural flow of quintessence. Normally not an issue. Unless you factor in that she has used fae blood. The side effects are unknown outside of a temporary lapse in sanity and a permanent darkening of ego. We believe Lotor knows of the distribution routes and came to redirect profit. Honerva has an interest in Platt given the harmony the city has seen between between your supernatural inhabitants and the people. My hand was forced today when I found two humans trailing both Keith and Lance’s movements. They were intercepted for interrogation. You’ll understand my shock at discovering they not only knew of werewolves, claiming to be the sister to a wolf, and friend to a vampire”

Oh, no.

“Um, Kolivan. What did you do with them?”  
“They were clearly not hunters. After confiscating their devices and sedating them, they were brought here for Coran to deal with”  
Coran fiddled with the end of his moustache. Lance felt his heart racing as fast as his thought. Pidge and Hunk were here. Pidge... Pidge who’s never be able to put her curiosity aside... was here. His Pidge. His Pidge that he’d missed like crazy. His hunk, who was still a golden ray of sunshine. Both of them here. Both of them here because they were snooping. Both of them were snooping because he’d scared Pidge. Here. They could be dead. How did they even know where they were? What we’re they doing following them? They hated him. He’d lied to their faces for years. Now they were here. Somewhere they didn’t know. Detained for simply being themselves. What did he say? How did he fit years of explanation into the 30 seconds of explanation time he’d get before Pidge demanded answers? They were so lucky they... what if Lotor knew about them now? Who had Pidge questioned? Had she used Keith’s name? Was Keith in trouble now because of him? He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t... catch his breath. A breathing vampire... he was ridiculous. He was barely a vampire outside of the teeth, and the blood, and he could turn into a bat, and feel death... and oh god, how did he apologise?

*  
Keith was ready to kill Kolivan. It was always the same bullshit with the Blades. He was pissed. He was so fucking pissed. Kolivan walked in and pissed all over their hard work. He knew Antok. He’d run on missions with him back when he was a new Blade and Shiro had other messes to clean up. The fact that Shiro didn’t know about the mission showed someone out there no longer trusted him, or Keith, as agents. How the fuck... How the fuck did not cooperating with Coran help deal with this faster? This was bullshit. He’d worked himself to near death and they couldn’t fucking trust him with an important mission. Instead he’d been lied to. Told Lance was a threat and kicked to bumfuck nowhere on what was supposed to be his first leading kill.

Quietly shaking with apocalyptic rage, his eyes widened at Lance’s voice. So angry he didn’t think about who those humans would be, only cursing them for being stupid mentally. You didn’t tell people this shit. You didn’t trust them. Wrong the vampire or werewolf and you’d be dead. Fast or slow, that was personal preference, as long as the point was made. Pidge... they’d warned her. She must have started her own investigations. That was likely, but they’d slipped up. She had to have investigated Lance, but her thirst for understanding meant she would have started searching wider. Like in a Platt. Like in Platt where Antok was leaving a message to Honerva that her brand of crazy wasn’t welcome here.

Keith jumped as a thud came from beside him, Coran calling Lance’s name as he collapsed. Keith was ashamed it took a moment to move to his boyfriend’s side. Lance morphing from his human form to bat, yet completely limp as Keith lifted him from hunter his shirt and jacket. Normally Lance had a nice scent, like vanilla or whatever body wash he was using. It was weird to say, but what Keith thought he smelt was distress  
“Let me see, Number two”

Having rushed around the table to Lance, Coran held his hands out, Keith forced to hand his boyfriend over to him. Closing his eyes for a moment, Coran let out a soft sign of relief  
“He’s still dead”  
What? Lance was going to magically wake up living? Of course Lance was still dead. It came from him being a vampire  
“Is he okay?”  
“I’d say he fainted over news of Miss Katie and Hunk. They’re perfectly okay. Mild sedative, and will be right as rain in a couple of hours”  
Coran sounded too happy. Lance had agonised over his two best friends and Coran knew that  
“You know what they mean to him. Pidge was fucking lucky Kolivan got her and not someone like Sendak”  
“Ah. Yes. Well. Yes. Most lucky”

Coran valued lives but him being awkward about it wasn’t calming Keith down  
“They’re our friends! They could have been killed!”  
“I understand that. I ensure you that no harm will come to them. I’m actually relieved to finally have a chance to talk to both of them over that day. It has been weighing heavily on my mind”  
Keith bit down snapping, instead his shock kind of slipped out  
“It has?”  
“It hurt both you and Lance. They are valuable friends and I was trying not to meddle in your affairs, but I know it hurt you both”  
“It hurt him...”  
It hurt Lance a thousand times more than it’s hurt Keith. And Matt...  
“It hurt you too. Perhaps this is for the best, yes?”  
“I don’t know. Lance fainted...”

“Might I interrupt? Who is this vampire?”  
Coran passed Lance back to him. Keith cradling him up against his chest. Coran spoke proudly  
“This is Lance. Model vampire citizen. Turned very young, has kept his mind remarkably well. Always cheerful and very helpful. Extremely trusting. Proof that vampires are able to lead a normal life with safe access to blood. Three identities and this is the first slip in 36 years. Very hard worker is our Lance”  
“He’s... unusual. Is he the vampire you were sent to target?”  
Kolivan was prying. Keith felt he had no right to pry. All the Blades could fuck themselves on their ways out  
“All the best people are unusual, so I have found. Keith, perhaps you’d like to take Lance to my office to rest?”  
“I’ve got him. He’ll be okay up here. And someone owes us some fucking answers. How could you not approach Coran? This is his city. He works his arse off here and I know we’re all about secrecy, but do you know how much time was wasted because you couldn’t approach us? We wasted hours. Hours that could have been spent tracing this tainted quintessence blood powder shit. Blocking us out this investigation isn’t okay!”

Coran stroked the top of Lance’s head gently  
“Number two, I appreciate your candour. You warm this old fae’s heart. Now, I need to talk with Kolivan. For both your sakes, you should take a moment. Lance will be most upset over fainting”  
Him being upset probably lead to him fainting   
“He does cry a lot... He says feeling his emotions helps keep him human”  
“A lesson we could learn from. Honesty is the best policy”  
Keith could tell the second half of Coran’s words were directed at Kolivan. Now his anger was fading, he had to admit he was pretty tired. But he couldn’t rest with Pidge and Hunk being detained...  
“Are you sure Pidge and Hunk will be okay? Should we get Matt to stay with them? Lance will want someone with them...”

“You seem to care about Lance. Is there something there that we should be made aware of? From what I understand he is still under a 4 month probationary period. Of course allowing humans to discover his identity may complicate things. I expected more”  
Kolivan had no right trying to pry again  
“The discovery was due to cleansing magic. Not intentional on his behalf and that you’re insinuating something else is completely unacceptable. You haven’t the right to be prying into the dating lives of my employees”

Keith’s stomach dropped like he’d missed the bottom step. Coran had dobbed them into Kolivan. Krolia was tight with Kolivan. They’re worked together for decades now... His mother had time for Kolivan, but not for him. Kolivan was a hard man to get a read on. He didn’t personally train recruits, instead leading his own small faction. Keith could count maybe 6 times he’d been in the same room as the man with less than a dozen people there also. He wasn’t quite the right fit for Kolivan’s group, not when he had issues and distrust anyone other than Shiro. Kolivan’s way of training was leave it all behind, including their lives if the hunt called for it. Shiro was worried Keith’s anger would lead to just that. He’d nearly got himself killed, and Shiro had flipped his lid over it. 

“I see. Perhaps it is best Keith does leave us for now. The Blades will be handling matters related to Honerva and Zarkon”  
“Frosting Coran out is like chopping off your own leg. Coran knows this city and not to use his knowledge is stupid. I’ll take my chances with him”  
He’d never talked to Kolivan this way. Kolivan’s barely disguised chuckle made him feel like a dumb punk. Why was it no one took him seriously, apart from Lance and maybe Shiro when he wasn’t being overprotective. Storming out the conference room only solidified the feeling, but it wasn’t the first time he’d stormed off.


	72. Chapter 72

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 😍🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇💚💚💚

72

Keith was doing something stupid. Keith was doing something very stupid and he was well aware of his own stupidity as he walking in with Lance hidden up under his shirt. He’d taken Lance home. Not home to Garrison like Lance really did deserve, but home to the apartment he shared with Shiro.

Slipping into the darkness of the apartment, Keith punched the code into the alarm, before closing and locking the door behind him, reactivating the alarm purely out of paranoia of Kolivan or Krolia turning up during the night. He didn’t want to face either of them. Not now he’d been made to look a fool all over again. The pitter patter of paws came from Shiro’s room. Lance gently telling him that underground was no place for Kosmo long term came to mind. His puppy forced to stay with Shiro. He wished he could carry Kosmo around like he could Lance. Kosmo made him happy. Even if he had to clean up all his messes, he loved him.

Knowing Kosmo would follow, Keith headed to Shiro’s room. He needed to talk to Shiro about what the fuck had happened. Narti’s words about being too close to see came to mind, her “warning” made sense now. He was the pet and the Blade was doing whatever it felt like without consideration of him and Shiro. Lotor had probably known all along, befriending them and enjoying them all chase their own fucking tails. Sitting on the end of Shiro’s bed, Keith tugged the laces of his boots undone, before pulling them off and climbing up to lay beside his brother on his back. Lance still under shirt, a hand on his back to keep him close.

“Keith? You... here?”  
Keith winced as the brightness of Shiro’s lamp filled the room. His brother pushing himself up, before he rubbed at his eyes tiredly  
“Whaaa...?”  
They all joked about how bad he was at waking up, yet Shiro could be just as terrible  
“Kolivan showed up”  
“He... what?”  
“He knocked Pidge and Hunk out. Turned up. Told us our investigation was on Antok, and that the Blades would be handling it”

Kosmo was clawing at the side of Shiro’s bed, his brother leaning down to pick the puppy up. Bounding from Shiro’s lap, Shiro grunted as Kosmo used his crotch as a spring board. His puppy trying to step all over Lance to lick at Keith’s face  
“Kosmo, no”  
Shiro frowned at him, picking Kosmo up and sitting him in his lap  
“You can’t just ignore him... wait... why is your shirt lumpy... Keith...”  
Pulling his shirt down a little, he exposed Lance’s little face as he explained  
“Lance fainted”  
“And you brought him here?!”  
“He’s unconscious”

Shiro groaned. Yeah. Keith had done something stupid but he couldn’t leave Lance to wake up alone  
“Okay. Okay. What were you thinking?”  
“I was thinking I’m sick of this shit. I’m sick of all of it Shiro. We busted our arse like dumbarses only for Kolivan to waltz in laugh in our faces”  
“That... I’m not awake enough for this. Keith, you can’t just bring Lance here”  
“Why not? What does it matter anymore? The Blades obviously don’t trust me enough to tell you anything about what’s going on”  
God. Someone get him some tequila and lemon, he sounded salty as hell.

Shiro sighed again  
“Keith, if the Blades kept it secret then there must be more to this”  
“Yeah. Honerva’s fucking around here now. Lotor probably knows what’s up. Pidge and Hunk were sedated and taken to VOLTRON for Coran to handle. Who fucking knows how long Kolivan had his hands on them before showing up”  
“Look. Get up. We’ll go back to headquarters...”  
“Kolivan doesn’t want our help. He said the Blades will be handling the investigation”  
“Look, I know this is hard on you...”  
“Coran told him about me and Lance. It slipped out”

Sighing for a third time, Shiro closed his eyes. Keith knew he was being a prick, but the words kept coming out. He’d thrown all his walls up the moment he’d stormed out the conference room  
“Okay. Alright. Well. We’re employed by Coran now. We’re still registered Blades. But it makes no sense for Antok to be so reckless”  
“He’s dead”  
He was dead and Keith didn’t know how to feel about it  
“Shit”  
“Pretty much. Lance fainted when he heard about Pidge and Hunk. Coran says he’s okay, but he’s been out for a while now”  
“How do you know what’s happening?”  
“We were still trying to work the case”

“Keeeeith”  
Groaning his name, Shiro lifted Kosmo off of him. The puppy whining as he was placed back on the floor  
“What? What else was I supposed to do?”  
“I know. I know them coming has messed with your head, but you can’t work yourself like this”  
He’d just wanted... he’d wanted to prove himself... he’d wanted to be done with the case. He wanted Lance to be able to go home... and him with him... He wanted Lance to have his life back. To not have to worry about Lotor any longer  
“Why? Why does it matter? Oh that’s right, it doesn’t”  
“Keith...”  
“What? Are you doing to tell me to grow up?”

Shiro wriggled back down, his brother laying next to him before wrapping his arm around Keith’s waist  
“No. I’m worried. I’m angry. I’m not completely sure I understand anything of what you’ve said, but you shouldn’t be working yourself to exhaustion. I thought Lance would have sent you to bed”  
“He was trying to support me. That’s all he bloody does”  
“You’re worrying now that Kolivan will notify the order and your mother about Lance, aren’t you?”  
That... yeah, there was that. Krolia wouldn’t be pleased, nor would the Blades. But Kolivan seemed to blame Lance for Coran’s slip up... thanks to Pidge  
“Kolivan mentioned that Pidge and Hunk knowing could be problematic. Lance let humans know”  
“Pidge... Pidge was bound to find out eventually. Matt would have told her when the time was right”  
“That doesn’t mean he would have told her about Lance. He spent so long being careful”  
“He did. You both weren’t lying to hurt them”  
“That doesn’t matter when you’re upset. Kolivan said Pidge and Hunk had been trailing us. Pidge probably has a board on Lance, Matt and Rieva. Kolivan took their phones”  
“And? What’s he going to see on there that’ll make things harder? He’ll see a conversation between the three of them, probably going back years. What he won’t see is Lance flaunting being a vampire”  
“Matt might have said something... after all the strings you pulled to have them here...”  
“Look. You’ve always been like this. Seeing the worst when we don’t know how things will go down. For now, we should head back to headquarters. Pidge and Hunk will be safe with Coran”  
Coran didn’t seem to receive much respect from Kolivan. Coran might have Pidge and Hunk’s best interests in mind, but Kolivan... maybe not  
“I don’t know. Kolivan was his usual talkative self. He knows something’s up with Lance”  
“Did Lance turn in front of Kolivan?”  
“Fainted then turned... I’m worried Kolivan’s going to want to hurt Lance”  
“Honestly this kind of situation was why I was against you both dating, but I can’t deny he hasn’t been good for you. I see how you are with each other. It reminds me a lot of Adam and I when we first started trying to muddle through dating”

“Muddle” was right. Lance occupied his thoughts to much that everything else kind of became muddled  
“How did you know Adam was the one for you?”  
“I didn’t. Not at first. But then our friendship moved on and wasn’t enough anymore. Are you thinking maybe Lance isn’t the one?”  
“What? No. I like dating him. I like being with him. I nearly told him I loved him but I don’t know how to love”  
“You do. I see it in the way you look at him”  
Keith’s cheeks reddened  
“He makes me... He makes me feel like I can do almost anything. He’s always encouraging me and telling me he’s there for me. Even when I’m an arsehole, he’s still... He says we make a good team”  
“You do. You know, he has the mind to be a hunter. Sure, he’s goofy and goes about things in a way that’d get him kicked out the Blades, but he’s got a good grasp on himself”  
“This coming from the man who leaps to blame him”  
“I don’t mean to. You’re my precious brother. Sometimes I can’t get Adam out my head and I fear I’ll lose you like he was lost to me. I don’t hate him as a person. It’s his vampire side I fear”

Keith sighed as he rubbed Lance’s back. He couldn’t deny he felt that way sometimes too  
“I just... I don’t see why the Blades had to come now”  
“You mean you’re scared of Krolia”  
“I’m already a disappointment to her. Everyone says to talk to her, but what’s there to say?”  
“You won’t know if you don’t try. I can be there. Not to interrupt, but so you have someone who understands”  
Keith was silent for a long moment  
“I told Lance. Not all of it. Some of what happened. I thought he’d... I thought he’d leave but... he didn’t leave”  
Shiro rubbed Keith’s side  
“He really likes you. I’m working on not letting my thoughts of Adam get in the way. I wish you hadn’t brought him here, not without warning. But that’s only because we’re safe here. If you want to stay here while I go to headquarters, I can come back for you in the morning”  
“I feel like... I don’t know what to do. I think maybe I’m scared to see them. I want things to go back to how they were. Lance at his house in Garrison, with all of us there. Pidge and Matt yelling at each other. Rieva with her nose in a book. Hunk baking. Blue running around her house. Lance helping me train...”  
“What about Curtis and I?”  
“You two doing what you two do... Can you be honest with me, are you two dating?”  
“Not quite. We are but we aren’t. I do enjoy spending time with him. He’s a lot like Lance in the way he fears his curse. He struggles with not being able to keep his thoughts to himself. He’s pretty fond of Lance. He said Lance made him feel safe to be himself”

Lance did that. He just kind of accepted everyone and encouraged them  
“You should have seen both of them in the beginning. They thought neither of them liked each other. Or however you say it. They bonded over their soap operas. If you like him, you should be with him. Adam would want you to be happy. Take him on a date”  
“Like you took Lance on a date”  
Keith blushed again  
“He said he enjoyed it”  
“He should have with the amount of work you put into it. Not bad for a man who’d been freaking out, then refused to tell the details”  
Because he’d messed up and he kind of liked Lance’s idea of keeping it to themselves. Especially what happened in their hotel room  
“This isn’t about us. We’re completely off topic now”  
“Fine. You stay with Lance until I get back and get some some sleep. I’ll meet with Coran and sort out what’s going on with Pidge and Hunk”  
“I feel like I should be there”  
He didn’t feel a good friend for leaving them at VOLTRON  
“And I feel you need to get some rest. Pidge is going to have a lot of questions and you’re no good if you’re working yourself to exhaustion”  
They were all exhausted. All exhausted because Kolivan couldn’t pick a phone and let Coran know what was going on  
“What about you? You’re tired too?”  
“Let me be the cool big brother right now. Get some rest, kiddo, and I’ll be back. And don’t have sex in my bed”

Keith mentally rolled his eyes. He and Lance weren’t like that. And after the scare, he wasn’t sure he was ready to start having sex again. He wasn’t sure Lance was ready to either. Besides, Lance was a bat, and he was unconscious. Keith wasn’t touching him like this. Shiro wasn’t going to get a rise out of him. After all, he wasn’t some punk arse kid.


	73. Chapter 73

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance fret? Never... cough

73

Keith was dizzy from Lance fretting. His boyfriend had turned back as Keith had slept fitfully, worked up over seeing Pidge and Hunk again after so long, not falling asleep properly until Lance was spooned up behind him. First Lance was panicked over being taken to Keith’s, where he “absolutely shouldn’t be”, having shaken Keith awake to to beg him to tell him he wasn’t where he thought he was. The Lance was angry. Keith still asleep mentally at this point. There was no time for morning cuddles, Lance was up and out of Keith’s bed while Keith was processing he was in fact awake as clothes were thrown at his face.

Then the fretting started. Lance borrowing a change of clothes from him, rushing around as Keith groaned and pushed his clothes away. Hadn’t Lance heard of chilling the fuck out? He’d tried to tell him Shiro was okay with it, but his boyfriend was in fret mode, not listening as he called Keith “unbelievable” at least a dozen times in varying tones. Fumbling up his phone, he tried to English enough to tell his brother, ultimately Shiro hearing Lance and promising to be home soon.

10 minutes later, Keith was being dragged into the kitchen by Lance. Slumped over the kitchen counter, Keith regretted not heading back to headquarters with his brother last night. There should be a limit over how much someone could worry. He didn’t get how Lance hadn’t poofed back into a bat already. His boyfriend had Kosmo in his arms, repeating like scratched CD that he shouldn’t be there. Okay. He maybe shouldn’t, but Shiro had told them to rest so he’d rested... or tried to. Lance’s little body snuggle up against his chest as Kosmo lay at his feet.

Another 10 minutes passed and Shiro finally came home. Keith could have kissed him. Carrying two coffee trays, Keith pushed off the bench, stumbling over to his brother. Shiro letting out an “oof!” as Keith walked right into him. Lance immediately apologising   
“I’m so sorry, Shiro. I know I’m not supposed to be here...”  
“Make him stop freaking out”  
Grumbling against his brother’s chest, Shiro kissed his hair  
“Oh, dear. Lance, can you maybe sit down?”  
“I’m sorry. I know I’m not supposed to be here. I didn’t mean to... I fainted and...”  
Oh... god... he wanted to strangle his boyfriend. Or, at the very least, gag him long enough that he’d listen.

Shiro chuckled, of course he’d find it funny. He hadn’t been rushed out of bed and talked at basically nonstop. Sidestepping around Keith, Shiro headed to the kitchen bench, placing down the two trays of coffees he had. Like a zombie after brains, Keith stumbled over to the coffee, Shiro patting him on the head as Keith grabbed the closest cup. He didn’t care if it had milk in it, he needed coffee  
“Okay. Okay. Lance. It’s okay. It’s not okay that Keith didn’t ask first, but I told him to wait here with you until I came back. Now, will you please sit down. Keith needs his coffee and you need to breathe”  
“But I’m not supposed to be here”  
“Keith brought you home after you fainted. I think we need to talk before you see Pidge and Hunk”  
“Are they okay? Kolivan didn’t hurt them, did he? He’s a vampire and...”

Keith choked on his coffee, thumping his chest as Shiro cut Lance off  
“Kolivan isn’t a vampire”  
“He smells like a vampire. Are you sure? I could smell him. Fuck... How are Pidge and Hunk? Do they... do they want to talk? Are they mad? Stupid Lance, of course they’re mad, you lied to them for years”  
Shiro was now experiencing fretting Lance  
“Lance, how about you sit down...”  
“I need to... fuck... they probably don’t want to see me. I wouldn’t want to see me...”

Ever awkward, Keith turned in time to watch Shiro walk over and hug Lance. Still choking on his coffee. Lance promptly shut up, before starting to cry. Shiro guiding him to sit on the sofa, adopting his “big brother” tone  
“Pidge and Hunk are fine. Both awake. I got extra coffee so we could take them down to them. Pidge is pretty pissed, demanding a lawyer and threatening to sue for wrongful detainment. Now, I know that sounds bad, but, she did say that her friend is a lawyer and he’ll fuck you up. Those were her words. Matt and Rieva tried to calm her down, but Hunk is freaking out, and Pidge is demanding she sees you”  
“Pidge wants to see me?”  
Lance sounded hopeful. Thank god for Shiro   
“Yes. Now, you’re here now. Take a breath and relax. Keith hasn’t had a shower, and you might not mind if he stinks, but I do”  
“I’m not supposed to be here”  
“This is Keith’s apartment too. I don’t want you think you can’t be here when Keith is. He’s freaking out over seeing Pidge and Hunk too. I’ve spent the night talking with Coran. He’s drafted non-disclosure forms for Pidge and Hunk. Meaning, you’ll be able to tell them the truth, or as much of the truth as your comfortable saying”  
“I...”  
“Maybe you should talk to Keith? And maybe you can make sure he showers? Keith, take care of Lance while I get changed”  
What now?

Keith was not prepared for Lance watching him get naked in his bathroom. Shiro had sent them to talk... but him being naked and Lance not being naked was weird because this was his bathroom they were getting naked in. Stripping and getting into the shower as fast as possible, Lance sat on the bathroom counter. Keith watching him through the glass. Now that Lance was quiet, Keith could hear himself think, he was thinking that he wished Lance would talk  
“Babe?”  
“Do you think Pidge really wants to see me?”  
Keith groaned. Maybe no talking?  
“You’re right. You’re right. I know. I’m annoying you. I didn’t listen and I’m stressing you out. I’ll wait outside until your done”

Lance slid off the counter, Keith abandoning his embarrassment to rush out the shower and grab him by the arm, the pair of them smacking heads as Lance was jerked back. Groaning in pain, they clutched at each other, trying not to fall over  
“Babe.... you’re so thick”  
Keith wasn’t impressed, snapping back  
“Why is your head so dense?!”  
“I don’t know! Why did you attack me?”  
“Me?! You head butted me!”  
“I was trying to leave!”  
“I noticed! You dragged me out of bed and now you’re watching me naked!”  
“I thought we were going to talk!”  
“I’ve only had one coffee!”

Lance straightened himself up, before stumbling backwards and hitting his hip on the counter lip. Groaning, his boyfriend clutched both places. Keith wasn’t trying to laugh at him... but Lance looked insulted and it came bubbling up. Angrily, Lance snarked  
“What?! What’s so funny?”  
Keith shook his head  
“I don’t know”  
“Then stop laughing!”  
Keith would if he could, his head was throbbing but Lance was looking so... Lance, that he couldn’t   
“I can’t!”  
“I’m embarrassed enough!”  
“You’re embarrassed? I’m naked!”  
“That’s your fault!”  
“I can’t shower with my clothes on!”  
“No one’s stopping you!”

The pair of them blinked at each other, Lance caving with a groan  
“Why can’t we apologise like normal people?”  
Keith snorted, shaking his head. He wanted to get back into the shower already  
“I have no idea. Look, I’m sorry I kidnapped you”  
“I’m sorry I didn’t listen”  
His morning would have been much quieter if he had  
“You’re scared about seeing Pidge and Hunk”  
“Yeah. Well. So are you”  
“You’ve known them longer”  
Lance looked away, biting his bottom lip, then releasing it before reply   
“Doesn’t matter... can we maybe not talk about them while Little Keith is looking up at me”

Glancing down, Keith’s hand went from his head to covering his shameless dick. He was too old for weird boners  
“Shit...”  
“Just get back in the shower”  
“Do... you maybe want to shower? Pidge’s coffee’s already gone cold?”  
Not like that. Now Lance was going to think he wanted to do things to him with his dick  
“Are you saying I smell?”  
“No, but Hunk’s going to worry I haven’t been taking care you”  
Lance looked disheveled... he hadn’t even tried to tame his hair  
“I’m the one who hasn’t been taking care of you. I said all the words at you, as I freaked out”  
“I kidnapped you”  
Lance sighed  
“You’re the best kidnapper a man could ask for. Alright. But washing only. Pidge isn’t going to be any less mad if we keep her waiting”  
He hadn’t set out to be a kidnapper, but for Lance, he could see that happening. If things didn’t work out with Pidge and Hunk, he was simply going to have to kidnap Lance, Miriam, Kosmo, and Blue, fake their deaths and run away somewhere far... but first, he had to survive until he could finish his second cup of coffee.

*  
Lance turned back into a bat. Keith couldn’t say he didn’t see it coming. Showered, and feeling more human after coffee number two, Lance’s steps faltered as he approached the front door, breathing becoming uneven as he scrunched his eyes closed. Keith’s own steps had been dragging, fearing an angry Pidge who wouldn’t listen to them. He recognised the symptoms from Shiro. Shiro going to place his hand on Lance’s shoulder as Lance sank down, his brother trying to stop Lance from going further into his anxiety attack, only Lance turned into a bat before his brother could help.

Swapping from coffee holder to bat holder, Keith tucked Lance up between his jacket and shirt. His boyfriend squeaking softly at him  
“Do you know what he’s saying?”  
“I can’t speak bat. He’s probably apologising, because this is him”  
Shiro shrugged  
“Hey, I’ve got no idea. I thought you two would have talked?”  
Did their bathroom talk count? Keith kind of thought Shiro wouldn’t think it counted  
“He talked. I didn’t have enough coffee. Do we still go?”  
“I’ll go in with you. Lance, you’re going to be okay. Just hold onto Keith”  
Lance squeaked at Shiro, Keith had to agree. Shiro was being a little condescending by slowing down his words  
“He doesn’t meant to be condescending. That’s him being reassuring. Shiro, can you not upset him further or neither of use are getting out of here”  
“Sure. We’ll take the car. If Pidge and Hunk are up for it, we can give them a lift after”

The sofa was calling his name. It was funny how Pidge and Hunk went from strangers to people he was scared to see because he actually cared. Proving he could be a hunter was one thing. Being scared of his mother another. Disappointing Shiro too. It was like how he loved Shiro as brother and really liked Lance. All of his emotions felt different from each other, even the way he cared about Hunk and Pidge. Before Lance he would have been cranky and not sure how he crankier than normal. He was learning how to put a proper name to his feelings. Thankfully he had Shiro, though he would have liked Lance to be human and by his side... because things were going to be weird.

Shiro led Keith through the halls of VOLTRON. That Coran, and Allura, hadn’t met them probably meant Kolivan was still around somewhere. Probably in the air vents bugging the place, knowing what the Blades were like. Keith really needed to stop being surprised over how expansive the headquarters were. He’d lost is way, now relying on Shiro not to get them lost, in a maze of white walls and white doors that were all as nondescript as the corridor Curtis and Lance stayed on. Rounding another two corridors, Keith was sure they were lost until the corridor walls turned to glass, revealing what Keith figured to be holding rooms. The two way glass meaning people outside could watch and monitor without ever having to step foot in the room  
“You ready?”

No. Keith’s heart was racing, with his stomach being somewhere near the bottom of his boots. He might act like he didn’t care, but he wasn’t particularly fond of ripping bandaids off   
“No?”  
“I’m a little nervous too. What about you, Lance?”  
Lance was clinging to his chest, trying to be as small as possible. Giving a few soft squeaks, Lance was shaking already  
“I don’t think he’s ready either”  
“Patience yields focus. Just do you best to be patient with them”  
Easy for Shiro to say. Shiro was likeable. Everyone thought him dashing or handsome. 

Letting them into the room, Hunk was sitting on the edge of the single bed to the right. His hands clasped on the back of his head. While Pidge was standing on her top toes trying to get at the domed surveillance camera. Slipping in behind Shiro, Shiro had half a second to close the door behind them, before Pidge was off the bed and standing between them and Hunk  
“What the fuck are you doing here?! I asked for Lance!”  
Shiro ignored her anger  
“We brought coffee. It’s cold by now, but it’s better than no coffee”  
Pidge crossed her arms  
“I’m not drinking that! How dumb do you think I am?!”

Following Shiro’s lead, Keith sat down next to Shiro as they sat on the edge of the other single bed. Placing the coffee aside, Shiro took a cup for himself, Keith suspected was to keep his hands full   
“There’s nothing in it. Kolivan shouldn’t have sedated you. He was worried because you were following Lance and Keith”  
“I don’t know what you’re talking about”  
It cut to the bone that neither Hunk or Pidge would look his way  
“Pidge. I know you’re angry. But this is a safe place. The guy who runs it is close to Lance”  
“If he’s so close to Lance, then where the fuck is Lance?”  
“He’s here. Now. I know you have questions and we’re going to answer them the best we can...”

Hunk stood, Pidge moving sideways so he could stand next to her  
“Just... give it to us, straight, man. Does Lance hate us so much that he doesn’t want to see us?”  
Lance squeaked mournfully. The question wasn’t directed at him, yet Keith felt as hurt as if it had been. Feeling teary, Keith couldn’t get his voice above a loud whisper  
“He doesn’t. He loves you guys. He’s always loved you guys. He’s... he’s been so cut up over this... He’s so proud of...”  
Pidge interrupted   
“Over us? Or over losing his free meal while we slept?”

Keith got Pidge’s anger too well  
“He didn’t want to lie to you, but he was scared. He was scared you’d want to be turned. He’s done everything he could to protect you”  
“If he really cared, he would have told us the truth!”  
“He does care! I thought he was lying arsehole, but you guys are his number one priority! He was always talking about how proud he was of both of you. Bragging how brainy Pidge is and Hunk being the sunshine of his life!”  
“Then where the fuck is he, Keith?!”

Keith carefully untangled Lance’s claws from his shirt  
“He worked himself up so much that he shifted forms again. This is Lance”  
Lance didn’t want to look at Pidge and Hunk, his boyfriend flapping his wings in protest. Hunk sank back down, burying his head in his hands  
“How?... we... shouldn't be here. Lance... can’t be a vampire”  
Not one for hugging, Keith felt the odd urge to hug Hunk. Shiro sipped his coffee, then talked over the plastic top with the cup just short of being against his chin  
“Look. I know your both very confused. This is Lance. Matt and Rieva both turn into wolves under their own control. When Lance grows upset, he turns into a bat. Lance is a peculiar type of vampire... but he is a vampire”

“How can we believe you?! Who are you people? You can’t go kidnapping people!”  
You could if you didn’t get caught  
“Keith and I are hunters. We were sent to investigate an allegation against Lance. Him being friends with you was purely coincidental. When we decided not to kill Lance, I returned to Italy, leaving Keith to monitor him. Him living in Garrison, and his spotless record, allowed me to bring Matt and Rieva back”

Pidge’s angry expression morphed, only for a moment, her face was soon cool again, Keith swallowing nervously   
“Yeah. Well. Who the fuck is Miriam, really? Is she daughter Lance? How many kids have you got? How old are you?! Did you have fun lying to us? What were we to you? Just a game?! You were my brother! I told you things I haven’t even told Hunk! Say something!”  
“He can’t! Pidge, please! I get your anger. I didn’t know this world existed until I was nearly torn to shreds by vampires. Shiro saved me!”  
“You don’t know what I’m feeling?! You both fucking vanished! All we had was GPS from your phones and when you finally go outside, you two are all over each other! You didn’t even miss us!”  
What a load of shit. Nothing stopped Pidge and Hunk from approaching them, other than themselves.

“We missed you every day! You wouldn’t talk to us! Lance spent weeks up and down, scared shitless you’d never give him a chance to explain! You were never food to him! He doesn’t drink from humans like a normal vampire! He’s the stupidest unvampire vampire I know”  
Keith was ready to bang his head against the wall repeatedly, but he wasn’t letting Pidge take her confused anger out in Lance. Lance had done nothing wrong. Lance squeaked, Keith knowing he was probably telling him off for losing his temper   
“You claim to be his best friends. Has he ever hurt you? Ever physically hurt you? He hated lying to you both. He couldn’t say anything because you’d both in danger for knowing so he worked his arse off to make sure you two were protected from things you don’t want to see. I’ve held him as he cried his eyes out over being a a hated freak and melted down because he didn’t want to be this way. I haven’t known Lance all that long compared to you guys but I do know he’s a good guy”

Pidge dropped down to sit next to Hunk  
“Why couldn’t he just tell us? Why does my whole family have to hide things from me? Matt couldn’t even tell me he was a werewolf”  
Shiro answered Pidge in a soft, almost wistful tone  
“Because sometimes telling people you love is the hardest thing you can do. Keith and I have plenty of reasons to hate vampires. My previous partner was killed by them. Matt didn’t want to hurt you. You’re his little sister. He was staying away because he thought that was the only way to keep your family safe. Matt and Lance love you”  
“Then why do mum and dad know Matt is a werewolf and Lance is a vampire?”

Keith blinked in confusion, Shiro didn’t sound too shocked   
“Sam and Colleen, no, Sam, may have some idea thanks to Matt’s obsession with the paranormal. They don’t work for the organisation as Keith and I. You’re still very young. If I could have kept Keith from being part of this world, I would have. It’s not easy and many of us don’t live long”  
“I thought we were the kind of friends that could tell each other anything”  
Keith sympathised so hard for Hunk and Pidge  
“Lance wanted to. You know what he’s like. He’s all about talking things out”  
“He’s stupid like that...”  
“He is. Aren’t you, babe?”  
Lance squeaked loudly, before squeaking away  
“You’re a bat. We don’t speak bat. I’m going to let you answer all Pidge’s questions about Mami and how old you are, but I don’t think they’re mad at you. I think they just miss their friend”

It took a moment, then Keith found himself holding his boyfriend, tears streaming down Lance’s face. Pidge screeching as she covered her eyes  
“Ew! You’re naked!”  
They hadn’t brought clothes with them for Lance. Lance seemed dazed to be human again. Shiro passed over a pillow, Keith covering Lance’s junk  
“Babe?”  
“I’m so sorry! I hated lying to you! I hated it! I thought you’d never talk to me again! I love you guys so much... so much... it sucked so much. I missed you. Keith missed you. Matt and Rieva both missed you... I couldn’t go home because I didn’t want you guys to be scared”

Taking his jacket off, Shiro wrapped it around Lance’s shoulders. Lance sniffled out a small “thanks” to Shiro  
“Man, we were best buds... I had no idea what Pidge was talking about... How? How are you a vampire?”  
Lance stiffened. Keith didn’t think Lance was ready to talk about that, taking it on himself to explain  
“He was turned when he was a kid. I know you guys are curious, but I think that’s one story to set aside until he’s feeling better”  
“Oh, man. It’s probably a really bad story! Oh, man... oh, man... oh, man”

Lance wiped his face, relaxing against keith  
“I got turned when I was a kid. I’m... not that much older than you guys, but I am old enough to be your father”  
Pidge immediately asked  
“Not that much older? Is that vampire talk? Does that mean you’re like a century older than us? Or two? How long do you guys live?”  
Keith cringed as Lance snorted hard enough to snot on his hand, wiping his hand on Shiro’s jacket, it was not his brother’s problem and not his  
“I’m not that old! No... I’m 44”  
Pidge was disappointed   
“44? 44...? What? That’s lame. What’s the point of being a vampire if you’re not really, really old”  
“I’m twice your age”  
“But you’re not oooold! How are you not old?”  
“I was born in the ‘70’s?”

Pidge sighed, crossing her arms and holding out her hand as she made a beckoning motion   
“Shiro, you better hand over the coffee now. And Lance, at least cover yourself with a sheet. I don’t want to see my brother’s naked arse”  
Cautiously Lance nodded, Keith kissing his boyfriend on the cheek as he questioned Pidge   
“Sorry... sorry, but... do you... not hate me?”

Pidge sighed dramatically. It was so obvious that Hunk, Pidge, and Lance were long time friends  
“Ugh. It’s complicated. You’re a total fucking arsehole and I want to punch you in the face, but I miss you. You’re a douche for lying to me and Hunk... but I guess I get it because you’re an overly emotional weeb. We thought you were sick, not dead... and that kind of sucks because we thought we were helping and you and worst of all, we were supposed to be besties. I don’t need protecting. We don’t need protecting like kids... but... ugh. You suck!”

Shiro laughed, his brother laughing too hard if anyone cared to ask Keith. He knew the signs and symptoms of Shiro thinking himself hilarious before delivery  
“From what I hear from Keith, he sucks quite well!”  
Shiro was the only person in the room that thought he was talking about blood sucking. Frowning when they all groaned  
“What? He’s a vampire, he sucks blood”  
Pidge groaned  
“Shiro. You need to work on your wording. If you say it like that, we’re all gonna think about other things...”  
And then the penny dropped...  
“What? No. Pidge, that’s my little brother and Lance! No... Why...?”  
Lance have an amazing blow job. Keith 10/10 couldn’t fault it... the things he did with his mouth... Fuck. He was going to be in a very awkward situation with Lance if these thoughts didn’t piss off. Across from them, Pidge had no mercy for Shiro   
“Suffer. Hurry up and hand over the coffee. You three AFK jerks owe us a big explanation. Like, where they hell are we?”


	74. Chapter 74

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I have so many chapters... I’m like writing 109... so I’m like I’ll just keep posting until we catch up...

74

“Show me your teeth again?”  
Smiling so his teeth showed, Lance was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Pidge had been... he expected more anger. Like a kick to the nuts or to be tasered. He really should have know once her anger passed Pidge would be asking a zillion questions. Hunk was a little more subdued, perfectly acceptable as Lance was happy not to be hated  
“Don’t you cut Keith’s lips when you kiss?”  
“He does”

Sitting in Keith’s lap, his boyfriend had his arms around his waist. They’d ended up in a weird five way hug in the cell after Shiro had given him a sheet to wear around his hips. Keith was crying, he was crying, Hunk was crying... there was a lot of crying. Now they were celebrating being back together again Pidge style. Sitting in the back of a not so busy pub. They were all there. Matt, Rieva, Shiro, Curtis, him, Keith, and Allura. He’d invited Allura on a whim. It kind of... he kind of felt like this massive burned was off on him. He still wanted to talk to Pidge and Hunk alone, but he wanted Matt and Pidge to hurry up and reconnect now. With limited spacing, he’d sat on Keith’s lap as a joke, but Keith had seemed pretty okay with having him there, so he hadn’t moved. 

“And Miriam... she’s not your grandmother or your daughter?”  
Lance shook his head. Pidge had asked him that like three times now   
“Nope. Mother”  
“And she’s human”  
“Yep”  
“And Keith’s human?”  
“Yep”  
“And Shiro...”  
Lance couldn’t stop smiling. He was in his boyfriend’s arms and the trouble coming from Rome couldn’t feel further away  
“Is human”  
“I just... how did we not see it sooner?!”  
Lance shrugged  
“I’m an amazing actor?”  
“You’re a butt nugget. Do you feed from Keith?”  
“Nope. Blood bags”  
“Why don’t you feel from Keith?”  
“Because I prefer blood bags?”  
“But wouldn’t Keith be fresh?”

Keith groaned, reduced to a walking bag of food  
“Can we not act like I’m not here?”  
“But I have so many questions!”  
“I know. You’ve asked him everything repeatedly”  
Reaching past him for his drink, Lance shifted a little so he wouldn’t be in the way. Keith was drinking, but it was okay, because he totally deserved a drink for putting up with all of them as long as he had. Lance was drinking too, not that it did much of anything   
“I can’t help it. Now we know, does that mean you’re coming home?”  
Ah... there it was... the question he’d dodged before...  
“Maybe”  
Pidge wrinkled her brow as she stuffed another wedge in her mouth  
“Why not? We know now...”  
“Don’t speak with a mouthful. Because there’s some things I need to do first”  
“Lame. And you’re not my dad, old man. How are you so young?!”  
Lance sighed  
“Because I stopped growing”  
“So like, no grey hair ever?”  
“No”  
“No getting old?”  
“Nope”  
“Wow. You’re like one of those click bait anti-aging ads”

How he wished he could grow old. But if he did... it’d be kind of weird when he and Keith went out  
“I’m sorry. It’s not like I don’t want to look older”  
“Can you turn back into a bat?”  
“Not right now?”  
“Do you need to recharge or something?”  
Keith drained his drink, placing it back down on the table before resting his chin on Lance’s shoulder  
“Lance only turns into a bat when he’s upset. First time I saw it happen he was a bat for three days”  
“That’s so cool. You totally need to learn how to control it. Then you could be like “nope, I’m out!”, turn into a bat and fly away  
“You mean like right now?”

Pidge glared at him  
“That’s so rude”  
“You’re the one being rude, Gremlin. You could be talking to Matt”  
“But Matt’s just a werewolf. You’re like a vampire”  
Matt’s ego wasn’t going to love that  
“Pidge... maybe you’re asking too many questions?”  
Hunk’s voice was low. He was staring down at his beer  
“Hunk, bud, if you’ve got questions, you can ask them”  
Hunk shook his head  
“I feel so stupid. You weren’t sick and I kept trying to take care of you. No wonder you were always cold”

His poor ray of sunshine  
“Hey. I appreciated every single time you tried”  
“I don’t... How do you survive? Like... I’ve seen you in the sun and I’ve seen you eat...”  
Allura answered Hunk  
“Lance is a little peculiar for a vampire. He’s a model citizen of how a vampire should be. Being turned young has worked in his favour and helped him keep a good grip on himself. Coran is very proud of him”  
Pidge turned to Allura   
“Coran’s the...?”  
Lance wouldn’t miss a moment to brag about Coran   
“He’s the man with gorgeous orange hair and magnificent moustache that made you sign those forms before you could leave”  
“Oh... Is he a vampire?”  
“Nope. He and Allura are very special”

In his ear, Keith whispered  
“You’re special. And loud”  
“Aw, Babe. You think I’m special”  
“Very. And loud”  
Pidge poked her tongue out. Lance ignoring her and kissing Keith on the cheek  
“You two are gross. Allura, how do you tolerate them?”  
Allura giggled. Despite the pubs feel, she still wore her hat to keep her ears hidden, easily passing as human  
“Coran and I are very happy for the both of them. This is the first time Lance has dated. Both compliment each other and have amazingly compatible quintessence”  
“What’s that?”  
Allura had done it now. Lance nuzzling against Keith’s face as all the attention went off of him.

With drinks flowing, Pidge loosened up. Lance finding he didn’t have to contribute to the conversation. Snuggled into his boyfriend, Keith was talking more than him. Lance was happy for him. Happy that Keith felt like he could talk. Happy Keith was surrounded by people who accepted him... and happy that he hadn’t ended up murdered and dumped in the closest alley. Hunk was getting there. Lance wondered if he was thinking about Shay. He didn’t want to come between them. Maybe he could ask Coran about a non-disclosure for Shay? Shay and Hunk were just the cutest couple. He could see them in matching cane rocking chairs on their front veranda with grandbaby Hunks and Shays running around in the front yard as they sipped their ice tea and talked about their first matching tattoos. If he never could have returned to Platt, he would have left his house to Matt and Rieva. Rieva would have wanted to pay rent, which Lance would have set aside for rates and upkeep. Now he had a chance at going back there... but not until talked to Keith about what Keith wanted to do. And Keith couldn’t have that talk until he talked to his mother.

With a soft sigh, Lance leaned back, kissing Keith on the cheek  
“What was that for?”  
“For you. For putting up with me. For being the strong one today”  
“I didn’t do much of anything”  
“You helped us all reconnect. Don’t sell yourself short”  
Keith was buzzed. He had to be after how ever many drinks he’d gone through. They came for lunch and lunch was long gone. His boyfriend was smiling, chatting, and his hand had wandered down to sit on Lance’s thigh  
“I need to use the bathroom”  
Not the deflecting comment a sober Keith would make  
“Alright. I’ll hop up”  
“You could come with me?”

Matt and Rieva both choked on air. Keith must have forgotten about their hearing. Pidge tilting her head as she stared at the pair of them   
“Guys? Are Lance and Keith being gross?”  
Matt was smiling like the horny arsehole he was, as Lance felt his dick twitch. He’d been damn dickmatized by Keith. Now his cheeks were warming up and Keith’s hand was sliding up his leg   
“Keith has to take Lance home”  
“What? Why?”  
“It’s a vampire thing”  
Why was he being blamed because Keith had wandering hands?! Fucking Matt. Allura misreading things thanks to Matt  
“Oh. Oh, dear. Keith, you’d better take him. Or I can take him and you can stay?”  
“No, I’ve got him. Sorry, guys. He hasn’t eaten much today”  
Lance hadn’t eaten anything other than human food... was his teeth showing? Was he missing something or was everyone blaming him because Keith had wandering hands? Moving his hand to palm at Lance’s crotch, Lance squeaked. Fucking Keith!  
“I’m actually pretty hungry. I get a bit Hangry when I haven’t eaten. Keith, let’s go, like now”

Yeah. He was confusing his friends. But Keith’s stupid hand felt good. Maybe he was releasing pheromones?  
“I’ll call you guys a taxi. Will you be alright?”  
“I’ve got him, Shiro. Sorry we’ve got to go. Are you guys headed home tonight?”  
“Nah. We’re staying at my parents place here. We’ll see you tomorrow, right?”  
“Yep. Come on, Lance”

*  
Sitting in the back of the taxi on the way to the bookshop, Lance was pointedly not looking at Keith. The silence between them weird  
“I’m horny”  
Lance’s eyes went wide  
“Dude! You can’t just blurt that out!”  
The poor taxi driver probably wondered what the fuck they’d gotten themselves into  
“I can’t help it”  
“You don’t need to announce it. I’m so sorry about my friend. He promised to tip you well if you ignore him”  
“You don’t wanna do it?”  
Lance groaned, face burning. He didn’t know if he wanted to or not  
“Maybe. Just calm down until we get back”  
Keith turned his head to look at him  
“You know... you’re really fucking pretty. Your eyes are so fucking blue”  
Oh, God. Could Keith please shut up?  
“Thanks?”  
“It’s true. You’re really cute... I like you, you know I like you, don’t you?”  
“I know”  
Keith went silent for a few moment. Lance grateful until his boyfriend sighed deeply before stating he was horny again. 

Handsy Keith was handsy. Lance wrapping his boyfriend’s arms around his waist so he could keep those hands from feeling him up as he rubbed against his arse. Getting in the mood, they ended up giggling between kisses and Keith’s attempts to grope him, Lance grateful they made it back to his room without being seen. Sitting his boyfriend down on his bed, he straddled Keith’s lap. Cupping Keith’s face in his hands, he smiled at his boyfriend   
“You’re drunk”  
“I’m happy”  
“You’re drunk and happy”  
“Kiss me?”  
“I would, but I refuse to take advantage of you”  
“You’re not...”  
“You’re drunk, babe. We haven’t talked about having sex again”

Keith sighed, nuzzling into Lance’s left palm  
“You’re right”  
Lance was in the mood below the belt, but the lack of intoxication kept him levelish  
“We had a scare. And I think maybe we should talk”  
“You haven’t mentioned it again... do you regret me?”  
Purple eyes looked up at him so sadly  
“God. Keith. No. Not you. Not ever. I want to know if you’re okay”  
“I don’t... I feel like whatever I say, I’m just going to sound horny”  
That was true, but he also knew Keith would back off if he didn’t want to   
“If I say I’m nervous, will you say you’ll be patient?”  
“If you say you don’t want to have sexy sex we won’t”

Lance quirked an eyebrow at “sexy sex”. Keith was “drunky drunk”  
“What if I said I was scared of falling pregnant? Scared I am?”  
Keith kissed his palm, looking adorable as he did  
“You’re not, babe. I swear I took care of your arsehole”  
And Keith’s cuteness went out the window. Lance would have face palmed if he could have   
“Baaaabe”  
“I did. I don’t know what to do. It feels good not hiding... but now I have to share you”  
“You know you’re the only one for me”  
“Am I? Because you’re really nice and cute. You could have anyone”  
“I don’t want anyone”  
“Then rely on me! Let me fucking love you!”

What now?  
“You love me?”  
Keith sucked in a shaky breath  
“Yeah. I talked to Shiro last night. I, like, love you and shit. I wanna be with you. Like... being with you. Fuck. I’m not good at this. I swear it’s not because I want to stick my dick in you, even if I really want to. I really don’t know what I’m saying but you’re special and stuff. Like... I got so mad today but I got where Pidge was coming from and it’s like everything is finally looking up again and that’s your fault. And I liked not like hiding and like maybe I can see like a future for us and god... I don’t know how to love but I think... I think I like you more than like. Fuck. I’m saying this wrong”  
Damn if Keith hadn’t just made him melt. Now he could smell himself, Keith was definitely sending him into heat  
“No. No. I really want to be with you”  
“Then be with me!”  
“I am... okay... fuck... just... be careful?”  
“I’m going to wreck your fucking arse”  
That wasn’t being careful... but okay. He couldn’t live in a whatever moment when the future looked so good.

Lance’s heat rolled in as he stripped, Keith rubbing against his arse hadn’t helped things down there, his underwear uncomfortably wet as he shimmied it down. Keith got naked way too fast and way too easily, laying on the bed, waiting for Lance to be ready. Crawling up and into Keith’s lap, his boyfriend pulled him down to kiss, Lance whining softly as his unwanted fear tried to ruin this for him. He was overthinking. He knew he was overthinking. Keith might have been babbling, but the sentiment was there. He wanted him. He liked their friends knowing and being open about it. They didn’t have to lie anymore and it was liberating. Grinding in Keith’s lap as they kissed, Lance wanted everything Keith could give him. Breaking the kiss, he stared down at Keith, Keith smiling like he was blissed out of his head already  
“You’re staring”  
“You’re sexy”  
“Thanks...”  
“How do you want to do this?”  
“Like this... I want to watch you”  
“Good. I want to watch you while I fuck your arse on my big dick”  
Keith needed to work on his dirty talk. Lance had to fight not to laugh  
“Okay...”

Boy if Keith didn’t deliver. Lance had his hands against the wall, Keith’s hands on his hips as his boyfriend held him down, fucking him until his fears went out the window. Mouth open, he was the one who was a babbling mess  
“Babe...?”  
Keith was warning him, Lance didn’t want him to stop  
“Shit... I’m close... don’t stop... nghm... Ah... Ah... nmm... shit... fuck... ah... ah... mnmm... ah... ah...”  
It was hard to sound sexy as he came across Keith’s belly. Keith driving up, letting out a stuttered groan as he came. Keith was a caring lover. He always tried to make Lance come first... and fuck if he hadn’t.

Keith sat up, Lance letting himself sink into his boyfriend’s arms, hips still rocking as they nuzzled into each other  
“Babe?”  
Kissing his cheek, Keith really was the sweetest   
“I’m okay”  
“Okay... good...”  
“Keith... I... I don’t want to... lose you”  
Sexual intimacy was weird. A new fear would linger for a while, until he could let go entirely. The same fear would linger in Keith’s heart too. Both of them too serious for their own goods and prone to being lost in the bad thoughts   
“You won’t”  
“I want to find a way to have this be normal for us again”  
“We will. You should eat and we can cuddle”  
Sex might take some time, but Keith’s cuddles were a whole other story  
“I’d like that”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pidgeon could never really stay away... Hunk needs a little time, but our Garrison Trio is BFF for life


	75. Chapter 75

75

Keith felt lucky. He felt lucky enough to have the friends he did. Pidge and Hunk would be heading back to Garrison today, so Lance had prepared a surprise for them all with Keith’s help. A picnic in the park. Not the same park they’d gone to last time, but another one... where less murders had happened as long as you avoided the lake according to Lance. Keith finally felt confident to show off his photography skills to someone other than Shiro and Lance. Matt and Rieva couldn’t be there. Matt coming home drunk hadn’t gone over well with Pidge’s mum according to Hunk who’d shivered as he’d told them, but Allura had joined them again, as had Blue and Kosmo. Blue wasn’t like Kosmo, Kosmo was running around with Hunk and Lance, who’d finally replaced his fake glasses with a new pair. Keith took it to be the way they needed to work through their issues, having not missed the way Hunk was nervous around Lance.

With Blue in his lap, Keith was fiddling with his camera. Shiro and Curtis were making disgusting faces at each other, also known as “being totally smitten but having not kissed yet”. Allura was reading a thick book as she sun bathed on the over cast day. Rather than bringing his best camera, he’d brought the one Lance had bought him. Pidge at his side as he’d stumbled through explaining the specs and she’d be surprisingly knowledgeable about cameras in general  
“So. I have to ask. If you were there to kill Lance, why didn’t you?”

Keith blushed. Telling Pidge would lead to a lifetime of teasing. Shiro laughed too hard, knowing exactly what the blush was for  
“Lance actually saved Keith’s life before he got the chance to kill him. There was a while there we were Lance had changed him”  
“Lance saved you?”  
“Yeah. I... uh, got injected with something bad and he sucked it out my system before I died from it”  
“Keith!”  
What was Pidge yelling his name for? He knew he was an idiot. He didn’t need her harping on about it.

“It’s not a terribly romantic story. Lance was sick for days recovering”  
Allura snapped her book closed, choosing now to join in the conversation   
“Vampires get sick?”  
Allura nodded, before explaining   
“They do when exposed to the wrong things. Bad blood can leave them near death. Fresh tends to be best. Though each individual vampire does have their preferences”  
“Lance doesn’t like my blood”  
There was huff of annoyance in Keith’s tone, despite having accepted that it really wasn’t anything personal. Pidge snickered  
“Oh damn. Your boyfriend’s a sucker, but he’s not a sucker for you”  
Shiro reached out, ruffling Pidge’s hair  
“Leave him alone. You’ll break him if you tease him too much”  
Curtis’s curse got the better of him  
“Keith injected himself with mercury. Lance sucked the mercury from his system and was forced to have his blood purged”

Suddenly he was having his arm smacked by Pidge. Blue jumping off his lap, trying to walk off the picnic rug in a huff, only her lead was clipped to Keith so she couldn’t   
“You idiot! How could you do that?!”  
“It wasn’t my fault I got the needles wrong!”  
“You could have died!”  
Honestly he’d been more scared about being a vampire than dying thanks to mercury   
“I know... Thanks a lot, Curtis”  
“That reminds me, Curtis. I don’t understand completely where you fit in. You didn’t fit when we were trying to work things out”  
It was Keith’s chance at revenge  
“Curtis and Shiro like each other. They’re practically boyfriends but they won’t ask each other out. Curtis used to work in Rome with Shiro”

Both Shiro and Curtis flushed, looking away from each other. Pidge instantly on them instead of him  
“Ooooh! But if you’re a hunter, why were you living with Lance?”  
“I may have be slightly cursed by werewolves trying magic”  
More than bad luck. Fucking wolves. Great. He sounded like Lance  
“Holy shit! That’s like some bad luck right there, dude. Still doesn’t explain why you were living with Lance so long”  
“Lance has fits of illness that Coran was worried about”  
Allura’s explanation didn’t help things  
“Is that why he had to leave yesterday so suddenly?”  
Shiro laughed at Pidge’s perfectly innocent question   
“No. That was a case of Keith not being able to handle his alcohol. He was feeling Lance up under the table”  
Fuck Shiro   
“Fucking dobber”  
“Drunk Keith gets a bit handsy”

Pidge laughed hard enough to bring tears to her eyes. Keith wasn’t impressed with his brother dobbing him in  
“Really? I was under the impression Lance left due to his heat”  
And fucking Allura  
“His heat? Like an animal?”  
And fucking Pidge. Everyone but Pidge knew not to discuss it, Keith trying to stick up for his boyfriend who was probably listening to everything   
“Lance isn’t a fucking animal. He’s special”  
“I don’t mean it like that. I’m trying to understand”  
“Yeah. Well. This is something Lance doesn’t want to talk about and I don’t want to talk about it either”

Pidge immediately sobered. Keith felt he might have been a little harsh  
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. Does Matt have heats?”  
Allura gently explained  
“He’s a male werewolf so he has ruts. Rieva is a female werewolf so she has heats. Lance is a vampire who has heats, but not all vampires have heats, just as not all vampires turn into bats. It is difficult for Lance to talk about it. I know how special you are to him, he’s often talked about you”  
“He has?”  
Pidge should know how often Lance bragged. He often did it in front of her  
“Very fondly. Honestly, I’m most happy we can talk like this. I feel like practically know you already”  
“How long have you known Lance?”

Allura got a dreamy look on her face, as if she wasn’t seeing the present   
“Nearly as long as Coran has. He was the sweetest child you could imagine. He and Coran are exceptionally close. Lance is like a son to him. Keith, can you take Lance to his car...”  
Allura shook her head, the look disappearing from her face  
“...Sorry. I don’t know what that was. What was I saying again? Oh, yes. Lance was the sweetest boy”  
“He’s a dork... like... how is he a vampire. What’s with the glasses?”  
Allura shook her head  
“I don’t really know. He’s seemed to prefer them for some time now. I had thought fashion, but he’s worn them for so long now, despite having perfect vision”  
“He wears them because he sees too much. He says he can’t cope with how much he sees and hears, so they help make his world smaller”  
“But isn’t that a good thing? Being able to see and hear if someone’s coming for you?”  
You’d think. But Keith got it now  
“Not really. He can’t not hear things and see things. Imagine hearing Matt having sex at the other end of the park. That’s what it’s like”  
Pidge wrinkled her face up  
“No fucking thanks. Nope. I can’t forget that, Keith”  
Keith shrugged   
“You’re the one who asked”  
“Yeah, well, I regret it now, obviously” 

Coming running up to their group, Hunk was panting hard. Hands on his knees for support as he talked between pants. Kosmo wagging his tail happily as he sat beside Hunk  
“G-guys... Lance... just... ran... off...”  
Keith got up so fast his precious camera fell the few centimetres from his leg to the group as he did. Turning a full circle, he couldn’t see Lance  
“What do you mean he ran off?  
Hunk raised a hand, pointing towards the cafe strip across from the park parking bay  
“I don’t know... He kind of paused, then ran off”  
Keith looked to Shiro, who’d also gotten to his feet  
“Keep everyone together. He might have heard something or seen someone. I’ll go check”  
“Got your phone?”  
“Yep. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Shit... Hold on, Blue”

Blue didn’t appreciate being pulled by her lead shorting. Keith unclipping her and handing her lead to Pidge. He’s nearly strangled Lance’s perfect princess. His boyfriend would literally kill him if he’d hurt Blue  
“Stay there. I’ll be right back”

*  
Keith jogged across the park, catching sight of Lance standing near the dumpster alley between a cafe and a florist. Not watching for traffic, he was beeped at when he stepped out in front of a car, barely stepping in back in time as the driver flipped him off. Checking for cars, he had to wait for three more to pass before he could jog across the road and over to where Lance was standing   
“Babe?”  
Lance’s voice shook  
“Stay back, Keith”

Keith stepped into the alley. A figure clad in black leather with a helmet on was holding a gun towards Lance. Keith went to go for his gun, but he hadn’t worn in it so long he’d kind of forgotten about the fact he actually needed to carry one. Seeing Keith, the figure moved the gun towards him, Lance stepping between them. A bullet could kill Lance depending where it hit him  
“I don’t know what you want, but don’t hurt him”  
Lance turned his head to gawk at him   
“Really?”  
“Look, I’ve got money. Just don’t hurt him”

The figure moved the gun downwards, pointing to Keith’s pocket... well, Lance’s pocket seeing his boyfriend was trying to shield him. Raising one hand, Lance digging into his pocket with the other. Pulling out his wallet, the slowly started to bend. The next thing Keith knew, Lance had tackled him to the ground as the gun went off. Dazed for a moment, Keith came too pretty quick as Lance tried to prop himself up  
“Lance!”  
“You okay, babe?”  
“Am I okay? You got fucking shot!”

Behind him, the figured walked up so they were staring down at the pair of them through the helmet visor  
“Don’t hurt him! Take my wallet and go!”  
What kind of idiot yelled that when they’d been shot?!”  
From within the helmet came a muffled laugh. Keith feeling murderous that the bastard was laughing at them. Raising their hands, the pulled the helmet off, Keith’s eyes going wide as he recognised the figure inside   
“Mum?!”

“Hey, Keith. This must be the infamous Lance I keep hearing about. Nice to meet ya, I’m Krolia. Keith’s mother”  
Lance looked from Keith to Krolia, then back to Keith again. His boyfriend slumping sideways as he fainted. Angry with his mother, Keith pulled his legs out from under Lance, gathering him up as he shot his mother a glare  
“What the fuck?! Lance?! Hey, Lance? It’s Keith...”  
Tapping Lance on the face, his boyfriend was out cold... in more ways than one  
“Mum! You shot him! What the fuck!”  
“Calm down. It was a rubber bullet. I wanted to know the kind of man dating my son!”  
“Mum! You can’t... Lance, babe. Hey, come on”  
Tapping Lance’s face again, his boyfriend groaned, big blue eyes confused. It didn’t matter that it was a rubber bullet, it’d still fucking hurt  
“Babe?”  
“Thank fuck. You fainted”  
“I think your mum tried to kill me”

Calmly Krolia defended herself  
“If I was trying, you’d be dead”  
That was true. If Krolia wanted to kill, she would have killed him before he’d known what was happening. If Krolia had been one Lance’scale from the beginning his boyfriend would long dead and disposed of.

Gazing up at Krolia, Lance was so confused. Keith explaining because his mother wouldn’t   
“It was a rubber bullet. Apparently she saw now to be give a fuck about my life and test my fucking boyfriend. Are you okay?”  
“My shoulder fucking hurts”  
“That’s because rubber bullets hurt... hang on”  
Feeling his phone vibrating, Keith turned his back towards his mother as he pulled the device out. Sliding his thumb across the screen, he started helping Lance to stand at the same time  
“Keith?! What was that shot?! Are you okay? Did something happen?!”  
Now Krolia was upsetting Shiro too...  
“Krolia. She finally decided to say hello. Take the others back, I’ll drive Lance home myself”  
“Are you two going to be okay?”  
No. Yes. Ugh. He was. Lance on the other hand had been shot  
“We’re fine. Rubber bullet. Let the others know Lance is fine. I’ve got to go”

Keith slid his phone back in his pocket. Lance had his arm around the hunter’s waist as he tried not cry. His boyfriend was being very brave  
“Why would you do that?!”  
“I wanted to see what kind of man my son is dating. He’s made a good first impression. He’ll heal right up with a bit of blood”  
Keith sent Krolia a scathing glare  
“Why couldn’t you greet us like a normal person! Babe, I’m so sorry. Let’s get you home and get some ice on that shoulder”  
And chocolate. Chocolate and some cuddles... How did he even apologise for this  
“You’re headed to VOLTRON? Good. I’ll follow you”  
“Like I want to see you after this sick joke”

Krolia let him lead Lance to the street corner before calling out  
“You forgot his wallet”  
Turning back, Keith snatched the wallet from his mother as soon as he was close enough  
“Don’t follow us”

The hunter knew what a rubber bullet felt like. And it fucking hurt. Krolia was always pulling dumb stunts. Apparently she’d pulled a blade on Shiro when Shiro first joined the Blades, “testing his loyalties”, as she put it. Him she’d watched for days, before pulling the “I’m your mum speech”. How Shiro could talk to her was beyond him. And, worst of all, the Blades seemed to think this normal. Coran was weird, but the Blades were a bunch of Grade-A nut jobs. Grade-A Vatican approved nut jobs.

*  
Lance was quite on the drive home, holding his shoulder as stared out the window. Keith wished he’d talk. Anything was better than the glam rock on the radio and his boyfriend not talking. It felt as if he’d opened his mouth he would have been apologising all over again. Leaving before the others meant they got home before them, but Shiro must have called ahead to warn Coran as he met them at stairwell for parking  
“Shiro told me there was some kind of attack”  
That was one way of putting it. Lance sighed heavily   
“I’m fine. Just a sore shoulder. And I met Keith’s mum. I’m not completely sure she likes me, but I seem to have passed the parental dating test”  
“She fucking shot you!”

Lance didn’t sound particularly mad. That was good. Keith was easily mad enough for the both of them  
“Yeah. I noticed. I heard her call my name... and I just... went. I didn’t think she’d pull a gun on me”  
“Wait?! You knew it was her?!”  
“No. I just heard someone call my name and say yours... Yeah, I know. Dumb move”  
Idiotic move more like it  
“Oh dear. I was so hoping you’d have a nice time at the park. Come upstairs and let’s take a look”

Lance sat on Coran’s examination table, Keith helping him get his jacket and shirt undone so Coran could see. Sliding it down, the bruising was horrible from what Keith could see over Lance’s shoulder. Turning, his boyfriend showed him properly  
“How bad does it look?”  
The site was purple black, angry redness swollen in the middle of Lance’s shoulder blade  
“It looks like I should have shot her and seen how she liked it”  
“Babe”  
“Don’t “babe” me. She shot you”  
“She was testing me”  
“She had no fucking right”  
“You do realise her only son is dating a vampire?”  
“That doesn’t matter! Seriously, what were you thinking?!”  
“That if you were going to be shot, I’d never recover”

Keith floundered. Opening his mouth and closing it, before crossing his arms  
“That’s beside the point”  
“Not really. I’d rather be the one shot. At least I’ll heal from a shot that could kill you”  
Coran fetched an icepack out his small fridge  
“Now, now, boys. I’m sure Krolia had her reasons. Like Lance said, you are her only son”  
“Not when she pulls shit like this”  
Putting the icepack to Lance’s shoulder, Lance hissed. Coran wincing in sympathy   
“I know. It’ll help the swelling”  
“Yeah. It’s still damn cold though”

Lance and Coran were taking this too well. Some kind of buzzer went off over their heads  
“That’ll be front reception letting me know we have a visitor. Keith, can you grab Lance a bag of blood. He seems to have gotten sunburnt on top of things”  
So that’s how Coran knew they were there. That was one mystery solved. Lance placed his hand over his shoulder to hold the icepack in place   
“I’ve got him”  
Coran gave him a warm smile  
“He’s in excellent hands”

Keith opened the fridge to find all kinds of things in there  
“Does blood type matter?”  
“I’ll take an A+ if there’s one in there”  
There were two. Like Coran kept the fridge stocked just for Lance. Grabbing a bag out, he brought it over to his boyfriend, holding it out for him to take  
“Here. Fuck. I can’t believe she shot you”  
“Keith...”  
“Don’t defend her”  
“I was going to ask if you could open the bag for me. My hand’s kind of busy”  
Oh. Lance’s right arm probably felt too sore to move. Twisting the cap off, he held it to his boyfriend’s lips  
“I didn’t think... why can’t we have a normal day?”  
Lance snorted  
“Because it’s us. Here. Can you hold the icepack? I’ll hold the blood bag”  
Keith must have looked confused, Lance adding   
“Hop up here beside me. I promise I won’t bite”  
“I don’t think I’d mind if it was you”

Keith climbed up next to Lance, moving to place his hand on the icepack, before Lance took the blood bag off him  
“Thanks, babe. Now, I know you’re angry, but I’ll be okay”  
“You shouldn’t have to be okay. She shouldn’t have shot you”  
“I kind of get it though. I mean, if we had a kid and they brought someone home, you’d be threatening to shoot them if they hurt your kid”  
“That’s completely different!”  
“Is it? I think it proves she cares”  
How did Lance possibly think it proved she cared about him!?  
“I think it proves she’s a fucking loony. Why aren’t you mad?”

Lance sighed, lowering the blood bag, Keith not sure what he was going to say  
“I got my period this morning. And we got to have a picnic in the park... it was fun. We had fun”  
“We still could have been having fun”  
“Yeah... it ended... well... I would have preferred not to be shot, but before then it was nice”  
“Why didn’t you tell me about...”  
“Blood in the toilet bowl? No one should be so happy to be about it. I’m fine. A little tender, and a whole lot of tender in my shoulder, but Keith, I don’t regret how I acted. You’re human. I know you hate seeing me hurt, but I didn’t even really... I couldn’t function if someone happened to the man I want to be with”  
“How do you think I feel? She’s my mother and she...”  
“She wanted to know if I was shallow enough to save myself before you. Maybe it’s the old man in me, or maybe because all you Blades are missing a screw, but I don’t think I’m as bothered about it as I should be”  
“She can get fuck-...”  
“She’s your mum. Think back to when you wanted to kill me. You didn’t know me. You didn’t know what I was like. Now a strange vampire has turned up and is dating you. She’s not going to understand if you don’t talk with her”  
“Mami never tried to shoot me”  
“Ah, but my family’s a bit different. Your family is different too. Shiro’s still threatening bodily harm if I hurt you”  
“He’s working on that”  
“Because he got to know me. We’re a big messed up family, but we’re getting there. Krolia just has to find a space in all the chaos. Plus... you did tell me you loved me yesterday, so I’m still pretty happy about that”

Keith couldn’t remember that. Drunk Keith was such a slut. But... he kind of did love Lance, even if sober Keith couldn’t figure out the words just yet  
“Drunk Keith is terrible”  
“Drunk Keith was cute. The sex was pretty good too”  
Keith groaned. That he remembered... Lance on top of him was pretty unforgettable   
“I’m quitting drinking”  
“Your internal organs will be grateful. But we both know Pidge likes to party”  
“She can... I’ll just...”  
“Loosen up and enjoy having friends. Even “Drunk Keith” values consent. I didn’t really like being felt up, but it’s okay if you’re sober enough to know what you want. That’s what matters to me”  
“I want to be with you”  
Lance kissed his hair  
“Me too. We should find everyone else, they’re not used to our brand of crazy yet”  
“Nope... Babe... I really don’t want to see her”  
“I know. I know you’re angry. But she did approve of me and to me that’s a big thing”

Krolia might approve, but this was his life. He’d made the choice to be with Lance and it was a bit late for his mother to be trying anything motherly now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me say this again. All the Blades have a screw loose.
> 
> But I adore Krolia!


	76. Chapter 76

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Krolia. That’s all. I love her and I have to be so patient to have her be all bad arse but that’s not for sooooo long it hurts my soul

76

Nursing his right arm, Lance was still slightly shocked he’d been shot by Krolia. He couldn’t say he didn’t have it coming, following her voice calling his name like he had, but Krolia... Jesus. What’d he got himself into. Keith was furious. Krolia seemed to take it all in good humour. Lance was trying his hardest to keep the peace between mother and son... but she just might be the weirdest person who’d come into his life lately.

Being strong for Keith, he’d pulled his shirt back on, letting Keith do the buttons for him because he knew how much his boyfriend was worrying. Maybe if he’d stopped to think, he would have realised it was all a prank... yet, when that gun had come out, all he’d thought about was Keith not getting shot on his watch. Following the sound of Coran’s voice, the whole group was waiting with him as he tried to calm down a raging Pidge who demanded to see him. Krolia was standing towards the back of the group looking rather amused. Wrapping his good arm around his gremlin, Pidge went straight for his nuts, before realising it was him and throwing herself into his hold  
“You fucking scared me!”  
Scared him? He was a hair away from being hit in the balls!  
“I’m fine. A little bruise and good as new”  
“You’re being a lying little shit, aren’t you?”  
Lance kissed Pidge on the top of the head. She was just the right height for him to abuse his older brother rights  
“Totally. Nah. I’m okay. Are you guys okay?”  
“We were until Shiro started shaking and said you’d been shot! What the fuck man!”

Pidge pulled out of his grip, Lance yelping as she punched his bad arm. Staggering into Keith as he clutched his arm tighter, glasses falling off his face thanks to his lack of coordination, his foot landing on them where they were crunched as Keith cried   
“Lance!”  
Keith wrapped his arms around him as he caught him, hand firm against his now extra sore arm, Lance groaned  
“Not that arm...”  
Keith swearing  
“Shit!”  
They were ridiculous. They’d make an amazing comedy act. The vampire who kept getting himself hurt and his boyfriend who kept finding the spots by accident.

Coran patted his shoulder... his sore shoulder. Lance wondering if this was how he died?  
“I think maybe we should all sit down for a pot of tea. Krolia, will you be joining us?”  
God. Yes. Yes, Coran! You beautiful fae bastard! Anything so he wouldn’t get hit or nearly hit or hugged to hard again! Krolia’s reply held traces of a giggle at their antics. It wasn’t Lance’s fault he was clumsy. That’s what happened when you wore a prescription that wasn’t right for them suddenly got attacked by a wild gremlin  
“I wouldn’t miss it for anything”

Coran fetched a tray of tea as the rest of them sat around a conference table that was thankfully not the one they’d be at when Kolivan visited. Krolia sat across from Keith, smile on her lips as Lance tried not to look at her. She was beautiful. Black hair streaked with purple. Features so much like Keith’s. Keith was a good foot taller than his mother, but Lance knew Krolia could easily whoop his boyfriend’s arse. Hunk looked nervous again. Pidge was sitting between him and Lance. And the silence was awkward as hell. He may as well have died in the alley for how awkward things were. What was a little shooting between friends? Mentally he’d placed a bet on Shiro talking first... He’d have won $10 if he’d taken his own bet... but he wasn’t exactly sure how to pay himself.

“Krolia. We had the suspicion you’d arrive soon. How are you finding Platt?”  
Lance wasn’t moody... not jealous that Shiro was being the cool mature one  
“Fine. It’s nice to see you, Curtis and Keith again. Let’s be honest here, I’m more pleased to find Keith safe and well, and even more interested on how he came to be dating a vampire”  
Lance flushed, sliding down in his chair, aggravating his shoulder as he did  
“Are you saying there’s something wrong with my brother?!”  
Bless Pidge! Krolia had no idea how mad Pidge could get  
“Not at all. He seems to be quite apt. Passed the boyfriend test with flying colours”  
“Good, because he’s been through enough shit. It doesn’t matter if this is his first relationship. He’s about as good at it as Keith”  
Aaaaaaand he was sliding further down in his chair.

Across the table Krolia laughed  
“If he was as good as Keith, an inability to converse and they’d never have gotten past awkward friendship”  
Now Lance was annoyed. Sitting up to fast, his poor arm was wracked with shooting pains  
“Keith talks to me about all kinds of things. He’s a good man. He’s funny, and he’s weird, and his haircut is fresh out of the ‘80’s and I like that about him”  
Krolia raised an eyebrow. She was wearing an expression he’d seen so many times on his boyfriend’s face  
“Keith is like, he’s a good guy. He makes Lance happy, and we’re friends, right, man”  
Hunk’s awkwardness made Lance’s heart swell. Not only was the big guy ignoring his nerves, but he saw Keith as Keith, despite having so much to wrap his head around.

Shiro laughed  
“I’m afraid Keith’s gone and made some pretty good friends here, Krolia. He’s really come out of his shell since meeting Lance. It’s been good for him. And I’m pretty sure you’re going to be in trouble if you tease him”  
Krolia shrugged  
“I’m happy for him. I really am. As long as he’s continuing to be careful, we can cover the fact he’s fallen for a vampire”  
Keith slammed his hands on the table. Lance wincing. His boyfriend was still an anger loaf at heart  
“I don’t want to cover the fact I’m dating Lance. He’s... he’s my boyfriend and probably my best friend. You don’t get to act like a mother when it suits you. Seriously, why did you even come?”  
“To see you. I know you may find it hard to believe it, but I do care for you”  
“Right. Like you cared when you dropped off the face of the fucking planet and abandoned me after dad died!”  
Sadness washed over Krolia’s face  
“I didn’t know he’d died and by the time I did, it was safer for you to stay in the system”

Oh, Lord. Krolia was another Keith. Keith was so angry he was blurting out things he’d never usually say in front of Pidge and Hunk  
“Yeah. Bounce your kid from house to house. You’re too late, Mum. I feel more for Miriam than I do for you”  
That wasn’t true. That wasn’t true and Lance knew it. Part of Keith desperately wanted to reconnect with his mother. This was only serving to drive a wedge further between them  
“Look, Keith. You know the life. I couldn’t raise you at the Blades. It wouldn’t have been safe for you there”  
“So you wait until I’m nearly dead? Wait, no, it was Shiro who saved me. He’s my brother, and my family. Not you”  
Lance groaned. Getting Keith and Krolia on the same page was going to be one hell of a fight  
“I sent money to every single family you were at. I followed you until you decided you had to run away. I never stopped caring about you. Leaving you and your father broke my heart, but I couldn’t bring a war down on both of you”  
See! Lance was right. Krolia did love Keith in her own way. She just really sucked at telling him and Keith wasn’t... Keith didn’t know how to hear her or see past the pain   
“That wasn’t your call to make”

Awkward silence descended again. Lance kind of wished Pidge and Hunk weren’t there... nor Shiro and Curtis. If he could just get them talking then... it’d be a start. Keith said a lot in what he didn’t say, and right now he was screaming for someone to reach out and reassure him... but despite everything he was feeling, Lance knew that Krolia was the one he needed. Moving his sore arm, he rested his hand on Keith’s thigh to silently remind him he was there for him.

They all breathed a sigh of relief when Coran came in with a tray of tea. Setting each up in front of them, Keith glared at the liquid as if it’d offended him, Coran either oblivious or ignoring the atmosphere  
“Lactose free for number two... Now let’s all sit enjoy a nice cup of tea as we talk. Krolia, perhaps you can tell us more about your companions? Don’t worry, Pidge and Hunk here both signed a non-disclosure, they’re practically family”  
Pidge and Hunk now had an uncle to add to their weird little family. Coran knew all about them, and had always enjoyed hearing about them  
“Perhaps we should save that for a more formal briefing. I am interested in my son’s progress here”  
Coran’s voice filled with pride   
“He’s excellent. Very diligent and task orientated. His skills may be wasted in a small city like Platt, but we are certainly happy to have him, and Shiro, naturally”  
“I’m glad to hear that. Originally we sent him here to be safe, with a nice easy target. I wasn’t able to meet with him before he left. We didn’t expect the escalation of things quite so quickly, but being here means I’ll be able to spend more time with him, and Lance”

Keith snorted, Krolia picking up her cup of tea, looking over the rim   
“Something funny?”  
“This act you’re putting on for everyone. I’ve finally found a place I’m happy, and you walk in like you’re just going to be part of my life”  
“Keith, you know...”  
“No, mum. I don’t know. You’ve made it clear I’m a disappointment of a hunter... Sitting over there, laughing at the fact I couldn’t kill one vampire...”  
Keith went to move Lance’s hand off his thigh, forgetting to be careful as he did. Hissing, Lance moved to move his right arm with his left, Keith’s whole face falling as he’d realised he’d hurt him  
“I can’t do this”

Keith went to push back his chair, Lance on his feet before he could, clutching his arm against as him as he spoke   
“Wait! Okay. Time out. Keith, I don’t know Krolia, but I can tell she does care. She just doesn’t know how to talk to you properly. Krolia, you keep antagonising him. Things like wanting to know how Keith is, is different from prying into his skills, or his work here. Keith, she’s your mum. I’ve barely met her and I can see so much of you in her. I know it’s hard to talk about what you need to with all of us here, but neither of you hate each other. There’s no need to set each other off because you can’t quite figure out how to start a conversation. Keith is mad at you, Krolia. You shouldn’t have pulled a prank like you did today, expecting he’d understand why or be okay with it. Babe, your mum’s a Blade member and as far as I can tell, they’re all a bit weird. I’m not exactly happy over what happened, but it did, and we don’t have a magical time machine to undo it. Before you ask, Pidge, time travel isn’t a real thing, I’m sorry to break your heart like that. Krolia, I’m serious about Keith. I care a lot about him, and deciding to date wasn’t easy for either of us. I’m the enemy. You guys are supposed to kill people like me and move on without a second thought. Now, my arm really fucking hurts and my ego is probably showing because I’m a bit too protective of Keith, but enough’s enough....”

Lance flushed as he realised he’d kind of let lose on both Krolia and Keith and probably embarrassed his boyfriend as well as hurt his feelings by acting like Keith couldn’t talk for himsel. Feeling like he had to explain even more and knowing he really needed to shut up, he finished rather lamely   
“Ummm. Well, yeah. Basically, stop being mad at each other because you’re both angry little loafs that don’t know how to socialise”

Keith stared at him long enough to know he’d walked all over his boyfriend’s feelings. It took all of ten seconds for Keith to be pushing his chair back  
“I’m sorry, Coran. I don’t think I’ll be very good company”  
At least Keith paused long enough to apologise, before leaving the room... Not inviting Lance to go with him. Yeah. That wasn’t missed. Keith was getting so good at coming to him to talk, that Lance expected it  
“I’ll talk to him. But Lance is right. Keith doesn’t know how to talk to you about anything that’s not work. You and I need to have a conversation, Krolia”

Oh damn. He didn’t want to be Krolia. A mad Shiro was a scary thing in its own way. As Shiro left to find Keith, Pidge leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms as she did  
“Damn. And I thought my family was dysfunctional. Is it like this all the time?”  
Lance sighed, wriggling his chair closer to his gremlin for comfort   
“Keith? Keith’s family? Or being here?”  
Pidge huffed  
“I’m not prying into Keith’s past until he wants to tell us. Look what happened last time someone’s dark secret came out? I found out one brother’s a werewolf and the others a vampire. Nope. No more prying there. I mean here in general. How do you guys get any work done?”  
“Normally they do the work and I just stay in my room”  
“So you’re a slacker?”  
“I prefer to think of it as much loved relative visiting. But yeah. Kind of a slacker. All I can really do is support Keith and Shiro, around working from home”

Coran was staring at the conference room door, as if he thought Shiro and Keith would be back by now   
“Lance does help us quite a lot. He’s always been a very charming and helpful person. Very smart too”  
Pidge snorted  
“Coran, are you sure you’ve got my brother? He can’t even work his phone properly”  
“That’s because it has so much unnecessary stuff on it. Huuuunk, help me out. Please tell Pidge it’s okay to be technology illiterate”  
“From what I hear, vampires don’t forget things. Sorry, bro. You’ve got no excuse”  
Lance pouted, betrayed by his cinnamon roll and ridiculed by his anger muffin  
“And here I was loving the pair of you. Coran, I take back all the nice things I said about them. Curtis, you and me. Us against the world?”

Curtis wore an expression so Shiro like that Shiro would have been proud  
“Sorry, Lance. You are good friend and you’ve helped me immensely, despite my constant queries over your body and your heat. I’m happy to have met you, but yours isn’t the dick I want. You have Keith for that, though I do wish you’d accepted his physical help through your heats sooner. It would have made the changes you are going through quite a lot less painful. Though you two are quite loud mid coitus. I think I much prefer you two watching television than to think of you engaging anything sexual. No offence”  
Lance choked on air. Curtis was the one who kept gifting him condoms and sex toys. He had a whole case of them waiting at home, never to be used without Keith. Pidge cackled  
“Damn, dude. You got rejected without even aiming for it. For what it’s worth, Keith helped me understand that super senses aren’t that great when you can hear Matt having sex”  
Lance groaned all the way to the depths of his soul   
“Can we pleeeeeease stop talking about sex in front of Keith’s mother? Coran, help?”  
“I guess we could discuss how hesitant you were to accept Keith as your boyfriend initially and that nasty...”  
Lance was sure Coran was going to blab about the mercury incident   
“Nope! No! You all suck! Everyone but Hunk is off my Christmas card list”  
“Thanks, bro”

Lance couldn’t reach to fist bump Hunk, but he would have if he could have. The vampire was taking it slowly, Hunk not like Pidge and her weirdly easy acceptance. That’s why they’d played with Kosmo without talking all that much, trying to show Hunk he wasn’t any different than a human  
“I’ve got you, fam. I’ll be sending one to Shay too. Oh, have you guys been to my house lately? I’m worried about the roses”  
“If you’re that worried, you should just come back home already”  
Lance couldn’t hide his surprise  
“You want me back there?”

Okay. So they’d taken it well, but he was kind of like an inmate here. At the end of the night, they knew the big bad vampire was all tucked up safe and sound below ground. Plus, Pidge had gotten the scare of her life the last time they’d been at the house. His poor gremlin had had so much to process. She was still processing, despite how brave she was being. Plus, there was this whole “her parents knew” thing that needed to be worked out. What he needed was a double who could be there with Pidge and Hunk, helping them work things out, while he was also with Keith... who was currently mad at him. Super mad if Lance had to hazard a guess. He hoped Shiro would get through to his boyfriend...

“No. I just thought I’d mention it. Actually, I did think of burning it down, but you weren’t home”  
Lance sighed. She would have done it... and Keith would have lost his boyfriend the same way he’d lost his father  
“Pidge, I know you’re serious, but please don’t ever say that in front of Keith. His father died in a house fire and he’s still really hurt by it. Don’t like bring it up”  
“Oh, fuck! Krolia, I am so sorry!”

Krolia sipped her tea, looking uncomfortable as she did. Two very long moments before Pidge “whispered” for support   
“Laaaance...”  
Pidge didn’t know how to “Krolia”. Lance didn’t either. He didn’t get a bad vibe from her... but... she’d held the gun knowing they didn’t know it was loaded with rubber bullets  
“You didn’t know. Keith and I have talked more than you guys have talked, so i guess I have inside knowledge”  
Pidge nodded, her voice definitely quieter than her normal perky tone  
“I’m glad he didn’t hear me. He still likes us right? I mean, he was talking to us, so we’re still friends?”  
“He missed you guys. Honestly, he’s the one who thought one day you might talk to me again... I just thought... we’d never be friends again. I get it. If this is all like too weird. You can walk away... I’m like... really fucking weird”  
Friends like family... but his siblings hadn’t handled him well at all  
“You’re also proof vampires exist... and I’m still getting used to it. Maybe no sleep overs just yet?”  
Because they didn’t trust be alone near him. Ugh. That hurt worse than his shoulder. He was getting teary now. This own feelings of abandonment deciding to be stupid   
“That’s fine. I do get it. As long as you guys are safe, that’s all I care about. I feel super rude, but I might head down to my room and nap off the pain. Will you guys be alright getting home?”  
“Yeah. You’re totally rude, but you’re going to message us later so it’s fine. We did... we did miss you. I just... it’s still a lot”  
“Pidgeon, I promise I get it. Hunk, sunshine of my life, I’ll be talking to you later. Uh... nice to meet you Krolia, and I’ll see you later Coran. Curtis... don’t think I won’t forget to forget you dumping me”

Lance felt less than adult like as he left the conference room. He was pulling a Keith, feeling too emotionally compromised so removing himself from the situation. He could tell himself he wasn’t like this, but that’d be lying. He was always like this, always destined to feel on the outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t hate on Pidgeon and Hunk. They’ve had the shock of their lives and still love Lance.


	77. Chapter 77

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance is violently betrayed and assaulted... he thought Blue loved him

77

“Keith, wait!”  
Of course Shiro was following him now. Every time he left the room, someone had to come following after him. Stalking towards the gym, all Keith wanted to do was hit something until he felt better   
“Leave me alone, Shiro!”  
Calling back over his shoulder, Keith knew Shiro wouldn’t leave him alone... but his brother definitely should. He couldn’t believe Lance. He’d been fucking shot and still stuck up for Krolia. His mother didn’t care. If she did, she wouldn’t have hurt Lance or tested him to begin with. Miraculously finding the gym on the first try, Keith waited as the lights blinked on, for all the modern comforts, the lights were still the kind of fluoros that took a few seconds to get their shit together. 

Walking over to the punching bags, he struck the first one he came to as hard as he could, relishing the moment of pain that came with not using gloves or wrapping his hands  
“Keith...”  
“Leave me alone. Right now I’m so angry I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to say”  
Shiro sighed as he walked around to the opposite side of the punching bag. Keith punching it twice pretending it’d help  
“If you’re going to practice, at least put gloves on”  
“I don’t need to”

Jabbing the punching bag twice more, he really wished Shiro would let him vent his anger in peace. Instead his brother was standing there watching which was even more annoying  
“Spit it out”  
Throwing another few jabs, it wasn’t making him feel any better as Shiro finally said   
“What?”  
“You’re giving me that look and I don’t like it”  
That look of brotherly advice coming his way  
“First I’m going to say I don’t find Krolia pulling a gun on Lance funny. Secondly, I understand that you’re upset over it”  
“Makes one fucking person. Lance is all like “talk to her”. Why should I when she hurt him?!”  
“Because he was the one who was hurt”  
Why didn’t they get it. He’d stood there, protected by Lance when he needed to be the one stepping up. He’d thought...  
“She pulled a fucking gun. I thought... I thought he’d been shot for his wallet trying to protect me. That he was... I waited for the blood...”

Shiro stepped between Keith and the bag as Keith threw another punch of frustration. “Oofing” as he wound up punched in the side, Shiro winced as Keith was forced into a hug  
“You’ve got a mean punch, kiddo”  
“You’re the idiot who stepped into it”  
“You needed a hug. Not to be punching this bag”  
“I don’t need a hug. I need to clear my head. That’s why I left”  
“You’re not mad at Lance for sticking up for you? You trying to get you and Krolia to talk?”  
“Why would we talk when I’m not smart enough to make my own choices? She’s barely back an hour and she’s reminding me that I’m nothing”

Shiro hugged him tighter, kissing his hair as he did  
“You’re not nothing. You’re not. You heard Coran. He’s proud of you. Lance is proud of you. Keith... you’re surrounded by people who care about you”  
“But... she doesn’t”  
Shiro kissed his hair again at Keith’s sad admittance   
“She does. Lance was right. You two don’t know how to get past that first step. I’ve been telling you all along that she wants to know you”  
“No. She just wants to make sure I’m not embarrassing her”  
“That’s not true”  
“It is! I left because I was angry, and you followed me. I upset Lance. Pidge and Hunk are both going to be laughing at me. The man with the mummy issues. Coran’s probably embarrassed...”

Everyone was always laughing at him. It didn’t matter how well he did, he needed to be more than he was.

“That’s not true. No one is laughing at you. Lance isn’t laughing at you. I’m not laughing at you. We care about you”  
“Why?! God. He probably doesn’t want to see me. I hurt him...”  
He’d hurt Lance’s busted arm more than once. What kind of a boyfriend did that?”  
“And you’ll talk about it”  
Keith noticed Shiro didn’t tell him he was wrong. He hadn’t meant to hurt Lance’s arm any further than it’d already been hurt. He hadn’t thought and Lance was hurt again because he couldn’t man up and control his temper  
“We shouldn’t have to. I don’t... She’s barely back and I can’t cope with this. I don’t think we’ll ever be a family... I... for years I wanted to know why she left us. Who she was. If she ever thought about me. I used to dream she’d turn up with dad and it’d be all this nightmare. When I woke up I’d have a family who wanted me. Everyone... treats me like I’m... like I can’t handle it and when I try to take myself out of those situations, you can’t even let me work it out on my own”

“Keith. These are the things you should tell her. Sometimes you both remind me of kids. Trying to show off just to get each other to notice. She wants to be part of your life. She was right. The Blade is no place for a child, and she probably truly believes that you’d be safer there”  
“She didn’t have the right to just decide to leave me behind! I had no one... I don’t know... why she couldn’t love me enough to stay...”

As Keith’s anger turned to sadness, Shiro rubbed his back  
“You’re plenty loveable. She does love you. I know I’m repeating myself, but you do need to talk to her. The three of us could sit down. Or Lance could be with you if you felt like it? I’m not just saying that because you two need to work things out, there’s also the fact she seems to be staying for a while. If the Blades are conducting their investigation from here, you’re bound to wind up seeing her. Plus... you’re my little brother. I hate seeing you hate yourself so much for a life you couldn’t control. You were so precious to her that she left. You’re existence was so precious to her that she didn’t want you to grow up in constant danger from werewolves and vampires”  
“We waited for her to come back... Dad waited for her... but she didn’t care enough”  
“She couldn’t done back, because she cared”

Logical was no good. Keith didn’t want to hear reasonable and logical excuses. If he was a father, he wouldn’t want his children caught up in it all. He’d want Lance as safe as possible, meaning he’d leave work... He had no skills outside shooting and stabbing things, yet he’d just have to learn. He and Lance would move to some backwaters town like Garrison. Have a dog and and a cat. The house would be chaos on weekends. They’d complain about their friends the second they left but they’d both know how much they loved them. It’d be a quiet simple life, but he’d keep Lance safe and he wouldn’t just leave him. 

He didn’t how Krolia didn’t know, unless she was deep undercover, but even then.. if she was so worried for them.... There were check-ins, people who could call or come by. Ways of knowing what was happening in their lives without Krolia coming close. Yet... he’d waited. He’d waited alone. He’d waited for his dad to come home. His big hand on Keith’s head as he ruffled his hair. Shiro had done it so many times Keith couldn’t be sure he wasn’t substituting his brother into the memory.

“I know you’re overthinking things and it’s hard right now, but it’s past time you two talked. This place isn’t like the Blades. You have time and space to talk. And I think you both really need to”  
“It’s no good. Every time I look at her... I don’t feel enough”  
“I know. You’re more than enough for me, kiddo. Now, what do you want to do?”  
He didn’t know. He didn’t want to blow up at Lance. Lance might not want to see him... no... Lance always wanted to see him. He’d hug him, tell him he got it, then make him feel better. He always felt better with Lance  
“Can... can you come see Lance with me? And everyone else? He’s probably trying to talk things out. I don’t know why I feel like a kid every time I see mum”  
“Lance wants what’s best for you. You know he has a hard time with his family, and he has a hard time seeing you so upset with your mum. He only knows what he’s been told, but I can see he’s going to make an effort to get to know Krolia because he doesn’t want you hurting more than you already do. I really do think you need to talk. Like how we talked about Adam. I see how me not talking caused you so much pain now”  
“He’s... he’s so stupid... but I like that. I like him so much. I don’t want her to come between us”  
“I have the feeling she only wants you to be happy and safe, and that they’re on the same wave length there. Talk to him and see how you feel”  
“I know how I feel. I feel stupid”  
“You’re not. Now, we’ll go see if Lance is still with the others. I’m sure Pidge and Hunk understand too. You don’t have to keep fighting alone. I’ll always be on your side”  
“I know...”

Keith’s hugged Shiro tightly. He had the best big brother. Even when he was angry at him, Shiro was there for him. No matter what.

*  
Pidge and Hunk were leaving as they Shiro and Keith arrived back at the conference room. Both of them insisting on hugging him. Pidge whispering in his ear that they were always there if he wanted to talk. It was nice to have friends. Promising to message them, they parted at the elevator, Krolia also leaving when they did. Once they’d left, Curtis filled him in, letting him know Lance had seemed upset when he’d left. Shiro offered to come down to see Lance with him, Keith partly wanting to accept the offer, but he was a grown man. He really would look even more pathetic if he needed his brother to hold his hand when he was going to see his boyfriend.

Trailing a mood of anxiety behind him, Keith headed down to Lance’s room. Not completely sure he’d gotten the right room when his boyfriend didn’t yell out to come in. Opening he door, he nearly laughed in relied because he’d found the right room, yet the laughter died in his throat when he found Lance curled up on his bed as a bat, Blue making a pest of herself as she tried to paw at Lance. Letting himself in, Keith headed over to the bed, lifting Lance out of Blue’s grasp. She’d clawed his wings pretty bad... something Keith couldn’t help feel a little responsible for. Clinging to him, Lance squeaked softly, nosing into Keith’s neck affectionately. Making the hunter feel like a dick for leaving Lance alone because of his issues  
“I’m sorry. I know she got to me. I know I can’t walk out every time I get angry and I know you were trying to help. I just... ugh. You weren’t supposed to be a bat. I wanted to apologise”

Lance squeaked at him, still nuzzling into Keith’s neck as he spread his wings, as if trying to cuddle him. Lance’s cuddles were the best... but right now, Keith just wanted to be held by Lance in his human form. He’d calmed down. He’d calmed down and wanted to ask Lance’s advice on how to deal with Krolia. It wasn’t as simple as shutting them in a room together until everything was magically sorted and they loved each other. For a starters, Keith knew he’d be angry if anyone tried to shut him in a room, with or without Krolia there. And once they were together, how did they talk? What did he say? Lance might be okay physically, other than a busted right arm until the blood healed that... but what about psychologically? He’d thought Keith was going to be shot. In no way, shape, or form, was that alright. 

Sitting down on the bed, Blue tried to pretend she wasn’t sneaking over to have another go at getting Lance. Nudging his elbow, she then rubbed herself up Keith’s arm as she arched her back   
“You’re not very sneaky. I know you’re after Lance, but you can’t have him. He’s not a scratching post or a chew toy”  
Blue ignored him. Continuing to rub at Keith’s arm until he nudged her. Flopping down, Blue rolled on her back, acting innocent in the face of Keith’s gentle scolding. Lance squeaked, drawing his wings in as he tried to climb up Keith’s shirt  
“You want in? So she can’t reach you?”  
Keith took Lance’s squeaking to mean yes, pulling his shirt down, Lance clumsily crawled up and under the shirt, claws scratching as he squeaked his appreciation  
“I don’t know what to do now. I don’t know what to about a lot of things. I think it’s too late for me and mum to... to talk. I didn’t know about the money... but what good was money? I still.... All I wanted was to... belong”

Lance squeaked softly, nuzzling him hard enough Keith had to lift his chin  
“Okay. Okay. I don’t know what you’re saying but I guess you’re trying to tell me I do and you care. Do you want to come back to mine? Get out of this room?”  
Lance squeaks reminded him that he had to let Shiro know if he was going to be bringing Lance home  
“I’ll call Shiro and let him know. I think Blue’s going to try something the second I take my eyes off her. She’s already clawed you up”  
Lance’s squeaks were clearly in her defence this time. Keith imagining he was saying that “Blus is a precious princess, with precious toe beans, who can do no wrong”  
“She might be your baby, but you’re only little right now. For someone who keeps turning into a bat, you really need to work out how to fly. And work on turning back. You’d be cooler if you could fly”  
Lance huffed at him. Keith supposing talking to Lance properly was now going to have to wait... Part of Keith wondered if Lance was turning into a bat simply because he knew he was too cute to be mad at when he was.


	78. Chapter 78

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have literally had “Let’s Love” playing in my head on repeat for days now... it’s replace “Lilies and Daisies” as my klance song...

78

Werewolves sucked. Werewolves sucked and Lance had had just about enough of them at their first meeting... He felt personally attacked for being mocked as bat. He’d tried turning back. Willed it so hard he’d nearly peed on Keith trying. All he got was a headache and Keith asking if he needed to go potty. He wasn’t even that upset anymore. Not when Keith came to find him, though he had been in a fair bit of pain before Blue had decided he was her new favourite toy. As his cat, she really should have known it was him, or maybe her claws were revenge for all the times he’d been late with her wet food. That was likely. She’d scream at him for hours if he dared be late.

Three days as a bat, meant three days of briefings perched up on Keith’s shoulder. He didn’t like this James werewolf. His ego so big that he barely fitting in his boots, and he smelt like he’d just been dragged out of swamp. Matt didn’t like the new werewolves either. His ego was still harder to manage, being turned for only a few months, he needed practice at things like reining in his scent and not letting poxy werewolf hierarchy get to him. It didn’t help matter that James practically pranced around in his Blade of Marmora uniform like it was a gift from god that somehow elevated his worth above mangy mutt. James seemed to have made it his mission to continually make snide remarks Keith’s way, leaving Lance furious. Maybe that’s why he’d taken so damn long to change back.

Not at impressed with his inability to regain human form, he’d turned to Coran. Coran seemed to think he was stressing himself too much, worrying about things beyond his control. Yeah. Of course he was. Keith and Krolia hadn’t talked outside of forced briefings where the Blades made it very clear they didn’t want help from VOLTRON. Pidge wasn’t making things easy either. She now insisted she wanted to work at VOLTRON... Lance was against it. She and Hunk were only human, and even if she just wanted to work in the tech labs side of things, Lance worried himself over her safety. She was also more adamant than ever over catching proof of ghostly existence on camera, convinced having her own private vampire would help things. The amount of memes she’d sent trying to bribe him were ridiculous.

Having friends that knew his secret wasn’t all bad. Sure, Hunk and Pidge were still scared of him and sometimes he wondered why they’d still talk to him... then Pidge went and upset Keith over something he probably should have expected. His birthday. His actual birthday. The day on which he was pushed screaming into the world. Now. Lance kind of knew it was coming. He couldn’t forget it if he tried. July 28th came rolling around every year. But what he didn’t bother keeping up with was the countdown. Birthdays were depressing. A reminder that he should look older than he was. Two weeks out and he didn’t want to think about it or talk about it. Birthdays were days he spent with his Mami. He might do something with Pidge and Hunk, but he never put the same effort in of his birthday as he did for everyone else.

The problem was Keith. His little anger loaf was stressed. When Lance said he didn’t want to do anything for his birthday, his boyfriend had asked if maybe he wanted to go on a date. Pointing out that they didn’t know what was going on with the Blades and their stubborn refusal of help, Keith seemed to take it personally. He wanted to help celebrate Lance’s birthday. Lance overthinking things on his default setting. Dinner would be nice. A quite dinner with Keith... Maybe they could get a hotel room and block out the craziness of the world around them. Lance couldn’t commit to it because Keith couldn’t commit to it. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, only for something to happen. Keith promising to make it happen would only stress his boyfriend if he couldn’t.

That’s how he ended up at the nursing home with his Mami. Mami wasn’t feeling up to going out, Lance feeling as if she didn’t have much time left and determined to have as much time with her as he could get. Snuggled up against his Mami, he wished time would stop. He’d promised Pidge and Hunk that he’d move back home soon. Only soon didn’t have a set date and with James around, Lance didn’t want to abandon Keith. Keith was good at his job. He knew what to do as proved by the 8 weeks of work he’d gotten in before the murders were taken from him thanks to it being a Blade member. They hadn’t talked about Antok, Lance feeling he’d missed that window of opportunity. Now Krolia was in town, he felt like he needed to stay, despite missing his house. Keith was having a tough time, so it was only natural he’d stay, but if he went home, it’d give Keith somewhere else to go that wasn’t just hiding out in the staff quarters at work.

“Mami, what do you think I should do?”  
He’d had word vomit. Telling Mami about Krolia again, and that Keith seemed to be having a tough time  
“I think you should head home, mijo”  
Yeah. He thought that too... but Keith  
“I want to support him”  
“I know. Keith is a fine young man. I couldn’t have asked for more than you finding someone who understands you. You have no idea how much it has soothed this old bird to know you have someone there to love you”  
He didn’t talk to Mami about his birthday. Mami always loved his birthdays, but they really did get repetitive. He was 18 for the last 26 years. As long as Keith had been alive...   
“I want him to know I’m there for him”  
“And you will be. Garrison isn’t that far away. Though I’m beginning to forget what your house looks like”  
A subtle dig that she hadn’t been back to the house in ages... months...   
“It’s big and it’s crowded now. I feel like leaving is like telling him I’m not going to be there”  
“That’s not it at all. Keith wanted you to be safe. Only he and Krolia can resolve their issues. That’s on them, no matter how much you want to help. You’ve always had a big heart. That’s why I worried so much for you. You’re not leaving him forever. You’re only saying goodbye until next time. He’s a grown man. As hard as it is, you can’t coddle him. All you can do is love and support him. And you have your own life to think about. What do you want to do? Do you want to practice law, or do you want to be part of that hunter world”

Now, that was unexpected. Lance didn’t feel cut out for a hunter’s life, but he had been focusing more on Keith than on work. He didn’t quite know how to find that “work life” balance. Being set in his ways had left change a hard thing to negotiate. Plus, he kind of spent way too much time thinking about Keith  
“Mami. I don’t think I’m cut out to be a hunter”  
“I don’t mean going out and hunting. I mean supporting Keith. Maybe what you’re looking for is a way to help Keith with his work? That’s what it sounds like to me. That at this moment in time, you’re struggling to make the right choice as you don’t know enough. I was always so relieved you didn’t wish to be a hunter. That you found something you wanted to do and pursued it as hard as you could. It’s okay to find something new you want to try. You’ve always lived so carefully. It’s okay to live for yourself more”  
“How did you and papi do it? Manage things and still take care of us”

His Mami laughed, kissing his hair. He’d never grow out of cuddles with his Mami   
“That took team work. Growing together to unite against you bunch of ferals. A lot of long nights. Many trips to emergency. And quite a number of arguments. Everything we did, we did for all of you. You and Keith, you’re still learning and growing. These things come in time”  
Lance sighed. He could spend 40 years making up his mind and not age a day as he did... but he’d loved being a lawyer... He wanted to be a lawyer. He wanted to help people and make a difference. Keith didn’t have 40 years. He might not even have 4 in the line of work he did...   
“I have all the time in the world. Keith doesn’t”  
“No. But you’ll have years together. I feel it in my bones”  
“You don’t know that. Being a hunter is dangerous”  
“Just like being a vampire. Or being a normal human being in the wrong place at the wrong time. What you do next is firmly in your hands. No matter what you decide, I’ll always be proud of my little Lance”  
“I don’t know what to do and that’s the problem. I want to be with him. I want to be there when he has a bad day, but I miss my house and if I go home I feel like all I’m going to do is spend my days missing Keith”

Lance knew he was pathetically hopelessly in love with Keith. He wouldn’t be so worried about Keith if he wasn’t... which was a lie. He’d worry just as much if they were only friends. Keith had so much going on.

Gently his Mami smoothed his hair. She really was his biggest supporter, even when he was being a “negative Nancy”  
“That’s because you two are in your honeymoon phase. Right now you want to be with each other. Everything else falls aside. Your grandmother gave me quite the hiding for skipping out on chores to be with Jorge. I would have spent every second I could have with him, but gradually we grew and it was okay not to see him every single day before we wed. Our boy Keith has a good head on his shoulders”  
“I know... I know. Ugh. Emotions are so complicated”  
“They are. But remember, you have him, but you also have your own life and your own ties to Garrison. You have friends who know your secret and still remain by your side. Don’t neglect the ones you love”

Lance nuzzled into his mother. He’d spent too much time away from her of late   
“Is that your way of saying I should just move in here and annoy you all the time?”  
His Mami chuckled. Give it 10 years and he’d qualify for a 55’s and over lifestyle village   
“Not at all. You move in here and I’m cutting you out my will. This old duck is happy here. I don’t need all my friends fawning over my hot grandson. I get that enough”  
“Mami! I’m not even hot...”  
“You’re my son and you’re beautiful. Now. Go face your problems head on. My shows will be on soon and I don’t need you ruining them with your crying”  
His Mami was ruthless and he loved it  
“Fine. But if I die, I’m coming back as a ghost and every time you try to watch your shows I’m going to steal all your tissues”  
His Mami smacked him lightly   
“You’re a horrible son. Now get out of here, and don’t come back without Keith”  
“Mami... you’re supposed to love me”  
“I do when you’re not interrupting my before show schedule. I’ve got just enough time to find my chocolates...”  
“You’re not supposed to have chocolates on hand!”  
Mami wasn’t supposed to have chocolates because Lance worried for her blood sugars when she ate too many. Zero restraint. She’d eat a whole family box if left unchecked  
“Pish. They were a gift from Coran. Now shoo!”

Frowning at the world for being evicted in favour of soap operas. Lance nearly doubled back when he saw Keith leaning against his car. He didn’t want to get into another argument. Not today. He was already smarting from his harsh eviction by his mother. Normally they watched these things together. He wouldn’t have minded watching her shows with her... They could have both binged on chocolates with her elbowing him in the ribs if he started crying... not that Mami should be binging on chocolate. He would have had to save his mother from herself and do his job as good son by eating her chocolates... Okay. He could see why he’d been evicted. Comforting eating was his weak spot. And he’d had Mami cuddling him in bed for like two hours... so maybe she did deserve some kid free time...

“Hey...”  
He’d been seen. Keith’s voice reaching his ears despite the low tone and the fact he was still on the garden path where Keith was a good 10 metres away by his bronco. It’s not like he would have really left Keith there, but fighting was only going to make both of them depressed. He should be happy Keith was out and about, but honestly he was confused as why his boyfriend was there... Fuck... Lance felt himself starting to jog. Keith opening his arms as he approached. Keith wasn’t mad. That was good. That meant they weren’t going to have a silly little fight again. Reaching his boyfriend, Lance let himself stumble into Keith’s hold, breathing in his lover’s scent   
“I’m sorry we fought”  
“No. I’m sorry I pushed”  
“I don’t get it but I’m not very good at this boyfriend thing. I had Shiro drop me off”  
“How’d you know where I was?”  
“Allura told me. She gave us a call to let us know not to come back for now”

That was a pretty big tick for the move back home side. This whole being careful with scents so he didn’t go into heat was taxing. Lance constantly waiting for someone’s inflated ego to set him off... so kind of a double tick  
“Loturd or Sendick?”  
“She didn’t say. Only that we might want to stay away for a bit”  
“Oh. Okay... Mami just threw me out”  
“I was wondering if I should come in... but thought... I kind of thought you’d still be mad at me”

Fuck. Feelings were so fucking complicated. He wasn’t mad. He was... struggling a lot and trying to do what he thought best for Keith because he didn’t want to see Keith upset like when they’d missed their dinner reservation.

“I’m not mad. I talked with Mami and stuff... and I guess... my birthday... I know you want to do something for it... but it’s hard for me. I’ve looked 18 for so long that it’s kind of a reminder I won’t grow old. I get too sensitive about it. More than...”  
Lance swallowed hard... saying their names always made him feel sick  
“More than I do about Nyma and Rolo turning me. I shouldn’t have acted like that. I shouldn’t have shot you down without an explanation. We haven’t been communicating well since James and the douche squad rolled into town and I’ve been avoiding talking to you about things properly because I know how much you’re stressing. I’m really sick of us snapping at each other”

Keith nuzzled into cheek. His boyfriend was being brave showing up in the first place. Now he was being brave putting up with a topic that made Lance as broody and uncooperative as a satchel of yeast at the wrong temperature. Mumbling, Keith was being unintentionally cute  
“Me too. I was... excited. Like... I don’t love my birthday. So I think I was pushing that on to wanting you to have the best birthday the way you wanted. Half the time my birthday was forgotten and I wished someone would notice. Shiro always tried to make a cake. They were awful but he tried. He didn’t let Adam help him and if we weren’t home he’d get me a cupcake”  
If they’d managed to find those words a few days ago, then they wouldn’t have kept snapping over the dreaded “B” word  
“See... God. We care about each other too much. We’re stepping on each other’s toes trying our best to be good boyfriend’s. I don’t want a night where things happen and we miss our reservation. I don’t want you to be sad or angry. Plus, we don’t know what’s going on with Lotor, or Honerva, or the Blades. You can tell me I’m overthinking but we both are”

Keith kissed his cheek again  
“You’re right. We’re idiots. I didn’t get why you wouldn’t want to go on a date with me. I thought maybe it was because I fucked up last time and then I felt all stupid inside. Shiro’s not home, you’ll never believe it but Curtis asked him on a date. I’ve got to pick them up later... so maybe we could go back to the apartment? Kosmo misses you and Curtis convinced Shiro to buy a heap of dodgy horror movies”

He knew it. He knew Keith was thinking about that  
“You didn’t fuck up our last date. It was perfect... maybe not the shooting part when I wasn’t expecting that and neither was the poor target who got his bits shot. But it was good because I was with you”  
“I wanted everything to be perfect... I felt like... like it had to be. I want you to like me”  
“You really are an idiot. I do like you. I mean, I could go back to putting you outside and not letting you back in the house... would that make you feel better?”  
“Not really”

Maybe it no longer felt as great as he remembered it to be at the time. He’d been so frustrated with Keith not listening. They both did dumb things when they didn’t listen to each other   
“I’ll just save that for the next time we fight. Let’s go back to the apartment... as long as Shiro’s okay with it”  
Keith snorted. Lance didn’t find it snort worthy. He was trying to respect Shiro and not risk triggering bad memories of Adam for him  
“Shiro is totally getting laid tonight. Tomorrow he’s going to be limping around all smiley”

That he didn’t want to think about   
“They might not...”  
“Curtis totally will”  
If they were going to go there... then... ugh. Maybe Shiro could stand to get laid. He was as stressed as Keith at the moment. Lance had the feeling Shiro’d not been sleeping well  
“Wanna bet on it?”  
“Ten bucks says he gets laid”  
“And twenty says making out before Shiro gets picked up”  
Because Curtis was secretly a romantic like him. Curtis would do the rose petals on the bed and insist on showering. The foot smell part of his curse was no joke. Lance knew. He’d clipped Curtis’s toe nails for him... giving him a pedicure in an attempt to help figure out some kind of way to hide the smell of dead cheese  
“You’re so on. Want me to drive?”  
Keith would get directionally misplaced. Having him drive would be easier... though Keith hadn’t exactly confirmed he was allowed over... fuck it... He had nowhere else to go. There were worse things to do other than avoiding making life decisions because Keith totally needed him  
“Nah. I’ve got it. Just don’t forget to put your seatbelt on”  
“Yes, Dad...”  
“Ugh. Don’t call me that. I look 18 and there’s 18 years between us. I feel like a creep”  
“You are a creep, but you’re my creep so it’s okay”

Keith would never know Lance’s soul tried to escape on the spot. His boyfriend didn’t have to so readily agree. He better be getting some good cuddles out of this because his ego had taken a critical blow and nothing but cuddling would soothe the damage.


	79. Chapter 79

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zomg... double update... I thought we were finally catching up and then I saw I was chapter 114... good thing I’ve been keeping them short

79

Running late to pick Curtis and Shiro up, Lance blamed Kosmo. The puppy making off with one of his shoes, while he was trying to find his missing pants. Curtis had sounded drunk, Shiro even more so. Lance hadn’t expected them to get plastered on their date, but with a rare night to themselves, he felt both of them totally deserved to relax. Promising to wait for them out the front of the hotel whose restaurant was where they’d gone for their date, neither of them were waiting out the front thanks to the light drizzling rain.

Heading into the lobby with his boyfriend, Keith unimpressed they were walking around in their “pyjamas” in such a rich looking place. They’d fallen into a doze cuddling after doing a little physical making up more than once. Lance’s hips were sore and his smile gentle towards his annoyed boyfriend. The vampire really loved it when Keith held him by his hips, and he really loved making up with his boyfriend. So that gentle smile was purely for Keith. Wearing sweats, he’d had to borrow because lord only knew where his pants, and oversized shirt in a hotel lobby made him feel like a dork. They were clearly underdressed when compared to the ornate Art Deco feel of the place. Sighing, Keith pulled out his phone, both of them moving out of the main thoroughfare to stand closer to the wall  
“I’m gonna try calling Curtis again”

Lance nodded. The place really didn’t seem like they should walk further in. He wouldn’t be surprised if the receptionist had already called the cops on them, but all the money that went into such a fancy place didn’t really show on the outside with the rain coming in under the fronts plastic roofing. As Keith talked to Curtis, Lance’s smile started to waver. Not completely sure why, something pricked at his senses. The feeling annoying, as there seemed nothing wrong with their surrounds, and extra annoying as he couldn’t figure out why he was annoyed.

“They’re on their way. They went and sat in the lounge to wait for us thanks to the rain”  
Lance almost thanked god out loud  
“Babe?”  
Humming, Lance pushed his smile back into place   
“Sorry. I was totally zoning out”  
Keith slipped his phone back in his pocket, Lance trying not to look as the small amount of weight tugged down Keith’s sweats. They’d already fooled around enough that now the couch and the bathroom were christened. He didn’t feel like he was in heat, but he could definitely appreciate Keith’s body, especially this hips showing above the hem of his sweats  
“They could have at least texted”  
Lance nodded, casting a glance around as he wondered where the hotel lounge was  
“Babe?”  
Whoops. He didn’t want Keith to worry over some niggling feeling he didn’t know how to explain  
“I’m fine. Just tired”  
“Are you sure? I mean...”  
“I’m fine. Not even that sore... I mean, I’m not sore, but you know...”

Lance was blushing now. He could almost feel Keith’s hands on his hips. Maybe it was a kink? Yet, he only wanted Keith to do it, so he wasn’t sure it counted   
“I know it’s harder on you than it is on me”  
“Vampire stamina, babe. I’m okay. This place looks nice”  
Keith frowned at the topic change, but went along with it  
“It looks expensive”  
“I don’t know how people feel comfortable in a place like this. I like the hotel we went to better”  
“Mmm. Me too. Curtis did want things to be special. Their dinner probably cost what I make in a week”

Did Keith worry about that with him? That he couldn’t impress Lance with a low budget? Lance had his own money. He’d prefer something casual  
“I don’t think I could do that. Spend that much on a meal. I’d rather get a room and room service”  
“Do you want to do something like that for your birthday?”  
Lance bit down his sigh. He didn’t want to discuss his birthday   
“Can I think about it?”  
“Sure... I get that you don’t like it, but... I want to do something with you”  
Pidge and Hunk would probably want to do something   
“I know. Please no 18 again parties. If Pidge and Hunk start on it, can you loop me in so I can not be there. Oh, there’s Shiro”

Curtis and Shiro were a welcome distraction. They were sober enough to walk straight, which was a relief  
“Sorry! The rain started and Shiro was getting wet”  
Curtis looked good. Both of them were suited up. Curtis had styled his hair a little differently thanks to his horn. The look suited him. The few flakes of dandruff on his shoulder were barely noticeable when you looked at Curtis as a whole being  
“It’s fine. Can we go now?”  
Ruffling Keith’s hair, Shiro laughing at Keith’s huffy tone  
“You’ve got to get used to places like this one day. You can’t just take Lance to cheap hotels”  
Keith deflated, Lance wrapping his arm around his boyfriend’s waist  
“Actually, he can. I really don’t mind where we go”  
“Still. You do have a birthday coming up...”  
“Lance would rather not talk about his birthday. It’s a sensitive subject when he doesn’t age”  
Lance supposed he deserved that for confiding in Curtis. Shiro’s happiness didn’t waver, the hunter nodding understandingly  
“I suppose after a while it gets repetitive. We always baked a cake for Keith’s birthday when I could. He always ate it. No matter how much he disliked it”  
“Fuck off”  
His little anger loaf wasn’t impressed. Lance keeping his arm around him as they moved towards the door.

That was because Shiro had made it his cake for him, Keith would always eat it like it was the best cake ever made. Lance knew those feelings well. This year Hunk would want to bake a cake for Keith, so Lance’d have to let him know not to. As Shiro brushed past him, Lance caught a whiff of vampire clinging to him. That certain undeadness with hints of blood... Now he knew what’d been bugging him. The feeling like he’d been being watched from far away. Stumbling his steps as he tried to look over his shoulder, Keith kept him upright   
“Babe?”  
Lance couldn’t bring up the topic now. Not if they were being watched and listened to  
“It’s fine. Just making sure they didn’t call security on us”

A little white lie wouldn’t cause any drama. Maybe the vampire worked here as something like a waiter. Shiro’s neck showed, no vampire bites obvious. Confidently, Shiro bought his mistruth   
“They’d hardly call security on us. Though you two are underdressed. I hope we didn’t disturb anything...”  
The way Shiro said “anything” meant sex... Grumpy Keith didn’t appreciate his brother’s comment   
“It’s the middle of the night. We were tying to sleep. Don’t be gross”  
“You knew you had to pick us up”  
“I didn’t think it’d be in the middle of the fucking night...”

Oh dear. Keith was only getting crankier. Pulling Keith closer, Keith leaned into him, Lance enjoying feeling like he was supporting his sleepy boyfriend   
“It’s fine. We were cuddled up in bed. He didn’t have any coffee before we left. Are we headed back to the apartment or VOLTRON?”  
“Lotor had a meeting with Allura. That should be over now. She was worried about his scent sending you into a fresh heat when now is not an opportune time. Then there’s the affect of your scent on his ego. Allura was quite unsure what the meeting was about. Lotor seemed quite keen on dating her”

Trust Curtis to know what was up. Lance hadn’t met Lotor yet. The vampire less snoopy now the Blades had sent a team. There were probably a lot of supernaturals that felt they couldn’t go to VOLTRON for help until the hunters had left. Things were fine with Coran running the show. He didn’t simply send someone after you. But the Blades didn’t play by his rules. Antok hadn’t seemed to care when he carried out his mission. He was going to have to find Allura and ask her what she made of Lotor now they’d spent more time together. They never had had to go out... and though Lance disliked going to clubs, he didn’t want Allura to miss out on the chance to get out and about. He didn’t want to third wheel on Allura’s dating life, yet he wasn’t sure he was up for Allura going out alone with Lotor, if she’d decided he was worth her time. If they went out, met in a public space, then that’d be a different thing. Allura could experience what being human was like, without the heaviness of it being a date. Not that dating was heavy. But there was a certain expectation of things to run smoothly. Lotor hurting Allura went against things running smoothly and he’d never forgive himself if something happened to her... even if meant third wheeling. Tomorrow he’d talk to Allura. Or today... He wasn’t exactly sure what the time was, only that he was out past his bedtime and he wanted to get as far away from the hotel vampire as soon as he could.

*  
When Lance went looking for Allura in the morning, the last thing he expected was to be running into Krolia. Walking through the halls, Krolia and Kolivan were talking with Coran. Lance knew he wasn’t supposed to hear what they were saying, but he definitely caught “Sendak needs to come in and testify that he wasn’t involved in the incident at the shipping yard, or we’ll be forced to hunt him down. If you can get Lotor to agree on a meeting with us personally, we’ll be in a much better position....” before the three of them noticed him and promptly shut up. He’d heard more, but he really had tried to ignore their words by thinking about Keith. In front of everyone else the Blades made it a point to tell the world they didn’t need Coran’s help. Now they were sneaking around and meeting with him like the dodgy snakes they were.

“Lance, my boy. What are you doing here?”  
Coran sounded ruffled. Being caught would do that. Sliding his hands into his jeans, Lance shrugged, pretending this wasn’t awkward, and he didn’t feel like prey with the three of them walking towards him  
“I just came up to talk to Allura. Is she around?”  
“She’s in her office, I believe”  
“Great. Well... I’m gonna go... yep... gonna go find Allura...”  
And now he was overjustifying. Kolivan stared down at him, crossing his arms with a savage frown on his lips. Lance nearly found himself dropping down and begging for his life. The man was fucking scary  
“Can I ask why you wish to see Allura? I was under the impression you’d be leaving by now”  
Ouch. He was currently stuck. Things half packed  
“I’m not exactly here because I want to be. No offence, Coran. I... well... I was going to ask Allura if she wanted to go out for a drink and a catch up”

Coran nervously twirled his moustache  
“Sorry, my boy... Allura needs to stay here today. Why don’t you call Pidge and Hunk?”  
Okay. This was weird. Why was it that he felt Coran wanted Allura staying at VOLTRON because he was scared for her? Lotor better not have hurt her already  
“Nah. It’s fine. I wanted to see how she was. I’ll message Keith or something”  
“Ah. Yes. Well. Shiro and Keith will be required later too. Sorry. Lotor wishes to meet with them and we believe Allura may be able to obtain information pertinent to the investigation...”  
“That’s enough. Anything else is to be saved for the briefing”  
Coran tugged lightly on the end of his moustache   
“I’m sorry, Lance. He is quite right. Maybe today’s the day to go for a nice drive? You’ll find something to do. Only I ask that you please avoid the main floor. We don’t know what time we should expect Lotor’s arrival”  
“Coran, you don’t need to explain. It’s okay. I’ll visit Garrison, and catch up with Allura another time”

Heading back to his room. Lance gathered up his things. Lotor was coming on board to work with the Blades, meaning his presence here would potentially cause issues if the two of them were to bump into each other. Coran had promised to work on something for his scent and pheromones but these things took time and the man now had enough of his plate that Lance understood he didn’t really have time to be coming up with something like that. It’d suck not being able to say goodbye to Keith, but Keith had work and that needed to come first. Plus they’d made up yesterday. He’d overstayed his welcome. Not helpful in the current situation. Packing up and moving home was best for everyone... except Keith. He was being pathetic. He’d been spoiled being able to see Keith almost everyday. Mami was right. They were definitely in their honeymoon phase. He wanted to spend as much time with Keith as possible, but already had made his working life hard because his boyfriend had to take care of him during his heats. Putting it that way didn’t sound noble. It kind of sounded like he was running away from his problems. He should just call Keith and explain... but hearing his voice... he’d want to see him, and then he’d want to stay and he couldn’t stay. Ugh. Being in love was exhausting... Don’t get him wrong, he adored Keith, but if he wasn’t thinking about him then he probably would have gone back earlier.

Taking the cowards way out, he shot keith a text. Well. A series of texts explaining that for now he thought it’d be best. He knew Keith had abandonment issues and he’d really wanted to help with this “Krolia Keith issue”. But he was just one vampire head over-heels for his boyfriend. He thought maybe he get them to talk, yet if he was confined to the lower levels of VOLTRON he didn’t see how that was going to happen. With his things packed, it took two trips to his car. Keith hadn’t replied to messages, making him feel even worse about just leaving him in Platt. Keith had mentioned he wanted him to be able to go back to Garrison, where he’d be relatively safe... Matt and Rieva wouldn’t have returned there is it wasn’t... and with the three of them they’d put up a fair fight if anything happened.

*  
Blue kept him company for the drive. Clipping her lead to the passenger headrest, his precious princess curled up on the front seat, happy to be in the sun. Her legs stretched out, toe beans pointing towards him. She was just too cute. She’d made a friend in Kosmo and now Lance felt mean separating the pair of them. Maybe he should get another cat? If things were settling down for him, it’d be good for Blue to have some company... Though the house and grounds were her domain so an intruder might not be looked upon so nicely. Plus, she’d have to share her cat tree... and watch another cat eat wet food... Maybe another cat wasn’t such a good idea... Especially when Blue liked to “play” with him as a bat. He was likely to end up dead with a second feline there to help Blue. As Keith would say, he was overthinking things again. 

Reaching his house, he didn’t feel better about coming home. Hunk’s car was in the drive, him and Pidge probably already inside. After his craptastic day, part of him felt petty. Pidge wasn’t fine with sleeping over when it came to him. But she was apparently fine with two werewolves... It stung. Like maybe he wasn’t welcome in his own house anymore, like he wasn’t exactly welcome at VOLTRON. Now he was sitting in front of his house, he realised he’d left without picking up blood bags. He should have some still, from when he was going to move back before, but after skulking away, he felt foolish. His metaphoric tail tucked between his legs because the adults didn’t have time for him. Totally fucking lame. He’d stripped his room completely. Everything packed and in the back of his bronco. All that came now was pasting a fake smile on his face and greeting his friends again.

Matt and Rieva had heard him coming, Lance opening the door to the pair of them. As they wrapped their arms around him, it was the best he’d felt all day  
“You’re back!”  
Matt sounded happy. At least someone was happy to see him... Nope. No. No being petty. They were home and staying there now  
“Yep. Back for good”  
“We missed you, man! Come in already! We’ve been dying here. Hunk’s cooking is the only thing keep us alive”  
Lance snorted  
“You’ve missed me because you can’t cook”  
“Rieva can cook... but there’s just something not the same without you in the kitchen”

Matt was careless with his words. Rieva letting go of Lance and grabbing her boyfriend by the earlobe, Matt yelping  
“What was that?”  
Matt grabbed his girlfriend’s wrist  
“Okay! I said it wrong! You can cook! You can cook! Stop tearing my ear off!”  
Rieva grinned at Lance  
“Hear that? He’s volunteered for two weeks of dishwashing and drying. Now, if only I could get him so enthused about doing his washing”  
Lance raised an eyebrow  
“You haven’t trained him yet?”  
“At this stage he’s surviving on his good looks alone”  
“Then how is he still alive?”  
Matt frowned, Rieva letting go of his ear as she laughed. Crossing his arms, the werewolf put on an overly hurt tone  
“Man. That hurt. I thought we were buds?”  
“We are. Can I blame that on my ego?”  
“Only if you don’t get too mad about your living room”  
“What did you do to my house?”  
“Well... about that...”

It took naught-point-two seconds for Lance to wish he was buried out the back in his grave soil. His living room transformed. Now there were investigation boards up for Lotor. Rieva hadn’t given up on Lotor being bad... she’d just shifted her investigation here... roping in Hunk and Pidge from the look of it. He’d left Platt and now Platt seemed determined to mock him  
“What. The. Fuck?!”  
“Don’t freak out...”  
Matt could go jump if he thought Lance would be cool with this  
“You can’t just... What were you thinking?”

This right here was why vampires lived longer than werewolves! Rieva took him by the hand  
“I know this is hard for you, but we couldn’t let it go. Lotor’s bad news. His family is bad news. Please, Lance. This is the only safe place where we can work this out”  
From the sofa, Pidge looked up from her laptop  
“Rieva, ignore him. He worries too much”  
No. He worried just the right amount!  
“Of course I worry! You guys are mostly human! I didn’t come home to be caught up in an investigation that’d make me even more dead if the Blades found out!”  
“That’s why they can’t know. Shiro and Keith...”  
“I’m not lying to Keith. Both of them were booted from the investigation for a good reason. I can home to get away from this!”

Hunk came running from the kitchen. Oven mitts still on his hand  
“What’s all the... Lance?! You’re back?”  
Why did it feel like Hunk wasn’t happy to see him?  
“I am. And I see you guys have been busy”  
“Uh. Yeah. Uh, bud... you see... the thing is...”  
“The thing is you’re going to end up getting yourselves killed chasing this. I can’t believe you guys! You find out vampires are real and now you’re targeting one of the nastiest around? Seriously?! Do you know what you’re doing?! Allura is like a hair away from dating Lotor. Keith’s stressed out. Shiro and Curtis are finally dating. We’re all banned pretty much from going to VOLTRON while the Blades investigate this. And you bring it home?! This isn’t fun and games! People end up dead or they end up as something fucking worse. Pidge, you were scared and you haven’t even seen the worst of it! I told you I didn’t want her caught up in this! She’s your sister, Matt!”

Matt sighed  
“Look. I know you care about Pidge. But I care about keeping us all safe. Lotor is bad news...”  
“I know! Well I don’t know, but I know enough!”  
“You’re not a hunter...”  
Matt started to speak, Lance snapping mid sentence  
“You guys aren’t either! You want to be turned into pets? Is that it? You want to be fed on? You want to be tortured? Why?! Why would you do this?”  
Pidge stood up, yelling   
“Our parents know hunters! They know. They know about things!”  
“Then figure out how to help Curtis with his goddamn curse! Not how to bring down Lotor and get us all killed in the process!”  
Pidge’s parents knowing hunters kind of gut punched him. Pidge must have either forced them to talk to her or snooped. Probably snooped. Colleen was scary  
“You’re not our boss, Lance. We can’t let people get hurt! Or is your precious ego so fragile you don’t actually care about helping people?”  
Lance wanted to shake sense into Pidge. What happened to his always dependable ray of sunshine stopping her from being stupid?!  
“Of course I care! But we’re banned from investigating! You guys were knocked out by the Blades once. Kolivan isn’t going to be so kind the next time around!”  
“What does it matter if it stops people getting hurt?!”  
“Because you could die!”  
“And I could come back as a vampire! This is bigger than us”

Pidge didn’t get it. She didn’t get what being a vampire was like at all. Pidge turning into a vampire was the stuff of nightmares for him. Why were his friends so fucking stupid?!  
“I can’t... I can’t even look at you guys right now. Being a vampire isn’t a joke. It’s the worst existence you could think of. For 26 years I’ve looked 18. I’ve watched my family grow old. I tore my family apart. My sister Rachel became a drug addict because she couldn’t cope. I’ve left people behind. I’ve had to change my name and move. Everything you enjoy about being human is gone. Your precious coffee, drink that and you’ll be throwing it back up half an hour later. No caffeine buzz. No alcohol buzz. We go insane. That’s our fate. Our fate is loose our minds and turn into monsters. That’s if you even survive turning and you’re not hunted down and decapitated first. Our blood is so dangerous that even a hickey can turn our partners if they suck too hard. Fuck this. I’ll be in my grave my soil”

No matter which way he looked at it. He’d be the first to sign up for experimental time travel because today had sucked so hard that not even Keith calling him could make up for it.


	80. Chapter 80

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith just wants to punch people in the dick

80

Keith was not having a good day. Kosmo had eaten is phone charger. He’d left his personal phone in his jeans and now it was flat. His precious son wagging his tail happily as Keith scolded him. Shiro was in a fantastic mood as he blackened pancakes for breakfast. Keith unable to find anything good to say about the burnt offering placed down before him... before he’d had his second cup of coffee at that. No phone charger meant he couldn’t talk to Lance. They’d made up... but Lance hadn’t come home with him the night before, and Keith hadn’t wanted to call and admit he missed his presence.

After breakfast was over, he was then forced to go jogging with Shiro... along Shiro’s predetermined 3km track. It felt more like torture until the endorphins kicked in. Keith hated admitting he wasn’t as in shape as he usually was. And he hated admitting that he’d popped a boner in the bathroom thinking about Lance bent over the counter. So his mood could have been better... and maybe he was counting down until he could stop by Lance’s room. As far as he knew Coran didn’t have plans for them outside of a little bit of snooping around the club district. Personally Keith would have liked to spend more time narrowing down where Lotor lived in case he had to kill him... or kill his super annoying generals that insisted on teasing him and Shiro for wearing their stupid Blade uniforms to all the meetings. Keith didn’t see the point when they knew what his and Shiro’s faces looked like. Lotor was dancing around the issue. The Blades, oh so kindly, allowed them in as they discussed Antok’s previous mission, as if that gave them any kind of closure, while making it clear that they wanted to conduct their work without Shiro and Keith.

Coming out his room after dying off and forcing himself to get dress, Shiro was hanging up his phone. He was happy that Curtis and Shiro were finally dating, but he didn’t want to hear about it   
“That was Coran. The Blades are meeting with Lotor and his generals, and they want us there”  
Keith raised an eyebrow   
“You mean Lotor wants us there to laugh at”  
“I know it’s not great. But if Lotor wants us in on the case...”  
“The Blades won’t go for that”  
“They won’t have much choice if the expect Lotor to cooperate”  
“Lotor only looks out for Lotor. What are they going to do? Straight up ask him where Honerva’s base of operations is? Arrest him? Yeah... We both know how that will go”

They had no way to tell how long Lotor’s generals had been vampires but each of them wouldn’t hold back. A meeting between five vampires with strong egos, and four werewolves with strong egos kind of spelled trouble  
“That’s why we’re meeting to talk. I’m going to freshen up. Why don’t you take Kosmo downstairs to do his business?”  
“Yeah. Whatever”

Half an hour later they were walking into the bookshop. Krolia and Kolivan were waiting near the elevator. Keith still didn’t have anything to say to his mother. Lance had been shot and he wasn’t that quick to forgive. Stepping into the elevator, Keith’s stomach was rolling. Not from being Lactose intolerant but from nerves. His mother hadn’t said anything, and Kolivan never said anything without prompting. Shiro looked as uncomfortable as Keith felt. When the doors opened without Coran standing there to greet them, it felt even more awkward. Now Keith knew Coran had an alarm in his office, he liked to think the fae made tiny personal bets over how fast he could get to the doors and appear not to have rushed there. He also wondered if Coran rewarded himself whenever he set a personal best.

Following Krolia and Kolivan, things remained awkward, yet he felt even more awkward when they opened the door to the conference room and found they were the last two to arrive. Seated on one side of the table were the Blades, Lotor and his generals on the other. Narti had a blade in her hand, while Ezor was leaning back as far as her chair allowed. Keith smell all the weird scents Lance picked up, but he could smell the tension in the air. Lotor looked unamused, maybe even ruffled, dressed in a deep purple suit this time with some gaudy yellow flower pinned to his lapel. Keith was kind of growing used to the ridiculous suit. The vampire fae seemed to own one in just about every shade of purple.

Sitting in the chair second closest to the door, not even Allura’s welcoming smile helped ease his nerves. Coran wasn’t smiling. There was no tea. And now awkward or inappropriate greetings. It’d already been a long morning. Now it was going to feel like a lifetime stuck in this stupid briefing. Seeing Lance kind of knew almost everything going on, he wished his boyfriend was there to offer his ideas and help keep the peace. Once Coran had everyone’s attention, the man cleared his throat before greeting them  
“Uh... Thank you all for being here so early in the morning. A special thanks to our visitor Lotor and his esteemed generals”

Uh-oh. If Coran was pulling out the compliments so early that had to mean they were finally going to discuss Honerva today. He first had to bolster Lotor’s ego. Make it seem like they respected whatever bullshit he had to say. He’d seen signs where Lance’s ego seemed to be boosted by small gestures that Keith hadn’t thought twice about. Lance kept a firm lid on his ego the very best he could. But sometimes Lance’s whole body language would shift with something as simple as smile directed towards his boyfriend. Coran stroking Lotor’s ego only served to make Lotor seem more smarmy as his fake arse smile grew  
“Thank you for having us. It’s not normal for the Blades of Marmora to reach out to us. I hope this meeting won’t be in vain for both our sakes”

Coran nodded at Lotor’s words  
“Yes. I believe this meeting could be most beneficial in securing peace is maintained within Platt. That being said, I shall now hand this meeting over to Kolivan”  
Well... fuck... here came a long arse lecture. Because if there was one time they’d never shut Kolivan up, it was during a mission briefing. Rising from his seat, Kolivan wore a neutral expression. Keith finding himself instinctively sliding down in his seat. He’d been in the shit enough to know when Kolivan got all neutral, he was hardly as neutral inside  
“Let’s be direct. We know Honerva has started distributing a new fae based powder to the vampires of Platt...”  
Whelp. There it was  
“... We believe her distribution is in direct relation to how peaceful Platt has been in comparison to some European cities. Most human’s who live here have no idea they walk beside supernatural beings on a daily basis. This long kept peace makes an excellent testing grounds. As outsiders we will be conducting the investigation without personal bias. Now. We know for a fact that Honerva has dispatched one of Zarkon’s top commanders under the guise of requesting Lotor return to the family fold. We have several leads we are currently pursuing, yet our top priority at this point in time is to question Sendak without rousing suspicion...”

Lotor raised his hand in the universal “stop sign”. Keith holding his breath. No one stopped Kolivan like that  
“I regret to inform you, I wish to have nothing to do with my family’s affairs. I came here to reunite with Allura and find a safe place for me and my generals”  
Allura blushed. She was as bad as Lance   
Kolivan tried to counter  
“Honerva...”  
Lotor briskly butting in  
“Has nothing to do with me. My mother’s actions are not my sin to carry. I can facilitate a meeting with Sendak, but that would be acting against the best interests of my generals”

James scoffed  
“This why you can’t trust vampires. All he cares about is himself”  
Keith and Coran could both see the trouble that James comment could bring  
“I do believe we may need to take a moment to recompose ourselves. Lotor, you speak of finding a safe place. I have looked after this is city for so long it feels a lifetime. This new substance threatens that peace. Insanity. Growth in powers. We both know what that means in the hands of the wrong people. Platt barely holds its peace at the best of times, but we’ve managed so long because power struggles were kept in the dark. I’m appealing to you to help stop my city being bathed in blood”

Lotor sighed deeply as he crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair  
“I hardly know where to begin here. Honerva’s business is her own. I left my family’s estate to distance myself from her. That you would allude I am working for her is extremely disappointing. I have met with two of your field agents multiple times, yet yielded little in the way of results. My condition for our cooperation is that they both must be involved in the investigation, and we request an audience with your pet vampire you keep here at VOLTRON”

Keith blinked as he jerked his head back. Lotor meeting Lance... didn’t sound like a good idea. Not when Lotor was a vampire with a huge arse ego and Lance was the sweetest person he’d ever met. He very nearly outed their relationship, as his shock turned to anger. Lance wasn’t anybody’s pet. Lotor continued airily  
“Before you deny his existence, I can scent him on the air. A most intriguing scent at that, though beyond that, he is a vampire who has allied himself with these humans and their wolves. I want to see him. I want to see his ego. If he is strong enough to not care for ego, or if he has so little ego he is of no importance”

Keith just about saw red. Lance and his ego was none of Lotor’s business. Lotor could make things extremely difficult seeing he knew the Blades were behind the spate of murders across town. But Lance wasn’t a pawn. He was his boyfriend. Nothing like Lotor and Lotor provoking Lance would only upset him, if not send him into heat, which was definitely not happening. Lance had felt as if he’d cheated on Keith by being sent into an unexpected heat. He might not want Lotor, but Lance’s scent was impossible to ignore.

Coran paled, replying  
“We have no pet vampires. Here we have friends. I will speak with him”

Coran was a dirty rotten traitor. How could he entertain letting Lance in front of Lotor in his human form?!? Keith wanted to get up and storm out. He’d never live it down if he did, even if he felt like he was betraying Lance by not arguing against the meeting  
“Perhaps we can make plans to approach Sendak, so as to not waste any more of your time”  
Kolivan tried to be diplomatic. Lotor raising an eyebrow  
“You’ve come to me requesting my help, yet you don’t want to grant this one thing I ask of you. I have no business with the Blades. I feel one meeting hardly risks a thing a this stage, unless you are insinuating that you believe me to be untrustworthy, and are planning to secure my cooperation through apprehension. I should warn you such attempts will be met with the appropriate amount of resistance. Until this meeting happens, we will offer no assistance to the Blades and their pack of... wolves”

Then Lotor could fuck off. They’d figure it out on their own. Wait... Lotor just put them back on the investigation. Fuck. He’d been mad to be taken off, but being put on felt like being thrown a bone in pity, or a bone of manipulation. Lotor could smell Lance, and out of everyone, he’d be the one to most smell like his boyfriend... Lotor had given them fuck all in their meetings and time spent together. No leads. No contacts. No info on these murders... A shudder running down Keith’s spine at the memory of being dressed as pet. Pet life didn’t mean shit. Now people were going to die thanks to Honerva using Platt as a testing ground, and Lotor didn’t care because it did nothing to his status as the “European Prince”. What a load of shit. Lotor only needs glance in the doors direction for his generals to be standing. Rising like a king out of his throne, Keith had the feeling Lotor was “blasting” the Blades with his ego  
“We shall see ourselves out”

Keith waited long enough for Coran to hurry after Lotor and his gang before letting out a groan as he leaned forwards with his elbows on the table and his head in his hands. Kolivan was still standing. Probably thinking of how they were going to get Lance into a room with Lotor  
“Fucking vampires. That’s why you can’t trust any of them”  
Keith had had enough of James  
“James. How about you shut the fuck up?”  
“That’s rich coming from you. You did fuck all, Kogane”  
“I kept my mouth shut, which is more than we can say about you”  
“Trust the little vampire’s pet to be on their side”  
Allura placed her hand on Keith’s shoulder in support, or maybe to calm him before he completely lost his temper at James  
“Now. That is enough. I will speak with Lotor. Perhaps I can appeal to his better nature to be more cooperative”

He’d only be more cooperative if he thought he was getting a date with Allura out of it. Lance obviously hadn’t spoken to Allura, or Allura might not have been offering herself up like this  
“Number two, we should pay a visit to see Lance”  
“Lance isn’t a hunter”  
“No, but right now he may be what we need. I’m afraid I was a little brisk with him earlier. He may have gone to Garrison to visit”  
Good. The further away from Lotor the goddamn better as far as Keith was concerned... but what was this about Coran being un-Coran like to Lance?  
“I’ll talk to Lance. I’m firmly against them meeting, for the record. You know Lance is going through enough as it is”  
“That he is. Very well. We’ll head down now and see if he’s in. Kolivan, I suggest you draft a plan on the off chance Lance won’t meet with Lotor. I refuse to force him if he says no”  
Lance wouldn’t say no. His idiot crumpet would help. He’d help with a damn smile on his face as he did. Kolivan didn’t know Lance. Keith wanting to punch him as he took back control of the briefing, using his “boss voice”  
“That’s unacceptable. Our goal is to find the distribution centre. Lotor surely has the information we need. Lance will be meeting with him. Shirogane, Kogane, you will not be permitted in briefings until this matter is sorted”

Keith nearly scoffed. Kolivan reminding him how spoiled he was now to be working for Coran. Coran seeing them as people rather than walking weapons. It was hard to say if keeping his tongue made him strong, or too much of a coward to go against his bosses. Lance would have been proud. He hadn’t punched anything... or anyone. Nor had he stormed out. Kolivan seemed to think them both a liability now, though putting Shiro on the other with him definitely felt like some kind of dig at his brother’s skills.

“Hear that, vampire lover. You’re not wanted here”

“And you’re an obnoxious puppy, yapping his head off because his masters won’t let him play with the vampire. We should do the world a favour and take you to get neutered before you breed on your stupid”  
That was what Keith wanted to say. Threats of neutering worked well against Matt, at least they did when Lance said it. He didn’t want to disgrace himself further by picking a fight with James. Krolia was probably already disappointed by him just being there. He liked his job far better when he didn’t have the added pressure of his mother’s constant disappointment in him. Figuring the meeting was done, Keith pushed his chair back. He didn’t have time for people who didn’t have time for him.


	81. Chapter 81

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hunk will forever and ever be a ray of sunshine!

81

Lance was silently fuming in his grave. He’d lost his temper with his friends, and now he’d exiled himself to the backyard to avoid them. He didn’t want to be mad at them, but when they pulled stupid shit and made jokes over becoming a vampire, he couldn’t cope. Coming home to a home that kind of no longer felt like his, was bad enough. He’d hoped that what Matt wanted to show him was him kicking Pidge’s arse at some video game and Matt was simply making fun of him. Not this. Not some half baked idea of investigating Lotor. Rieva had been so scared they’d been forced to return to Platt, and now she was happily conspiring with Pidge and Hunk, like that fear didn’t matter. There was a reason hunters existed. They took care of things like this. Not two werewolves and two humans who’d only just found out that things really do to bump in the night. He wanted his life back. He wanted things to go back to hunting dumb ghosts and the occasional yucky feeling of death when they did. Why couldn’t they understand how he felt? He shouldn’t have lost his stupid temper, but being a vampire wasn’t something to joke about.

Being the light of his undead life, Hunk was the one who came to talk to him. Shovelling off Lance’s death dirt, Lance faked death until Hunk made it impossible to ignore him  
“Lance... I don’t know if you can hear me... but... Can we talk, buddy? I’m not used to this... You look dead in there and I don’t like how it feels seeing you dead”  
That was the nicest thing Hunk had said in ages. That he didn’t like seeing Lance laying in his shallow grave  
“I’m not changing my mind”  
Hunk sighed, Lance hearing the way his clothes rustled as his friend sat heavily, just short of where he’d dug Lance up   
“I don’t like this either... but Pidge wanted to help... and she needs someone there to keep her grounded”

Hunk was good at that. Provided Pidge was still listening and not swept away in an investigation   
“She needs to leave it alone before she ends up dead”  
“But you’re dead... and you’re okay?”  
He wasn’t okay. He’d just gotten very good at existing   
“I’m not going to watch her go through what I went through”  
“What... I mean, you totally don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I guess... maybe I don’t see the problem with you being a vampire”

Hunk wouldn’t. He saw the absolute best in everyone. Even when they didn’t see it in themselves, he kind of... brought it out of you. Lance couldn’t tell him. He didn’t want Hunk to pity him. He’d barely been able to tell Matt without Keith’s support  
“I... I can’t tell you. I can tell she should fear being a vampire. If Pidge was turned, she’d never be the person we know again. That’s if she kept her mind”  
“But you... kept yours? You’re not secretly a serial killer are you?”  
Lance could almost see Hunk worrying his pointer fingers together  
“No. I was turned young. Too young... My mind and body were more flexible. When we get older we get set in our ways. Our sense of self evolves as we grow. That’s the secret to keeping your sanity. It’s holding onto every little bit of humanity you can find”  
“That had to be rough... I...”

Hunk was so pure he wasn’t seeing the truth  
“You don’t know what to say. You’re cautious. I can hear the way your heart beats increased. I did everything I could to keep you out of this. But that all went up in flames in an instant. Yeah. I knew Matt was a werewolf before he came back. I prayed Pidge wouldn’t find out... and look what that got us. A whole lot of awkwardness and mistrust. You guys can talk and laugh about it because you’ve never seen a vampire properly. You’ve never seen humans paraded around as fresh meals on a lead. You’ve never felt hunger that robs you of your sanity. Pidge only saw a sliver and you were there to witness what that did to her. This isn’t a game and we can’t just drink slushies to feel better after a bad hunt. A bad hunt means you’re dead. Throat torn out for the fun of it... if you’re lucky. If you’re unlucky... it’s not a quick death”  
If you’re unlucky you turn out like Adam, but that wasn’t Lance’s secret to share.

Hunk fell silent. Lance’s hearing not good enough to hear the metaphorical cogs kicking over. It was a long moment before Hunk replied  
“You’re right. We don’t understand. It scared me when Matt suddenly showed us his wolf. I don’t know how to cope with any of this. I can’t even tell Shay and she totally thinks I’m flaky”

That wasn’t fair. Hunk was only flaky in the sense he was like a warm croissant  
“I know. Since I met you guys... I... I was scared. I’ve never had friends as close as family before. I’ve never loved having people around like I love you and Pidge. I’ve spent my adult life trying to atone for what I am. Realistically I should have died when I was a kid. I never enjoyed lying. My ego never thought I was better than you. If anything I envied you both. You both grow old. You grow old and fall in love. You make families and you know love. When you don’t age you get to watch everyone you love grow older and die before you. I love you guys warm and breathing...”  
“I don’t think Pidge is going to give up. Her... um... dad... he like knows about this kind of thing. And her mum... she’s pretty mad at both of them”

That made sense. Kind of... He’d thought Colleen and Sam had some sense that he wasn’t human. Though how they knew hunters wasn’t as clear. Platt was a big place. Most vampires and werewolves knew how to keep their heads down when they really needed to  
“I love her. I love her and I don’t know if I can support this. I can barely support Keith and he’s been a hunter for years now. I don’t... I spent a long time not being part of that world for a reason. Nothing good ever comes out of it”  
“Keith did...”

Touché. Keith and Shiro... they were a different kind of hunter. Eyes opened by personal tragedy that should have left them blood thirsty  
“Keith... with him... it’s different. He feels like... he feels like he’s been our friend for years. He was really hurt over what happened. He’s not the best with social cues and friends. He’s been through so much and I was so happy that you guys wanted to be friends with him”  
“He’s... nicer then when we met him”  
“That’s because he was convinced I was a blood sucking monster that fed on you as you slept”  
“That doesn’t make me feel good”  
“Relax. I swear I never ever fed on either of you. I had blood bags, and I never wanted to. I wanted to be human”  
“Is there a way to cure vampire-ism? Is it “ism?”. Do you guys have like a preferred term?”  
“I’m fine with whatever. But no. There’s no cure. I’m as dead as I can be without being in a hole in a ground”  
“Dude, you are literally in a hole in the ground”

Touché again. He was kind of cold buried up to his shoulders... His poor death soil hadn’t been taken care of at all. Stupid dandelions had invaded... He’d always kept the garden so meticulous   
“I know... Hunk, I don’t know what to do”  
“I don’t know what to do either, bud. What would Keith say?”  
“I don’t think he’s talking to me. I told him I was coming back here today and he didn’t reply”  
“Oh, man... I’m sorry... I didn’t know you two were...”

Two were what? Fighting? Lance thought they’d made up...   
“I don’t think we’re fighting... he just normally answers or he’s working... or sleeping. Shiro did get slightly drunk last night”  
“Oh yeah?”  
“Yep. Curtis finally took him on a proper date”  
“Like in public?”  
“No. They went to this underground vampire fighting ring that serves great wings. Yes, in public. Just because Curtis is slightly cursed doesn’t really mean anything”

Lance could hear Hunk scratching the back of his head  
“Dude. Relax. I’m joking. Curtis’s curse doesn’t mean he can’t go out and enjoy himself with Shiro. He styled his hair to hide his horn”  
“So like curses and magic are real? That’s a real thing?”  
“Yeah. I only found out about it not that long ago. Curtis used to be a hunter. I suppose he still kind of is, but he works for Coran now”  
“Like you work for Coran?”  
Hunk was curious, yet kind of freaked. Lance could hear it in his voice. He’d come out here for peace, but instead found himself having a much needed talk with Hunk  
“I don’t work for Coran. Coran takes care of like all the supernaturals and hunters in Platt. I’ve known him since I was turned. He helped me and my family out a lot with adjusting to me being the undead”  
“So if anything goes wrong...?”  
“I go to Coran. He’d welcome you guys too. He’s heard all about both of you”  
“I don’t know how that makes me feel”  
“Nothing bad. Just... you guys really mean a lot to me. You’re not the first humans I’ve been friendly with, but you’re the most important people in my life to date. And Keith. I didn’t even tell him I was coming back today. I messaged him... but he didn’t reply...”

Silence fell between them again. Lance content to let Hunk take his time, which he did, before finally starting to talk again  
“Lance. Is there a reason you left Platt? If you were happy there... you could have stayed to be with Keith if you’d wanted”  
“I was in Platt because Rieva was concerned for our safety with Lotor around. Lotor comes from a really bad family. Like worse than every vampire movie you’ve seen put together. His mother’s worse than Elizabeth Bathory. Hell, she probably got her twisted ways from her...”  
“Or from pop culture”

Lance shook his head, sending dirt across his face. That was the trouble with burying himself. Maybe it was time to invest in a nice body bag, or a proper coffin to keep the dirt out  
“She’s been alive longer than pop culture has existed. If Lotor suddenly proclaimed she was Elizabeth, I don’t think I’d actually be surprised”  
“Is she really that bad?”  
“Rieva didn’t tell you? The woman’s got a screw loose up there. More like she’s walked into a hardware store, pulled every packet of screws off the shelf, opened them all, then thrown them everywhere as she then bosses the staff into cleaning up the mess she’s left”  
“That doesn’t sound good”

It sounded like a total chaotic shit show. Kind of like how the Blades conveniently marched to the beat of their own drum  
“Not particularly. Bud, I know you always see the good in people, but you need to see Honerva isn’t a person. Those invisible lines the of law that keeps us in line doesn’t apply when you’re that powerful. Going after Lotor could bring that madness down on all of you. Not just us, but everyone you love. I’m so happy you and Shay finally started dating, and I’m not telling you to choose but if you ever feel you have to, then please choose her. You two are so perfect for each other. I want to see you grow old together... I want you both to be happy”

Hunk sighed heavily   
“I... don’t know if I can ignore what’s happening... I don’t want... I don’t want to see people hurt because I wasn’t brave enough to do something”  
Because Hunk loved his friends as fiercely as Lance loved them  
“Then... then I don’t know. But don’t chase anything. I can let Keith know, or Coran, but I can’t lose you, even if it makes you hate me. The world is a better place for having you and Pidge in it... always remember that. I’m going to take a nap out here”  
Moving seemed like effort. Inside smelt like werewolf. The gremlin was cranky. Here seemed as good as any spot to wallow  
“You’re going to take a nap?”

Hunk sounded surprised. Then again, he wasn’t used to Lance napping in the ground. Lance wasn’t used to Lance napping in the ground, but the soil felt kind of reassuring   
“It’s fine. I spent three months making this soil. It’s actually good for me. Helps promote healing all that... I’ll be okay”  
“I don’t like leaving you in there alone”  
Lance snorted, mentally imagining Hunk trying to climb in beside him  
“I’ll be okay. Just don’t let Matt pee on me. I think I need some me space”  
“Should... should I cover you back up?”  
“If you want to. I’m pretty cozy in here”  
“But... don’t you need to breathe?”  
“Eventually. I breathe. But I can also hold my breath a ridiculous amount of time”  
“Dude... that’s so weird”  
“Welcome to having a friend who’s a vampire. Seriously though. I really love you guys. I want to be here with you... I... Thanks for coming to check on me. I know this isn’t easy for you”  
“Well... like... you know... we’re like best friends... right?”  
“Best friends forever, buddy”


	82. Chapter 82

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dumb boyfriends are the dumbest

82

Keith was shaking. Staring at Lance’s empty room, he couldn’t stop shaking. Lance was supposed to be in his or visiting Garrison, not gone from VOLTRON without a word of goodbye. The hunter felt as if his heart had been physically crushed as it raced. His boyfriend hadn’t told him he was leaving. He’d packed up and left him behind. He’d disappeared. Sure, they’d been a bit shaky the past few days, but they’d made up. They’d cuddled on the sofa until cuddling wasn’t enough. They’d kissed... Lance... Lance hadn’t said... Was this because of him? Because he wanted to celebrate Lance’s birthday? He wanted to do something nice for his boyfriend. Show him that he was happy Lance existed. And now he was gone. Nothing remained in his room. Not Lance’s clothes. Not his computer or laptop. Not Blue’s litter tray. Nothing at all.

Feeling Coran’s hand on his shoulder, Keith’s watery purple eyes looked his way  
“I’m sorry my, boy. I may have been too hard on him this morning. He seemed to have something he wished to discuss with Allura, and I’m afraid he caught me talking with Kolivan and Krolia. He must have left soon after...”  
Coran sounded upset. Keith still couldn’t imagine Coran being short with Lance. Whatever had happened, Lance must be really upset to have disappeared on them  
“... Number Two, are you okay? I’m most certain Lance wouldn’t have left because of you”

That wasn’t the right thing to say. Keith feeling anger flicker and die out in an instant as coldness set in. He felt cold. Like their was no air in the room. Lance was always going to return home to Garrison... but now he had, it almost felt like he’d been dumped and left behind   
“Then why did he leave without saying anything?!”  
“I don’t know. If he’s returned to Garrison, perhaps young Matt will know?”  
But that didn’t tell him why. They’d made up. He thought they were okay. Maybe Lance not coming home with him meant they weren’t and he was too stupid to get it?  
“He... he does this. He walks away when he can’t cope... What did you say to him?”  
Lance... Lance wouldn’t leave him. He’d said he loved him  
“I... merely... asked him what he was doing and asked that he avoid the main floor due to Lotor visiting... Perhaps he took to that mean... oh, dear. Let’s return to my office and I’ll call Matt, ask him to let Lance know that there was no need to leave as he did”  
“Don’t bother. I’ll go see him”

He wouldn’t let Lance decide they were over without telling him why  
“I don’t know if the Blades would be comfortable with you leaving”  
“Coran, I honestly don’t care. They don’t want us. They don’t want me. They don’t even care about Lance. You heard Kolivan. He basically said if Lance didn’t help that there’d be consequences. Them coming here has reminded me of everything that’s wrong with the Blades. I’m going to go see him. Whether he wants to come back is up to him”  
“Maybe I should come with you? Explain the situation?”  
Or maybe Coran could stay here. Something made Lance leave and until Keith was sure Coran wasn’t the reason, he wasn’t letting him see his boyfriend. Wiping at his teary eyes, his voice was as cold as he physically felt  
“I think you’ve done more than enough”

*  
Keith wouldn’t admit he’d nearly gotten himself cleaned up by a truck as he drove to Garrison. His mind on Lance and his well-being, not this shit with Lotor and Coran. He didn’t know for sure Lance would be home, not until he saw the blue bronco parked in front of Lance’s house, still loaded with his boyfriend’s things. Parking his bike up near the front steps, Keith was off the bike and tugging at his helmet within seconds of cutting the engine, too driven to be nervous over Lance potentially dumping him. Running up the front steps, he let himself in. Lance’s house feeling oddly cooler than he remembered. Like Lance not being there had taken the life out of the old manor home  
“Lance?!”

Jogging into the living room, he found Pidge sitting on the sofa looking upset. Matt and Rieva sat either side of her, while Hunk sat on the coffee table, Pidge’s hands in his. Keith stumbling slightly because Lance wasn’t there and they all looked thoroughly upset  
“Where’s Lance?”  
Hunk turned his head towards him, letting go of Pidge’s hands as he did. The man seemed pretty shocked to see him. Did Lance already tell them it was over? Was that why they were upset?  
“Out the back... He’s... uh... buried himself... He... didn’t mention you’d be coming, man”

Keith left the rest of the gang there, jogging through the house and out to the backyard. Lance was in the process of sitting up in his shallow grave  
“What the fuck?! Why the fuck did you leave like that?! Do you know what it did to me to find you fucking gone! If you wanted to break up, you could have told me to my fucking face!”  
Yelling at Lance, Keith threw his helmet at him for good measure. Failing to catch his helmet, it hit Lance in the side of the head with a solid thud  
“Mother-ducker! What the hell?! What the fuck, Keith? I thought you were in Platt!? What are you talking about? Didn’t you get my message?!”

Keith crossed his arms, staring down at Lance as Lance tossed his helmet out of his grave and rubbed the side of his head. Only Lance would swear like he’d been autocorrected  
“I didn’t get any message! You left!”  
Lance wasn’t getting away with it that easily   
“I messaged you! Don’t you check your phone?! I made sure to explain that I wasn’t leaving because of you and that I was leaving because I was in the way with my pheromones!”  
“Kosmo ate my charger!”

Both their heads jerked back as realisation hit them. Keith moving to pinch the top of his nose in a very Shiro way. Lance covering his face with his dirty hands. Both of them groaning, before Lance took a deep breath then slowly released it  
“Babe. I messaged you this morning around about 7am”  
“I left my phone in my jeans. I went to charge it and found Kosmo had eaten half the cord”  
“And you thought I’d left.... God. No, babe... fuck. Wait there”

Lance climbed out his grave soil, brushing himself off before raising his right hand to rest on the spot where Keith’s helmet had hit him. With a wobbly smile, his boyfriend held his left arm out. Feeling really fucking stupid, Keith shuffled over and into Lance’s embrace  
“You disappeared”  
Tears formed too quickly. Keith sniffling as he rested his head on Lance’s shoulder  
“I know. I know how much it scares you, that’s why I messaged you to explain everything”  
“I thought you’d left me behind”  
“Not permanently. Never permanently. I felt like I overstated my welcome and was just in the way at VOLTRON”  
“Coran said he was short with you”  
“He kind of was. But I’m not exactly making things easy by being there. Babe, I’m so sorry. I absolutely promise you that I didn’t just leave”  
“You could have called”  
“Your phone was dead. That’s why you came all the way out here”

Lance’s hand moved from his head to Keith’s back. His boyfriend rubbing it softly as he sighed. Lance knew how much it’d shaken him to find him gone   
“I overreacted”  
“A little bit. I would never dump you by disappearing. I want to be there for you, not scare you”  
“I felt like I couldn’t breathe. What were you even doing buried?”  
“Because our dumb friends want to keep investigating and Pidge made a joke about how her death didn’t after because she could always come back as a vampire. First they tell me they’re farting on the investigation, then she says that. I lost my cool and came out here to wallow”

Thank god. Thank fuck. Thank whoever. Lance was okay. He was okay and he didn’t want to break up. God. Keith felt so foolish. He didn’t want to feel foolish. He didn’t want to talk about the mess in his head at the thought Lance being gone from his life   
“You haven’t wallowed in a while”  
“Nope. Today was just a particularly crappy day”  
“My day was shit too”  
“What happened?”  
“Lotor made the Blades out Shiro and I on the investigation team. He doesn’t want to help us. He won’t until he meets you and sees your ego. And the I found you gone completely and I couldn’t... I couldn’t even breathe. I thought you’d never... I’d never...”  
Lance nuzzled into his hair, his boyfriend smelt of damp dirt  
“Okay. Okay... You had a scare. Do you want to go somewhere and talk?”  
Keith nodded. Matt and Rieva would be laughing at how stupid he was  
“Yeah. We need to talk. And you’ve got dirt in your hair”  
“Let me take a quick shower, then we’ll get out of here”

*  
Keith didn’t know why the only place he knew how to get to in Garrison, other than Lance’s house, was the graveyard. Parking his bike off the road and under the shade of the trees, he and Lance both climbed off his bike. Since Lance didn’t own a helmet, Keith insisted his boyfriend wear his, taking things much slower than he usually would. Pulling off the helmet, Lance set it on the bike, eyeing their surrounds with a look Keith couldn’t put his finger on.

“Babe, I’ve got to tell you, every time we come here I get nervous you’re going to bury me”  
Keith shrugged, feeling self conscious. Lance should know better by now  
“I don’t know my way around Garrison”  
“I know... here, there’s a bench in the cemetery we can sit there and talk”  
“You won’t get too much sun?”  
“Nah. Plus, I’ve got my big bad bikie boyfriend to protect me”  
Keith groaned, how could he not  
“I’m not a bikie”  
“So you admit you’re big and bad. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were trying to get into my pants”  
Keith blushed hard. He’d trailed into the bathroom after Lance, sitting on the counter as his boyfriend cleaned up  
“Shut up”  
Laughing lightly, Lance took him by the hand.

Leading him to the bench, the wood looked hardly sturdy enough to support their combined weight. In the distance a cow let out a lazy moo. Birds were chirping. Life went on around them, yet whenever he was alone with Lance it felt like they were the last people in existence. Alone together in the world. Sitting down, Lance patted the spot next to him, Keith sitting down carefully with a cringe  
“Relax. They really knew how to build a bench that lasts back in the day. Now. I’m sorry I left without waiting to say goodbye in person”  
“You scared the shit out of me”  
“I know. It’s just... I’ve been thinking about coming back for a while now and my presence seemed like it was going to cause more trouble if I stayed at VOLTRON”  
“You could have come home with me...”

Lance sighed softly, his hand taking Keith’s. Keith’s stomach dropping at the sound of his boyfriend’s sigh  
“You know I can’t. You and Shiro, you need that to be your safe space”  
“Are you saying I’m not safe with you?”  
“No. No, babe. I would never hurt you. No. I mean... I’m not a hunter. I’m a vampire. My scent clings to you and all it would take is one wolf to scent me and know you’re not what you seem to be. You’re safety is my priority. Then there’s Shiro to think about too. He’s okay with us now, but he’s still working through his trauma over losing Adam. I’m not trying to sound like I’m blaming or belittling him, but that’s his home too. Look... I’m not saying this very well. I would love that in the future. To be there every single day when you come home. To help you. To support you. But I need to work on me and finding my feet again. I need to learn how to balance things and when I with you, I don’t ever want to leave. I love spending time with you. You’re like... like the future. A vampire hunter who really understands there’s more to things than how they appear. At the moment, stopping Honerva needs to be the priority. And I just don’t know what to do with myself”

Lance sounded so sad. So sad that Keith’s heart hurt  
“I’m sorry... I thought...”  
“You thought I was happy? I was. I really was. You make me so stupidly happy I can’t believe it half the time. But I don’t work for Coran. I became a lawyer to help children, and I don’t think I can use that skill set to help at the moment. My life was... I thought I was fine and now I know what falling in love feels like, I want to work on myself without lies or secrets. I don’t want to be a burden”  
“You’re not a burden”  
“I feel like it. Like I’m holding everyone back. My pheromones are still all over the place. They were supposed to settle, but they obviously haven’t if Coran thinks I need to avoid the main floor of VOLTRON”

Stupid Coran. Couldn’t he have explained it to Lance without making him feel like shit and stuff  
“Coran had no right...”  
“He’s just trying to look out for everyone. My scent affects people. You know that for yourself. If I accidentally sent a vampire or werewolf mad and something horrible happened I couldn’t live with that. So much has happened in the last few months that... It really makes me feel small and insignificant. Confused and useless. Like... I knew what I was doing before, but now I’m in deep water and barely know how to keep afloat. If it wasn’t for you, I don’t think I could have made it this far. My heats leave me a mess. My body’s still changing. But you... you make me feel alive. It’s me who doesn’t know what he’s doing”

Lance’s overthinking had gotten the best of him. He’d left because the man he saw as family had made him feel like a burden   
“Babe...”  
Lance leaned his head against his shoulder, softly mumbling  
“I don’t want to break up”  
“I don’t want to break up either. I know you’re not a hunter. You said Pidge was working a case?”  
“Rieva still sees Lotor as a threat. She... she wants to help but she’s also too curious”  
“Then what do we do?”  
Keith felt lost. The idea of Pidge and Hunk being harmed was scary. They were out of their depths  
“I don’t know. They’re not going to leave it. I don’t know how to conduct a hunt like you and Shiro. This isn’t a ghost hunt. There’s real evil waiting at the end of this hunt”  
“Do... do you want me to say something?”  
“To who? Pidge and Hunk are still learning about this world. Coran will worry. Kolivan will probably arrest them again. I got so mad at them. I was mean to Pidge”

Now he got why Lance felt so lost. Instincts told him to yell at the others for being so stupid  
“You feel like you have to be here, don’t you?”  
“It’s what I’ve always done”  
“Where does that leave us?”  
“That’s what I’m working out. Is it wrong to want to want work on myself?”  
They’d had that conversation more than once. There were half a dozen small ways Keith found himself working on himself without thinking about it  
“No. We’ve talked about this. You’re not a hunter... but you know, you really did do a good job when you tried to help us figure out what Antok had done. Lotor wants to meet with you. He told Kolivan he’d only cooperate if Shiro and I were brought in on it and if he got to meet you”  
“Oh goody. Prince Turd himself wants to meet me?”  
“You’re not shocked?”

Lance raised his head, meeting Keith’s eyes  
“If it helps, I’ll do it”  
“I don’t think you should”  
“Lotor’s holding all the cards right now. Let me guess. He was all like “I won’t help unless you do what I want? I’m a vampire and I’m a douche canoe””  
Keith snorted  
“You sounded just like him. His conditions were he does nothing until you meet”  
“And when is this meeting meant to take place?”  
“Kolivan would say as soon as possible”  
Lance dropped his head, before rubbing his cheek against Keith’s arm  
“Kolivan really doesn’t like me. He wanted to know why I was still in Platt. That reminds me. They were talking about Sendak and a shipping yard. I don’t know if that means anything to you, but it felt important”  
“Kolivan’s thinking of apprehending Sendak. He wanted to arrange a meeting. Lotor shot that down. He says he doesn’t want anything to do with his family”  
“That might be true... From what Rieva said, I’d run away too”

Keith jerked slightly, confusing on coming out as anger  
“You think we should believe him?!”  
Lance pulled away, frowning heavily   
“What? No. Personally I think Rieva’s biological parents were killed by someone related to Honerva, and that’s why she can’t talk about it”  
Rieva had talked... but she’d definitely held stuff back   
“If that’s true, then why hasn’t she told the Blades? Or Coran?”  
“Probably for the same reasons I can’t talk about being turned. I snapped about it earlier. Tell Kolivan I’ll meet with Lotor, but I need a bit of time first. Just, like, a few days. Maybe like on the weekend? Kolivan can come up with questions or whatever he wants me to try to ask?”  
“Lotor doesn’t like questions. Babe... I don’t think this is a good idea”  
“Probably not. I was going to talk to Allura about what she thought about him”  
Lance was going to go through with it. Keith had known before he asked, but it made him feel sick with the “what-ifs”  
“You could go into heat”  
“I could. But... I feel like I can do this”

Lance’s ego might have been ruffled. Lance sounded too confident at meeting Lotor. Lance knew Lotor was bad news. Maybe his ego thought it’d be a chance to show Lotor he wasn’t to be dismissed so easily. Keith didn’t like it one but  
“You can’t... I won’t let you meet him alone. I don’t want you... I don’t know what he’s going to make of you. He’s part fae and he’s so arrogant that even I feel his ego coming off him. You have to think this through. We don’t need him. We can work it out”  
“Babe, Allura is our friend and if she has her heart set on him, I want to see him myself. I know he’s using you and Shiro for his own means, and he’s probably going to fuck with us, but... yeah. I have to do it. Maybe I’ll understand Rieva better if I do?”

Lance loved his friends so much he was stupid. A big fat idiot crumpet. He wasn’t listening to him  
“You really are stupid... What am I supposed to if you get hurt?”  
Lance leaned back into him  
“That’s why I won’t be alone. Coran will be there. You, and Shiro. I won’t meet him alone”  
“You trust us to keep you safe from him?”  
“Dah. And I trust you not to let my ego get too big. You keep me anchored, and shit”  
His boyfriend kissing his arm  
“This is a dumb idea”  
“Probably, it’s about par for us though”  
Keith sighed. They didn’t have a lot of choice  
“I wish we weren’t this dumb”  
Lance chuckled, squeezing his hand comfortingly. Neither of them in any particular rush to head back to their friends just yet  
“So do I. Idiot boyfriends doing idiot things”  
Kissing Lance’s hair, Keith buried his face in the soft locks. Lance hadn’t pressed on his abandonment issues, which Keith was grateful given how’d he reacted  
“Yeah... two halves of the same idiot right here”  
“Damn right...”


	83. Chapter 83

83

Sorting out his personal life wasn’t an easy thing to do. Half Lance’s small supply of blood tasted off. Not being able to eat left him hangry, and his pride left him unable to reach out to Coran. Keith would have come in an instant if Lance had asked, but he was feeling so stressed for having his house turned into “Investigation Headquarters” by his friends that he didn’t want to worry his boyfriend.

The week took its time to slowly come to an end. Lance dressing in his best suit, trying to look like he had more ego than brains. Light headed with hunger. He’d thrown up twice that morning from the scent of bacon, well, the smell of cooking fat. His stomach felt like it was filled with rotten fish as it cramped from hunger. Nothing but blood would soothe it at this stage. Matt was worried about him, offering to drive Lance over to Platt, but being a moody hungry douche, Lance had brushed him off. He’d eat when he got to VOLTRON. Until then, the extension of his fangs would make him look tougher than he was. He’d tried his last blood bag to find it tasted definitely off and dead. It was his fault for not having the brains to think about it before just leaving like he had. 

Messaging Keith to let him know he was leaving Garrison, he was met by Shiro and Keith in front of the bookstore. Keith immediately noticing he wasn’t feeling well. His ego didn’t take it well, causing him to hiss when his boyfriend reached towards him to help him up the curb. Shiro echoed Keith, but his voice sounded far more annoying, like he thought Lance had intentionally done this to himself. Wisely Lance kept his mouth closed, thinking he if could make it through the meeting then that’d be all there was to it.

Only. Lotor changed the rules at the last moment. He wanted to meet with Lance alone, Coran apologising profusely as Lance sweated up a storm. He couldn’t remember feeling this dead since he’d drunk Keith’s blood to save him. Keith started yelling, Lance whimpering at the sound. He didn’t like when Keith yelled. Unless they were being idiots and yelling at each as they did. Gritting his teeth, his stupid ego flared, almost cruelly disregarding his friends worries as he followed the scent in the air away from the group. It wasn’t a repulsive scent, but it wasn’t a welcoming one. Moving faster than intended, he left behind the others, plunging into the briefing room, and in to face Lotor alone.

Yeah. He was stupid. He’d barely made it inside the door before he was facing a face full of Lotor’s pheromones. The man dressed in a gaudy purple suit, pattered with silver dragons and clouds. Rising from his seat, Lotor looked him up and down as Lance swallowed hard. He felt a hairs breath away from having his knees buckle  
“You must be Lance”  
There was a kind of dreaminess in Lotor’s tone. He couldn’t quite latch onto the words. Lance felt himself moving, but as if he wasn’t in control of himself. Walking over to the table, Lotor eyed him almost as I he was laughing, Lance baring his fangs in offence, feeling stronger than he had thanks to his ego. Sitting down, Lance crossed his arms like a petulant child, Lotor sitting across from him with an easy smile on his lips   
“To think they’d let you walk around in such a condition. I can see the hunger in your eyes. And your scent... You’re not quite a normal vampire”  
Waving a hand, he wasn’t going to admit his hunger  
“Bad blood... I hear you wanted to speak to me?”  
“I did. I was most curious to see the vampire they kept so guarded here”  
“I am hardly guarded. If anything your manipulative little games gives me the impression you’re not all you seem either”

Lotor’s face twitched, eyes narrowing, fangs lengthening   
“Your ego remains. I expected someone more meek”  
Lotor’s ego flared, Lance’s flaring in response. He felt completely dominated by the man, like he wanted to drop to his knees and bare his throat. Lotor commanded the room. The way Lance did in court. Humming, Lotor leaned forward, eyes locked on Lance  
“Interesting. You keep your head raised. You should be submitting by now”  
“I’m sorry. I don’t submit for just anybody”  
“I suppose you don’t. You’re not a typical breeder. My mother has introduced me to a fair few with the hopes of producing an heir. Terribly annoying”  
“That I don’t submit?”  
Lotor chuckled. It really did feel like a dream. Maybe Lotor’s pheromones were messing with his head?  
“That she thinks I am of marrying age. Now. If I am to align myself with these humans, I require evidence of their skills. Not anyone could stand against Sendak. My mother will take personal offence to your actions. So, I ask that you perform two simple tasks for me”  
“I have the feeling what your asking would ensure mutual destruction should she hear”  
“Nothing drives bonds like being driven into the same corner. To secure my help, I ask for two things. The first requires you to acquire something for me. A certain object... consider it a family relic”  
Lance snorted, tone teasing as if mocking Lotor   
“That you cannot fetch yourself?”  
“I could indeed. Yet I want to see what your made of. A test of skill hardly means much if I complete your task for you”

Lance’s eyelids felt as if they were dropping... Lotor really was... dreamy... With great effort, he arched an eyebrow   
“You said two tasks”  
He was slurring... why was he slurring? He didn’t like this...  
“The second task will take place after you complete the first. Keep your eyes on me... I need your full attention”

*  
Keith, Shiro and Coran entered the room as Lotor and Lance stared at each other across the table. Lance’s long fingernails, wicked and cruel, matching Lotor’s own extended nails. Neither man turned to acknowledge them, something silently happening between them. 

Not letting Lotor get to him, Keith sat himself down in Lance’s left, Shiro on his right. Coran standing just behind them. Lotor paid then no mind, far too focused on Lance  
“Interesting. You keep your head raised. You should be submitting by now”

What? Was that why the room felt so... “sticky”. Keith didn’t know how to describe it. The feeling kind of akin to watching a fly stuck to one of those paper roll things that hung from the ceiling. Coldly, Lance replied  
“I’m sorry. I don’t submit for just anybody”  
“I suppose you don’t. You’re not a typical breeder. My mother has introduced me to a fair few with the hopes of producing an heir. Terribly annoying”  
“That I don’t submit?”

Lotor chuckled, eyes flicking towards Keith for a moment. Keith didn’t like this... Lance was all vampirey, and Lotor was dangerous  
“That she thinks I am of marrying age. Now. If I am to align myself with these humans, I require evidence of their skills. Not anyone could stand against Sendak. My mother will take personal offence to your actions. So, I ask that you perform two simple tasks for me”

Two simple tasks? Nothing was ever simple with Lotor. If Lotor wanted something, then it wouldn’t be simple. Keith went to interrupt, Coran placing his hand on Keith’s shoulder to keep him from butting in  
“I have the feeling what your asking would ensure mutual destruction should she hear”  
“Nothing drives bonds like being driven into the same corner. To secure my help, I ask for two things. The first requires you to acquire something for me. A certain object... consider it a family relic”  
“That you cannot fetch yourself?”

The way Lance asked sent a shiver down Keith’s spine. His boyfriend letting his ego bait Lotor   
“I could indeed. Yet I want to see what your made of. A test of skill hardly means much if I complete your task for you”

Watching Lance out the corner of his eye, his boyfriend’s eyes were slowly sliding closed, without ever breaking his held gaze on Lotor   
“You said two tasks?”  
Lance slurred his words a little. Keith fighting not to interfere. He felt useless for not speaking up, but Coran made it clear they were to watch and wait  
“The second task will take place after you complete the first. Keep your eyes on me... I need your full attention”

Lance didn’t make any attempts to communicate or acknowledge Lotor wanting his attention. Lotor going on to explain that he wanted them to get a certain item from the place he’d already marked out on a map. Staring at the map, Keith couldn’t make heads or tails of it. That’d be a job for later. Once Lance was away from Lotor and his ego. Giving them 24 hours to collect the item, Lotor thanked them for their time, before calmly walking to the door. Lance continued to sit, still staring forward.

“Your friend here ingested bad blood. I suggest you give him medical attention as soon as possible. He’s quite unique. I see why you keep him locked away”  
Giving them a wave, Lotor let himself out the briefing room. As the door closed behind him, Keith moved to take Lance’s face in his hands. His boyfriend felt clammier than normal, head lolling limply in Keith’s hands. A fine layer of sweat clung to Lance’s skin. No wonder Lance was so grumpy   
“Shit. He’s got a fever”  
“Bring him to my examination room immediately. Bad blood. Dear me. That’s not good at all”

Lance threw up as Keith laid him on the table. The hunter rolling his boyfriend into the recovery position as Coran fetched a towel out one of his weirdly stocked cupboards  
“He would have realised the blood was bad as he drank. There won’t be too much in his system, though I’m concerned how this will affect his hormonal levels. Number one, please move that waste bin over. Number two, I need you to keep him grounded, and make sure he’s not got anything in his mouth”  
Passing him the towel, Keith lifted Lance’s head to clean up the vomit down the side of his face. Shiro grabbed the tissues off Coran’s desk, starting to clean the mess sticking to the plastic table. Coran fetching a fresh blood bag out his small fridge  
“Normally we’d purge his system, but we haven’t the time for a full purge. We’ll have to rely on fresh blood to dilute whatever’s in his system. Not to worry, it’s not the first time we’ve had a bad blood incident”

With Coran taking care of the city’s vampires, Keith couldn’t help but blame him for the bad blood. Surely Coran sourced his blood responsibly. With Lance’s face cleaned, Keith passed the towel to Shiro as he lowered Lance’s head back down. His boyfriend was shaking like mad, Keith stroking his hair as he tried to comfort him  
“Can we get a couple of blankets? He’s cold”  
“In two shakes of a donkey’s hind leg. Once this IV line’s in, well bundled him up all safe and warm as a... whatever you humans say”  
“As warm as bug in a rug. Right, Keith?”

Shiro shot him a wink that Keith ignored. If he’s been in the mood to be messed with, he would asked Lotor to stay. Whimpering as Coran inserted the cannula, Keith hushed Lance gently   
“Are you that’s going to help?”  
“Quite sure. A few tickeroonies and he’ll start improving. I must take a sample of his blood and pheromones while he’s here. It’ll help to know what Lotor’s pheromones triggered with him”  
“He’s not a pin cushion”  
Coran chuckled  
“My dear boy, I know he is no such thing. I need to know if something happened to him on a more cellular level”

Shiro used the towel to clean up the last of the vomit, dropping it into the bin when he was done. Hovering, Shiro didn’t know what to do with himself   
“So bad blood makes him this sick?”  
Coran nodded, connecting the IV line and hanging the bag of blood up on the pole  
“This is very mild symptom wise. It may all be from shock. Lotor has quite the ego”  
“Is he in heat?”  
“Not at all. Keith would be very clear about it if he was. No. He looks quite ill. Let me check his gums after I take my samples”  
“I could check them while you work?”  
“That’d be most excellent. Keith, please continue to keep him calm. Shiro, pull up his top lip and describe what you see”

Lance tried to jerk his head away from Shiro’s fingers near his mouth. Pulling his brother’s hand back, he felt way too protective of his boyfriend to let Shiro paw at him  
“Your scents upsetting him. Let me do it”  
“Keith...”  
“It’s fine. Lance knows my scent and I’ve seen Coran do this before”  
Pulling Lance’s lip up, Keith eyes Lance’s gums   
“His teeth are fully extended and the gums are really pale”  
Coran hummed, Keith letting go of Lance’s lip  
“A sign of hunger. He hasn’t been eating enough. Fresh blood would be best”  
“He can have some of mine... but he prefers bag”  
“That’s a very kind off, but we’ll make do with what we have here. It’s important we keep him nice and comfortable. Shiro, perhaps you could undo his shoes. These tests should only take a moment, then we’ll have a little looksie at that map of Lotor’s. and I must call Kolivan. He’s most insistent. Bordering rude if I must be honest”

Keith didn’t care about the map. He was stuck on Lance not eating properly  
“Is there a reason Lance wouldn’t eat?”  
Asking helped distract him from the needles Coran was getting out  
“Any number. I imagine drinking bad blood would have put a dent in his appetite. He could also be nearing his heat and simply not hungry... though he’d be more inclined to eat as his body prepares to go without regular feeding. Now, this first needle may hurt the mostly. I’ll be taking a sample of his womb, just to make sure everything is fine and dandy there. It is hard to say if the bad blood would have affected it as it made its way through his system”

Keith swayed on the spot. Colour draining from his face. Lance went through enough growing the damn thing  
“Shiro, perhaps fetch Keith that chair. We can’t have you fainting, too”  
He didn’t think he was going to faint. He was obviously in shock and kind of panicking... and now his knees were giving out...  
“Whoa! I’ve got you, kiddo”  
Shiro caught him before he could fall. His brother sitting him down before pulling his mask off   
“Take a few slow deep breaths for me”  
“I’m not an invalid”  
“I know you don’t love needles. Take a few moments and don’t look this way”

Coran tried to be as quick as he could with all his tests, Keith appreciating his wasn’t simply stabbing Lance for no good reason. Carrying his samples over to his desk, the fae smiled softly at Keith who felt shakier than he had standing   
“All done. I’ll call Allura to come collect these. Shiro, we’ll need that map now”  
“Shouldn’t we wait for Lance to wake up?”

“Lance is awake... Did I faint?”  
Keith nearly fell off the chair as he jumped at Lance’s voice  
“Babe!”  
Lance groaned, Keith shifting so he could put his hand on Lance’s hair  
“Don’t yell... my head hurts. What happened?”  
Dropping his voice to barely above a whisper, Keith didn’t have the right word for “relief”  
“You fainted after Lotor left. Do you remember what happened?”  
“We were talking... and I guess I blanked out. I don’t remember him leaving”  
“You were sitting right across from him. Did he do something? Did he hurt you?”  
“No... didn’t hurt me. His ego... god, it’s awful. He doesn’t smell like Sendak but he wanted me to submit”  
“Babe...”  
“I’m sorry. I know I was supposed to ask him stuff... it got hazy...”  
“Babe...”  
“I remember sitting across from him, but I don’t remember what we talked about. He wanted me to submit. I could smell it and feel it... like I wasn’t in my own head...”  
“Babe...!”

Lance was too busy rambling on  
“He wants me to find something but I can’t remember him telling me that. I don’t remember... I don’t feel very good”  
“Lance. It’s okay. Lotor said you had bad blood?”  
“Half my blood bags at home were off... why does my stomach hurt?”  
Keith didn’t know what to make of this. Shifting his attention from Lance to Coran, Coran silently got the message  
“I had to take a little sample to make sure the blood didn’t do anything bad to you. You know it’s a foolish thing to let your hunger get bad”  
“Hard to eat when half hour food tastes like arse and human food doesn’t do it”  
“You should have called”  
“Knew I was coming here anyway...”  
Coran sighed. He’d never apologised to Lance   
“My boy, my phone is always on and my door always open”  
“I do believe you didn’t want me and my scent trailed all over the place”  
“That hardly matters in moments of emergency. I’ve set you up with a blood bag. Could you eat?”  
“No... can I sleep a bit? I feel weird”

Coran opened his mouth, Keith feeling pissed at him for not actually apologising  
“You get some rest. Lotor gave us a map. We’ll work it out when you’re feeling better”  
“Good... I feel like shit”  
“That’s weird, I thought you felt like Lance”  
Lance laughed weakly   
“That was awful. You should feel bad”  
He didn’t. Not if made Lance feel that little bit better  
“You’re the one feeling awful and bad”  
“I’m an awfully bad shit... oh... fuck...”

Being awake, Lance leaned over the bed as he threw up. Keith moving from his chair to sit behind his boyfriend, kind of twisted awkwardly as he tried to rub his back and fit on the single person bed  
“Let it out”  
Lance missed the bin. Keith had zero envy for whoever was cleaning that up. Coran had rolled up Lance sleeves to fit the cannula, Keith feeling it would have been better if Lance had at least had his jacket taken off. He couldn’t be very comfortable  
“Don’t wanna... tastes fucking gross”  
That was his boyfriend  
“If you don’t get it out your system, you won’t be able to come on the robbery later”  
“Fuck you... I can rob who I want. I’m the magical thief”  
“The only thing you’ve ever stolen is a few pens by accident and my heart”  
Lance groaned, before spitting then rolling back on the bed  
“That was even worse. I can’t believe Shiro lets you out the apartment”  
Keith didn’t miss a beat, saying as deadpan as he could  
“And I can’t believe it’s not butter”

Lance closed his eyes, pushing his back against Keith’s leg as he sort out comfort in Keith’s touch  
“Coran. Help. My boyfriend is making jokes at my expense”  
“Is that what they are? I wasn’t sure what he was doing”  
Keith shot Coran a glare, feeling rather burnt as the fae chuckled to himself. Lance groaned at the pair of them  
“Oh, damn. That was too much. Babe, don’t let him insult you like that”  
“It’s not my fault Coran has no sense of humour. Now, are you going to be a shit or are you going to rest?”  
“Both. Both is good...”  
“Good boy. We’ll talk when you’re feeling better”  
“Yes, dad...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith making them jokes... I see you emo anger loaf


	84. Chapter 84

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stealth boyfriends are stealthy

84

Lance was low-key pumped. He was high-key nervous, but juiced up on blood and feeling better for it. Not remembering sitting across from Lotor as he explained what he wanted him to fetch was a weird feeling. Keith was being clingy, Lance had had just about enough of it thanks to his stupid ego. He was going to steal the item and rub Lotor’s nose in it when he did.

“Go left at the next intersection”  
With Shiro directing them, Lance was all suited up like a Blade. He and Keith both had comms in their ears, while Coran waited out the front on the off chance they needed to make a run for it. Currently they were in The Sisters of Platt Placement School and Lance was kind of feeling a rush sneaking around like this. The campus was closed seeing it was pretty much a regular high school with a fancy name. He’d never gone to a fancy high school but this place was teched out, despite being a converted monastery at some point. Death still lingered in the halls. Cold spots and the occasional fuzzy shape had him on edge... and he was also really horny. Too much blood in his system would do that. His underwear damp, breaking slightly ragged   
“Understood”

Keith was used to Shiro in his ear, Lance wanted to know how to mute him. He needed to narrow down his world. He couldn’t wear his glasses and the mask. The fact he’d also left his glasses at home trying to look more vampirey for Lotor meant he couldn’t have even if he’d wanted to.

Hearing a closing door then footsteps ahead of them, Lance grabbed Keith by the arm, dragging him through the closest the door. Closing the door as quietly as he could behind him, Lance pressed a Keith up against the wall beside the door, hand over his mouth. His boyfriend muffled as he tried to ask what was happening. Hushing him softly, the steps came closer and closer, Keith finally getting what was happening and falling silent. Door knobs were rattled along the hall, until finally the stranger reached the room they were in. Pressing hard against Keith to make them as small as possible in the space, the door to the room opened slightly, before being pulled solidly shut again, keys jangling then the lock clicked as it turned over, locking them in.

Remaining silent until the footsteps left, Lance let out a long breath of relief, dropping his head against Keith’s shoulder. He could smell his boyfriend. Keith smelt delicious... like everything he could ever want and need, as his half hard dick twitched. Shit... he didn’t need a heat right now... He needed to calm down  
“What’s happening? Your tracker shows you’ve stopped”  
Lance groaned at Shiro’s voice. Keith moving Lance’s hand from his mouth  
“Someone was still here. We’ve been locked in. It might take a little bit to get the lock picked. We’re going moving to silent”  
“Okay. Keep your heads down. Let me know if you need help”  
“Will do”

Keith pressed his comms, then pressed Lance’s. Bringing his hands up, his boyfriend pushed him back to look at him properly, Lance turning his flushed face. Now was not the time to be getting lost in gorgeous purple eyes, or the thought of Keith’s soft skin against his... or the way his gloves hands would feel on Lance’s hips... Lance sighed, Keith didn’t follow any kind of skin care regimen and still managed to look this good, talk about life not being fair  
“Babe?”  
“I’m... okay...”  
“You’re shaking”  
“Adrenaline will do that... We better get that lock undone”  
“Just. What’s going on?”

Lance sighed hard, almost as hard as his damn dick. Why did Keith have to be so... Keith like  
“I’m horny”  
There was a long moment of silence between them, Keith finally asking   
“Horny?”  
“Yep. Blood will do that. Plus... we’re sneaking around a deserted high school. Doesn’t it kind of make you want to do something naughty?”  
“We’re on a mission”  
No shit. Lance hadn’t noticed at aaaaaall. This was taking him back to the days of inappropriate and awkward boners through puberty... thanks to his current inappropriate boner  
“I know. But we’re also alone... in a classroom that we’re locked in. We could be caught by someone at any moment... Doesn’t it make you feel like doing something... that’d make the teacher mad?”  
What was he doing?! Noooo. Bad lusty Lance!  
“I... ugh... didn’t like high school. No body... wanted to really know me. And the teachers thought I had issues”  
“You could bend me over the teachers desk and fuck me senseless”

Both of them blinked at each other, Lance feeling mortified. This was his first official mission! He had to be smooth and mature... and not his normal self... God... Keith smelt too good  
“I’m so sorry...”  
Not smooth. Not smooth at all. Keith’s hands moved from his shoulders, cupping Lance’s face and forcing him to look at his boyfriend   
“You’re in heat, aren’t you? You’re trying to cover it...”  
Keith’s voice sounded accusatory. Nearly yelling, Lance dropped his voice to a whispered yell. Stupid hormones and hot boyfriend’s. He was horny, but his stomach wasn’t too crampy yet  
“I don’t know! I mean, I don’t mean to be... forget I said anything...”  
Keith sniffed the air   
“I can smell it now... how bad is it?”  
“I’ll be fine. Just... can you figure out this lock?”  
“That’s not what I asked. How bad is it?”  
“I’m fine. The mission comes first”  
“We’re locked in here anyway. Someone might come back this way”  
“I can break the door handle”  
“We’re not breaking the handle if we don’t have to... Hold on...”

Keith turned his comms back on  
“Shiro, this might take a little while. Give us 10 then call through again”  
Lance estimated it’d take all of 30 seconds... Yeah. He was stupid pent up  
“Everything okay?”  
Leaning in, Lance nuzzled into Keith, knee sliding between his boyfriend’s legs. Keith sounded too calm  
“Yeah. A particularly tricky lock. Lance offered to break it if I can’t get it”  
“Perhaps I can assist?”  
Rocking his knee, Lance mouthed at Keith’s covered neck. His boyfriend squeaking, voice an octave higher than normal as he rushed to rely   
“No! I mean... You stay where you are Coran. Keep an eye out to see if our unexpected employee leaves. We’ll handle things here”  
“Okay. You boys stay safe”

Turning his comms back off, Keith tugged his mask off, Lance a tad too eager as he tried to kiss him through the fabric of his. Tugging the edges, Lance wasn’t being cooperative  
“Babe... mask, off”  
Pouting at being stopped, he hefted Keith up by the arse, carrying him over to the teachers desk. Annoyed by the stupid mask, he nearly tore the damn thing as he pulled it off, rutting up against Keith as Keith wrapped his legs around his waist. They shouldn’t be doing this... not when they can get caught... In a classroom no less...  
“Lance...”  
Kissing Keith to shut him up. They were both clumsily desperate. The feeling in his belly growing now he could smell Keith properly. His boyfriend was hard against him, their kisses a little too teethy... breaking apart, Lance sucked down a couple of breaths, trying to regain his composure. Dazed purple eyes started up at his. Keith was fucking beautiful... How did he manage to get so damn lucky  
“You’re so goddamn pretty. Are you going to punish me for being a bad student?”  
“How are you so horny...?”  
Lance laughed giddily   
“Horny for you. Mister Keith Kogane... I don’t know if you’d make the best geography teacher, but I’m sure you could teach me a thing or two?”  
Keith pouted at him  
“The Blades would be so disappointed”  
They could go jump. No one got to make Keith feel like shit on his watch  
“Fuck them”  
Snorting, Keith’s hands went to his hips   
“I’d rather fuck you...”  
“Mhmm... I like the way you’re thinking... if I’m good, will you give me extra credit?”  
Keith slid himself forwards off the desk, nosing at Lance’s neck as he whispered   
“Depends how good you make me feel. Make me feel good and make me come. Then I might give you a passing grade”

Bent over the geography teachers desk, Lance’s fingers had dented the edge of the desk as he held on. His suit was stripped down to his thighs, Keith’s hands on his hips as his boyfriend fucking drilled him. His underwear was a mess, and would be for the rest of the mission. Keith felt so damn good that coming once on his boyfriend’s fingers hadn’t been enough. Unable to keep his moans to himself, Lance was so sure they were going to be sprung. He needed Keith to hurry up and finish, but he was so damn close to coming again that he didn’t want Keith to stop. Moving his hand off Lance’s hip, Keith covered his mouth. Lance moaning. He felt filthy like this... leaning down, Keith’s voice was husky   
“I’m close... be a good boy and come for me. Show me you’ve learned your lesson”

Nodding quickly, Lance pushed his hips back, Keith’s blood dribbling onto his lips as his fangs caught on his lover’s fingers. Keith’s dick felt so damn perfect. Filling that need to be filled without being uncomfortable. Fucking fuck... He couldn’t stop himself. Whimpering at the taste of fresh blood, climax washed over him as he came in his underwear again. Keith pulling out to come between his thighs. It wasn’t like they had a condom handy for “doing the do” mid theft. Slumping against him, Keith pressed kisses to his back along his spine. His boyfriend’s breath warm puffs against this cooling skin  
“Babe?”  
“Fuck... fuck... I’m okay... god...”  
“I don’t think he’s here right now”

“He’s not, but we are. Are you two done?”  
Lance had a minor heart attack on the spot.   
“Leave them be...”  
“Coran”  
“We were all young once”  
“There on a mission!  
Shiro and Coran had heard? Keith pulled back from cuddling him. Lance whining in embarrassment, and fear. He felt vulnerable like this. Keith protected and kept him safe when he got like this, his boyfriend had to be angry  
“Fuck off. You’re upsetting Lance”  
“You’re supposed to be on a mission”  
“Lance’s heat hit out of nowhere. What are you doing listening to us?”  
“You turned your comms back on making out. We muted you and thought you’d be done by now. Do you need to pull out?”  
“Already did”

Lance groaned at Keith the same time Shiro did. Shiro really could have phrased that better  
“I meant the mission. If Lance is in heat...”  
“It settles... if it comes back again, we might”  
“I’m fine now. Can we stop talking about it?”  
“Lance, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. With all that adrenaline...”  
Lance let his head hit the desk. He was tempted to see if he could kill himself right there before he expired of embarrassment  
“What was that thud?”  
Shiro cut Coran off. Keith impatient with the pair of them  
“It’s nothing. We’ve got this”  
“Keith...”  
“We’ve got this. We’ll let you know when we’ve got what we came for”  
The finality in Keith’s tone left no room for argument. The conversation ending there.

While Keith cleaned himself up, Lance did the same. He straightened up the anonymous teacher’s desk, feeling embarrassed instead of elated or post glow bliss  
“Babe. It’s okay”  
“I don’t feel like it’s okay. Why does this shit have to keep happening?!”  
“You can’t help it. Has it passed?”  
Lance nodded. It’d been like one of the random waves he’d gotten in the very beginning as his body started changing. At least he knew what caused it this time  
“Yeah. Let’s just get out of here before we really get caught”  
“I’ll do the lock. You take the time you need”  
“Okay...”

With his underwear filled with half a box of tissues, Lance said a silent apology. He’d never had a problem with his geography teachers... Math’s kind of, but that was because he knew more than he was supposed to for his age and his teacher was constantly writing how he needed to apply himself more in his term reports. Now that his heat flash had passed, he felt jumpier. The natural sounds of the school after hours kept making him jump. He wanted to get out of the stupid school and go home and shower. He was staying with Keith for the night, meaning he’d probably get a talking to from Shiro that he didn’t need. Fuck being a vampire. It sucked.

*  
Getting the door unlocked wasn’t that hard. Keith had picked harder locks in his dream. Checking the coast was clear, they redonned their masks, pausing then long enough for Keith to do the zipper on Lance’s uniform. His boyfriend not used to it, plus the size was slightly off as it was Keith’s spare he hadn’t used in a while now.

Creeping through the corridors, both of them were on guard for any wandering staff. Keith hadn’t had the best years of his life in high school, but now he had a slightly better memory to think about when it came to the stupid institution. He’d never really fitted in and honestly couldn’t remember having anyone he’d call a friend for it. Moving along and taking the left, Shiro’s voice came back over the comms  
“Keep going. Go up the stairs and then you want to go right. The library is at the end of the hall in the newer part of the building”  
“Got it”

Lance had a point though. Being back in school made Keith kind of want to take revenge and do something bad, but the staff here weren’t the people he was angry at, so destroying property here would only hurt people. He didn’t know why Lotor wanted them to fetch a book, but it seemed really stupid. The vampire was definitely messing with them. Darting up the stairs, Keith tripped on the top stair, Lance catching him by the arm before he face planted  
“Thanks, babe”  
“Let’s just get this done”

He knew his boyfriend felt bad about his bodily needs. Shiro and Coran didn’t need to comment on it. Half an hour max and they’d be headed home. Lance felt bad about theft so Coran was going to donate to the school anonymously to cover the cost of the book, once he’d checked it over. Following Shiro’s directions, they turned right, the library sign posted making it impossible to get lost.

Reaching the library, the lights were still on. The door was locked, but gave way easily when Keith jiggled the handle. The hunter nearly laughing in relief over how easy it’d been to get in  
“Shiro, where is it?”  
“All I’ve got is the map. You’ll have to work it out when you get there. Head to the far wall and it should be on the right about a metre down from the cross axis”  
“Okay. We’re going in”

The library was far nicer than the library at Keith’s high schools. Two during his career as a student, both poorly funded. This place looked fresh out of a magazine. New computers ran the middle length. Two stories filled with towering bookcases and at least a dozen display cases between them and where the book should be. The far wall comprised of a series of windows that’d allow plenty of natural light. Turning his head towards Lance, his boyfriend was already nerding out   
“Babe, we’ve got to keep moving”  
“I know. But it’s so beautiful”  
“You can admire it once we’re out of here”  
Lance nodded, clearly pulling himself out of his internal debate over how many books he could finish in his lifetime. Following behind him, they moved to the far wall. The night sky filled with signs of life beyond the glass  
“We’re looking for a book, right?”  
“I think so. Shiro says it’s around here. Maybe in the display case?”

The only thing in the display case there was a small Bible, a necklace, and a plaque talking about the nun or whatever they’d belonged to  
“Shiro. I don’t know what we’re looking for”  
“It should be just behind you”  
Their comms had GPS that’s how Shiro was guiding them  
“It’s a Bible and a necklace”  
“It’s what Lotor wants”  
Lotor only knew why  
“Alright. Lance, you’ll need to lift the case”

Lifting the case, Keith grabbed the Bible and the necklace... and the plaque because it was there and he didn’t want to have to come back. Lance lowering the glass back in place, his boyfriend’s head snapping up   
“Someone’s coming”  
Fuck  
“Okay. We’ve got what we need. We’ll find an alternative route out”

Running across the room they made slipped into the library stacks. Keith pressing himself into the shadows of the corner. In his ear, Shiro asked  
“What’s happening?”  
Keeping his voice low, Keith’s attention was more on Lance who was squatting in front of the window between two bookshelves   
“Company. It’s fine. It sounds like maybe it’s the librarian”  
“Let me know if you need a distraction”  
Lance interrupted  
“No need. We can go out the window”  
The what now? Shiro as confused as he was  
“What was that?”  
“Lance has an idea. Let me check it out”

The window in question was roughly the same size an A3 piece of paper. Lance had worked the bolts out, before lifting the frame free from the housing. Poking his head out, his boyfriend seemed proud of himself   
“There’s a ledge. It’s a thin fit, but if you can get on there, I can get us down”  
Drawing back inside, Lance gestured to the open window. Keith crouching down to echo his boyfriend’s move  
“Babe, the roof is too far”  
The roof below was a good three meters. Probably why they thought bolting the windows was enough instead of riveting them in place. Lance’s vampire strength had made easy work of them   
“For a human”  
Keith was bewildered  
“What? You want to jump and leave me up here?”  
“No. Look, just get out on the ledge and I’ll get us down”

It was only a matter of time before the theft was noticed. He didn’t want to face an angry librarian   
“If I die, I’m coming back to haunt you”  
“Then it’s a good thing you’re not about to die”  
Keith was kind of sure he was about to. The ledge seemed a very bad idea but they didn’t have time to debate it. With zero grace, he climbed out onto the ledge, trying not to look down as he did or drop their pillaged loot. This was a terrible plan and he didn’t even know what the plan was.

Lance climbed onto the ledge as Keith shuffled to the right, to scared to let his fingers leave the glass   
“Wrap your arms around me”  
“What?”  
“Your arms. Wrap them around my shoulders”  
“Maybe we should go back inside...”  
“Keith, I promise I’ve got this. Do you trust me?”  
“You know I trust you”  
“Then let go of the window. I’ve you”  
Keith shook as he forced himself to wrap his arms around Lance  
“Good. Now close your eyes”  
Oh fuck... He got the plan now  
“Babe...”  
“Hold on tight”

As Lance leapt, Keith was hefted up against his chest, burying his face against his boyfriend’s neck as the cool wind whipped past them. Landing hard, Lance kept him up against him  
“He’s found the case empty. It’ll be faster if I carry you”  
Keith’s stomach was somewhere back on the ledge. What was with Lance and jumping out of windows?! Jogging along the roof, Keith peaked out from his boyfriend’s hold  
“Not bad, is it?”  
“I reserve the right not to answer”  
“Fair. Okay, I’ve got jump down to the next roof here, then off the side when we get to the hallway”  
“Wa-...!”

Lance jumped down to the next roof level, Keith trying to tell him to wait turned into an embarrassing squeal as she scrunched his eyes closed  
“Keith?!”  
No wonder his brother sounded concerned. His voice hadn’t been that high since before his balls dropped   
“I’m fine, Shiro!”  
Fine for now...

Lance didn’t stop until they’d reached the ground. Standing Keith up carefully, Keith couldn’t describe the love he felt for the grass beneath his boots. Lance pulling out parkour moves didn’t feel right. His boyfriend usually to uncoordinated to be “cool”  
“Told you I could do it”  
Eyeing his boyfriend, Keith noticed two thick bat wings standing tall from Lance’s back, Lance shooting him finger guns  
“I don’t know where they came from but they came out when I jumped”  
Lance was acting like a weird vampire again. It worried Keith   
“And you didn’t think to tell me?”  
“You’re the who hid his face as I jumped. We better move. The librarian would have called the police by now”

“Are you guys out?”  
Keith nodded, though Shiro couldn’t see him  
“Yeah. Near the front gates. We need a pick up. Lance has his wings again”  
Trying to get a better look at them, Lance was turning circles like a moron. Kind of the same feelings rising in Keith when he’d watch Kosmo chase his own tail   
“On it, number two! You and number three hang tight”  
Coran sounded confident. Keith was not confident in Coran’s driving. His intuition turned fact a good few minutes later as Coran bunny hopped to a stalling stop in front of the school gate. Grabbing Lance by the hand, Keith pulled him along as he jogged to the van that wasn’t conspicuous at all. 

Pulling Lance into the back of the van, Lance tugged his mask off as Keith pulled the rolled door shut. His teeth were long enough to poke out, and he was absolutely beaming   
“Hell yeah. We did it!”  
Coran stalled as he started the van up. Trying again, he managed to get the engine running  
“You did very well the pair of you. I knew you made an excellent team”  
Keith couldn’t find any enthusiasm in him. They’d pulled it off, but helping Lotor left him feeling sick  
“I know right. It was totally Keith though”  
“You’re the one who jumped out the window”  
“Off the ledge, not out the window. Come on, Babe, I cradled you in my arms as I did”  
“You still jumped. How do you have energy?”  
Keith wanted to go to bed. The adrenaline in his system was wearing off left him sleepy  
“I don’t. I want my pyjamas, my robe, my slippers and a hot shower”  
“Shower first. You need to clean up”

Wrinkling his nose, Lance looked to his crotch  
“Yeah. It really doesn’t feel nice at all. I’m glad we got out of there fast”  
From the front of the van, Coran cheerfully agreed in a way with Lance  
“I was quite nervous for the pair of you when you had company. No one entered of left, and the campus was supposed to be vacant given the hour”  
“Some warming would have been nice. There’s death in there. Plus at least one member of staff that’s already noticed the theft. Are you right to drive manual?”  
“Manual?”

Did Coran not know the car had a manual transmission? Why did Keith get a sinking feeling?! They should have had Shiro drive and Coran stay behind. They hadn’t needed the fae’s weird magic  
“I’ll drive. Move over so I can climb through”  
“Never you mind, number three. I can handle this”  
“I mind when my boyfriend isn’t properly restrained. Move over so I can get through the gap”

The gap between the front and the back was slim, and it meant climbing over the bench seat  
“You’re not going to fit. Stay in the back”  
Lance cocked his head, Keith explaining   
“You wings. They’re too big”  
The vampire’s lips formed a silent “oh”. Coran sounded even happier than before as he threw over his shoulder   
“He has a point. Never you two mind, we’ll be there in a jiffy”

Closing his eyes, Keith sent out a metal prayer they would.


	85. Chapter 85

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shiro tries. He puts his foot in it but that’s because he’s as awkward as the rest of them, despite how he tries to hide it...

85

Keith thought Coran would return to VOLTRON to analyse the book they’d stolen, instead the fae came back to their apartment with them. Sending Lance to shower, his wings had slowly gone away during the drive and his boyfriend seemed exhausted from the effort it’d taken. Changing out his uniform, Keith left a fresh change of clothes for Lance on the bathroom counter before heading into the living area where Coran had his hands full of an excited Kosmo. At the kitchen counter, Shiro was making coffee, Keith relishing the scent of normality after such a crazy night.

Dropping down on the sofa at the opposite end to Coran, Kosmo deserted pats from  
Coran in favour of pats from him. His whole body wagging as he climbed into Keith’s lap  
“He gets cuter each time I see him”  
Keith’s heart swelled with pride. A puppy was a hell of a lot of work. Things were always being chewed and puddles always being left but he loved Kosmo so damn much. His puppy was perfect  
“He does. Just mind your shoes, he loves chewing them”  
Coran glanced down at his feet  
“I’m wearing my shoes”  
“Then they’ll be safe. Laces maybe not”  
“I’ll have to remember that. Now, once Curtis comes out, and our Lance is done in the shower, we’ll get started”

Keith didn’t know Curtis was there until he shuffled out of Shiro’s bedroom looking sprung. Shiro’d been so fast to comment on their sex life, when he was keeping his boyfriend waiting in his room. As long as they kept it a minimum, Keith couldn’t complain. He wasn’t about to attack his brother for finally being able to start moving on after Adam. Standing near the doorway, Curtis seemed unsure what to do  
“Hey, Curtis. Come sit down. Coran’s going to solve the mystery of our little heist tonight”  
“Are you sure? I haven’t been invited in on the mission”  
Coran brushed it off  
“That’s quite alright. The Blades wanted this turned over to them directly, but I think Keith and Lance earned the right to know what this is before them. I can’t trace anything particular about the book. The necklace may hold some clues. And the plaque isn’t particularly important that I can tell”

Curtis came to sit with them, sitting on the coffee table thanks to the lack of seating   
“You guys have any trouble?”  
To Keith it sounded like Curtis missed being in the field  
“If you mean they had to pause the mission to reenact their high school fantasies, then yes”  
Keith shot Shiro a glare  
“That wasn’t Lance’s fault”  
Shiro shooting back  
“You know the mission always comes first. No matter the circumstances”  
They’d gotten it done. That should be enough  
“Yeah. And Lance feels bad enough about it. You don’t need to make him feel any worse” 

“Did Lance go into heat again?”  
Curtis sounded worried. Yeah. Going into heat wasn’t part of the plan, but with all the adrenaline and fresh blood in his system, he couldn’t help himself  
“Only a flash, and we handled it”  
“I hope you were careful”  
As careful as they could have been. He didn’t need Curtis reminding him that the uniform didn’t come with convenient condoms attached  
“I’m not about to knock my boyfriend up mid-mission. Can we like not talk about this when we’ve got more important things to discuss?”

A loud thud and curse interrupted things. Keith placing Kosmo on the sofa as he climbed to his feet. Shiro staring towards the bathroom door  
“Is he alright?”  
What was Keith, some kind of mind reader?  
“I’ll check”

Lance was laying on the bathroom floor, he’d hit his head on the shower door from the look of it. Rubbing the spot, his boyfriend looked up at him as Keith let himself into the bathroom. Keith shouldn’t laugh, but his boyfriend was buck naked and looked confused when he’d very clearly tripped  
“Do I want to ask?”  
Lance groaned, starting to gather himself up  
“I slipped...”  
“I can see that. Are you okay?”  
“Yeah. I felt a bit light headed getting out...”  
Lance was a vampire in perfect health, he shouldn’t be feeling light headed  
“Let me help get you up. I don’t want you to slip again”  
“I’m fine... a bit tired and confused but I’m okay... gimme a minute and I’ll be out”

As Lance went to stand, he slipped again. Keith sighing to himself as he moved to help Lance get up   
“Let me do it. You’re going to end up breaking something at this rate”  
Shooting him a wobbly smile, Lance leaned heavily against him  
“Are you more concerned for me, or the bathroom?”  
They both knew he was worrying over Lance  
“The bathroom. Obviously. Sit down on the toilet, I’ll get the towel”

Fetching the towel, Keith started drying Lance off. He was like a big puppy, leaning into Keith’s touches as he dried him  
“Do you need blood?”  
“Nah... I’m tired. Today has been horrendously long”  
“How do your hips feel?”  
Lance yawned as he nodded, acting like he didn’t have a bump on his forehead  
“Fine. I didn’t realise how intense a mission could feel, even one to just steal a Bible and a necklace. I feel really bad about taking the Bible. Next time I take Mami to church I’m going to have a lot to confess”  
“Coran’s going to compensate them, and if possible we can try to return the Bible”  
“Yeah, but stealing a Bible still feels super bad. Worse than having sex on a teachers desk and nearly getting caught”  
“You couldn’t help that. Besides... it was kind of hot”

Lance chuckled at him, closing his eyes and letting his head loll back  
“I knew you’d make an excellent teacher. Much better than the ones I had”  
“I thought you’d be a model student”  
“Not really. Sometimes I’d be up with nightmares and come to school looking like a walking corpse. The teachers didn’t get it and it was hard not being too smart. Plus I was awkward and gangly and Spanish, with hand me downs from my brothers”  
“The teachers didn’t like me either. They thought I was too much work. I ran away in my last year”  
“At least you tried to stick it out. I know it’s not much now, but I’m proud you made the effort”

Of course Lance was proud. He probably would be still if Keith had told him everything. But that was a conversation for another time  
“Are you sure you don’t need blood?”  
Lance’s teeth had gone right through his gloves, not that Keith minded. If Lance was hungry, he’d organise something   
“I’m okay. I want to know what all this was about... then go to bed. Those wings were weird as fuck”  
“They weren’t exactly normal”  
“Nope. It’s only happened twice now. I don’t like it. It makes me feel less human”  
“I know it does... Thanks for not dropping me”  
“If the jump had gone wrong, I would have made sure you’d still landed safely. It took a lot of trust to hold onto me”

Keith’s heart skipped a beat. He trusted Lance. Like really trusted him. Having someone love him the way Lance did... the way he accepted him. It was so painfully needed. They’d been through so much together, and Keith couldn’t think of anyone else he wanted to care for him like how Lance did. With a blush in his cheeks, he tried to play it cool  
“I already trust you. Coran’s out there with the book and the necklace. Curtis is here too, he came out of Shiro’s bedroom like he’d caught. Shiro’s made coffee”  
Lance yawned again  
“You can have mine... I really just want to go to sleep. I feel so drained it’s not funny”

Lance was stumbly, holding onto Keith as they made their way over to the sofa. Sitting down, he pulled his boyfriend into his lap. Lance didn’t seem to mind as he curled into Keith   
“That’s an impressive egg you’ve got there”  
Lance mumbled at Curtis about “stupid slippery shower floors having it out for innocent vampires”. Keith explaining to the group  
“Sorry, he’s sleepy. He slipped getting out the shower”  
“Should we be worried about a concussion?”  
Keith looked to Coran who shook his head. Curtis had a valid point  
“Any damage is already on the mend. He’s had quite the long day. That bad blood in his system would have really knocked him about. Anywhoo. Congratulations on completing your mission. You both did very well...

Shiro snorted. Coran continued  
“... in avoiding detection and a need for incapacitation. Let’s take a look here. I’m not sensing anything off the Bible. It seems to be a beloved personal item. Let’s look at the locket”  
Keith watched over Lance’s shoulder as Coran lifted the locket. Popping it open, it contained a thick lock of hair bound with a small faded pink ribbon. Nothing exciting at all. Lance mumbled grumpily  
“Werewolf stink”  
Coran nodded  
“Yes, my boy you may be right. No use to anyone really as their are no folicals at the ends and any DNA would have degraded by now... there’s something in the middle here”

Shiro handed out the coffee as Coran went about untying the ribbon, there was a slim tooth inside the hair. The necklace hadn’t seemed thick enough to hold it, but there was no denying it’d all fitted in the slim silver. Handing Keith his cup of coffee, his brother waited for direction’s of what to do with Lance’s. Keith more concerned about how he was going to drink his coffee and cuddle his boyfriend. He needed an extra hand, then he could have the best of both worlds. Coffee and Cuddles  
“I’ll drink Lance’s later. What’s the deal with the tooth?”

Coran picked the tooth up, holding it between the pads of his thumb and pointer fingers so he could examine it  
“It’s definitely vampire. You can tell by the shape. Lotor’s certainly dumped a mystery on us. We have a monastery that converted to a convent in the late 1800’s. A Bible that is simply a bible as far as I can tell. No more spiritual residue than a teaspoon on that one. And now a silver plated locket with werewolf hair and a vampire tooth... and absolutely no idea what any of this means”  
Lance sighed, his boyfriend shifting, conscious of Keith’s precious cup of coffee and Kosmo who wanted to cuddle with his other hooman.

Tiredly, Lance rubbed at his face, before reaching out to take the tooth off Coran  
“It was probably the religious practice of putting something pure near something dirty. They believed the purity of the item would cancel out the dirtiness. Vampire and werewolves kind of don’t get much dirtier. Either that or we have a nun who was either a secret hunter, or a vampire having an affair with a werewolf in on sacred dirt. This tooth looks pretty new. Probably pulled out right after it grew back”  
Lance passed the tooth back to Coran, Coran nodding at what he’d said  
“That does make sense and certainly a possibility. However, I found nothing related between the building and hunting”  
“Yeah, but didn’t people used to bring things to churches to be made pure? Whatever it was, the nun has long since passed away. Pass me the Bible”

Passing over the Bible Lance flicked through the pages, failing to tell them what he was thinking as he did. Keith nudged him with his elbow as he brought his cup up to his lips and blew across the surface softly. His boyfriend was doing a hard think   
“Babe, not all of us have the memory you do”  
Lance hefted a sigh, before holding the Bible up and reading   
“There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men”  
Riiiiiight. If Lance said so? He was pretty much the only church goer in the group  
“Yeah... I still don’t know what you’re talking about”  
“Most people think it’s about vampires. Instead of being about greedy people who’d use you up and throw you away. Our nun here didn’t think it important enough to dog ear the page, which I thought she might have if she’d been a hunter. It’s been well loved, and it definitely has charm, but I wouldn’t say it holds any great mystery I can see”

Handing the Bible back to Coran, Coran slipped it into his jacket  
“I’m afraid Lotor might simply have been testing your skills. I’ll take these back and take a few readings before we present these to Lotor tomorrow morning. You boys best get your rest. We haven’t any idea what’s he’s planning next”  
Lance nodded  
“Sounds good to me... Is it rude if I head to bed now? I’m sorry but I’m exhausted”  
Patting Lance’s leg, Coran smiled gently  
“Get some rest my boy. You and Keith both did a splendid job”  
“Minus the sex”  
Coran chuckled at Shiro   
“You have a lot to learn about heats my young boy. Don’t be too hard on them. They’re very compatible and very in tune with each other. Keith being able to scent Lance is proof of their bond. He’s got a good nose on him for being completely human”

Keith felt like he’d been called a sniffer dog. He didn’t ask to be able to pick up on Lance’s scent and he didn’t always notice until the scent grew too strong not to notice. As Coran climbed up from the sofa, Lance climbed off Keith’s lap  
“Take your time, babe. You don’t need to rush your coffee because of me. Night, guys. Sorry I’m too tired to stay up”

*  
After Lance and Coran had parted, Keith fought the urge to follow his boyfriend. Shiro’s expression said he wanted to talk, not that Keith particularly wanted to. His brother sitting down beside him, Curtis took Coran’s vacant spot, pulling Kosmo into his lap as he did. Keith closed his eyes as his brother broke the silence  
“Coran’s right. I don’t understand heats. Was it really necessary to break mission like that”  
There it was, Curtis replying before he could  
“Lance couldn’t help it. His heats aren’t planned, nor are the flashes that come over him. Not to sound crass, but Lance would have only worsened if left unaided”  
“But surely he knows how to get through a heat?”  
“A heat is a sign his body is fertile. Flashes of heat stem from arousal, fresh blood after bad blood would have left his system off kilter. I suspect the adrenaline in his system, as Keith mentioned, coupled by his body trying to burn through the bad blood resulted in a heat flash as it was. A true heat is very intense, as Keith knows. Lance’s body may be receptive to scents, but the only one he allows to help him is Keith”

Shiro sighed, leaning forward he cupped his hands around his cup of coffee  
“I still don’t think I understand”  
“As Coran said, Keith is very compatible with Lance. Lance doesn’t intentionally trigger a heat. It’s something that cannot be helped. Like an awkward erection during puberty. He’s levelled out quite a bit when compared to the initial changes in his body. Keith helps keep him anchored. He’s spoken very fondly of Keith, which is quite natural”  
Shiro sighed at his boyfriend   
“Curtis, you’re doing it again”  
“Basically when Lance’s body gets that way, the only comfort is found in release. Being a breeder, he feels safer and relaxes when Keith is...”

Shiro didn’t need the mental images and Keith didn’t need his sex life examined  
“Okay. You don’t need to go into detail. Basically, it’s not something you can ignore. He only gets worse if you do and it hurts him physically. Dumbarse used to try sleep it off, and wouldn’t tell me how much it hurt”  
Curtis backed him up   
“His cramps do get quite bad. When I asked him what they felt like he described at as if you’ve drank two litres of bad milk while you’re horny. He’s doing better now that he’s allowing Keith to help him through them”  
Shiro groaned, moving his hands off his cup and burying his face in them  
“I thought he just got horny... he’s not a werewolf, so I didn’t think it’d be so bad”  
“It’s worse for him as he doesn’t partake in fresh blood”

Keith had seen Lance in heat with and without fresh blood. Fresh blood seemed to give him more energy and stamina to keep up with his body’s demands  
“He makes helping him hard... not that I want him feeding on Keith”  
Keith appreciated that Shiro was beginning to actually understand that it wasn’t just sex  
“Lance’s heat comes in what he calls waves. Mostly he’s okay... after... you know”  
“I get the idea. Is he still in heat?”  
“Not that I could tell. He really does feel super bad about the mission”  
“I won’t bring it up again. You might as well head to bed. I’ll take Kosmo down so he can do his business”

Shiro was nice to offer, but Keith couldn’t push the responsibility of being a fur father onto his brother  
“Nah. He’s my puppy. I’ll take responsibility. Maybe next time we can watch a movie or something together?”  
Shiro patted his leg  
“I’d like that. I’m sorry if it seems like I’m trying to drive Lance off”  
Shiro was a seasoned hunter who was used to things running smoothly and being his partner in the field  
“You were focused on the mission. I get it. Come on, Kosmo. Let’s go pee then see your other dad”


	86. Chapter 86

86

Stumbling out of bed, Keith staggered from his bedroom to the bathroom, then to the kitchen. His bed had been devoid of Lance, and he didn’t like it. Making a beeline for his boyfriend, Keith crashed into him, sliding his arms around him. Lance was cooking something that wasn’t coffee, chuckling at him as he turned from the oven. Wrapping his arms around him, Lance kissed his forehead at his hairline  
“Good morning, you”  
“Nghmmm...”  
The time was a little after 6. Dressed in his shirt and boxer briefs it was too cold to be awake. The sun shining through the window unwantedly  
“Coffee’ll be ready soon. You’ll have to let me go if you want me to pour you a cup”

Keith didn’t want to Lance go. Dragged along in the kitchen, Lance worked around him, making sure to give him plenty of cuddles as he waited for the coffee to drip through the machine... that Lance had gotten out the box and set up  
“You weren’t in bed...”  
Cuddling in front of the light creeping in, Keith kept his face hidden from it. Had Lance not been making breakfast than they could have gone back to bed  
“I know, babe. I wanted to make you breakfast... I had a nice night last night. I’ve missed snuggling with you”   
“Missed you too...”  
“You’re doing well without your coffee. Ready to shuffle back, I think it’s done now”  
“Don’t wanna move”  
Lance kissed his hair  
“I feel honoured, but you need your coffee”

Shuffling round clinging to Lance turned into shuffling around trying to have his boyfriend and his coffee. Guided from the kitchen, he was tricked into sitting at the dining table  
“Whaaa...”  
Lance dropped a kiss on head  
“Drink your coffee. I’m going to finish making breakfast”  
Catching his boyfriend before he could dart away, Keith pulled him closer, whining   
“Youuuu...”  
He wanted to tell Lance to sit down and cuddle. Only English was hard and words didn’t want to cooperate   
“Meeeee... will be back with breakfast”  
“Kiss?”  
Taking his face in his hand, Lance pressed half a dozen kisses to Keith’s lips with a smile between his words  
“Now, be good boy and wait for breakfast”

Lance cooked up a feast for breakfast with ingredients Keith didn’t know they had. His boyfriend sitting across from him as Keith ate. Shiro’s and Curtis’s breakfast sat in the oven keeping warm seeing it wouldn’t be long before Shiro’s alarm went off. With his leg drawn up, Lance had his chin resting on his knee, his half drunken cup of tea in his right hand  
“This is good. You should have cooked yourself some”  
“Nah, I ate as I cooked. Had to make sure I wasn’t about to accidentally give everyone food poisoning”  
Keith’s plate was full to the point of nearly over flowing. Scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, sliced sausages mixed into fried tomatoes and toast  
“At least have some bacon...”  
“I made it for you”  
“And I want to see you eat something”

Lance shifted his leg so he could lean across the table, Keith holding out a piece of bacon for Lance to take with his teeth. Leaning back, Lance tore the bacon smiling as he chewed, both of them in a comfortable silence until Lance finished the piece  
“Not to brag, but I’m kind of good cook”  
“I know you are. You didn’t have to make breakfast”  
“I wanted to. I was so tired last night that I totally brushed off Curtis and couldn’t wait for Coran to leave”  
“So this is an apology breakfast?”  
“Not really. It’s more of a “I love you guys and wanted to cook”. I never sleep as well as I do when I’m with you”

Keith smiled at his boyfriend. Lance’s birthday was right around the corner now. Pidge and Hunk had added him to a private chat over what they should do for Lance’s birthday. Pidge had suggested an “18 again” party, that Hunk shot down thanks to Lance having requested for them not to. He was still yet to pick out a present for his boyfriend, but he’d gone ahead and booked a hotel for the night, and even if it wasn’t very romantic he’d made a reservation for three at a restaurant with good reviews for him, Lance, and Miriam. He didn’t want to share Lance, but Lance didn’t know how many more birthdays he’d have with his mother. And unlike Krolia, Keith didn’t mind Miriam being there. She had all sorts of stories about Lance that he wanted to hear.

“Is that breakfast I smell?”  
Shiro came shuffling out his room, left arm stretching up as covered his mouth with his right, yawning widely as Curtis came up behind him. Breakfast was so good he didn’t want to share... also, he was enjoying having the apartment pretty much to themselves, and Kosmo   
“Lance cooked”  
Shiros face lit up. Their cooking skills were lacking, and often they couldn’t be bothered with much more than toast  
“Really?! Thanks, you didn’t have to do that”  
Lance ducked his head  
“It’s fine. I’m really sorry I bailed early on you guys last night. I was asleep the moment my head hit the pillow”

When Keith climbed into bed, Lance moved automatically to cuddle into him with a mumbly sigh. Keith loved I knowing that Lance only cuddled him like that. That he felt he could be vulnerable enough not to stir properly. Nosing his way under the blankets, Kosmo liked to sleep near Keith’s butt.

“It’s nice to see you, awake Lance. Thank you for breakfast. I’ve really missed your cooking”  
Curtis followed after Shiro to the kitchen, Shiro then heading into the bathroom as. Curtis opened up the oven  
“I’ve missed cooking. Three meals a day. Blood was a little rationed, but it was nice to taste red wine again. Matt and Rieva are pretty easy to please. Yeah... it’s not the same though, without you around. I never thought I’d miss having a full house”  
Keith picked up his cup of coffee, asking   
“What happened to hating people?”  
“I still do. But it was nice... I don’t have someone to watch soap operas with anymore. So that sucks”  
Keith couldn’t get into them. Curtis called out from the kitchen though he didn’t need to   
“I am sorry that I’ve remained in Platt. Staying with you is the most at easy I’ve felt in some time”  
“That’s because it’s your official second home now. I mean, Keith is my boyfriend and it’s his home and your dating and his brother, but even if you weren’t, you’re always welcome there”

Keith stabbed at the fried tomatoes on his plate  
“It’s my home?”  
“Dah. I don’t have to hide who I am now. The only reason I have to leave is to either be with you or because I’m on the run. Pidge is moulding into the sofa again. She wasn’t there yesterday, but that’s because I left before she got up. I didn’t tell them about the mission. I’m still not okay with my house being “Amateur Hunters-R-us””  
“They haven’t given up?”  
Lance rested his chin back on his knee. Keith didn’t like that the others were investigating, yet there wasn’t much he could that wouldn’t get them into spades of trouble   
“Nope. Oh, and guess what, Pidge now what’s to do a video explaining ghost hoaxes on top of all the stuff they’re already doing. She wanted me to do the effects because I’m so fast”  
“That doesn’t sound fun”  
“I’ll take a night of discomfort over a night of them investigating any day of the year”  
“They’re still being cautious right?”  
“No one’s turned up on my doorstep yet to tell them to stop, so I assume so... It’s not like they have a lot to really work on”

That was a relief. As long as they didn’t dig too close to Lotor’s affairs then they should remain relatively safe  
“Are you headed back after we see Lotor?”  
“Kind of have to. I want to see Mami though. She didn’t want me coming back if you weren’t with me. I think she likes you better than me”  
Keith couldn’t work out how that was possible. Not when Krolia hadn’t tried to talk to him and she was his own mother  
“I doubt it”  
“I don’t. She literally told me not to come back without you”  
Lance’s pout carried in his tone  
“Do you want me to come?”  
“Only if you want to. I’m hoping to take her to mass this afternoon but I know that isn’t your thing”  
“Maybe we could meet up after?”  
Lance offered him as warm smile making Keith’s heart go weird  
“I’d really like that”

*  
Heading to VOLTRON after breakfast, Coran greeted them with a bag of blood. Lance happy to eat because damn he was starving. Those weird wings took a lot of energy to put away, and the mission it’s self had been draining. Part of the reason he’d woken up so early was thanks to his hunger. Twisting off the cap of the bag, he fell into step with the group, comfortably beside Keith   
“Now. The Blades came by last night to examine both items. I’ve taken small samples and photographed everything. Krolia and Kolivan will both be present as you talk to Lotor. I did try to dissuade them, but both of them were stubborn. Lotor is already here, Allura is currently with him”

Lance nodded at Coran’s words. It made sense they’d want to be there to gauge Lotor’s reaction. He still felt dirty about stealing from a nun, even if she was long gone. Religion had been such a big part of his life for so long, and the woman deserved to have her items treated with respect. Walking through to the conference room, Krolia and Kolivan were suited up like Keith and Shiro were. Lance feeling instantly nervous at the sight of Krolia and somewhat wary about being shot again  
“This is where I leave you. I’ll wait on Coran’s office”

Curtis should have been allowed in if Lance had his way, but he understood that thanks to his curse Curtis couldn’t speak freely and may reveal too much. It wasn’t fair on him. He was a great guy and Lance missed him around the house. He hadn’t offered Curtis to come back thanks to his budding relationship with Shiro. That and the fact the others were snooping into Lotor at home. He didn’t want to put Curtis in danger, despite him being a hunter and all that. And he kind of thought it might be triggering for Curtis seeing he’d been cursed by werewolves. Quickly draining half a bag of blood, Lance passed it over to Curtis  
“Can you look after this until we’re done? I feel like Lotor wouldn’t approve of me drinking out a blood bag”  
“Sure thing. Good luck in there”  
“Thanks. I think I’m going to need it”

The first thing Lotor did was look him up and down. Lotor was in a different suit, Lance in the same one he’d worn the day before with one of Keith’s shirts instead of his own. Sitting directly across from Lotor, Kolivan placed down the Bible and locket in front of Lance, Lance then sliding them across the table to Lotor. Calmly picking up the locket, Lotor crushed it in his fist, smiling as he did  
“Thank you for that. I had hoped you’d be successful”  
Dropping the balled up piece of metal, there was no recovering the locket or what had been inside  
“You mean you’re happy to see we can be trusted, though it was so simple it was barely worth our time”

Lance sounded bored. Lotor’s ego may of gotten the better of him the previous day, today was a new day and he was letting his ego flare  
“My generals will be rather disappointed, they of course thought you’d run home with your tail between your legs”  
“Your generals don’t know me. What you mean to say is that you thought I’d run home”  
Lotor smiled  
“Perhaps. You of course know either item had any particular meaning”  
“I know you like to fuck with people you think lesser than yourself”  
“After yesterday it is refreshing to see such unguarded hostility. You’re not quite the quivering little lamb you lead on”  
Lance let go on his ego, letting his teeth and nails extend. Beside him both Allura and Keith drew away slightly   
“Not when it comes to what belongs to me. We completed your first task. You said you had two”  
“All business makes for a rather dull conversation”  
“A dull conversation with a dull partner. I hardly see why you’re called “The Prince of Europe”. Honestly, what do you gain from sending us to do mere grunt work? I see no ensured mutual destruction in last night actions”

Lotor laughed, wiping a fake tear from his cheek. Lance was starting to feel the same dreaminess as the previous day, but wasn’t about to let his concentration slip  
“You are most entertaining. Very well, for the laugh I shall give you your second task. This one is for you and Allura. You are to go collect something much more interesting this time...”  
Lotor drew a black business card from his pocket, sliding it over to Lance   
“... These are the details of the address. A companion will be require for entry, and perhaps a change of dress... Some sense of something more fashionable then this current off the rack ensemble”  
“Something gaudy would be insulting to the senses. When are we expected?”  
Lotor was ruffled at Lance’s dislike of his fugly purple suit. The suit was only ugly because Lance had a fair idea that it was a useless show of money   
“This Wednesday night. If you miss your opportunity, there won’t be a second one. Dress your companion accordingly”

Nope. Keith wasn’t dressing like a scantily clad pet. He’d ask his boyfriend what he was comfortable and they’d go from their   
“I will dress my companion how I please. If that is all, then there is no need to waste further time on this”  
“On that we agree. Leash and muzzle will be acceptable”  
Keith wasn’t being muzzled. He wouldn’t be Lance’s first choice as a “companion” purely because he loved Keith as an independent person. His boyfriend wouldn’t let him go on a mission with Allura without him tagging along. Waving his hand airily, he enjoyed knowing he was getting right under Lotor’s skin. It was easier dealing with Lotor when his ego decided it didn’t like how Lotor made him feel so had to play up   
“Such tacky taste. You would have thought our people would have moved past such archaic things. Never mind. We’ll be there”  
“Then we have an agreement. Allura, absolutely lovely to see you again. I do hope to see you again quite soon. Lance... everyone else... thank you for your... time”

Allura offered to walk Lotor out, Lance sighing as Lotor left the room and he was able to lean back in his chair. He didn’t like how hard it was to keep his head with Lotor around. Being in the room with another vampire was exhausting   
“What was that?”  
Lance sighed again. Kolivan sounded kind of annoyed   
“That’s what happens when you put two vampires in the same room”  
“You were supposed to question him, not insult him”  
“Yeah. Well. If you couldn’t tell me ego was talking for the most part”

Keith reached out and placed his hand on Lance’s  
“You did good, babe. I’m not keen to dress as a pet again”  
“I don’t want you dressed as pet either. We’ll need to look the part, but I figured for the most part I’d let you... no, sorry. I hate my stupid poxy ego. You’re not my pet and I don’t ever want you to feel like that. What I mean is, you can pick what you want to wear...”  
“You’d know better than I do how pets dress”  
“And you’re not a pet. I don’t like the idea of you having to dress like one”  
Keith squeezed his leg comfortingly   
“I’ll be okay. What’s on the card?”

The black business card was to a lower vampire club called “Club D-L-A”. The name in silver cursive. On the back was the club hours, leaving the card as probably their ticket in there, not that he’d have much trouble. Passing it over to Keith, Krolia intercepted   
“We’ll send agents in to watch over you”  
They’d be made on the spot. Not only would they be new faces, they’d be new faces the same night as other new faces  
“No. Don’t. They’ll be made by scent. A place like this means you’ve got to be dead to be there, or a pet. Allura isn’t human, so she’d pass. Werewolves in a vampire club would be problematic. I’ll get us in, and I’ll keep Keith safe. Babe, I know you hate it, but we’ll have to go shopping... and I’ll have to get another suit. I think I offended him by wearing this one twice”  
“I think it looks good on you”  
His boyfriend was the sweetest. Keith shouldn’t have to put up with his ego. Krolia sounded cheerful as she invited herself along  
“Then we should go today. We can fit your clothing with tracking, audio and visual”

Keith’s gaze flicked up to his mother  
“Lance and I have plans today”  
“Plans more important than your mission”  
“Yes”  
Lance’s heart was warmed at the thought Keith considered Mami so important   
“We can go tomorrow?”  
“No. You wanted to see Miriam today...”  
“But this is important”  
“So is she. Maybe we could go after?”  
That’d be undoing the whole going to church thing. Keith needed a muzzle and collar... which meant a trip to the closest adult store  
“Why don’t we visit Lance’s mother together. I would love to meet the mother of the man dating my son”  
Keith snapped at his mother   
“You can’t invite yourself along”  
Lance didn’t want Keith and Krolia fighting...  
“Babe, we’re not going to win this argument. Krolia, we planned to take Miriam to church. If you’d prefer, we can meet after?”  
“Who doesn’t love a good visit to church? I’ll pick you both up after Keith has changed. Let’s say, half an hour in front of your apartment building? Good? Good. I’ll drive”  
Yay... Keith was going to be cranky for the rest of the day... He’d done it this time.


	87. Chapter 87

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you’ve read caramel you know I Stan Krolia/Mami bff nosy mothers and conspirators for life.

87

Mami seemed happy to be getting out of the nursing home for the afternoon. Lance was happy to have here there, as Keith and Krolia hadn’t spoken... Krolia waited by the car, while he and Keith had headed in to see Mami. Sitting up in the activities area, his mother’s face lit up as they walked in to a fresh bout of whispers about them. Keith managed to get himself groped, by one of his mami’s friends, his poor boyfriend didn’t know what to do other than blush.

When Keith and Lance had gone home to change, Krolia had too. Now dressed in a loose black shirt and jeans, the woman didn’t look capable of having a 26 year old son. Lance could only assume Keith took after his father, but that family had some good genetics. Leaning against her red sedan, Krolia smiled as they approached, Lance very carefully elbowing his mother, desperate for things to go well   
“Hey, Mami. Your walker matches Krolia’s car”  
His Mami nodded, Lance happy she remembered him saying that Keith’s mother was joining them today  
“Red does go faster”  
“That’s what they say”  
“I reckon I could take her with my walker”  
Lance groaned  
“Mami, you can’t race every red car in Platt, I’d never see you”  
“One of the perks of being old, everybody never expects it. I could take’m”  
“For now can you at least try to be nice to Krolia and not fight her for her car”  
“Phooe. Let me have my fun”  
Lance sighed again, shooting Keith a defeated look. Keith wasn’t exactly smiling yet seemed in a better mood with Miriam around  
“Yes, Mami”

*  
Keith felt like he didn’t belong at church with Lance and Miriam. He didn’t understand why Krolia had come with them, nor what she was getting out of being there. Lance and Miriam both knew what was going on, what the Bible verses seemed to mean and what the priest was on about. Unlike in the movies there was no singing of hymns, and unlike Rome, the service was conducted in English rather than Italian. For the most part Keith let his mind wander and tried not laugh at the idea of a vampire in a church. There was no way you’d get James into one, though with how much of a dick he was, he’d probably burst into flame. Keith wasn’t sure he could believe in god with all he’d experienced, but he wasn’t about to judge people for their faith. Not unless they were using it to be arseholes. Miriam seemed happy, that being the main thing, and so far his mother hadn’t been too weird.

The drive hadn’t been awkward for him at least, he and Lance were in the back where they could hold hands as Miriam and Krolia talked. They seemed to have hit it off, chatting back and forth, his mother smoothly skipping or changing topic when Miriam seemed to get a bit confused. Lance added a thing or two to the conversation, Keith remaining quiet. The words never came easily around his mother, and he other things on his mind like the way Lance vampired out with Lotor, and that he was going to have to play the role of pet again. He couldn’t ask for a better “owner” than Lance, because Lance didn’t see him as a pet. He had confidence in Lance that he didn’t have in Krolia. That’s what it came down to. 

When the service ended, Miriam and Lance stayed a little longer, Keith excused with a gentle smile from Lance that tugged at his heart. Waiting for them near Krolia’s car, he soon realised his mistake when his mother approached. Sensing he was on the defence, she raised her hands in surrender  
“I’m not here to pick a fight”  
“I didn’t say you were”  
Krolia moved to lean against her car, Keith didn’t know why she smiling but it annoyed him  
“I’ll go wait near the door...”  
The smiled faded, something he didn’t know clouded her expression  
“Keith... Look... I don’t want to fight. You’re my son... I know it wasn’t there when you needed me to most... but I never stopped loving you. There hasn’t been a single moment since I found out about you, that I haven’t loved you”  
What was that supposed to mean? She wasn’t there. She wasn’t there for any of it, and when she was, she didn’t have time for him  
“Right... that’s why I’ve proven repeatedly to be nothing but a disappointment. I know how you feel, mum, you don’t need to keep up the lie of caring”  
“You’re not a disappointment”

Keith sighed. He didn’t know how to do this  
“This is a bad idea...”  
“I’ve wanted to talk to you... You left without saying goodbye... Keith, I know... I know I wasn’t the mum you needed, and I know you think I don’t care but I do. I always have. I’ve always been proud of you. I never wanted this life for you. I wanted you to grow up free from it all...”  
“You mean you don’t want me to date Lance”  
Krolia stretched back against her sedan  
“I didn’t say that at all. Lance is... He wouldn’t be my first choice for you, but this is your life. He brings out something in you that I wish I could. He makes you happy”  
“I don’t understand what you want from me”  
“I want to know you. I want to be part of your life and not hearing from Shiro the things you like and how you are. I’ve wanted to be part of your life since before Shiro brought you in”  
“That’s why you’ve ignored me for years”  
“I never wanted to ignore you. I know you hate me. I know you don’t forgive me for not being there. I truly believed you’d be safer with your father. I loved both of you so much... It broke my heart when he died, but I couldn’t take you with me. I wanted you to have a good life... I wanted you to grow up normally and be happy. You... You are son and I... I love you. I know you think I’m here for work, but I applied for mission lead here to see you. When we first got reports on Lance, I sent you here because I thought you and Shiro would be safe after what happened with Adam. Coran’s been running this place for years and I was never blind to how you were treated. I never knew you’d fall in love with a vampire. Not after what happened with Adam. Lance has been good for both you and Shiro”  
“Lance has gone through hell because of me and Shiro... He had his whole life ruined because his brother reported him. He refuses to say anything about it because he seems to think his brother has a right to be a dick”  
“He seems quite smart”  
“You mean smarter than your son who didn’t graduate high school”

Krolia sighed deeply, stepping away from the car and moving so she was standing in front of him  
“No. I know you’re hurting and angry. But Keith, I don’t know how to tell you what you want to hear. Leaving you broke my heart. You... You never knew but I never once stopped thinking of you. I sent money because I... I couldn’t have you caught up in this life so I wanted you to have the best. I know it was a mother’s dream, but I truly prayed you’d be taken care of and that someday we could be together again. You are not a disappointment. You being with Lance... I support it because I can see your happiness. I can see how he looks at you. He sees you. He sees more than those stupid rumours. He sees who you are. You’ve never disappointed me. Even if you don’t believe me, I want you to believe that”

Keith felt flustered. He didn’t know what he felt. Lance would have understood. He would have happy they were talking... but Keith... He couldn’t do it. He didn’t know how to. He didn’t know how to have a mum  
“Lance and Miriam are coming back. Just think about what I told you. I do love you. I did love your father. And no matter what happens, you will always be my son. I’ll drop you and Lance back at VOLTRON after this. I’ve taken enough of your time today”  
Now she was saying that, Keith didn’t want her to go. The feeling was weird and foreign, stemming from his abandonment issues. It had to. He didn’t understand why he’d feel that way otherwise.

*  
Dropping Mami off, Lance tried not to feel guilty about parting with her. They didn’t have time to stay, though he would have liked to. His Mami seemed to like Krolia which was a weight off his shoulders, other than the fact Keith had been off since he and Krolia both left before them. Lance needing to getting the stealing off his chest to God and his Mami spent extra time praying for their family. She didn’t need to say it out loud. She said a prayer for all their family each time they visited. Making sure she was settled in her room, Lance wanted to curl up in bed with her. Feeding his ego and letting it go a tad out of control left him feeling sick to his stomach. He hated that side of him. He hated being a nasty show off. Being rude and insulting. And he hated Keith seeing it. He’d scared him and Allura... Allura who’d seen and dealt with worse than him... She probably had been hurt by his ego being such a dick to the guy she liked... or no longer seemed to hate.

Returning to he car, Lance climbed in beside Keith, opting not to take the vacant front seat. He was hopelessly in love with Keith. Aware they were in that honeymoon phase, where everything was simply made better by being next to each other. Lance so badly for things to stay the same between them. For Keith to never wake up to the fact that he wasn’t as great as he seemed to think he was. Keith was human and now he had to dress him as a pet and not like the actual amazing human being he was. Lance didn’t like it. He’d need a new outfit, something without everyone else’s scents on it... which want taking Keith shopping... The vampire slightly scared they wouldn’t be able to find that balance between pet appropriate and offending Keith, and that Keith would judge him for having to spent money he didn’t have on a suit he’d probably only ever wear once.

“I’ll drop you boys at the front. Make sure you get receipts and then I’ll see to it you get reimbursed. Thank you for agreeing to help us out here. The fact that you know Platt and are close with Coran carries a lot of weight, even though it might not seem so”

Lance blinked, raising his gaze he found Krolia smiling at him in the rear view mirror  
“Oh... it’s fine. I know I’m the enemy here, but out of control vampires is something that needs to be stopped as soon as possible”  
Krolia laughed  
“I’m glad you understand. We do have other vampire we could contact, but you’re nothing like them. I mean that as a compliment. You’re remarkably human”  
“He is human”  
Bless Keith. Always quick to jump in to defend him  
“I get it. I’m sorry you had to see my ego today... that’s one side that I really hate”  
“Nonsense. Did you see Lotor’s face. He never expected that from a breeder. I shouldn’t find it funny, but we Blades have quite an unusual sense of humour. Don’t let Kolivan get to you. He’s under a lot of pressure at the moment”  
“I imagine so. He also seems to have his hands full with your werewolves”  
“They’re very driven. They’re effective agents, though I don’t know for the life of me why there needs to be such a rift between them and the rest of the Blades”  
Lance guessed that was Krolia speak for the way James and Keith acted like mortal enemies  
“Ego will do that. I’m learning how to live with werewolves at the moment”  
Krolia nodded  
“Matt and Rieva. Rieva certainly put up a fight. Some of the Blades can be over zealous... We hadn’t wanted to apprehend her, only talk to her thanks to Shiro’s connection with Matt. She’s certainly a live wire”  
“She’s more settled than Matt. They’ve kind of become part of the furniture at home”  
“That’s good. Okay. Here’s where I leave you both. Lance, if you can come in early on Wednesday for briefing that’d be appreciated. Also, if you need help disgusting yourself, don’t be afraid to dress how you please. We know you don’t tend to associate with vampires, if you feel the need to completely change your image, we’ll reimburse for things including piercings and accessories. Don’t be afraid to go all out”

That didn’t sound good... a valid point seeing his looks wouldn’t be forgotten... they’d all have to be careful. Krolia parked in front of the bookshop, Keith scrambling to get his belt undone as Lance smiled politely  
“Thanks, Krolia. It was nice to see you again... without being shot”  
“It was nice to see you again too. If you have the time, I would love to go to dinner with you and Keith. Naturally Shiro is invited too. Please let him and see if the three of you can decided upon a time”  
“Sure. Sounds good. Come on, babe. We better get this done”  
Keith ignore him as he let himself out Krolia’s sedan. Lance couldn’t exactly say no to Krolia, nor could he spirit Keith away, or assist in him running from his problems. Hopefully by the time they finished shopping, his boyfriend would have figured out what was on his mind and understand that Lance wasn’t trying to pry.


	88. Chapter 88

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The boys first outing to an Adult Shop... I would have loved to be a fly on the wall for it all

88

Keith was blushing, Lance couldn’t even look at the sign in the window. Together they were standing in front of an adult toy store both feeling out of their depth. It was a moment they needed Curtis. Really, at their age, this shouldn’t be as embarrassing as it was. They could have opted for online shopping with Platt being relatively quick, but without an address to post to, they’d have had to go to the store collect as it was. Holding Keith’s hand, his boyfriend squeezed it firmly  
“We don’t have to go in there... I still have the things Lotor used when Shiro and I had to play pets”  
Lance shook his head, kind of jealous that Lotor had portrayed Keith as his pet, and very much annoyed that Keith hadn’t had much choice in the matter  
“Lotor is a dick. I want whatever we pick out to be comfortable for you, and something that you’re okay with”  
“I’m okay with it if it’s with you”  
“I know he said I needed someone with me, but if you’re not comfortable, then I don’t want to force you”  
“Babe, it’s okay...”

They fell back into silence staring at the door, Lance giving a frustrated groan  
“Why is this so hard?”  
“Because neither of us have much experience?”  
“But they’re just toys... adult toys... God, I feel like such a wuss”  
“I’m nervous too... let’s just do this?”  
Lance liked the sex they had... He liked it because he felt physically connected with Keith. Keith always took care of him, sometimes a little eager but meaning well  
“Yeah... maybe it won’t be so bad?”

Heading into the store, Lance didn’t know where to look. Lingerie clad mannequins made him blush. Did Keith like lingerie? Would Keith like him in lingerie? He was guy... but some of the stuff wasn’t so bad... or as bad as he thought   
“Have you thought about what you’re going to wear?”  
Lance jumped as if he’d been sprung  
“Not really. I don’t know how not to look like me”  
“I like the way you look... Babe, you can tell me so shut up, but does your scent really smell that different from a normal vampire?”  
Lance nodded. He wasn’t offended by Keith asking. His boyfriend just wanted to understand   
“Yeah. I mean, they’ll be able to tell I’m not your average vampire. I guess it’s kind of like maybe going from smelling garlic bread to open the bag and finding apple scrolls. Some might even react... That’s why they want me to choose what I wear carefully. Maybe I should get a wig?”

Walking past a second mannequin, Keith drew his brow. Fingers brushing over the red lace of the bra. Red was Keith’s colour. His boyfriend looked good in red... He couldn’t picture Keith in lingerie  
“You could dress like a girl? Is that a thing? I don’t know how vampire society works here... but if they think you’re a girl, they won’t be looking for you when you’re a guy again”  
Lance frowned  
“I won’t look stupid?”  
Keith awkwardly scratched the back of his head. They were as bad as each other...  
“Nah... I mean, it was an idea. I don’t know... I don’t know what’s okay”  
And Lance did? He hated the vampire community as a general rule   
“I don’t know either. I mean, I’m on the outside... Maybe we can choose your clothes and work what I’m wearing to match you?”  
Keith grumbled bitterly  
“I fucking hate clothes shopping”  
“I know, babe. That’s why I want you to find something you like as a well as something suitable. I know that you need to have a collar so I want to find one that’s padded so it doesn’t hurt your neck”  
“Lotor had a leather one”

Lance felt a flash of ego. A nasty unwanted bubble of jealousy that Lotor had “owned” Keith for a night. Jamming his hands in his pockets, Lance started walking down the first isle, realising his mistake when he eyed the biggest plastic dick he’d ever seen in his life. Jerking back, he was kind of curious and clenching tightly at the same time. How anyone fitted that up anywhere was a mystery  
“Babe?”  
“I can’t take my eyes off it”  
Pouting out the dong in question, Keith asked the same thing he’d been thinking  
“How does that even work?”  
With a lot of lube and a lot praying?  
“I don’t know... Look how veiny it is”  
“The testicles are weird”  
“I’m glad Curtis didn’t bring home something like that”  
“Do you want something like that?”

Lance spluttered, choking on air  
“What?!”  
Keith blushed beat red, crossing his arms defensively  
“For your heat. I don’t know. I don’t know anything about this stuff!”  
“I... you... do you want me to buy something like this?”  
He thought their sex life was fine?  
“I mean for when I’m not there and you need to... you know...”  
“Do... I... should I?”  
They weren’t made for this. Defeated by a row of rubber dongs  
“I don’t know. I don’t want you to be in pain if I can’t be with you”  
Lance wasn’t sure he knew what to do if he was left alone to do that  
“I... would it be weird?”  
Keith shifted his weight   
“Lots of people use them... I don’t know”  
“I don’t know either...”  
“Do you... want to get something? We don’t have to use it if you don’t want... but... Why is this so embarrassing?”  
“Because we’re new to this sex thing?”  
“Yeah... maybe...”

Keith seemed deflated. He felt the same as boyfriend. He didn’t know if they were ready for that... He knew he didn’t want to use what Curtis bought him...  
“Keith, do you want to try something like this?”  
“I don’t know... you’re really hot when you’re into it”  
“I’m into it when I’m with you, because it’s with you. We could um... start with something simple?”  
“Like what?”  
How was he supposed to know? Keith had probably watched more porn than Lance had...  
“I don’t know... if there’s anything you want to try, I’m nervous, but we can figure it out together?”  
“Where do we start?”

Lance looked around, feeling intimidated   
“Lingerie? Do you like lingerie?”  
“I never really thought about it...”  
“I haven’t either... I don’t know what to find sexy... other than you... and I like you how you are”  
Keith snorted, dropping his forehead against Lance’s shoulder  
“We’re so fucking bad at this. Maybe we should wait? But I need condoms and lube for home”  
Yeah. Most of their stuff was at Lance’s  
“Mmm. That’s probably an idea... and if I’m dressing up as a girl, we need to figure out how that’s going to work”  
Lance wasn’t committed to dressing as girl... He could... but kind of felt like he’d look stupid... though looking stupid was worth it if it meant protecting his friends... maybe his ego was being prissy?   
“We should ask Allura what she thinks...”  
“For now let’s find the collars... and see what we see on the way”

Condoms defeated Lance as much as the dongs had. Cock rings made him blush, though he knew Keith had two that he’d had his eye on. Vibrators had Keith curious, Lance suspecting one of them ended up in Keith’s basket. Butt plugs were unnecessarily fancy with their shining silverness and big fake gems... yet again he had the feeling Keith had decided to get one... He was sure why though. Garrison usually had three different brands to choose from. He was happy with having only a few choices because they certainly didn’t have anything of this “ribbing”, “ultra naked”, “glow in the dark”, or “flavoured” business. They went on, did their job, and that was it. Now there was a whole walls worth of condom packaging and a wayward Keith who was supposed to be choosing lube. He wasn’t sure how to size Keith’s dick. Saying it was the perfect size for filling him didn’t exactly give an accurate description. Keith wasn’t small, but he wasn’t like super sized. He was good size. 6-7 inches and thicker than Lance’s. Casting a glance at his boyfriend Keith now had a basket, Lance not sure if he should worry for his arse or not. They’d found the collars, Lance choosing a red and black one with soft red padding on the inside that Keith felt comfortable with. The muzzle was a different task all together. There were all kinds of gags and fetish masks, finally they settled on a PVC mask that covered Keith’s mouth and came up in a Y around Keith’s nose. It strapped over Keith’s head, but was way better than something that might hurt his boyfriend to wear. Plus it had silver press studs and silver buckles so it could be adjusted. Keith wouldn’t drink anything while they were out, just to be on the safe side of things. The lead was a simple chain lead with a black leather handle. Probably below the vampires they’d come across, but he didn’t care. 

Watching Keith grab a couple of different lubes, Lance felt his dick twitch, not that he was in the mood, he was now stuck wishing he knew what Keith had in mind for him, yet was kind of excited he didn’t know. Putting them in the basket, his boyfriend glanced around to make sure no one watching. No one was. The woman behind the counter was on her phone, not caring one bit about them. Wandering over to him, Keith had put the lube over the things at the bottom at the basket, Lance trying not to look lest his dick decide to pop up like a pervert   
“Did you pick anything out?”  
“This isn’t like Garrison, there’s too many choices”  
“Do we need fancy? I mean... if you want to try something else, I don’t mind”  
“I... maybe? What do you think about ribbed?”  
“I think we can try it and see how you feel? If you don’t like it you can use them so we don’t make a mess?”

That was very practical way of thinking about things. Keith wasn’t comfortable with bottoming. Lance would never push in his right state of mind   
“Okay. So ribbed and normal?”  
Keith grabbed a box of ribbed and two boxes of normal. Lance blushed from the top of his ears to the bottom of his feet, hardly acting cool and mature despite his 44 years  
“I think we’ve got everything now. They’ve got coloured contacts here too... I should probably grab a set”  
Lance didn’t like it, though Keith’s eyes were a very unique shade of purple. Keith titling his head as he read the expression on the vampire’s face  
“What?”  
“I just hate the idea of having to hide your eyes...”  
“They stand out”  
“They’re beautiful. I suppose you’re right, but I hate how un-you you have to be”  
“Shiro and I have done contacts before. A couple of times we dressed him up and pretended he was the vampire”  
“He doesn’t smell like one. How did that work?”  
“We’re still here? Sometimes I think about the things we’ve done and I’m amazed we pulled them off”

That was right. Keith wasn’t a beginner in this business like Lance was. He’d led a completely different life   
“I’ll follow your lead. Do you think I should change my eye colour too?”  
He still needed a wig  
“They’re really blue... maybe brown? I think they’ve got party lenses too”  
“Yeah. We can take a look... is it bad that I’m relieved we found the shop the furthered away from where we live?”  
“Not really... I’m kind of glad we don’t have to come back”  
“Is that why you’ve got so much?”  
“I didn’t think you’d want things sent to the house with Matt and Rieva there”  
“That’s true. Did you see the werewolf vibes? I thought about getting one for Matt and throwing it at him next time he offers to help with my heat”  
“Matt’s so fucking horny, he probably be into it”  
“Rieva probably already owns a strap on to deal with him when he’s being moody”

Sharing an uncomfortable look, they both mutually decided silently not to go there, Keith asking   
“Ready to go?”  
Lance quick to agree  
“Yep. I’ll pay. They can reimburse for the clothes... I don’t want the Blades knowing what we get up to”  
Keith shook his head, looking at the full basket  
“I’ll pay for this. I got carried away”  
“I’ve got this. Consider it me apologising ahead of time for treating you like a pet”  
And seeing most it would be used on him, he really should be the one paying  
“You’re not treating me like a pet because you want to”  
“That doesn’t make it okay”  
“It’s for the mission”  
It was because Lotor was a dick. Turning, Lance tried not to stare at the pocket pussy display. He was sure he didn’t want to fall down that rabbit hole... and why was that flesh light green, was that a thing? He was such a mental prude over all of this  
“Let’s get out of here. Any more and I think I might die”  
“All the more reason I should pay. I’ll meet you at the car”  
They were supposed to look at the coloured contact lenses... Keith seemed to have forgotten in his hurry to hide his purchases   
“I feel like you don’t want me to see what you got”

Keith was cute when he got flustered. The way his cheeks dusted red. The way he pouted, but only at the corner of his lips. The way he tried to stand a little taller as if pretending he wasn’t. Lance couldn’t help but lean in and kiss him on the cheek, Keith blushing harder at the display of affection. So cute...   
“Okay. I’ll wait in the car, but don’t forget to get the contact lenses”  
Keith opened and closed his mouth, Lance nudging him with his shoulder teasing his boyfriend a little more   
“Don’t take too long... or I might be afraid you’ve had a better offer”  
Something broke in Keith, his boyfriend very stiff as he moved towards the counter without replying. Lance suppressing a laugh. He had the most awkward boyfriend, and he really loved that about him.

*  
Wiped out from their “adult store adventure”, Lance decided Keith needed a break from peopling. Ordering pizza online, his boyfriend had no idea what was happening as Lance parked in front of the pizza place. Heading in, he collected their order, with extra for Shiro and Curtis, plus extra again so they’d be able to have left overs the following day. Carrying out 8 pizzas, three garlic breads and two bottles of coke, Keith’s eyes went wide as Lance carried the lot over to the passenger side door  
“Open up”  
Opening the door, Lance dumped the pile into Keith’s lap  
“What the hell? I thought we were going clothes shopping”  
Keith made it hard to be spontaneous   
“Just shut up and hold the pizza”  
“What?”  
Closing the passenger door, Lance jogged around to the driver’s side, happily climbing in and closing the door after   
“Lance, why am I holding this much pizza?”  
“Because I changed my mind. Clothes can wait, right now I want to go home and cuddle up with you”

Keith stared at him as if he’d grown a second head   
“But we were supposed to go clothes shopping”  
“And you don’t like shopping”  
“We can’t blow off getting ready for the mission for pizza”  
“One. Don’t insult pizza like that. Two. You’re worn out. I’m worn out. Those dongs are haunting me”  
“We said we were getting clothes today”  
Lance’s smile faded. He’d thought this was good plan... he’d messed up. He wanted to give Keith a break, but he’d read the situation wrong  
“We’ll drop them off to Shiro, then go”  
“That’s not what you were saying”  
“No, but you want to go... so we can go”  
“I don’t know why we need so many pizzas”  
Because he’d wanted to go back to the apartment, put on a movie, then not have to move until necessary   
“I got extra for Shiro and Curtis”  
“There’s extra, then there’s 8 pizzas. You’re not feeding Matt and Rieva”

His heart flopped. He didn’t get why Keith was mad. He didn’t want to fight, but it hurt that Keith was acting like he hadn’t been thinking of him  
“Whatever. Message Shiro and let him know”  
“What do you mean “whatever”?”  
“I mean it is what it is. Look, just message Shiro”  
Keith sighed, the sound going right through him. How could get things so wrong? They’d both struggled looking at the range of sex toys available. Maybe Keith was mad he hadn’t been more receptive? He didn’t know how to have a boyfriend. He’d only ever had these feelings for Keith. He’d only ever had sex with Keith and sure the first couple of times were awkward but they’d figured things out together... This didn’t feel like Keith lashing out because he was flustered or embarrassed.

Lance’s mood only fell further as he drove back to near the apartment where Shiro and Curtis were waiting. Keith seemed to be messaging Shiro as Lance had driven. It was his fault for not acting like the mission was important. The Blades needed their outfits as soon as possible, he knew that, but would it have been so bad to take a break for both their sakes? As his eyes met Curtis’s, he knew Curtis saw too much of the mood he was trying to hide, quickly he turned from him, letting Keith grumble his heart out as the pair took the pile of food from Keith’s lap. Staying the night was looking less possible, despite the responsibilities he had waiting a home for him, he wanted to spend more time with Keith to come up with their own strategies and stuff.

Bidding goodbye to the pizza, Lance drove them across town to an upscale shopping centre that catered to the fancier part of Platt. He usually avoided it thanks to the fact he didn’t need fancy. Parking as close as he could get, the sounds immediately started getting to him. Rich people were so out of touch, it made him seem almost normal in comparison. Climbing out the car, the vampire double checked he had everything before walking towards the door, leaving Keith to catch up. If Keith had something he needed to work through, he’d wait until he had. What else could he do? They’d already spent time with Krolia and although dying to ask, he kept his mouth shut in respect. He was the one pouting so hard his bottom lip may as well be dragging, so he was the one who had to get over his mood.

Checking the shopping centre map for changes, Lance decided against following it. Sure, it’d be easier to simply go straight where they needed, but with some of the names these days they could be selling anything. Keith had his nose buried in his phone, Lance feeling pathetic that he was jealous Keith’s attention wasn’t on him. He did know one way to perk Keith up, there was a nice camera store on the second level, even a cranky Keith couldn’t say no to photography equipment. Lance had seen the dozens upon dozens of photos Keith had taken of Kosmo and the park when they’d gone as a group. He’d thought about taking Keith on a kind of tour of the city, yet it hadn’t eventuated yet. There were still plenty of places to visit, he’d just have to be patient and maybe kidnap Keith to the small city aquarium slash zoo... or save it for a surprise date... though Keith didn’t love surprises. As Lance started moving, Keith fell into step beside him... and that’d have to be good enough for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many comments to catch up with! You guys spoil a girl too much!


	89. Chapter 89

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our boys aren’t made for loud crowds and shopping 🛒

89

Keith loathed shopping. He loathed the crowds. The prices. The noise. The children that sounded like store alarms when they screamed. He felt like something was missing in him when surrounded by all these people going about their normal day. And he felt like a dick... though he wasn’t completely sure what he’d done wrong to upset Lance. All he’d wanted was to get this all out of the way, then the next thing he knew his boyfriend was buying an obscene amount of pizza while he was still recovering from the adult store. He was a pervert. Lance had to think so. He didn’t mean to be, but he’d been the one to buy things with his boyfriend in mind. Lance had him to help him through his heats, but he couldn’t be there all of the time... and he’d been trying to think of how to make Lance’s urges feel better for his boyfriend. So yeah... he’d over shopped, then spent the car ride nervous about showing Lance.

Walking beside his boyfriend, Keith was messaging Shiro. Curtis had said Lance seemed pretty upset, but his boyfriend hadn’t said anything to him... He hadn’t said much of anything. The awkwardness bled over into super awkwardness as his thoughts drifted to Krolia, proving he was a total pervert for both thinking about his mother and his sex life at the same time. He already had a window open in his phone on pocket pussies... and how to use a cocking properly. He didn’t want to hurt Lance, but there was something hot about wondering how Lance would react to wearing one... they both came pretty quick, not like in porn, and Keith kind of wondered if it was normal. He liked their sex lift. He liked when Lance would get right into it and ride him. His boyfriend would make the hottest expressions. He loved the feel of Lance’s slender hips in his hands. He loved when his boyfriend was spent he’d curl into him for cuddles and kisses. He loved the nights they didn’t have sex, simply sharing a few kisses before spooning up together. He loved the way Lance laughed when he tickled him...

But.

His head was being annoying about his mother. Krolia apologised. Krolia told him he wasn’t a disappointment. Krolia told him she loved him. Krolia liked Lance. Krolia got on with Miriam. Lance and Miriam managed to get on with Krolia. He didn’t know how she made him feel. He was angry that she’d come out and said all... of that... so why did he wonder what she was doing after she’d dropped them back? Then he started wondering if his mother liked pizza. Was she lactose intolerant like he was? Why didn’t he know about his grandparents? Were they alive? Would they like pizza? Lance wasn’t asking about Krolia and Lance always asked about these things. Was he trying to give him time to think? But if he was, why was he upset?

Lost in his thoughts, he thought Lance was still beside him. Shiro’s last message was that he and Curtis said thanks for the pizza and that he wasn’t getting back into the apartment without talking to Lance first... Keith trying to come up with a witty reply, but lacking because his mind was elsewhere. Now he’d lost Lance. Lance wouldn’t leave him behind. So why had he wandered off? Turning on the spot, he couldn’t see his boyfriend. The swarms of people mixed and mingled as they moved past or around each other, and Keith had no idea where to begin hunting Lance down. Looking back at his phone, his thumb hovered over the screen. A normal person would call their boyfriend... but that little voice in the back of his head made him question if Lance would answer. 

“Keith?”  
Keith nearly screamed as he jumped. Spinning back around, he found Lance right in front of him  
“Where the hell did you go?”  
Lance scratched the back of his head, gazed on his feet. Keith supposed his tone was harsher than he’d want it to be   
“I thought you were beside me. I went to talk to you and realised you weren’t”  
Oh...  
“I was talking to Shiro. He says thanks for the pizza”  
Lance nodded, Keith kind of kicking himself as his boyfriend still wasn’t looking at him  
“That’s good. I got two each so there’d be left overs”  
That explained why there so many... he hadn’t thought about left overs   
“Right. That makes sense”

Why was he being so awkward? Had he made this awkwardness being stuck in his head? Why wasn’t Lance reaching out and pulling him close?  
“The store’s this way. It’s not that far”  
“Okay...”  
He knew the words. He needed to apologise. But between his brain and his mouth there was some kind of blockage, things weren’t coming out how they should have  
“We should go”  
Right. Moving. They were holding up traffic. Lance moved his hand like he was going to take Keith’s, before stopping and letting his hand drop. Great. Now he knew for sure he’d hurt Lance’s feelings somehow.

*  
Lance was trying. He thought he was trying. He’d nearly had a panic attack when he found Keith wasn’t by his side. Crowds would do that. Part of him always expected Nyma and Rolo to step out. He worked better when he knew the lay of the land. The shopping centre had changed a lot since he’d been there last. The bright lights assaulted his eyes, the crowds made him wonder how many vampires were walking past him. Was his scent strong? Did normal people smell something wrong with him? We’re vampires eyeing off him, knowing what he was? Did Keith feel safe shopping with him? Or was his boyfriend on guard? He couldn’t believe he’d wandered off and left Keith behind. What if someone had hurt Keith because he wasn’t paying attention to him?

Careful to keep Keith in the corner of his vision, Lance tested the waters between them, leading Keith past the camera store. Keith’s eyes widened for a moment, then the look was gone  
“Do you want to go in?”  
“We don’t have time”  
Oooookay. They did. Platt stores weren’t like Garrison where they only closed late on Thursdays  
“It couldn’t hurt to take a look. This place doesn’t close until 6...”  
“Maybe another day”  
Lance didn’t see why they wouldn’t head in. Keith clearly wanted to... Why weren’t they... why was it so weird between them? Did Keith think Lance wouldn’t understand?  
“Okay then. Sure. The store map said it’s this way”

Lance hadn’t thought much about high end motor cycle gear. He acknowledged Keith’s bike hadn’t been cheap, and he knew cheap helmets were sometimes as bad as wearing nothing, but high grade clothing wasn’t really on his radar as it wasn’t his look. Stepping into the store, the guy behind the counter was impressively tall. Gone were the days when a full tattoo sleeve meant you were a badarse, almost all hipster baristas these days had sleeves and big arse beards to match as they sold their overly complicated coffees to the masses. This guy looked like a teddy bear. Round... kind of Hunk huggable like... a little bit of a goatie. He could definitely crush Lance like a bug if Lance said any of this out loud   
“Hey, fellas. Let me know if you’re looking for anything in particular”

Keith gave the man a nod, Lance smiling because that was the adult thing to do  
“We’re browsing, we’ll let you know if we need any help. Thanks”  
“Don’t be afraid to ask”  
Lance wondered if the poor dude was secretly a misunderstood gentle giant, then he looked at the man’s hands. “GetFucked” tattooed across his fingers... so maybe not. Darting over towards the clothing racks, he hoped he hadn’t offended the guy behind the counter... but there was only so much bravery he had in front of a dude so big. Following him over, Keith actually seemed interested when he started looking at the leather jackets   
“Are there any rules I should think about?”  
“Not really. Pick something you like and is practical”  
“That’s no help”  
Lance forced a laugh. Wincing at the sound  
“Okay. Yeah. Usually gaudy is like the go to or slutty. But I don’t care. If anyone says anything, they know they’re asking for a fight. Personally I’d prefer something that covers you up”  
Keith nodded, moving past the jackets to the pants, then moving back. Lance didn’t know what to think. Everything was black. Black and silver. Or more black. He kind of wondered if bikers were cranky because they got so hot wearing all black? Maybe they were cranky because their balls wear sweaty? But that didn’t work for lady bikers... It had to be the sun. Not wanting to seem disinterested, Lance slipped past Keith to look at pants, finding a pair he liked immediately. They’d look good on Keith. Keith had great legs. Though all of Keith was pretty great. Sure, Lance was twiggy with long lean muscles and a small 4 pack... a six pack on a good day before his body started changing and now he had this little smoodge of fat on his belly... but Keith... God. He was biased... but if this was an anime he’d be spurting blood out his nose each time Keith stripped his shirt off. Muscles from hours or training, tempered with hours of fighting. Definitely he’d kill for, with the softest hands that’d never physically hurt him. Finding Keith’s size, Lance ignored the price tag, carrying them over as Keith pulled down a hooded leather jacket with a two layer look   
“That one?”  
“I don’t know. Do you think it’d look alright?”  
It’d look better on the bedroom floor. Lance blushing at his own stupid thoughts   
“I think so. What do you think of these?”

The pants weren’t overly complicated. Three shirt diagonal leather straps buckled near the inner thigh. The buckles neat silver rectangles. The cut was skinny leg, which Keith could totally pull off   
“They’re alright”  
“So yes to the pants and the jacket... you should get boots too. Something you can wear outside of... you know”  
“I don’t want to spend too much”  
“We’re not paying”  
“Fair point”

The boots they pretty much just went for simple. A tiny heal, mid-calf, with a brown sole and a zip on the side. Carrying the lot to the counter, their new friend smiled  
“Got everything?”  
“For now”  
The man nodded, starting to ring up the sale, Lance placed his credit card down on the counter. Lance’s attention drifting to the Lester globes in the cabinet beneath the counter. He’d noticed Keith wore gloves during missions, then fingerless leather gloves when he rode. His boyfriend would have to have his birthday eventually, maybe a pair of gloves would be a nice gesture?  
“What kind of bike do you have?”  
Keith launched into explanation. If Lance had been asked he would have said a “death trap on wheels”. Maybe he should borrow some of Hunk’s engineering books, so he could keep up? He might have the memory, but having the memory didn’t always mean he could do the doing. Plus he’d learned his lesson that one time he tried to help Hunk and dropped a spanner on his head because he’d managed to use too much strength and strip the bolt... Hunk laughed it off, but Lance never tried to help again.

With Keith talking bike specs, Lance decided to wait outside for him. He didn’t want to be the uncool boyfriend that knew nothing. He’d had more than enough of that feeling. Wrapping his arms around himself, he found himself watching the crowd again. Coran told him to avoid crowded places... Maybe it was time to pester him over this medication he was supposed to develop. Thinking about it made him feel like he’d been reckless with Keith’s life. He wanted to be able to do normal boyfriend things. He wanted to take Keith places and not have this fear creeping in. He knew Keith had skills, but he also knew some vampires wouldn’t care for them. Then there was Matt and Rieva to consider now he was back home again. He wanted them to live comfortably. Yeah. He really needed that chat with Coran and a good talk with Allura... Today preferably when they dropped Keith’s clothes in to be altered.

Coming out the store Keith finally seemed in a better mood. Lance forcing himself to seem relaxed as he shot his boyfriend a shaky smile  
“All good?”  
“I couldn’t remember your pin so I paid, and before you ask, I got a receipt”  
“I forgot about that bit”  
“It’s fine. Are you okay?”  
“Hmm? Yeah. Just tired”  
Keith didn’t believe him, Lance adding  
“All these noises and people. You know how it is”  
Ah. There was a spark of belief now  
“I’m pretty peopled out too. That guy talked a lot”  
“Don’t be like that, I know you liked bragging about your bike”  
“Maybe a little. Do you really think this’ll pass?”  
“Yeah. I decided I’m definitely going to talk to Allura about what to wear before we go”  
“She’s probably got more idea than I do. Are we going home now?”  
“Nah, I’ll drop you off then head over to see Coran about getting more blood bags”  
“You sure? You did buy a mountain of pizza”  
Keith was now worried about the pizza? Not him? No “I thought you were staying the night?”. Keith probably needed Shiro time, so he’d head home  
“That you guys will finish off perfectly fine”  
“Maybe... Should we go?”  
“Yeah. Let’s get out of here”

*  
Keith fiddled with the radio as Lance drove. Dropping his boyfriend off, it was kind of awkward when Lance went to kiss his cheek and ended up kissing Keith. It was pretty much their worst kiss to date. Both of them felt it. Driving over to VOLTRON, Lance parked at the front of Castle Altea, figuring he wouldn’t be long. Gathering up Keith’s clothes and boots, he headed inside, trying to not keep thinking about his boyfriend.

Taking the elevator down, Krolia was waiting with Coran, answering the question of where she’d gotten to  
“Are those your clothes?”  
“Keith’s, for the mission. I haven’t picked anything yet”  
Handing the bundle over, Coran picked up his mood  
“Thanks for that. Have you got a little time to spare?”  
“Yeah. I wanted to ask about some more blood bags seeing mine are off”  
“Sure thing, my boy. Come on through to my office”  
Krolia gave them both a wave as the pair moved towards Coran’s office.

Sitting himself on the examination bed, Coran closed the door behind them before turning to Lance  
“That’s not the face of a happy man. Did something happen?”  
“Kind of... call it a brainwave if you want, but I realised Keith could have been in danger today”  
“Ah...”  
Coran got what he meant  
“I know you’re busy, but have you had anytime to come up with something?”  
“Lance...”  
That was a no. He really did get that he wasn’t priority. Keith, however, was his number one priority   
“I was thinking about it today. We’ve been super lucky nothing’s happened when I’ve been out with Keith. There were so many people today... and I lost sight of him. It was only for a few minutes, but those few minutes... anything could have happened”

Sitting himself down at his desk, Coran clicked his mouse a couple of times, Lance could see the man had opened his file up  
“I did want to wait longer given your hormone levels”  
“I get that, but right now, I feel like I don’t have an option. I want Keith to be safe”  
“We want that for all those we care about. Did you boys perhaps have a fight?”  
“Not really. I upset him and I don’t know how. I told him I want to work on myself, but I don’t know if I can until this heat thing is sorted. I don’t want to get heats anymore. I don’t want to be different anymore”  
Lance’s voice shook. Why’d he have to be so different?  
“Lance... Keith cares about you. He doesn’t mind your heats”  
He already knew that. But what happened if he went into heat when Keith needed his help or he was on a mission?!  
“I mind! I don’t want to be spilling pheromones everywhere! I want to be able to date my boyfriend without having to worry someone is going to kill him!”

Coran took a long moment, before replying  
“I understand this is hard for you. I have had the labs trying to synthesise something to help, though for the most part your body would burn through anything we designed rather quickly. We’ve been trying to adapt werewolf DNA, but without trial and error, it could take more time than I initially thought”  
“Can’t you do something? You stopped Matt”  
“I manipulated his quintessence”  
And changed him back to human  
“Can’t you do that for me?”  
“I’m sorry, my boy. No. Your body is still learning how to live with these changes”  
He was sick of these changes   
“Then give me something. I’ll have my heats if I have to, but I need my scent dulled or Keith won’t be safe. I was scared today. He was there and then he wasn’t. He was in his own head... and he was mad at me...”  
“Your hormone levels are returning to normal... disrupting them can bring about side effects”  
“Most things have side effects... you said we have to test things don’t we? Why can’t I try the same thing as a werewolf?”  
“Because your reproductive system isn’t the same, nor is your diet...”

So Coran didn’t have a clue to help him? Burying his face in his hands, he didn’t know what he’d expected  
“I don’t want to be like this. I don’t want to be scared of my body betraying me... I don’t want to cheat on Keith’s because my body does something stupid. He’s so good to me... I want to be a good boyfriend for him. I don’t want to feel the same way I did over the condom breaking”  
Coran sighed softly  
“I know this isn’t easy. You need to understand the risks. Haemorrhage. Blood clots. Depression. Hair loss. Loss of appetite. Fits of anger. Ego inflation. Mood swings. Cramping. Nausea. Vomiting. Night terrors. Hallucinations. All of these could be possible”  
Coran counted off his list on his fingers, missing the most important fact  
“None of that is as bad as losing Keith... Even if it’s just a trial run, and it doesn’t work out, we can try? I can call you everyday... stop if I’m sick?”  
“Lance, I think you should talk to Keith. We’ve talked about emergency contraceptives before, but long term damage can occur”  
“I hate this...”  
“I know you do, my boy. I know. I refuse to trial anything that could risk your life”  
“Then... Then... give me something now? Whatever you think might work. I’ll stay a few hours and you can monitor me...”

Coran wheeled himself over, taking Lance’s hands in his   
“You have always been special to me. I would find a way faster if I could”  
Lance sniffled, tears rolling down his cheeks as he thought of losing Keith   
“Do you need samples? Would that help?”  
“I already have samples. It’s all about finding what’s best for you and your body. You have a wonderful and loving boyfriend. Talk to Keith. Whatever you decide may affect you both”  
“Why can’t I take something like the pill with blood?”  
“Your body metabolises most things too fast. You burn through things like werewolves do. You need constant and sustained releases in your system”  
“Like a coated pill? We’re it erodes with time? Something you could implant?”  
Coran raised an eyebrow  
“I didn’t think of that...”

Lance knew “smart dumb” happened all the time. Sometimes the simplest ideas where missed by the minds need to over complicate things. It’s happened to poor Pidge far too many times  
“But now you are, you have some idea?”  
“Not fully. Let me see what those egg heads in research say. I’ll put a rush on it”  
Lance could have kissed him  
“Thank you... No one tells you falling in love is so confusing and scary”  
Coran smiled at his softly, squeezing Lance’s hands as he did  
“And it’s wonderful and amazing. I’ll ask Allura to pick up those blood bags. Would you like a bite to eat while we wait?”  
“Yeah... I probably should”


	90. Chapter 90

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Outfits for this chapter are in the master list
> 
> https://dammitadolfnomorecake.tumblr.com/post/634971409125408768/masterlist
> 
> Allura is a goddess who slays in whatever she wears... Keith looks hotter than when he came back from that space whale all grizzled. Lance is trying...

90

“Whoop. Hold up. I’ve lost my chicken fillet again”  
“That’s because you keep playing with them”  
Sighing at Allura, Lance didn’t know how people controlled their boobs. The fake silicone insert in his bra kept trying to escape off to the side every chance it got  
“I’m not trying to play with them, they’re the ones playing with me”  
Allura giggled, slipping her arm around his and taking him by the hand  
“Just leave them alone. It’ll be alright once we’re sitting down”  
“You’re enjoying this far too much”  
“Maybe a little. Now please don’t trip”

Having come up to Platt again on the Tuesday, Lance caught up with Allura. He’d wanted to go home that Monday night, so they’d arranged to go shopping together the next day, at smaller shopping centre. Explaining he didn’t know what to wear, Allura delighted in the idea of dressing him up. They could have been twins by the end of it... or somewhat related due to fashion sense. Lance was wearing a long brown wig, brown contacts, and possibly the worst bra ever invented beneath his red dress... that he hadn’t wanted to wear at all. He was a guy... He’d wanted to look manly and shit. Maybe androgynous if he could pull it off? Allura fully jumped on board a complete change in look, Lance’s feet were now crammed into gold high heeled shoes and a dress that aired his junk with each step. His black tiny lace short covered junk that he wasn’t allowed to wear boxers over. At least his bum was covered. One strong breeze and he’d be done for indecent exposure. With the plunging front of the red dress, the bra he had to wear was weirdly shaped tripping down in kind of a U shape, as if the designer had never seen a bra before or didn’t know how the hell they functioned. He’d also been waxed, trimmed, plucked, and “pierced”. Forget laying in the ground for three months, this was the most uncomfortable he’d ever been. The damn fake gold septum piercing was annoying, he kept going cross eyed trying to look at it.

Allura, on the other hand was gorgeous. Her normal long loose white ringlets swapped for a wig very similar to Lance’s. Dressed in a black and red pinstripe skirted suit, she dripped refinement and class. Her accessories all gold, a tasteful dainty little wristwatch on her left wrist, small ruby drop earrings, a gold clutch, and brown contact lenses like Lance’s. None of their friends would have recognised the pair of them... The only one maybe recognisable was Keith, who Lance was trying his hardest not to look at.

Keith... It should be illegal to ooze sex appeal like his boyfriend was. Dressed like the bad boy everyone’s parents warned them about, he looked so damn good in those leather pants that Lance wanted to send him home to change. Muzzled, and on lead, Keith stayed half a step behind Lance and Allura. His boyfriend seemed to be in a mood, his eyes had gone wide at Lance’s ensemble, but that’d been it. He hadn’t commented. They most he’d talked was as Lance adjusted his muzzle and collar to make sure Keith was as comfortable as possible. God only knew how much Lance wanted Keith to bend him over the closest counter and pull his hair... Having a hot boyfriend was hard. Lance knew he didn’t look atrocious as he was. His moves kind of jolted thanks to the stilettos he couldn’t quite operate. On the plus side, if things went south, he was sure his shoes were sharp enough to murder someone touching his boyfriend. He pulled off looking like a girl, which should be a win, and Coran had doused him in perfume to help the natural sweetness in his scent. 

Heading over to the bar, the vampire behind the counter had no issues with his teeth and ego hanging out for the world to see. Lance felt nothing for him, which was nice. There were so many scents that something had stuck up his nose and now he worried he was going to pop a semi thanks to a stranger  
“Haven’t seen you two around...”  
Lance showed his teeth, reminding himself he was supposed to let go of his ego  
“We don’t usually like to take our pet out to play, he doesn’t play well with others”  
The vampire nodded  
“Harder and harder to find a good pet these days. In the market for a new one?”  
“Reminding him how lucky he is to be our pet”  
“Sometimes they need to be taught the good old fashioned way. What are you drinking?”  
“Two Rivata Cassa Rossa. One half and half with A positive. Nothing for the pet”  
The vampire nodded, Lance would have preferred to watch the drinks poured, but he didn’t intend on drinking them anyway  
“Alright. Take a seat, they’ll be brought over”

Allura picked a booth close to the door so they could people watch, Lance pulling Keith into his lap, possessively resting his hand on the top of Keith’s head. He hated having to talk about Keith that way. Sliding his free hand down, he rested it over Keith’s inner thigh, clearly staking this claim over his boyfriend   
“This is nicer than I imagined”  
The club wasn’t what Lance imagined either. It kind of reminded him of the speakeasys you’d see in films, other than the electronic music and strobe lighting over dance-floor. Vampire and pets danced, some feeding in their pet as they did. Some other vampires had left their pets to sit on the ground and await their return, a couple of pets sat huddled together in one or two booths. Lance kind of wanted to channel Keith’s bad boy energy and free the pets. Though most pets didn’t have anything in their name or a way to survive without their masters. It was shit. They were fucking people who deserved better. Fucking vampires.

“It’s not what I expected. Do we have any idea what we’re here for?”  
Allura shook her head. Stupid Lotor could have given them a heads up  
“No. You know, I can’t remember the last time I was in a place like this”  
“Does that mean you want to dance?”  
Allura giggled, then sobered  
“Not quite yet. I’m not sure we should leave our pet alone”  
Everyone was listening to everyone else. That’s how these things worked  
“If he behaves himself, I might allow him to accompany us. He needs to learn some manners first”  
Keith huffed, Lance wished he could take the muzzle off so they could talk properly. Feeling eyes on him, he leaned in, nipping lightly at the top of Keith’s ear, hand sliding closer to Keith’s junk. Keith was his. He felt like he was degrading him, but he had to make sure everyone knew he wasn’t sharing  
“I’m sorry”

Whispering it right next to Keith’s ear, he hoped his boyfriend heard. He’d felt so damn stupid about breaking down in Coran’s office that he’d only really talked to Keith in group chat. Matt had tried perking him up when he’d come home, but Lance took himself and his wallowing up to his room, replaying the day in an attempt to reassure himself that Keith hadn’t become anyone’s target. As their drinks were placed down in front of them, Lance broke rules. Other pets had their muzzles loosened, and Keith shouldn’t be punished thanks to their fucked up society. Loosening the front buckles of the muzzle, his boyfriend sucked in a shaky breath, not sure what it was about  
“Master?”

A shudder ran through Lance. Keith had to call him that, and his ego approved too much  
“You’re my pet. If anyone objects I will remind them I am in control here... plus, it’s stuffy”  
“A bit...”  
Keith couldn’t talk freely and it sucked. Allura picked up her glass of red wine, grimacing as she took a sip  
“I think I’ve got yours instead”  
“Swap them over then. I really should have had the first sip, you know”  
Allura quirked an eyebrow, moving deliberately as she swapped wine glasses  
“Ego?”  
“No. Just better at dealing with it if it’s spiked...”  
“Ah”  
Pretty much. Allura was fae but he didn’t know how that worked. If anything was in there he would be able to taste it. Pulling Keith’s hood up, Lance then moved to lift his glass, his arm around his boyfriend’s waist  
“I guess we wait now”  
“I’d say so. I wonder what’s going to happen” 

When nothing happened after the first half hour, Lance got bored. Allura was doing a good job hiding her boredom, much better than him and Keith. Keith was all squirmy in his lap  
“Do you want to sit beside me instead? Or on the floor?”  
“It’s hot, master”  
“Laura, would you please get our pet a bottle of water? Number two is thirsty”  
Allura nodded, sliding from the booth. “Laura” adapted from “‘Lura”. He was “Lana” adapted from Lance... They weren’t terribly creative with names, but easy names were easy to remember. He wasn’t risking Keith by calling him anything close to Keith... and he was a pet... so he was allowed to refer to Keith in such a way... his stupid ego was enjoying itself more than he was. And Keith really didn’t have to keep squirming the way he did. He was basically right up against Lance’s junk... and Lance’s junk knew it  
“Sit next to me”

Keith slid from his lap, Lance moving the split in his dress to act like he had some modesty left. Returning with the bottle of water, Allura nearly messed up by going to hand it to Keith. Taking the bottle, Lance twisted the cap off, taking the first mouthful. It didn’t taste tainted. Taking a second mouthful, he pushed his lips against Keith’s, Keith hesitant before accepting, drinking down the offered water. Other vampires and their pets were watching, Lance pulling back to take a second sip, before pushing his lips back against Keith’s. Kissing Keith like this wasn’t common in the club. Someone would have kicked up a fuss if it didn’t risk losing face  
“More?”  
Keith shook his head, Allura looked ready to gush over them being cute  
“In that case you can come dance with us”

Lance got lost in the feeling on the dance floor. He’d loved to dance. He hadn’t had reason to in so long, and it wasn’t something he often talked about, plus he was generally feeling too old and modern music was horrific. Going out to human clubs was better, where he’d dance stupidly with Hunk and Pidge and it was totally fine because they were all as bad as each other and it didn’t matter if he tripped over his own feet. Dancing with Allura, Allura was stiff but she tried. Dancing with Keith... Lance wanted to smack him with a piece of wood and tell him to move. Putting his boyfriend’s hands on his hips, he leaned back into Keith’s touch, Allura slinging her arms over their shoulders, leaving him sandwiched between the pair of them, Keith nosing at his neck and Lance hoping his hands wouldn’t wander from his hips.

*  
They were still dancing, thanks to half a dozen trips to the bar, when they finally found out what Lotor had sent them there for. Moving from rubbing up against Keith, they’d moved to dancing in a group. Keith had been groped, the vampire snarled at by Lance, fangs showing and nails extending as he let his ego flow. Pulling Keith against him, Lance wrapped his hand around the collar. He knew his scent was coming through the stink of the perfume, because Keith’s hands had been all over his body once his boyfriend finally loosened up. Dancing in a group cooled those feelings, Lance listening to the chatter around them as he alternated between dancing with Keith, and dancing with Allura, and laughing over Allura trying to dance with Keith. Territory stuff and other things he didn’t care for. There was some fighting in the lower ranks. Some of the upper ranks were having trouble keeping face with Lotor around. A lot of general dislike for man. Talk about werewolves causing issues. All this gossip was what Lance thought they were there for... Until Sendak entered the club.

Sendak didn’t do subtle. His scent dropped Lance’s knees out from under him. Within the space of a few moments he’d gone form spinning a laughing Allura, to falling into Keith’s arms. He wasn’t the only one affected. A few other vampires dropped, pets pulled down with them. Other vampires flared their ego. Lance’s ego felt like a pulse. A distinct thudding through his body. Lowering his head in submission, the heel of Lance’s right stiletto snapped, as Keith tried to stand him up, leaving him kneeling on the dance floor. Sendak seemed impossibly massive. Towering so tall he seemed to touch the ceiling. Dressed in a crisp black suit, he wore fur cloak that was fresh out a fantasy movie fastening at the base of his neck. The fur was real, a mottled of greys, blacks and browns tumbling down to Sendak’s booted feet. The vampire didn’t even look the direction of the dance floor as he crossed the space between the front door and a booth towards the back on the right side of the club. Holy fucking shit was his aura strong. Lance instantly sure he was the oldest vampire he’d ever met, or come across. What the fuck was he doing here?!? No one would be game enough to cross him. They all felt like ants under a microscope with Sendak being the heated ray of light threatening to burn them alive if they wandered into his path. Clenching his jaw, the amount of pressure Lance used was hurting his teeth. He was fucking kneeling like a bitch for Sendak. 

Shaking her head, Allura seemed to shake herself free of the oppressive atmosphere, before moving to take Lance by the arm, pulling him up to stand properly. Both Allura and Keith were trying to get his attention, but Lance couldn’t focus. Sendak scared the ever living absolute fuck out of him. If he was this bad, he couldn’t begin to imagine Zarkon. Blood hung on the air, dancing threw the air like dust particles, following Sendak’s path. Folding himself to sit, the vampire sat with a hunch, the only sign of weakness he’d shown. This was a man used to taking orders from someone “higher” than him. 

Slowly things like the music and the shifting lights finally began to come back to him. His heart beat thudding louder than everything else, and would be for some time. The music might as well be a whisper for all it was worth. How the hell did the Blades think they could kill Sendak? He’d be able to tear a wolf apart with his bare hands... Keith wouldn’t stand a chance. It’d be like him at the hands of Nyma and Rolo. Keith would be the little kid who wasn’t nothing but a bit of strings free fun. Tapping his face, Allura tried to draw his attention, but Lance had no attention left to be drawn. He felt so fucking scared. His body seemed to be getting colder. He couldn’t stand. He couldn’t feel Keith against him... even the pain in his feet had fled in the face of Sendak. Cupping his face in her hands, warmth crept across his skin from Allura’s palms as Lance shivered violently   
“We’re leaving. Pet, help your master”


	91. Chapter 91

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soft boys are soft

91

Coran had gotten his hands on a stretch limousine to drop them off. One side of the back was dedicated to tech, where Shiro and Curtis would keep an eye on things, the other side the black leather bench seat that curved in an “L” shape. Holding the door open for them, Coran cast them a worried glance as Allura climbed in first, to help Keith get Lance inside. Almost falling in after the pair of them, Keith barely had his feet in before Shiro was swapping places with Coran was slamming the door shut closed behind him. Allura worked fast, freeing herself of her jacket, she’d wrapped it around Lance’s shoulders, cradling him against her.

No one spoke until Shiro had pulled away from the curb. Keith not sure what the fuck to do. Lance had freaked the fuck out when Sendak entered. Allura looked pale... and was that blood running from her nose? Keith felt out of his league. The man was fucking massive. He needed an adult... or to be the adult...  
“Allura, let me take him. Your nose is bleeding”  
Lance clung to Allura, face pressed against her chest as Allura rubbed his back... He didn’t blame Lance for seeking comfort, but he was clinging to the wrong person here. Kissing Lance’s hair like a mother would, Allura softly murmured as Keith tried not to snatch his boyfriend away from her  
“Lance... you’re here and you’re safe. Keith’s here. He’s here. He’s safe. Keith, you should take him... but take your muzzle and collar off first”

Right. It was a bit hard to be comforting when your face was covered. Not that he blamed Lance. Lance was a far better master than Lotor had been. Feeling for the straps his fingers were clumsy as he undid the buckles and straps for the muzzle first, it felt good to have the muzzle off, though he wondered if Lance was up for keeping it. After the three of them had been dropped off, Coran had gone against the Blades wishes and picked up Shiro and Curtis as a back up measure, Krolia and Kolivan would be staked out somewhere close but Keith didn’t know where. Allura and Lance hadn’t been told in case something happened to the pair of them. Coran stroked Lance’s hair, Lance shying away from the touch. His boyfriend definitely didn’t like Sendak, but he hadn’t seemed to be driven into a heat by him. Yay for tiny wins.

Always the worrier, Coran whispered over Lance  
“What happened?”  
Keith coughed to clear his dry throat. The club had been a sticky muggy temperature and everything felt sweaty   
“Sendak fucked things up. Have we got any water?”  
“But you’re okay?”  
Now was not the time for Coran to be fixating on him. He felt icky from being in the same room as Sendak, but he was the most okay out of the lot of them  
“What part of this is okay? Lance is freaked out and Allura’s nose is bleeding. Coran, can you help Allura?”

It took Coran prying to get Lance off of Allura and into Keith’s arms. His boyfriend was trembling and his dress didn’t offer much protection from the air conditioning in the limo. Sliding his hand between him and Lance, he got his jacket undone, Lance immediately nosing into his chest as Keith tried to stretch the jacket around them as far it would go. Allura now dabbing at her bleeding nose, her colour pale beneath her makeup  
“Are you okay?”  
With a strained smile, Allura nodded   
“I’ll be fine. I hardly thought Sendak would show himself there in person”  
“Do you think that’s what Lotor wanted us to see? Sendak’s hideout?”  
“I’m not sure. He certainly made an entrance. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone with such tainted quintessence”  
Coran explaining  
“Allura is sensitive to quintessence”  
“I’m sorry... I think I need to rest”

Keith tried not freak out as Allura slumped sideways, eyes closing as her nose bled more. Forever prepared, Coran pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it to her nose  
“She’ll be fine once she’s rested. How’s Lance?”  
“Really cold... Is he... what do I do?”  
Keith couldn’t ask if Lance was okay seeing he clearly wasn’t   
“I believe he had an anxiety attack from Sendak’s overwhelming ego. We’re headed straight back to VOLTRON, where the Blades will review the footage and audio from tonight”  
“Can I take him home after?”  
“I think for tonight that’ll be best and we’ll hold a briefing tomorrow morning. You’ll be free to leave after we’ve collected your clothing. You can turn your bugs off now”

Great. He’d forgotten they’d be collecting trace off the three of them. And he’d forgotten the Blades would be seeing this part of the footage. Quick to turn his and Lance’s audio and video off, he wondered how much of a fool they’d think him. Hopefully it didn’t pick up how worked up Keith had gotten dancing with Lance. He knew his boyfriend wasn’t comfortable dressed the way he was, Keith wondered if it made him a pervert for hoping that red dress might make into their bedroom... probably no chance of that happening now. He might have been too enthused touching Lance’s body as they’d danced.

Gathering up their things, Keith carried Lance as his boyfriend was still pretty out of it. Coran carried Allura, sending Keith and Lance off to shower and change, collection bags already waiting in the communal showers. Sitting Lance down, Keith went about carefully underdressing him. Sudden moves had Lance flinching, whatever he was thinking couldn’t be good. When Lance was finally naked, his boyfriend started to struggle his way back to independence, tears rolling down his cheeks as he pushed Keith away to shower alone. Gathering Allura’s fallen jacket, something fell from her pocket. A small satchel of blue powder and a second satchel of red powder. Pulling his gloves back on, Keith knew he had to get this to Coran as soon as possible. He had no idea why Allura had the two powders, but the look of them didn’t give him a very good feeling. With the shower Lance was in turned on, Keith hated leaving Lance, yet wasn’t about to have potential evidence go missing on his watch.

From the showers it was a straight run to Coran’s office, past the gym and a couple of the conference rooms. Jogging his way down to Coran’s office, he stuffed the two satchels into his pocket when he caught sight of James, and his fellow companion Ryan. Keith had very little to do with Ryan. He wasn’t part of the werewolf gang. Ignoring them, he slipped past and into Coran’s office. Allura now sitting up on Coran’s examination bed  
“Keith? Is it Lance?”  
Needing an excuse to get Coran away from the Blades, Keith nodded  
“Coran, can you come for a minute? He’s not doing well”  
A look passed between Allura and Coran. A look Keith was on the outside of  
“Oh dear, of course my boy. Allura, please rest until I come back. James, Ryan. If you could please wait in conference room two, I’ll pop in to see you on the way back”  
James crossed his arms, the scowl on his face pathetic   
“I believe we deserve priority. The video footage...”  
“I will bring the footage back with me. For now I must check on Lance”

Keith waited until they were in the showers again with door closed before pulling his hand out his pocket, showing the powder to Coran   
“What have you got there?”  
“I don’t know. I know I’m supposed to turn this over to the Blades but these fell out of Allura’s jacket and I don’t trust them not have their own agenda. I know this puts you in a hard position...”  
Coran shook his head   
“Nonsense. I’m glad you trusted me enough to come to me. I’ll get this analysed in secret. Now, will you be alright with Lance?”  
Keith looked to the closed shower door  
“I’ll figure something out”  
“If you need anything or anything at all happens, I’ll be right down the hall. If he’s up for it, pop in and see Allura. She’s quite worried about him”  
“I’m not making any promises. Oh, his camera and bug are in the evidence bag... you better take mine too”  
“Oh, yes. I don’t think our Blade visitors would be impressed if I were to forget”

When Coran had left, Keith stripped himself down and stuffed his clothes into the evidence back. Lance hadn’t wanted to see him, but Keith couldn’t not be there for him. The locks on the shower doors were pretty flimsy, he and Shiro didn’t usually bother with the showers in the main part of the communal, instead using the ones in the locker room off to side. In less than 10 seconds he had the door lock turned, before quietly slipping into the stall. 

Sitting on the shower floor, Lance hand his hands on the back of his head, fingers interacted. His knees up, with his chin resting in the valley. Moving closer, Keith felt the water temperature, a tad too warm for his liking. Adjusting it a little, Keith then sat himself down in front of his boyfriend, legs either side of Lance. Placing his hand on his boyfriends arm, Lance raised his head, bottom lip quivering   
“I’m so fucking sorry”  
His boyfriend looked absolutely devastated and Keith didn’t know why  
“Babe... hey, come here”

Climbing into his lap, Lance rested his legs over Keith’s, arms wrapping around him. Lance had probably cried his contact lenses out by now. From the spot on the floor, Keith couldn’t reach the soap holder, only able to start “washing” Lance down by rubbing his back. He much preferred Lance with his short hair and big blue eyes. Any fantasies he’d have of Lance in that red were nothing compared to having Lance in real life. Seeing Sendak had been rough on him, his boyfriend had even bowed his head at the elder vampire, no doubt upset over how he’d acted, but this felt like more. More of Lance’s history that he didn’t know, but he wanted to.

Keith didn’t know how long they sat on the shower floor, it didn’t feel that long before Shiro was in the showers too. Of course his brother wanted to check on them. Shiro had to know how shaken Lance was  
“Keith?! Lance?!”  
“We’re in here!”  
Shiro let himself into the stall, Lance still hiding against Keith   
“Are you two okay?”  
Nope  
“We will be. Can you pass down the soap?”  
Shiro chuckled, reaching out and grabbing the soap down to pass to Keith, who kind of glared seeing his brother was looking at his naked lover  
“I’ll wait outside. Don’t take too long”

Not “taking too long” was longer than intended. Lance was exhausted, at this stage it would have been better if he’d turned into a bat until he’d processed what he was going through. Getting him cleaned, Keith skimped on his own shower, mostly bubbly from a clingy Lance. Shiro waited for them outside the shower, passing Keith a towel to cover Lance with  
“Do you want me to stay?”  
“Nah, I’ll catch you up at home. Sorry, it was a long night”  
“Alright. I’ll head home and get some coffee ready”  
“Thanks... I’m sorry”  
“It’s fine, kiddo. As long as you know I’m here for you both”  
“I know. We need a little space right now”

Dismissing Shiro didn’t feel right. His brother just wanted to be there for them. As Keith sat Lance down, Lance immediately started crying again  
“I’m sorry”  
“Hey. No. It’s okay”  
“It’s not... I panicked... and ruined the mission”  
“Everyone panicked when Sendak walked in”  
“Not... like me...”  
“Babe. There’s no one like you. It’s okay”  
“It’s not! I fucked up again!”  
“You didn’t fuck up. None of us expected Sendak and none of us expected his ego. We’re okay and we got evidence”  
“We did?”  
“Yeah. I found some stuff in Allura’s pocket. It’s fine now. I’m more concerned about what’s in your head”  
Lance sighed   
“I... I can’t right now”  
“Alright. Then how about we clean up and head back to the apartment?”  
“I don’t think I’ll be good company”  
“That’s exactly why you’re coming home with me”  
“I... should head home”  
“Babe, I’m not letting you head home after what happened. I want to be there for you”  
“I might have nightmares”  
“Then we’ll figure it out. I’m not going to judge you”  
Lance looked at him sadly  
“I don’t deserve you”  
Keith leaned down to kiss Lance on the forehead  
“I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you. Let’s head home and have cuddles with Kosmo”

*  
Lance was still pretty out of it. They’d stopped in long enough to grab a bag of blood and for Allura to give Lance a big cuddle. The two of them communicating without words... Keith feeling on the outside but knew he wouldn’t for much longer. He just had to keep his temper and jealousy at bay.

Walking back to the apartment, Lance clung to him again. His boyfriend jumping at shadows, Keith sympathetic over that feeling. Heading up, Shiro’d left the door unlocked, Kosmo’s nails scraping on the floor as he rushed over to them. Bending down, his boyfriend finally stopped clinging to him in favour of cuddling Kosmo. Seeming lost, Keith took him by the arm and led him to sofa. As they settled down, Shiro brought over two cups of coffee  
“It should be cool enough to drink. Lance, are you okay?”

Sitting in the coffee table, his brother reached out, placing his hand on Lance’s knee  
“I’m sorry for being a bother”  
“Nonsense. You don’t have to talk about it, but Keith and I are here to listen if you want to”  
“Sorry... Sorry... it was... Sendak. I haven’t felt that scared... that completely and totally useless since I was turned”  
Keith wouldn’t have guessed that was the reason. Sendak was scary... but Lance was strong   
“Do you want to keep talking? You look pretty wiped out”  
Lance sniffled, offering Shiro a toothy wobbly smile   
“I... it’s a mess...”  
Shiro smiled softly, squeezing Lance’s leg  
“I hate to break it to you, but we’re all a mess here”  
Lance seemed to perk up at the reminder they’d all been through shit  
“Do you have something stronger than coffee?”  
“I think I can find something”

Nursing a glass of blood and bourbon, Lance stared down at the contents rather than looking at him or Shiro. Keith had his arm around his boyfriend, Lance tucking his legs up on the sofa, which Shiro had covered with the throw blanket. Neither of them wanted to press Lance into talking, so it was a series of very long moments before Lance finally started  
“I’m really sorry for being a burden. I’m sorry for messing up”  
Keith kissed his boyfriend’s hair  
“If we’d known Sendak was going to show, we would have found another way”  
“His ego... It fucking scared me. I know the Blades want to apprehend him, but I don’t see how... He could... he could tear a wolf in half and it’d be nothing. His ego is so big I don’t know how he’s sane... and I... I bowed my head... like I was bowing before him. I felt so fucking small looking at him. I couldn’t... it was like everything disappeared when he walked in and that was left was the need to lower my head and submit to him. I... I’ve been keeping something from you”

Lance raised his gaze in guilt to look at Keith. Keith stomach dropping, Shiro saving him from finding words  
“What do you mean?”  
“I... I talked with Coran. That other day when we were shopping, Keith and I got seperate and I panicked. I thought... someone had noticed my scent and gone after him... and it scared me so fucking much that it could be my fault that something happened to him. Coran doesn’t have any real idea to fix my scent... tonight I was thinking how Sendak could kill you in the blink of an eye. How if he noticed me, I don’t think I could go against him... and it made me feel absolutely useless. Like I was a kid again, begging and screaming for Nyma and Rolo to let me go... I feel so dirty for being this thing. What good am I if I can’t protect the man I’m dating? I want to go out. I want to go on dates with Keith. I want to do what normal boyfriend’s do, but how can I if I can’t control my scent. I know Sendak had to smell me. I could smell me. I could smell him. He smelt like blood. Fresh blood. It filled the air... and... I had to treat Keith so badly... I’m sorry. I’m sorry, babe. I don’t know what to do”

It wasn’t one thing Lance was scared of, it was a whole lot of things. No wonder his boyfriend felt so miserable, he still held so many fears. Keith hadn’t tried to take him on another date with Lance’s birthday being in a couple days now  
“Babe...”  
“I didn’t want to tell you Coran couldn’t fix me faster. I was a douche to him the other day over it”  
“You’re not broken... You don’t have to hide this”  
Because it hurt that Lance hadn’t told him I asked him to be there when he talked to Coran. His idiot crumpet taking too much on his shoulders  
“I don’t want to endanger you guys”  
“That’s our choice to make”  
“But... I want... I want to go out with you. I want to take you places you can practice your photography. I thought you probably thought I was too dumb to understand the other day... like how I didn’t understand when you talked about your bike”

Keith groaned. He didn’t want Lance to feel stupid. Lance tried to go out his way to help Keith understand things he didn’t know  
“Why didn’t you tell me?”  
“I thought you were mad... and I didn’t want you to... to stop liking me because I couldn’t keep up”  
Idiot. Lance was big dumb idiot  
“I wasn’t mad... I was scared too, when you were suddenly gone... and I was thinking about Krolia”  
“I didn’t want to make you talk about it if you weren’t ready”

Shiro sighed at the pair of them, his brother pinching he bridge of his nose  
“You’re both as bad as each other. I’m glad you’re both okay, but for now, and I’m aware this is a selfish brother’s request, can you please try to avoid crowds. I don’t mind Keith spending the night at your house, or you staying the night... I’m not trying to be that person... I don’t want either of you harmed”  
Keith raised an eyebrow. Shiro failed English so hard with all the stopping and starting he was doing   
“You failed that one hard”  
“Shut up. I’m trying to ask you both to be patient until the Blades know more”  
“I should have gone home”

Keith shot Shiro a glare. Shiro shrugging because he hadn’t done anything wrong   
“You’re exhausted, babe. Why don’t we go to bed?”  
“I don’t want to sleep... I don’t want to have nightmares”  
Shiro took Lance’s drink out his hands, Lance watching it taken away  
“Keith’s right. You need rest. Don’t worry about nightmares. Keith and I have had some pretty epic ones. I won’t disturb you guys unless it sounds violent”  
“I can... be pretty bad”  
“Then Keith will have to take his knife out from under his pillow. Don’t let it worry you too much”  
Lance sniffled, taking a moment to himself before nodding  
“Thanks, Shiro... Can... Kosmo sleep with you tonight? I don’t want to hurt him”  
“Babe, Shiro will never admit it, but he’s totally been won over by Kosmo’s charm. I have to show you the photos of the pair of them snoring on the sofa”  
“I don’t snore. I breathe heavily to remind you I’m around”  
“Riiiiight. We’ll go breathe heavily in your own room... that sounded wrong. Don’t you dare say anything”  
“I won’t breathe any heavier than you guys”  
Keith scrunched his nose up. His brother was gross.


	92. Chapter 92

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What’s this? A double update? I think so...
> 
> Soft boys are soft...

92

Lance lived up to his warnings over having nightmares. His boyfriend waking up screaming four times during the night, the last time the worst as he’d barely fallen back to sleep in Keith’s arms before he was shaking and moaning for help. Keith wanted to go back in time and kill Nyma and Rolo himself.. not for the first time and probably not for the last time. With how much of the night Keith spent awake, Shiro let him “sleep in”, creeping into his bedroom a little after 8 as Keith dozed. Cuddled into him, Lance was drenched in sweat, despite his body being as cool as ever. Blearily, Keith blinked at his brother over Lance’s head  
“Ugh?”  
“How’s he doing?”  
Stroking Lance’s hair, Keith hated how useless he’d been at calming Lance back down. His boyfriend would wake up, start crying, cling to him, then cry himself back to sleep  
“Sleeping...”

Shiro nodded in sympathy. All-nighters with nightmares fucking sucked. Lance hadn’t been violent towards him, but he’d tossed and turned plenty   
“Coran’s called. He asked if you both could come in... I told him about Lance, he said it was best to let him rest”  
“Mhmm... do I...?”  
He hadn’t slept enough to be rested, but he wasn’t awake enough to string a sentence together  
“Yeah. He said he wanted to talk to you about something he’d discovered. He was very apologetic about it all”  
“When?”  
“He thought it best you head in now to get it out the way. I can keep an eye on Lance”  
Why couldn’t Coran come to them? Moving seemed like effort... and Lance really needed him right now. But it wasn’t as if he could say no when it concerned Lance’s health  
“I’ll... up”  
“Okay. I’ve got your coffee waiting”

Lance didn’t wake up as Keith extracted himself from his boyfriend. The fever had him concerned, as did whatever Lance was currently dreaming about. Showering and dressing in the first things he found out his closest, Keith carried his coffee mug to work with him, making it clear he’d been disturbed. Meeting him at the elevator, Coran seemed to have had a sleepless night too. Neither of them particularly talkative as they headed to Coran’s office.

Finishing the last of his coffee, Keith stared into the cup hoping it’d magically refill. Coran letting out a long breath as he sat himself down in his chair  
“I know you’re eager to get back to Lance, so I’ll keep this as brief as possible”  
“He didn’t sleep well... he kept waking up thanks to Nyma and Rolo”  
“He seemed very shaken last night”  
“We talked for a bit... Sendak scared the fuck out of him”  
“He scares me, if I’m honest. Now. I thought I’d let you know that your night wasn’t spent in vain. The Blades managed to extract some audio from your recordings that they’re following up”  
“You called me down for that?!”  
Caffeine deprived Keith was a snappy Keith   
“That and I thought you’d like to know the initial results on those samples”

That got his attention, Coran noticing  
“Now, that first sample. The blue one, we couldn’t make heads or tails of, though it did give us some clues on the bag itself. The handler had trace amounts of grease and diesel on their hands. The Blades are running their own analysis on it, and believe the bag it was in may provide some leads. The second sample has me concerned”  
“How so?”  
“I was hoping Lance would be here for this... we did have a conversation the other night...”  
“He told me freaked out over his smell”  
“Ah. That makes things easier. I wasn’t sure if he’d confided in you as to wanting to stop his heat or at least find a contraceptive that’d help. In the sample you obtained, we found an unusual mix. For the most part it was dried blood, however, upon running more tests, I’ve determined that it’s... I suppose you’d call it a werewolf viagra. Designed for werewolves predominantly, the formula has been slightly tweaked and traces were lifted off your clothes. I wanted to see if Lance was displaying symptoms”  
The last thing they needed was werewolf Viagra. Matt and Rieva were horny enough as it was  
“He had a fever when I left...”

Coran frowned as his fingers went to smooth the edge of his moustache. Keith knew that fever wasn’t a good sign. He should have made Coran come to them  
“That’s not a good sign. It may be emotionally related, though it may also be related to what you all breathed in last night. Is it possible for you to bring him in?”  
If Lance was up for it, he would have been right here beside Keith. Coran should really know that   
“He’s not up for it. Those nightmares were really bad... he barely slept at all”  
“Then I want you to monitor him. I told him the other night we were still trying to figure out how to help him, and how to keep his hormone levels stable. It’s all been a muddle with Lotor. I may be overreacting...”  
Overreacting was better than under reacting   
“I’d rather know so I know if something does happen...”  
“I thought you would. As I said, I did wish to talk to both of you, and I’m sorry I couldn’t leave here. I’m in a smidge of trouble for withholding evidence”

The Blades could go jump. Lotor had sent them there for a reason, not the Blade members. Lotor wanted them to have whatever information was to be found... or maybe he just wanted to show them Sendak and remind them of their mortality.

“That’s not your fault”  
Coran hummed, tilting his head slightly   
“That’s very kind of you to say. I’ll let you head back to Lance. If his symptoms don’t worsen by evening, he’ll be fine to return home. I do have some medication I would like him to try, just to counteract what’s in his system at the moment. It’s a bit like ingesting bad blood, and his body needs a bit of a boost to remove the last of it. Normally he burns through things quite quickly when he’s stable, making finding a way to keep a sustained dose in his system hard”

Yeah. He’d heard that before. All Lance wanted was to be “normal” again  
“He was really upset. He wants to do more things together. I didn’t know how freaked out shopping had made him”  
“He has a soft heart, and he’s most smitten with you. I’m ashamed I’m still working on it. Though I did tell him I wanted to leave his hormones to settle for three months...”

Keith vaguely remembered that too... and Lance’s six month probationary period. Surely now Kolivan and Krolia knew Lance, Lance’s life was secured. He wouldn’t be above emotional manipulation should Krolia decide otherwise. That and he really would never forgive his mother if he lost Lance  
“You know what he’s like. He’s convinced himself we can’t do anything together because I’m in danger”  
Coran sighed deeply. The kind of soul deep sigh that Keith felt  
“You both are, I’m afraid. His scent is quite noticeable. I have had a few vampires, and werewolves, comment on it. I’m afraid that I might not be able to give him what he wants as fast as he wants it. I may be onto something contraceptive wise. The scent... I truly believed would settle in time”  
Maybe if Lance hadn’t been pulled into his world, it would have? His boyfriend had had such a quite life before he’d come along  
“Basically we’re being too impatient, aren’t we?”  
Coran smiled as he nodded  
“You are. Young love can be that way. I remember that feeling all too well. Now, I’m going to give you an injection for him. You may call it the “hopes of an old man”, as well as a slight experiment, as it’s far better for him to go into heat naturally. I’ll need you to draw some of your own blood before injecting him”

That reminded him. Lance would be proud if he could see him operating on one cup of coffee. Not only was he talking, he was remembering like a functional human  
“Coran, you said before that fresh blood would help him...”  
“It would, but he can’t have things both ways”  
“What makes fresh blood so different?”  
“Think of it like your cup of coffee. When it’s warm, it leaves you feeling much more satisfied... though, perhaps that’s not the right way to word it. Say you were starving, your choice between a fresh crisp apple and an apple with the onset of rot. Both will cure your hunger, though the crisp apple tasted better, it’s better for you, and you feel better for eating it. I’m not explaining this right... There’s more life in fresh blood. Magic if you will”  
Keith nodded... Vampire welfare was on the BOM official study guide. Keith had to continually remember that they were full of shit  
“Like remote control batteries. Fresh blood is like fresh batteries and last longer. Blood bags are like half used batteries that keep you going until you replace them with other half used batteries”  
Coran’s eyes widened, his smile broadening to being too big for the hour of the morning   
“Number two, that’s the best description I’ve heard to date. I might have to use it myself. Now, you really best be home. Allura will be meeting with Lotor later, she’s assured me he’s fine with meeting with her alone”  
“I think Lance dented his ego”  
“More like he smacked across the face repeatedly with a newspaper”

They both smiled at the thought. Keith didn’t see whatever Allura saw in Lotor. All he saw was an unnecessary complication. Standing up, he stretched, muscles protesting thanks to how he’d spent the night holding Lance. If Allura wanted to meet with Lotor it really wasn’t his business, all he wanted was to get home to his boyfriend.

*  
Lance slept on, Keith feeling guilty about injecting his boyfriend while he was sleeping but didn’t want to wake him now he was finally resting peacefully. Thanks to that it turned into a lazy day, Keith pulling on his pyjamas and conking out next to his boyfriend. Leaving his phone unguarded, it wasn’t until nearly 4pm that he woke, roused by Lance waking up. Peppering kisses to Keith’s cheek, Keith smiled as he hugged his boyfriend close, determined that Lance wouldn’t feel judged over his nightmares  
“Good morning, sleepy head”

Nuzzling into Keith’s cheek, Lance was relaxed against him  
“Hey, hot stuff”  
“What brings you to a bed like this?”  
“My boyfriend... My amazing boyfriend”  
Keith’s smile widened, playing along  
“Oh yeah?”  
“Yeah. He has no idea how much he helped last night”  
“He sounds like a keeper”  
“He is...”

Falling into a comfortable silence, it was broken by Kosmo who’d heard them. His paws scratching on Keith’s door, whining pathetically to be let in. Shiro collecting him up before letting himself into Keith’s room. Carrying the excited puppy over, he dropped Kosmo lightly on the pair of them  
“You’re lucky I don’t charge babysitting fees”  
“Don’t be like that... what’s the time?”  
“Nearly 4. Pidge says you’re disgusting”  
Keith groaned in confusion. One minute he was having cuddles, the next Kosmo was climbing over him and Pidge’s name was being brought up  
“What did you do?”  
“I may have sent a photo or ten of you two sleeping to your chat”  
“Shiro!”  
He was going to kill his brother  
“It’s your fault for not locking your phone and I wanted to let them know you guys were both alright”

That word “alright” seemed to linger in the air. Lance going tense as if he expected Shiro to yell  
“I’m sorry for last night”  
“Nah. It’s alright. As long as you’re feeling better”  
That desire to murder faded when Keith realised his brother was trying to reassure Lance that he was still welcome here and that having nightmares wasn’t about to wind up up with him evicted   
“A lot... I’m sorry they were so severe”  
“It’s okay. Nothing compared to some of the nightmares we’ve been through, and it’s not something you can help or control. Curtis is out in the living room if you two feel up to being human”  
“I guess I’m staying here...”

Keith took a moment to process before groaning, Lance kissing his cheek. His boyfriend wasn’t funny  
“You’re a shit”  
“I’m dead... and I probably look like shit, but I’m not sure you’re using the right descriptive words”  
“You’re an idiot crumpet”  
“And you’re a cranky caffeine needing anger loaf”  
Keith couldn’t disagree. Shiro laughing at the pair of them  
“I’ll let Curtis know you’re coming out”  
“He already knows”  
That smooth fucker. All Keith could do was groan again at Lance.

Skipping showering, Keith lent Lance some of his clothes to wear. His boyfriend pulling off the cliche “stolen boyfriend hoodie” happily. Heading out to the living room, Curtis smiled at the pair of them  
“Good to see you awake. Sorry I couldn’t come back last night. Coran got in trouble for bringing us along”  
Lance stalled mid-step, head jerking up, looking like a deer in headlights   
“Fuck. Lotor...”  
“I’d rather not”  
Now he had Curtis doing it too. Why were all their friends so weird?  
“Noooo. Shit. We should have met with him by now”  
Placing his hands on Lance’s shoulders, Keith pushed him towards the sofa  
“Allura’s got it handled”  
“She does? How do you know she does?”  
“Because I saw Coran this morning. Now sit down already, I’m feeling exhausted already trying to guess what’s going on in your head”

Lance obediently sat, Keith flopping down next to him  
“What do you mean you saw Coran?”  
“I mean I saw him. He called earlier”  
“What did he say? Is Allura okay?”  
“Allura’s fine. He wanted to talk but you were sleeping so I went in to find out what was going on”  
Lance frowned hard. Hard enough for it be adorable  
“You should have woken me”  
“It’s fine. We had a chat. Blades got some leads to work on and we all got slightly drugged. No biggie”

Shiro fumbled the mug he was holding as the smoke alarm started beeping. Lance hissing and covering his ears. In the kitchen the toaster had gone up in flames, Curtis moving to open the windows, Shiro moving to deal with the toaster. Unplugging it, he dropped the device in the sink, turning the water on to douse it in a way that couldn’t be safe. Flying up the sofa, Kosmo shook as he panted, trying to climb up Keith’s chest  
“Turn the alarm off!”  
“On it!”

The whole sequence of events took place in the space of a few minutes. Lance and Keith both wide awake now. It’d been a while since anything had gone up in flames in the kitchen... as if they’d been lulled into a false sense of security. Turning alarm off, they all breathed a sigh of relief as the noise died  
“Sorry ‘bout that”  
Keith was confused by Curtis apologising   
“What are you saying sorry for? Shiro’s the one in the kitchen”  
“I should have hit the alarm before doing the windows”  
“Don’t blame this on me. There’s nothing in the toaster”  
Rubbing at his ears, Lance sighed  
“Why does it have to be toasters? Why can’t it be something less flammable?”  
Keith didn’t have an answer. Shiro was in the kitchen meaning it was his fault   
“It’s the first time Shiro’s killed one here”  
Shiro quick to deny  
“Again, not my fault!”  
“None of you should be allowed in a kitchen. I’ll clean up, and as I do, I want the three of you to sit on the sofa and have a good hard think about your actions”

When Lance was determined, it was impossible to talk him out of something. Curtis and Shiro both looked sheepish sitting on the sofa next to Keith with their hands in their laps, Keith’s resting on a traumatised Kosmo. The three of them too scared to talk properly   
“He’s your boyfriend...”  
“I’m not getting involved”  
“We weren’t anywhere near the toaster”  
“Doesn’t matter. Shut up. You’ll get us in trouble”  
From the kitchen Lance called out  
“I’d like to say I know you know I can hear you. You’ve all lost your rights to touch a toaster”  
Keith kicked Shiro in the side of the leg with a glare. He’d worked hard to have toaster privileges again   
“Now look what you’ve done”  
Shiro gaped at him. His brother had brought this on himself   
“Me? I didn’t touch it”  
“Doesn’t matter. You got me in trouble”  
“But I didn’t do anything. Curtis, back me up”

Curtis decided now was the time to check under his nails for imaginary dirt  
“Did you say something?”  
“Traitor. You’re supposed to be on my side”  
“As an experienced toaster killer, it’s best you accept your punishment”  
“I’ll punish you”  
Ugh. Gross. He didn’t need to think about that  
“Bring it. What are you doing to do? Grind my horn down?”  
“No, but I might paint your tail while you sleep”  
“Oh good. I was thinking it needed a fresh coat of fuck off”  
Delivered deliberately, Keith felt Shiro’s soul take damage. His brother had no smart reply for that. Instead Shiro crossed his arms, leaned back into the sofa, and looked away from the both.

Seeing they’d been banned from the kitchen, Lance made sandwiches for the four of them. Keith wanted to help, but all it took was a look for the words to die unasked. Lance wanted to feel normal, so was doing something as mundane as making sandwiches. Presenting them nicely, with coffee for three of them, his boyfriend then sat on the arm of the sofa   
“Okay. You can eat now. I’m probably going to head back to Garrison tonight”  
Lance wasn’t going to ask about being drugged?  
“Coran said you should stay... to make sure you’re okay. I had to give you an injection of blood and stuff to help get everything out your system”  
“I did wonder why my arm hurt. Did he say what it was?”  
Keith blushed, mumbling  
“Werewolf viagra”  
“What?!”

Screeching, Lance nearly fell off the sofa arm backwards. Hands flaying before grabbing the arm of the sofa and saving himself   
“Werewolf what?”  
“Viagra. Traces were on our clothes. It’d been like adjusted or something. Coran wanted to make sure you didn’t go into heat or anything”  
Angrily, Lance huffed  
“Oh, so now he can do something about it...”  
Whelp. Fuck  
“He said it would be burned through in your system and you needed a bit of jump start with that”  
“I feel shitty enough without this viagra. Why the fuck would they be using it in a vampire club?”  
Keith shrugged  
“I don’t know... You’ll have to ask Coran”  
“Because that won’t be an awkward conversation. Can you imagine Matt if he sniffs it on me? He’s horny enough as it is”

Shiro choked on his sandwich, hitting his chest with his fist  
“I don’t need to think about that”  
“Neither did I. Did he tell you what I’m supposed to feel?”  
“You had a fever and he was worried it’d turn into a heat”  
“Great. So a guy can’t have a fever these days without being secretly horny... Thanks, life”  
Curtis braved the cranky Lance  
“He does have a point. A fever is a prime indicator that you’ve gone into heat”  
“Not that kind of fever...”  
“You also had an incredulous stressful night. Personally I believed you would have turned into a bat with the stress”  
“Your confidence in me is startling”  
“You are swayed easily by your emotions”

Keith winced in sympathy for Curtis. It was nice knowing him  
“And your feet smell like parmesan cheese. Sometimes facts fucking suck”  
It seemed Curtis would live to see another day. Keith, no longer as blind as he’d been, could see right through all of this. This was Lance doing that mood thing when things got too much and he tried too hard to make them all feel better. Yeah. He was onto his boyfriend. That irritating fake perk... that he found not as irritating when it wasn’t directed in his direction... Lance loved everyone in their friend circle so much that Keith couldn’t blame him for wanting things to feel normal between them  
“That’s not my fault”  
“And my emotions are what keeps me sane, though hanging out with you lot makes me question why I bother”  
“Because we’re interesting?”  
Lance sighed, Curtis calming him down with those three words  
“I can’t deny that. And who the hell sprinkles werewolf viagra over a crowd of vampires? It’s like asking for us to be chased by horny mutts. I feel exhausted thinking about the way we all acted and now I find out that some wanker thought it was okay to drug my boyfriend. Being a vampire sucks. I want to punch someone in the dick for this”

Keith snorted. The infamous dick punch threat was bound to come out   
“You’re not alone there. I think Coran would punch them too”  
“How did he even find out what it was so fast?”  
“By the look of it he worked all night”  
“He’s an idiot. He’s going to burn himself out if he doesn’t rest. You said we got leads?”  
“Yeah. Someone slipped some stuff into Allura’s pocket. They’re still working on it, but the second lot was definitely viagra and blood”  
“I’ll bet you a hundred bucks Sendak was experimenting last night and came to check the results”

Keith shook his head. Now Lance suggested it, it seemed very likely that was the case  
“I’m not taking that bet. You’re probably right. You’ve got a good instinct for these things”  
“It comes with being old and tired of people... and vampires. I’m tired of vampires. I’m a tired old vampire tired of vampires”  
Keith forced down his laughter. Lance wasn’t that old for a vampire. Plus, they were both old and tired of people   
“You poor thing. Come sit in my lap and tell me all about it”  
His boyfriend hissed at him  
“I feel personally attacked now. You could have denied it”  
“In the words of Pidge, “Merp””  
“You can’t quote the gremlin against me. She’s magical. She’ll hear”  
Pidge was magical in her own way. She was unbeaten with a laptop in her lap. The world should really fear her and her tenacious spirit   
“She should write a book”  
“How to “Merp” according to Pidge?”  
“Pretty much”  
“Maybe if she did, they’d give up this stupid fucking hunt. Did Coran say how long I have to stay I town?”  
“He said you can go home if you’re still okay this evening”

Keith would have preferred Lance stayed so they could be sure the vampire was truly okay  
“I don’t want to drive back, but I have to make sure they’re still all okay. Especially after last night”  
“I know”  
Not that it made it easier to say goodbye. Lance reminded him of when he’d had to see Shiro at every chance he got to make sure Shiro hadn’t been killed like Adam due to his fear and anxieties   
“I think I deserve cuddles for this...”  
“I did offer my lap”  
“I know. I’m coming in...”  
Curtis’s sharp wit struck again, commenting as Lance climbed off the sofa arm  
“Really? I do believe Shiro said you were coming out”

Closing his eyes, Keith sighed to himself in the moment it took Lance to climb into his lap. Why did their friends have to be so weird?


	93. Chapter 93

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Saga of Lance’s Birthday Begins!
> 
> Never let Matt and Rieva choose birthday presents... or steal them

93

Keith was a boyfriend with a problem. Keith Kogane was a boyfriend with a big, big, problem. Freaking the hell out, he was pacing the living area of the apartment, with Kosmo chasing his feet.

Today was the day.

Today was Lance’s birthday... and Keith was freaking the fuck out. He didn’t know why he hadn’t bought Lance a present. He didn’t know why he thought taking him to dinner than to a hotel room would make up for the lack of an actual gift. He didn’t know why he thought his plans of a romantic night would workout like the quiet dream in his head. Everything had gone sideways and he didn’t have a present for Lance. What he hell was he supposed to do?!?!? Curtis had slept over, that the only reason he was shaking Shiro awake. His plans had fallen apart. Instead of dinner for three, it was now dinner for 12. 12 of them. How were 12 people supposed to sit around a table and have a proper conversation? Wasn’t it enough the others got Lance for the morning? Couldn’t they share? He’d told them he’d booked dinner for himself, Lance and Miriam. Just because he might be running slightly late, didn’t mean his dinner plans needed to be hijacked!

He’d done the sweet boyfriend thing, texting Lance at midnight to wish him a happy birthday. Lance’s reply was that he “was born at 4:30am and to try again then”, so Keith did. He’d been fine then. Accepted his dinner plans had gone sideways. But now... he needed Shiro to wake up. Lance... he couldn’t not give Lance something... but what the fuck did people give their boyfriends?! And how did they tell them they were going on a stakeout from 2pm-7pm thanks to Krolia throwing them a pity bone and the Blades deciding they needed the numbers. He didn’t want to wait that long to see Lance. If Kolivan hadn’t had a last minute briefing the previous night he was going to surprise Lance by driving down. Only the briefing ended close to midnight and Shiro wouldn’t let him drive tired.

He couldn’t wait. He’d paced enough that pacing was only working him up further. He’d already chewed the nail down on his right pointer finger, something he’d grown out of years ago. Jogging, because that’s how important this felt, Keith barely paused to open Shiro’s door before rushing in... and seeing too much. Curtis was straddling Shiro’s lap, the top of his tail peaking out of the blankets that Keith was extremely grateful were bunched up near Curtis’s no longer moving hips. It was the absolute last straw for him. He wanted to start the day with Lance like that. Lazy cuddly sex and kisses. They didn’t even need sex. He’d wanted to be the first to wish Lance a happy birthday but that was out the window now. Bursting into tears, he fled from his brother’s bedroom. Grabbing Kosmo’s lead, he and his precious fur son were out the door before Shiro could pull on a pair of boxers and come after him.

Shiro and Curtis found him at the park along his usual morning route with Shiro. They usually bipassed the park, and habit alone had driven him there. Sitting either side of him, Keith was hugged tightly by both men. Kind of like an idiot sandwich. He’d been an idiot. It was Lance’s birthday and he wanted his boyfriend to have the best birthday of his life... but what kind of boyfriend doesn’t get his boyfriend a present?  
“You scared us, kiddo”  
Shiro kissed his hair. Keith trying not to think about how he’d sprung them doing the do. Miserably he mumbled   
“I’m sorry...”  
“I get that seeing me with Curtis...”

Keith quickly shook his head. It wasn’t that at all. He was happy Shiro found love again, now that he knew what it was like to have that person by your side  
“It’s not that... it’s Lance’s birthday and it’s all fucked up! He’s going to dump me!”  
“What do you mean he’s going to dump you? Did something happen?”  
“I didn’t get him a present”  
“Ah...”

“Ah” exactly. He didn’t know what to gift Lance. He should but he didn’t and it fucking sucked. He knew the bands Lance liked. He knew the wine Lance liked. He knew his boyfriend had a thing for weird stationary and old books... but he didn’t have the first idea when it came to presents  
“I thought we were going out to dinner?”  
“It was supposed to be me, Lance and Mami. Lance didn’t want a fuss... and now I don’t know what to do because we have to go on that stakeout and I don’t think I’m a very good boyfriend because I’m going to be late and I barely get to see him today... I have to get him something... but I don’t know what”  
Curtis rubbed his arm  
“No matter what you give him, he’ll love it because it came from you”  
“But... I don’t know what to buy... what do I give him?”

Shiro sighed against his hair  
“What do you want to give him?”  
If Keith knew that, he wouldn’t be having a meltdown in the park  
“I don’t know...”  
“What are the others giving him?”  
All they’d said was they had it covered  
“I’m not sure... Pidge and Hunk know what to give him... but he has... like everything...”  
“Shiro found some hilarious vampire bobble heads...”  
“Shiro has an obsession”  
Shiro huffed at Keith’s grumble   
“I thought they were funny. Found a werewolf one too”  
“I can’t give him something like that”  
That sounded totally lame. Lance was the king of gifting  
“What does he like? What’s he into? You know, it’s not always about the gift but the feeling behind it”  
“Weird Pens. Wine. Books... Bad music? He’s pretty cute when he’s a bat... I don’t know”  
“Why don’t we head back to the apartment? We can think about it?”  
“I’ve been thinking about it all morning”  
“Do I want to ask how many coffees it’s taken to have you think functional?”  
It’d been coffee, pacing, coffee, more pacing... rinse and repeat  
“I think it was 5... I had a long morning”  
Shiro groaned at him. Keith guessed he’d managed an hours sleep... after snoozing off and onish between 12am and 4:30am  
“Okay. No more coffee today. Have you called Lance to wish him a happy birthday?”  
“No... I don’t want him to be mad that I can’t think of what to get him”  
“Alright. That’s enough. Curtis, can you carry Kosmo? Keith, we’re going to work this out”

*  
Lance was having a shaky morning for a birthday. Keith had messaged him twice, his boyfriend stupidly sweet as he wished him a happy birthday at midnight and the time he came screaming into the world 45 years ago, and Blue decided to allow him snuggles under the blanket without too much protesting from his best girl. Birthday depression had already set in, and that anxious needy part of himself secretly wanted Keith to show up and surprise him despite his boyfriend having to work in the afternoon. Today was supposed to be his birthday and he loved his friends for wanting to celebrate, but it was hard when he was this damn old and walking around like a teenager.

Tempted to go back to sleep and try to wake up in a better mood, Lance shot up in bed as a long “Moo” came from far too close, followed by Matt and Rieva giggling. This couldn’t be good. The closest cows were out near the cemetery. The previous night wasn’t a full moon. So what the fuck was going on. Grouchy that she’d been disturbed, Lance scooped Blue up before she could escape, before climbing out of bed and dreading every step that led him downstairs and to the back door. Groaning loudly, he couldn’t believe he was friends with Matt and Rieva   
“Hey, Lance! Happy birthday! Isn’t she adorable?”

The “she” in question was a cow. Complete with party hat and a ribbon around her neck. There were so many questions, yet all he could ask was   
“What the fuck?”  
Matt raised his hands in the universal sign for stop  
“Don’t freak out. We went for a run last night and when we woke up this morning she was already here”  
“You stole a cow?!”  
Rieva giggled, petting the poor cow who honestly seemed far too chill with things  
“Relocated”  
“Put it back where you got it... I can’t deal with this much stupid so early”  
Rieva moved the cows face to look at him, pressing hers up against it  
“But look at her... she wants to stay... please can we keep the cow”  
Lance wasn’t caving at the pair of them. Not with the big pleading eyes and that was just from the cow  
“Nope. I’m not caving. I’m walking away. The cow goes home”

Turning away, Matt “whispered” to Rieva   
“Seeing we’ve decided the cow is staying here, that makes it a home doesn’t it?”  
“When you put it that way... oh, we have to get his gift! Matt, you wrapped it didn’t you?”  
“I thought you were”  
There was more than the cow? Lance didn’t think he wanted anything else from the pair of them. They’d already brought in a pest species in that would ruin his garden. Now he had three of them to cope with. Nope. Fuck this. He’d already negotiated his way out of a party, had his small semi-romantic dinner hijacked by his obnoxious and well meaning friends, and barely got to see Keith because of a mission. Just how much more was his birthday going to be derailed?

The answer to that question was “a lot”. Hunk and Pidge showed up at 9... a ridiculous hour for their antics despite him being well used to him. Still in his pyjamas he’d retired to the sofa to ignore the whole “cow issue”, only to become a human pillow as he was crushed by his two best friends... Pidge unable to resist dressing with a cape and fake set of teeth. Hunk apologising for her. Lance wanting to go back to bed, but secretly needing cuddles kept his protests to himself. A birthday without fearing his secret would get out was a strange thing. A birthday with a boyfriend was even stranger. Lance had hoped to skip out around lunch time and find some time for him and Keith, but with four excitable friends that didn’t seem likely. 

It was around 9:30 that the pair finally unclung from him. Matt and Rieva thought it a great idea to bring the cow inside. Pidge gushing over the poor beast until her started to ring and Lance had to make like he couldn’t hear her as she went into the kitchen to talk to Shiro. From what he could hear Shiro was confirming the group schedule... Keith was mentioned with a laugh, Lance wishing he was there with his boyfriend instead of withstanding the idiocy of their friends group alone. He was a good boy who loved his Mami, but Keith was the one he was most excited about seeing today, and heaven help the others if they dared to interfere with their plans for a hotel room. He was completely pent up in all the ways possible. Keith and his wonder dick introduced him to sex... he had a responsibility to Lance’s arse. Not that he’d forced him... He just wanted to feel connected to Keith, even if the most they did was snuggle before he snuck off to the bathroom. He hoped Keith was having a good day and not too stressed about the things they couldn’t control.

*  
“It’s lame”  
“It’s not lame”  
“It is! Who’d even want that as a gift?”  
“Lance?”

Throwing himself down on his bed, he and Shiro had been having the same argument for the last half hour. Shiro’s new, and in no way, brilliant idea was a coffee book made of a collection of Keith’s photos  
“I can’t give him my photos! I want to give him something cool”  
“Then what are you going to give him? You’ve vetoed all my ideas”  
“Because it has to be perfect”  
“And? What’s wrong of photos of you and Lance in a photo book?”  
“Because like no one gets photos printed these days”  
“Lance woul”  
“Lance is 45! He’s the kind of guy who wanted to know what lawn mover the city used because the grass looked so good!”

Keith groaned. He wasn’t doing himself any favours in his argument. Lance didn’t act his age... His boyfriend had lived like 3 lives in the span of his one  
“See”  
“But I don’t want to be lame!”  
“Keith. Kiddo. Little brother from another mother. You’re lame. And that’s a good thing. Lance wouldn’t want you stressing out like this”  
“I’m stressing out because it is him! Hunk and Pidge probably already gave him super cool presents!”  
He wanted to give Lance something that he’d like and something that showed he’d put time into thinking about this. He wanted to make Lance happy   
“Well... if this was your birthday what would you want?”  
“I don’t know... maybe a new blade? Maybe I should get him his own blade for protection? Or a gun?”

Lance really should carry some kind of weapon. It might help with his nerves... but that wasn’t Lance. Lance was gentle and soft. He didn’t default to violence. Hell. When Keith was getting mugged at the movie theatre Lance had made them run away threatening to call the cops and he hadn’t been keen on the shooting range. Sighing, Shiro buried his face in his hands  
“Lance doesn’t like to stab things like you do. I don’t think a weapon would make him happy. I don’t see why you want print some photos of you and him”  
“Because they’re not good enough”

Ah. The argument he and Shiro had had many a time. Shiro didn’t get it. Keith took twenty times the photos he kept. Except of Lance. He didn’t want to forget anything when it came to Lance   
“Keith, you know that’s not true. I know you can’t go on a date with him, but you’ve got plenty of good photos with good memories”  
Maybe a few... like the caves... and him with Lance cuddling into him as a bat...  
“It sounds lame”  
“It might sound lame, but does it sound lame enough that Lance will like it?”  
“He remembers them anyway”  
“But with photos you can talk about it together”  
“It wasn’t my idea”  
“No, but no one expects you to be the perfect gift giver automatically. I’m still haunted of things I’ve written in cards thinking they were funny until it’s too late and the evidence is out there”

Shooting up, Keith’s eyes were wide. A fresh wave of terror upon his doorstep  
“I haven’t got him a card! I need to get him a card... Shiro... I can’t not give him a card!”  
His brother seemed to be nursing a Keith induced headache by the way he went from pinching the bridge of his nose to rubbing his temples  
“We’ll get the card when we pick up the book. You can get him chocolates and flowers while we’re there”  
He could do what now?  
“You think I should?”  
“I think Curtis and Lance have watched enough TV romance for me to know that they’re hopeless romantics”  
This was true. Keith flopped back on his bed, before shooting up again. Those cups of coffee really were helping fuel his panicked state  
“I don’t know what flowers he likes!”  
“He grows roses. Look, we’ll look when we get there”  
“He’s going to know it wasn’t my idea”  
“He’s going to know you were there with him today and that’s all that matters”  
“I just want him to know I love him”

The “love” word slipped out. Shiro patting his leg   
“He knows how you feel. Now please, pleeeeeease, pick out some photos before Curtis comes back. We have to look like we’ve made some progress while he’s picking up our comms for today”  
Keith started second guessing himself again  
“Are you sure it’s not stupid?”  
“If you ask me again, I’m throwing all your blades into the closest, saltiest, body of water I can find”  
That shut him up. He really liked Lance. He was going to have to hope he wasn’t too lame or stupid with his gift, because as much as he loved his boyfriend, he loved his blades as much as he loved his cameras.


	94. Chapter 94

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think Lance’s birthday saga spans 4 chapter so two more of idiots being idiots on Lance’s 45th

94

Lance had fled. The cow crapped in his living room and that was that. He’d made it very clear Matt and Rieva were to scrub the floor clean or they wouldn’t be joining them all for dinner. Pidge and Hunk had a few things to finish up as it was, provided they’d get over the hilarity of Matt and Rieva gifting him a stolen cow. Naturally Hunk didn’t find the cow theft itself funny, only the absurdity and randomness of their now being a cow in the house... which was kind of funny, because no normal person would “relocate” a cow.

The rest of his presents had been marginally better. Rieva proved to be an okay gift giver if you didn’t think about the cow. She’d gifted him non-relocated plants, herbs for his garden and cat grass for Blue. Clearly her idea and not Matt’s who’d given him a “voucher” to join them in bed if his heats got too much. He’s tried to throw it out, but Matt rescued it for “safe keeping because you never knew”. Hunk normally gifted him garlic knots and cookies, a standard and tasty gift, that didn’t happen this year now that Hunk knew he was a vampire. His poor ray of sunshine gifting him a voucher to a department store in Platt, seeming guilty over not knowing what to give him. Lance didn’t mind. It was a practical gift, and lately Rieva and Matt had been wearing off on him. His bed turning into a mound of blankets and cushions, Rieva teasing him about nesting. He didn’t know what nesting was, only that he felt safe in his mounded up bed and seeing it was his house, he could do as he pleased. Pidge declared herself the best gift giver ever. He loved his gremlin, but could only groan at her present. She’d brought him a “vampire hunting kit” online. She was so proud of herself, thinking it hilarious. Lance did not. Trust pop culture to get a hunting kit wrong. There was some major eye rolling at the polished wooden stake in the box... God only knew what was in the enclosed vials that came with the kit, probably dye and water... though the crucifixes were pretty, so that was nice.

Lance didn’t think about the next predicament of what to do now that’d arrived in Platt so early. Dinner wouldn’t be until 6:30pm, so he’d head over to the nursing home around 5pm to spend some quality time with his Mami. It was a little after 11am now, meaning he couldn’t head to VOLTRON given they’d all be getting ready for the mission and he’d be underfoot. That didn’t stop him from parking in front of the bookshop out of habit. With three spare hours, he wanted to see Keith so badly it hurt. Pulling out his phone, he nearly screamed when someone tapped on his window, Krolia all smiles as if she hadn’t taken 10 years off his undead life. 

Rolling the window down, Lance wasn’t sure what to say to her. All plans to get her and Keith on the same page hadn’t eventuated. His boyfriend struggling so hard with figuring out how to feel about his mother. It sucked. Lance wanted to take all that pain away, but the only one who could do that was Krolia herself  
“Keith hasn’t come in yet, if you’re looking for him”  
No. His boyfriend was probably still at his apartment but Lance didn’t want to park up out the front and make a scene   
“I was going to give him a call... see if he wanted to get lunch or something before the mission”  
“So he told you? Oh... that’s right, it’s your birthday today... Why don’t I take you to lunch, my treat”  
Ummm... what?  
“You don’t have to go out of your way...”  
Lunch with Krolia didn’t seem safe... He didn’t want to step on Keith’s toes, or meet with Krolia behind his back  
“Nonsense. It’s no trouble at all”  
“I should let Keith know...”  
“He’s the reason I thought we should talk. I don’t want to make things complicated between you... but he won’t listen to me. I just want to know how my son is doing”

Lance knew he was fucked. His fierce love for his Mami, and his family, made it impossible to say no. If he was estranged from his Mami, he could picture her asking his friends about him  
“You know I can’t say no to that”  
Krolia did. Her smile hadn’t wavered at all  
“Excellent. I’ll let you choose the place, you know this city better than I do”  
Please lord don’t let him be murdered for this... by Keith or Krolia... maybe Krolia... yeah, he’d rather be murdered than cause a misunderstanding between him and Keith. Fuck. His Mami always told him to be polite... and his Mami had hit it off with Krolia...  
“Jump in. I think I know a place”

Lance was still quietly hoping for murder as he and Krolia sat inside the dimly lit pub. It was the same place they’d come as a group after the others had learned his secret. The pub itself wasn’t that poorly lit, but he’d tried to pick somewhere kind of unnoticeable from the door. Sitting on one side of the booth, Krolia slid herself in on the other side, picking up the menu  
“You look tense. Don’t worry about Keith”  
He was pretty sure worrying about Keith was now a default setting, right up there with over thinking  
“How can I not? I feel wrong meeting with you when he’s still trying work out his feelings”  
“You care about him a lot, don’t you?”  
Lance supposed it wasn’t as obvious to Krolia... in fact, she probably thought it was weird   
“Very much. That’s why... I don’t want to get between the two of you”  
“Keith has made it clear that he doesn’t want to know me”  
What kind of crap was that?! Keith was dying to connect with Krolia  
“That’s not true”  
“Let’s go ahead and order. Do you... eat?”  
“I can and I do”  
“Excellent. Now, what’s deep fried and covered in grease?”

Lance ordered a salad, with a nonexistent appetite, it was something he could pick at. Krolia ordering a steak burger so raw the meat reminded him of his new cow... that wasn’t his cow and he was in no way attached to. Her plate loaded with fries, and her drink of choice a chocolate milkshake. Not what he expected  
“Do you want a fry? You’re staring”  
He didn’t mean to stare. No one told him that his birthday was going to take this unexpected turn   
“I’m fine, thanks...”  
“Then loosen up. You might be a stiff but don’t tell me you have a stiff sense of humour?”  
“My sense of humour is fine. I’m just not sure what I’m doing here”  
“I want to get to know the man my son’s dating”  
“If you want me to break up with Keith, that’s his choice to make”  
Krolia dipped a fry in her milkshake, sending drops flying as she shook it  
“Whoa. Hold up. Okay. No. Keith is well and truly able to make his own choices... I’m making a mess of this”  
He couldn’t talk to Krolia like she was a regular person. The Blades were all weird. He needed to remember Keith’s initial social weirdness and work around it   
“No... no. I’m being cranky. I feel like I’m breaking Keith’s trust and it’s not a great a feeling. Your son... he’s amazing. He really is. He’s so smart and funny. He’s complicated and awkward, but he’s so... You’re missing out. He wants to know you, but he’s scared of being alone. He gets scared when he feels out of control and lashes out. Thinking that it’s better to push everyone away before they get to see how much he’s hurting. He gets lonely really easily. And he’s so sweet. Even if our first date was a bit weird, he’s always trying his best”

Lance gushed. Word vomit came easy when he thought of all the ways that made his boyfriend made him happy. Keith wasn’t a perfect human, he had many flaws, like his failure to work without coffee, but Lance wasn’t perfect either. That was the thing about love though. They both knew they weren’t perfect but together they were muddling through it, while working on themselves as they did  
“Do you want to see something?”  
Lance had no idea where that question was going  
“Okay?”

Pulling out her wallet, Krolia passed it over. Lance taking the silent hint to open it. Finding a well worn piece of paper in the back, his fingers shook as he pulled his out. A happy family staring back at him. Krolia, so in love with her partner, a mother’s smile on her lips at Keith, bundled in his father’s arms  
“We don’t keep a lot of personal items being Blade members. The newer generation does, but we’re all prepared to die. Every mission I’ve been on, that photos waited for me to come home to. Giving them up broke my heart. It took everything I had not to go back. I really thought Keith would have a better life if I wasn’t there”  
“Have you shown him this?”  
“No. He wouldn’t listen if I tried”  
“Then you need to keep trying”  
“Maybe...”  
Whatever Krolia was thinking was wrong  
“My family isn’t happy. I know what it’s like to have distance and it fucking sucks. Keith... he always feels like no one sees him as anyone other than your son or Shiro’s little brother. He wants... he wants to be accepted how he is and who he is. Krolia, he’s such a good man. He really is. I always kept a distance. I never ever thought something like me could have the love of someone as amazing as him. He wants to know about you. About his dad. What you like. How you became a Blade member. He wants to be closer to you. I shouldn’t be saying any of this because I don’t want to be in the middle of it, but I will always, always be on his side. I can’t forgive you if you hurt him. I can’t. I can’t even cope with him liking me because he’s just... he’s just Keith and he’s amazing how he is”  
“I don’t know how to tell him. He was so cute as a child. He had this purple hippopotamus that he’d carry everywhere. His father couldn’t send me updates on him, but... He was the sweetest little thing. He loved that hippo so much. He loved riding on his dads shoulders... he... he was so cheeky, so happy... he’d probably hate the memory if he knew that hippo came from me. You know, his dad named him. I wanted to call him Yorak, but he wouldn’t have it. And I wouldn’t have Keith any other way”

Keith wouldn’t hate the memory. Any memory Krolia could share with him was a memory Keith had lost along the way. Krolia really did love Keith  
“I know it’s old and cliche, but if you can’t find the words write them down. And this photo, this photo would bring him so much comfort. He doesn’t talk about it, but I know he’s lost most of the memories of his dad”

Krolia went silent for a bit. Lance had really meddled too much. He’d said more than he wanted to, and this meeting really was hurting his heart because he felt so guilty that Keith didn’t know about it  
“Maybe”  
Her reply didn’t give him much   
“Can I call Keith? I really don’t feel comfortable”  
“Yeah. I only really wanted a chance to meet you alone to see what you thought of Keith and if you were serious with dating him. He’s precious to me. Leaving him has broken me like nothing else ever has. Anything else is a bonus. I’m glad my son has someone who sees him... even if you’re old enough to be his father”  
“Don’t remind me. I have no idea what he sees in me”  
He was dead. Old. Grumpy and didn’t like crowds... he didn’t have much to offer  
“I think I have some idea”

Shiro answered Keith’s phone, explaining that Keith was busy. Quickly Lance unloaded on him that he was at lunch with Krolia and wanted Keith to know so there wouldn’t be a misunderstanding. Shiro sounded surprised, then understandably nervous about telling Keith.

Half an hour passed before Curtis, Shiro, and Keith arrived at the pub. Keith ready to explode into a fit of rage  
“What the hell?!? What do you think you’re doing?!”  
Lance flinched. Yep. This was why he was scared of...  
“I’m sorry...”  
Huffily, Keith crossed his arms. Lance unable to look at him. He’d known this was wrong. He felt physically sick...  
“I wasn’t talking to you. I know this had to be mum’s idea”  
Krolia defending him had Lance sliding down in his chair   
“Don’t be mad at him. The whole time he was here he wanted to call you”  
“Maybe he should have done that to begin with, or maybe you shouldn’t have kidnapped my fucking boyfriend”  
“Babe...”  
“No. I know you would have agreed because you’re too nice. I’ve been stressing all morning and now you’re having lunch with her”

Lance didn’t mean to turn on the waterworks. Keith was lashing out and every comment felt like a hit to the gut. All he’d really wanted was a nice simple day with Keith on his birthday  
“Keith, I think that’s enough”  
Placing his hand on Keith’s shoulder, Shiro seemed to know how Lance felt. He knew that Lance didn’t want to be here and how much it hurt to feel like he was betraying Keith   
“I’m sorry... I know. I know. I didn’t want to be in the middle of you and your mum. I know I fucked up”

Sliding out the booth, Lance blindly pulled all the bills out his wallet, leaving them on the table before slipping past Keith. This was another bad birthday in a long line  
“Lance”  
Keith called his name softly, Lance looking at his boyfriend through a fresh wave of tears  
“I’m sorry... I’m so sorry I hurt you”  
Once again he was fleeing... with absolutely no place to go other than to his Mami because he’d really done it this time.

*  
Keith knew he was acting out. He knew and the words still came out. What was his mother thinking taking Lance to lunch like this?!  
“This is the part where you’re supposed to go after him. He only met with me because I wanted to talk about you, and get to know him better”  
“You had no right”  
Yeah. Keith knew this. Lance couldn’t say no because he had a stupidly big heart. That’s what made him such an idiot crumpet. His boyfriend was trying to let them work this out for himself but Keith couldn’t.

Pushing her empty plate towards Lance’s barely poked at salad, Krolia twisted to face him properly  
“What am I supposed to do when you keep shutting me out? I want to be in your life. I want to learn about you from you. I thought maybe we could have a nice lunch and talk. That’s all. That man seriously loves you. He said repeatedly he didn’t want to meddle and you should have heard how he talked about you. You need to go after him and apologise”  
Like his mother would be the first one he’d listen too about relationship advice. He already knew he had to apologise. He didn’t need her telling him  
“What would you know?”  
“Because I know how devastating it is to miss your opportunity!”

Keith didn’t know what to say to that. Shiro’s hand was digging into his shoulder now. They all had regrets. Things said and left unsaid... He shouldn’t have blown up at Lance. He knew he shouldn’t have. Triply so on his boyfriend’s birthday  
“I don’t know where he could have gone”  
“He was parked in front of VOLTRON when I ran into him”  
Keith shook his head at his mother  
“Lance knows we have a mission today and wouldn’t want to be in the way”  
“Where else would he go?”  
“I talked to Pidge before and he wouldn’t be going back to Platt. Rieva and Matt stole a cow and Lance wasn’t happy at all over it”

So his boyfriend was already having a bad birthday before Keith made it worse   
“Perhaps he went to Miriam? If he knew he couldn’t see Allura or Coran at the moment?”  
Curtis was a genius. Lance had to be headed to see his Mami  
“Shiro, I need your keys”  
“I don’t know if I should let you drive...”  
“Give me your keys or your collectables get tossed”  
Shiro’s eyes went wide as he pulled away  
“You wouldn’t. Not my limited collectables...”  
Fuck the stupid things. He had to apologise for being a douche canoe  
“I would for Lance. I need to... I need to see him”  
Shiro pulled his keys out, passing them over  
“Don’t forget you need to be at VOLTRON at one”  
“I’ll be there”  
As Shiro passed his keys over, his mother cheered him on  
“Go get your man!”

*  
Keith felt awkward about visiting the nursing home without Lance beside him. The staff kind of recognising that he’d been there, so all it took was a quick explanation before he was signed in and shown through to the garden area where Lance was cuddles up with his mother. This felt like a terrible idea on his behalf. Lance probably never wanted to talk to him again. He was so fucking good at ruining things. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Keith slowly walked over to the pair. Miriam holding Lance as Lance cried softly against her shoulder. Shit. What if Miriam hated him for making Lance cry? He hated him for making his boyfriend cry.

“Mijo, you have a visitor”  
Miriam offered him something that wasn’t a smile, nor was it a frown. All Keith could describe it as was a “mum look”. Yeah. He’d fucked up, and she knew that he knew, and he knew she knew and now he was expected to do something about it  
“Babe...”  
Lance clung to his mother. Miriam sighing at him  
“Mijo, you can’t ignore Keith”  
“He wants to break up because I hurt him”  
Miriam glanced at him around Lance  
“That’s the clearest he’s been since he showed up. Would you like to explain what happened?”  
Keith sighed. He really wanted to sit on the other side of Lance and cuddle him until he calmed down  
“My psychotic mother kidnapped him for lunch and he was too nice to say no”  
“Lunch sounds like a lovely idea”  
Was Miriam messing with him, or did she think he and Krolia were suddenly going to besties  
“It would be if it wasn’t my mother’s attempt at meddling”  
Miriam smile fondly, moving her hand to pat the spot behind Lance  
“It’s a mother’s job to meddle within reason...”

That was Miriam meddling. Sitting on the edge of the bench, Keith’s stomach was a pit of nerves as he rested his forehead against Lance’s shoulder, hand moving to rest just past Lance’s elbow  
“I deserved to be punched in the dick”  
Lance sniffled loudly, hiccuping as he wrestled his tears under control  
“I don’t want to be in the middle. I want you two to work it out together. I know it was wrong... but she wanted to know if you’re okay... and I got to see a photo of your dad... she really fucking loves you and I don’t want to pressure you... and I don’t want you to keep fighting. I want you to be happy. Stupid Matt and Stupid Rieva stole a cow. Pidge dressed as a vampire. Hunk didn’t give me food because he thinks I don’t like eating normal food. You’ve got a mission. Our whole night was changed. And you were so mad at me”

That was a lot of “ands”. Lance didn’t seem to be having a good day at all, or everything he’d been trying to laugh off he couldn’t cope with now Keith had messed up. He was mad. Mad. Scared. Confused. Hurt. Betrayed. And a dozen different words that made his heart race at the sight of them together at the pub   
“I was... am... I just don’t see why you’d go out to lunch with her, or why you didn’t tell me sooner. You can’t let her bully you”

Smooth. Real. Fucking. Smooth. Maybe he could go on his mission and just not return? Perhaps the ground would swallow him whole so stopped being such a dick?

Lance placed his hand over Keith’s, still talking at mami’s chest rather than Keith   
“But she’s your mum. I... I want to know more about you and her. I’m 19 years older than you. I’m not cool, or hip, or rad, or whatever the word is these days... I know you hate having to talk everything out... and I know you both are awkward as hell... but you’re hurting and I hate it”  
“That’s not your pain, babe”  
“It is because it’s yours. I want to be the one you lean on, not the one you feel you have to keep secrets from. I know it’s hard for you, and I felt so rotten that I couldn’t tell you before we talked”  
“I’m the one who overreacted. I know you’ve got a good heart and I shouldn’t have snapped. It really hurt seeing you able to talk with her”  
“I could barely say anything right. Please don’t be mad. I told her if she can’t find the right words to say to write them down. It doesn’t make up for her leaving, and what she says isn’t my business. I’m not trying to force you to talk her. You’ve got to move at your own pace and be ready when you do”

Keith knew that. He knew Lance respected him enough to handle this on his own and that his boyfriend only wanted what was best for him. It was a little early, but he really wanted some time with Lance before the mission  
“Mami, do you mind if I borrow Lance?”  
“Heaven’s no. You two make up properly or neither of you get dessert tonight. I must say I’m looking forward to dinner”  
“I hope you don’t mind. When I organised it, it was supposed to be just the three of us”  
“Lance isn’t very good at handling his birthday... or his friends. Don’t worry about me, as long as you two work this out”  
“We will. I’m sorry I upset him”  
“Couples fight. Making up is the fun bit”  
Lance snorted wetly, Keith didn’t know what kind of face to make when Mami was hinting at sex so openly  
“Mami!”  
“Go have a good time with your boyfriend. I’m very proud of you, Mijo. Happy birthday, my precious little boy”  
“Mami, I’m 45”  
“And you’ll always be my precious little boy. Go on. I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time with Keith”

Lance seemed lost as they walked back to where they’d parked, Keith finding a spot across from Lance. Almost shyly he asked  
“What do you want to do?”  
His boyfriend was too cute  
“I’ve got the hotel key... I know it’s early, but I’ve still got time before the mission. It’s your birthday, and I really want to spend some time with you”  
“You haven’t even said it”  
“That’s because I’m waiting until we’re at the hotel. You want to lead and I’ll follow? You’re probably better at finding this place again...”  
A smile finally crept across Lance’s lips  
“You do have a habit of getting lost”  
“Directionally misplaced. Get your phone out and I’ll send you the address”  
“Sounds good... babe... I really am sorry”  
Keith couldn’t not hold his boyfriend. Wrapping his arms around Lance, he melted into the hold  
“I’m sorry too. There’s no excuse for how I acted”  
“I get it... I’ll see you soon?”  
“Yeah, babe”


	95. Chapter 95

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two smitten boyfriends being smitten with each other

95

The hotel room was as nice as the first one. Lance loving the plush bedding as he sprawled out, feeling stupid for being such a cry baby. He’d definitely noticed he’d been feeling more emotional of late, probably thanks to his birthday. Following him in, Keith paused long enough to close the door behind them, before dropping himself down on the end of the bed  
“Babe...”  
“Come up here and cuddle me”  
Holding his arms out, Keith climbed up, flopping down beside him and wrapping his arm around Lance’s waist  
“This was going to be a surprise later, but all morning I’ve been thinking about you”  
“I missed you”  
“I missed you, too. I’m sorry I wasn’t very good boyfriend today...”  
“You’ve got a lot going on”  
“That’s no excuse. It’s your birthday and I wanted it all to be perfect”  
“It got off to a rocky start, but it’s gotten better now”  
“Really?”

Kissing Keith’s forehead, his boyfriend looked up at him  
“I don’t deserve you”  
Krolia hadn’t wanted him to break up with Keith. Keith probably thought a hundred and one things about the conversation, but looking down at Keith right now, Lance could see he was too exhausted for an in-depth discussion   
“Maybe and maybe not... but that’s for us to figure out. Right now I’m happy to be here with you”  
Shimmying up, Keith’s kissed him. Some initial shyness to begin with, until Lance deepened the kiss. He really loved Keith. That’s why it’d hurt so much to see him angry. Letting the kiss evolve to more, his boyfriend shifted to cage him beneath him. Keith has the sweetest kisses, Lance’s ridiculous amount of pent up frustrations pooling in his belly. If they didn’t stop now, he wasn’t sure he could.

Breaking the kiss, they stared at each other  
“We should stop...”  
For a moment Keith looked hurt  
“... because I don’t think I can if you keep kissing me like this”  
“I’m doing things backwards, aren’t I?”  
Now Lance was as confused as he was aroused  
“What do you mean?”  
“I mean I don’t want to stop, but I haven’t even wished you a happy birthday”  
Snorting, Lance leaned up, kissing Keith again, Keith breaking the kiss this time to lean back, sitting in Lance’s lap as he unzipped his hoodie  
“You still haven’t”  
“That’s because I’m about to give you the best orgasm of your life”

Lance blushed. That wasn’t “happy birthday”, but he could definitely get behind that  
“Is that so? You’ve already given me all the best orgasms of my life”  
Keith stripped his hoodie, throwing it off the bed... damn, that really shouldn’t have been such a sexy move   
“I’m going to make you fall apart until you’re chanting my name...”  
“Mhmm... then what?”  
“Then I’m going to cuddle the fuck out of you, and when you’re all smiley I’m going to wish you a happy birthday”  
Keith was right. He was doing everything backwards but it was so him  
“I like the sound of that... I’ve been pretty pent up...”  
Keith ground against Lance’s crotch, smirking as he did  
“I can tell. I was going to wait to tonight, but I don’t think I can”  
“I don’t want to wait... unless you do”  
“I should be saying that to you...”  
Reaching up, Lance brushed back a stray strand of Keith’s fringe  
“I really do respect you... I’m not very good with birthdays, but I feel so much better with you”  
“Me too... you’re... you’re really important to me. I do trust you... I just get so stupid sometimes”  
“That’s only because you worry about me. Now... come back down here... I do believe you said something about the best orgasm of my life?”  
“Yep. You better be ready”

Keith had cooled right down from his outburst. His boyfriend taking his time to undress him. Lance finding it frustrating when all he wanted was Keith to hurry the fuck up, but it was sweet. It was Keith’s way of trying to tell him he was special with his actions instead of words. Giggling when his boyfriend failed to undo his laces enough to get his left shoe off, he knew he was in trouble from the silencing scowl Keith gave him. Sex with Keith was always more than sex. The anticipation had his body feeling like he was running hot. Each touch of Keith’s cool hands across his skin only served to make him hornier  
“Patience”   
Keith had no right to tell him to be patient. His boyfriend still had his boxers on, but he was very much into what was happening. Starting at his neck, Keith nipped and sucked his way down, toying with Lance’s libido as he nearly killed it by tweaking his nipple a tad too hard. Moving from straddling him to kneeling between Lance’s legs, Keith wasn’t shy about sliding those perfect lips of his down Lance’s dick. 

Whoever taught Keith how to give head deserved a medal... until the bastard pulled off Lance whining softly, drawing a breathy laugh from Keith   
“I can’t keep sucking if there’s somewhere else I’d rather put my mouth”  
Lance’s lips formed a silent “oh”. His scent strong enough that his head felt muddled. His body completely at Keith’s mercy and he trusted him completely to do what he wanted. Lifting Lance’s legs onto his shoulders, Keith pulled him up, burying his face between them. Running his tongue across his opening, his body screamed for more as he let out a sort of moaned mew. The cramping hadn’t started, but the need for Keith to do something only continued to grow.

Fucking him slowly with his tongue, Lance fisted the sheets beneath them. Keith’s blow job game failed in comparison to the way his boyfriend worked him open. Keith was filthy in all the right ways... an act that so many deemed dirty had Lance shaking with pleasure   
“You’re so fucking wet for me...”  
Blush redden Lance’s cheeks. He didn’t like that his body got wet, but his lover loved it. He turned into something hot rather than embarrassing...  
“Reckon you could come from me eating you out alone?”  
Fuck yes... nodding quickly, Keith’s tongue pushed back in, and holy fuck if he didn’t nearly come then... making the mistake of watching Keith, his boyfriend had one hand in his boxers...   
“Keith... fuck... don’t...”  
Somehow that translated to “Keith keep going”... then Lance coming. Thighs trembling, stomach muscles rippling, head dropping back as he came across his chest  
“Fuck...”

Keith said it perfectly... fuck if he hadn’t needed to come... shit... his head was still muddled. Forcing his fingers to release the sheet, his right hand coming to his belly... he needed Keith in him... he needed his boyfriend to take away this feeling... finding his shirt, Keith wiped his chest off, shooting him a quick smile before moving   
“Let me get a condom”

Keith rinsed his mouth with a bottle of water before climbing back on the bed. Lance still able to taste himself as his boyfriend pulled him up to kiss. Whining softly, he didn’t want to be patient long enough for Keith to put the condom on, half trying to climb into his lap. Beneath his arse he felt Keith trying to brain enough to use protection, forcing him to behave. Suddenly Keith was breaking the kiss and making to move  
“We need lube”  
“Don’t need it”  
“Babe, it’ll hurt”  
“Don’t care... I need you”  
“Babe”  
“I can take it... I want you...”  
Dropping his head to Keith’s shoulder, his fangs raked lightly of the soft skin of his boyfriend. He’d lie. He’d deny it. And sometimes he was maybe terrified by it, but he wanted to bite Keith. Not just like a normal lover, but to taste him  
“Let me know if it hurts... I don’t think I’m going to last”  
“Don’t hold back...”

Taking him by the arse, Keith slipped twice as he tried to sink into his heat. Lance finding himself lapping at the small beads of blood pearling where his teeth had grazed. His eyes widening as Keith finally started to push in, body tensing  
“Babe?”  
“Keep going... want you so much”  
Forcing himself to relax came easy when his body realised it was getting what it wanted. Lance crying out as he suddenly bottomed out in Keith’s lap...   
“Babe?”  
“Move... fuck... you feel good...”

Holding Keith’s head to his chest, Lance’s hips moved on their own. His legs wrapped around Keith, using his strength to ride him. Fingers digging into Keith’s back... he wanted to kiss him as he came. Keith had to have come, but that slutty side of him wasn’t done. He was so needy like this... so close to coming too  
“Babe... kiss... god... fuck... Keith...”  
“Show me your face”  
He couldn’t quite let Keith go, hands going to his sides as he ground against his boyfriend as he came, Keith kissing him, lips bloody from Lance’s fangs. Hooded purple eyes staring up at him with that smooth throat exposed. Scrunching his eyes closed, Lance buried his face against Keith’s hair, inhaling his lover’s scent around the scent of blood. Keith’s hands on his arse forced him to keep moving, his boyfriend growling his hips stuttered.

Finally satisfied, Lance went limp against Keith, nuzzling his hair as he panted. Shit... everything felt nicely spent. Keith supporting him, despite how much his thighs must hurt. Rubbing his against Lance’s cheek, Keiths hands slid up from his arse to rest loosely over the small of his back  
“Happy birthday”  
Lance snorted out a laugh, he loved Keith so fucking much. His head was still hazy, words kind of jumbled   
“Thanks... birthday... fuck... I’m fucked”  
“Are you okay?”  
“Mhmm... just hot... wanna cluggle”  
“Cluggle?”  
“Wanted... snuggle... cuddle... no brain...”  
“Cluggles it is... lemme get you cleaned up”  
“Best boyfriend...”

Lance was content to doze under the covers once Keith had cleaned him up. Cuddling into his boyfriend, he listened to Keith’s still somewhat racing heart  
“Did you come?”  
Keith’s fingers were lazily running over his shoulder, the feeling nice and comfortable   
“Twice... you?”  
“Mhmm... I didn’t notice you come the first time”  
Keith went slightly stiff  
“Babe?”  
Keith sighed, voice low as he answered  
“I came as I pushed in... it’s embarrassing”  
“Nah... it means you wanted me...”  
“Only you could think that”  
“That’s because sex isn’t like in porn... it doesn’t last for hours”  
“I didn’t even last ten seconds inside you”  
“Must be my glorious arse”  
“It is pretty glorious...”  
“How do your lips feel?”  
“Sore, but okay...”  
“I’m sorry about my fangs”  
“It’s fine... I was more concerned about your arse”  
“It’s fine...”

They fell back into a comfortable silence. Lance nearly drifting off when Keith’s phone started ringing  
“That’ll be Shiro telling me it’s time to come in”  
All of a sudden Lance was hit with the feeling of insecurity. Swallowing hard, he had to stop himself from begging Keith not to go  
“I better get it. I’m sorry”

When Keith slid out from under the covers the bed felt too big. Lance pulling as much of the blankets up around him as he could. He didn’t know why he felt so insecure... or teary. He just really didn’t want Keith to go and his body was starting to cramp up. Burying his face in the blankets, he listened to Keith take the call, confirming he’d be there shortly. A low whine slipping from Lance involuntarily. Chuckling over the sound, Keith sat down on the bed, resting his hand on Lance’s hair, as he talked to Shiro a few moments longer before ending the call  
“I have to go now. But the room’s totally paid up, so you can rest here. We’ll be late to dinner but I’ll be there... I wish this wasn’t happening on your birthday”  
Lance wished it too. His silence hung loudly between them  
“Hey, babe. Look at me”

Raising his head, he knew Keith saw his tears  
“Hey, no. I’m coming back. I’m not even in the ground crew”  
That wasn’t it all. Beneath the sheets he was getting horny again... his body starting to cry out of Keith, but his scent was lost in how much of his scent had filled the room. Wobbly, he whispered  
“Be safe”  
“I will. I’ll give you your present when I come back. Is there anything you want while I’m out?”  
“Blankets... and pillows?”  
“Are you cold? I could probably find more”  
That wasn’t it. There was a lot of “wasn’t it” and a lot confusion with it  
“Just... can you pick some up... the bed feels so big without you”  
“I’m going to come back. I wouldn’t leave if I didn’t have to. Now gimme a kiss”  
The kiss was small. Lance fighting not to reach out and grab his boyfriend as Keith moved again, this time to shower quickly and dress. Why did he miss him so much and feel so small? And why wasn’t his body calming down?


	96. Chapter 96

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don’t leave your Keith alone... He’s good at goofing up

96

James could suck the exhaust pipe of the van for all Keith cared. Werewolves were huge, far bigger than the normal family dog or what most people thought. Yet with all that size came zero brain cells. Keith in a huff, not able to stop thinking of Lance and slightly murderous thanks to James loudly mocking him for his “Breeder Boyfriend”. So much for not making a fucking thing out of it, and you know, not putting Lance in extra danger. Sure. He smelt like Lance, before he’d been sprayed top to bottom with that horrible floral crap he and Shiro had used on their scent last time, but if their positions were reversed, Keith wouldn’t be attempting to humiliate him through his boyfriend. He knew it was his name that made James mad... and that he was so close to Shiro, but that wasn’t his fault. He never ever wanted the extra attention.

Worried about his boyfriend’s behaviour, Coran was going to have Curtis check in and maybe stay with Lance. Keith felt like it was something else than birthday blues because he knew birthday depression far too well. He wished he could get Lance out of his mind. Being mad a James helped with that, but that anger was mostly about his comments about Lance, so his mind kept drifting back to his boyfriend as he triple checked his snipers scope. He understood why Coran told him to be extra careful before he left. Vampires had their own set of rules, not terribly considerate towards hunters in that respect. Maybe he really has become soft working here, and actually feeling appreciated for himself. Training his scope onto the recon team, things slowly dissolved to shit as shots rang out. They’d supposed to get the lay of the land and decide from there whether to engage with the werewolves and continue surveillance, the mission plan was basic about the initial components, but being discovered so soon to arriving and in the middle of the freakin’ day was not planned. The first surveillance team had like no contact with the targets. They’d pretty much hadn’t seen anything, and they’d been watching from sun up until relief. Even if it did give them the advantage, some wank stain had ruined everything with that first shot   
“Open up the roofs, get us some light in there”  
In other words fire a dozen shots into the steel roofing over their target buildings.

There were three target buildings in the shipyard. Keith think he’d thought about there actually be a ship yard in Platt, seeing it was Platt, but the actual words for a place where they constructed ship parts escaped him. Other than the sea of buildings, truck yards, trucks and about 20,000 shipping containers to hide between... they couldn’t shut down the docks without raising suspicion, so instead power for 15 city blocks had gone down with press releases that the problem was being worked on. The Blades didn’t fuck around. Everything outside the mission was null and void until they came back. He shouldn’t be sitting there wondering if Lance would have shot someone’s balls off if he’d been in Keith’s position, no matter if it brought a smile to his face at the thought. Taking aim, he fired at the roof of the closest building, as it was breeched by agents. There were more Blades here than he’d seen in Platt in the whole time since Kolivan waltzed in. 

“Explosive device recovered... fall back. Teams X, R, M, rerouting”

Explosives were usually a Blade thing when evidence needed to disappear. Keeping the communication clipped, it failed to warn him it was discovered on a rooftop some 50metres from his position. He didn’t know he was supposed to run until the screams of an unfortunate Blade member filled his ears and huge explosion went off towards the gates of the yard. With the roof blown sky high, Keith was gathering up his rifle and running, before a second device triggered... then the third, this time taking off the side of a storage shed. If that didn’t scream “motherfucking setup”, then Keith didn’t know what did. Nearly clear of the roof, the roofing beneath his feet shifted, Keith losing his step and nearly getting himself killed as he fell off the side of the building and onto a pile of electrical reels... which really hurt. He was getting in mentally before the mocking started. Lance would have a hundred puns to annoy him with after he punched him in the dick for nearly getting hurt.

Being winded saved him as the barred windows to the left and right of the reels blew outwards, glass, concrete and metal showering over him. Had he been getting to his feet, he’d have taken the shrapnel head on, not copping parts second hand as the reels went up in flames. Lance was going to be pissed. You only went after roofs when you knew someone was hiding there or you suspected snipers... Fuck. He had to move and pull back. Something else had been blown up and the air stank from burning things that shouldn’t be burnt. Gathering up his rifle, he was half crash tackled before being pulled along towards the front gate. The mysterious figure was dressed in black, yet he instantly knew they weren’t a Blade member.

Short of the collective of hunter’s, they reached another figure dressed in all black. Hunching over to catch his breath, the first figure who’d pulled him along cackled  
“Look at him. Human’s really aren’t good for anything”  
Narti?! What the fuck?  
“Careful. We need to fall back”  
And Ezor? Or was it Zethrid? Which was the tall one again?  
“But I wanna take him home”  
“This place holds no leads for us. Leave him to return with the human”  
Narti crossed her arms  
“That’s enough, Ezor. Narti will be mad we meddled as it is”  
Ohhh... not Narti... that actually kind of made him feel better... Narti was the grumpy one... Ezor wanted to have fun. He needed to remember that  
“Fiiiine”  
Ezor licked the pad of her gloved thumb, before reaching and rubbing at spot on his mask  
“Good as new. Right. Off you run”

Keith found his voice. He couldn’t let the two of them run off when they knew something   
“Wai-...”  
“Don’t go getting emotional on us little Keefy. I know you want to join us, but you’re a human and we have a strict no humans allowed rule. Until next time”  
With that the pair of them were off, heading back towards the chaos. Feeling every bit of his bruised body, Keith started limping over to where the hurt hunters were getting immediate medical treatment. Had Lotor sold them out? Or was he following them? What the fuck was going on? And where the fuck was Shiro? He was going to kill him very slowly if he’d gotten himself killed.

*  
The clean up was worse than falling off the roof. Why the didn’t have a back up team in the sewer system Keith didn’t know, because that’s how their pray had escaped. Right down the jagged hole middle of the building... and of course the arseholes had taken everything with them. It was a mess he was glad he didn’t have to deal with. Fuck being in Kolivan or Krolia’s shoes right now. He didn’t even want to be in his own shoes. He’d traded his sniper rifle for a pair of hand guns, but there really wasn’t anything to do... because thankfully he wasn’t a werewolf with an overdeveloped sense of smell. Ezor and Zethrid weighed on his mind, he hadn’t the chance to tell anyone he’d seen them there, and Shiro was too busy first with the mission, then fussing over him. 

Leaving the cleanup crew still working, Keith was still late to Lance’s birthday dinner. Shiro was late too, but that was okay because he wasn’t dating Lance. Between getting back to VOLTRON, showering, changing, and not being able to talk to Coran thanks to the fae being busy as fuck with the Blades mess, he was still late. Heading into the restaurant with Shiro, Curtis was the first to notice, out of his seat and throwing his arms around Shiro within moments of his noticing him. 

Lance was sitting with Pidge in his lap, there was a smile on his lips that didn’t turn genuine until he set his eyes on Keith. The warmth in his smile and the relief in his eyes. That was everything he needed after what’d happened. Keith felt like walking bag of bruises that Lance wouldn’t be happy about. It was a shame Coran and Allura weren’t there, but Lance was and that was all he cared about.

Shooing Pidge out his lap, Pidge grumbled over being evicted. Lance reaching for him, and Keith nearly tripped over his own feet in his rush to get to his boyfriend. There had to be rules about two people sitting in the same seat, this wasn’t like Sal’s or at a pub, the place was fancy, but their table was slightly hidden by a jutting room divider. Sinking into his boyfriend’s hold, Lance slipped his arm around his waist, his lips finding Keith’s with practiced ease. Sharing three small kisses, ending as Keith hissed over his scratched lips. Now he was sitting, he wasn’t sure he had the energy to ever get up again. His boyfriend smelt so nice. A little sweet, and little muddly, but comfortingly like him.

Nuzzling into his cheek, Keith expected Pidge to carry on or tease them for being “gross”. Curtis must have filled them all in the mission going sideways. Softly, Lance asked  
“Babe?”  
“I’m okay...”  
He was ready for bed... Cake, Lance and bed. Lance, cake, Lance, and bed sounded better. Or Lance and cake in bed...  
“You sure? Curtis...”  
“Yeah. A bit shell shocked and bruised but so much better for being here”  
Lance kissed his cheek  
“I’m not going to be happy later, am I?”  
“Mmmm, maybe not, but I’m in one piece and I didn’t take direct damage. I’ll be fine, I promise you, babe”  
His ears weren’t ringing and he had both eyebrows so that was a win.

“Okay. You’ve had your time to talk. Now tell us about this mission of yours”  
Matt scooched his chair closer. Shiro groaned at him. With him and Curtis sitting down, the seating arrangement around the table was Lance, Miriam, Pidge, Rieva, Matt, Hunk, Shiro, Curtis, with the chair closest to Lance left open for him, though that had probably already been used by Pidge until he arrived. Curtis explained  
“Vampires blew up the depot. You know the transport and manufacturing depot. Yeah, well, their going to have a hell of time explaining that away. Though I suppose with the power black out they’ll say some compound became unstable from lack of refrigeration. It makes Allura’s, Lance’s, and Keith’s previous mission pretty void for now. Werewolves have been deployed to scent track”

Mami was the first to voice her worry  
“Oh my dear! Neither of you were hurt were you?”  
Pidge a little less sensitive in her worries  
“Dude, did you get blown up?”  
Shiro shook his head, Keith content with no explaining... though it niggled at him not to mention Zethrid and Ezor. He’d talk to Coran about it. He was more tactful with handling this kind of thing, plus Keith kind of feared being scolded by Kolivan for receiving help from the “enemy”  
“No. A few other members were injured. I thought we lost Keith, but he’d already drawn back”  
Shit. Lance would worry  
“They gave the order to. I didn’t think we’d be worrying about being blown up after nothing happening on first shift. They must have used the time from the moment they detected us to that shot firing to retreat. But we’re both okay, Mami. You don’t need to worry”  
“As my son, I’m afraid I do. Do you know long it look Lance to bring home such a nice catch? I was beginning to believe I’d be dead before it happened”  
Lance scolded his Mami   
“Mami! You can’t say things like that”  
Miriam laughing it off  
“Consider it a perk of being old. They give you the good stuff when they think you’re a bit nutty. Now, we didn’t order for you two boys, and by the sound of it you both need a good meal and rest”  
Matt snickered  
“I doubt Keith’s going to be getting any of that”

Keith was now sure he was missing something. His anxiety started curling in his gut. This was why he hated being late. He hated feeling like he was on the outside  
“Okay. No more picking on Keith. Babe, I’ll tell you later. Mami’s right. You need to eat something. I’m happy you came home safe”  
“Yeah. Me too...”  
Pidge finally butting in  
“And now you’re being gross again. This is supposed to be a nice dinner to celebrate Lance. You’ve got witnesses”

Keith forced himself to slide from Lance’s lap to the empty chair. Ordering felt like too much effort  
“Careful, gremlin. I’ve got stories of my own remember”  
Pidge scowled at Lance  
“I’m going to find a way to make you forget all those embarrassing stories”  
Lance picked up his wine glass, mischief in his eye  
“I’d like to see you try. Your mother’s potted plants came straight to mind”  
“Ugh! I hate you... Matt, Lance is being mean”  
“You’re the one who tried to spray paint mum’s plants so she couldn’t tell you’d killed them”

Keith sucked in his lips, trying not to bark out a laugh lest he also be accused of betraying her. He could see Pidge doing that so clearly... or trying to frame Matt for it. Grabbing her knife she faked stabbing herself in the heart, letting herself fall forward dramatically as she whispered  
“I’ve been betrayed by both of you. Run, Keith, take Hunk. Be free!”  
Flopped on the table, Matt poked at her  
“Right. Well, I call dibs on her piece of cake”  
Miraculously Pidge was revived  
“Touch me piece of cake and I’ll tell Rieva how you couldn’t sleep with your light off until you were 15”  
Matt was unruffled  
“Seeing you already have, your piece is now forfeit”  
“Noooo... Shiro, is there like a training collar for werewolves? I’m going to have to teach him to respect his little sister”  
“Notice how you only refer to yourself like that when you’re trying to win me over”  
“You can’t be mean! I’m a poor defenceless human”  
“Defenceless my left testicle. You’re as defenceless as a barbed wire fence with the personality to match”  
“If anything Lance is the “steely” one”  
Lance raised an eyebrow  
“If I’m so steely, why is it that my home was invaded by a cow today? Pidge, we know you better than to know you won’t go for a kick to balls if you’re cornered. Matt, stop upsetting the gremlin. She can have cake, but only before midnight”  
“Why before midnight?”

The words slipped right out, their friends laughing at him... including Mami. Obviously it was some kind of pop culture reference he wasn’t getting. At least Lance was nice enough to comfort him  
“Oh, babe. You’re exhausted. We’ll watch the movie when we next get a free weekend”  
“Which won’t be for another two weeks”  
Lance groaned, cheeks red and hunching down as he did  
“Maaaaatt. Shut up”  
“Why another two weeks?”  
Lance spluttered, replying too fast  
“Oh, you know, work and stuff. Stop teasing him before I talk to him about it”  
“Fine. But on a serious note, you’re prepared right?”  
“Curtis helped me out this afternoon”  
“Good. Keith, make sure you take care of him”  
He’d had enough of being confused  
“What the fuck is going on?”  
“Thanks, guys. Babe, come order with me. I’ll order for you too, Shiro, while I’m at it. You all suck”

Keith didn’t know “ordering” meant a trip to the men’s room. Lance splashing his face with water as Keith hung back towards the door. Catching his gaze in the mirror, Lance smiled at him, though it was one of those faked smiles that should be banned   
“Sorry. Matt’s been like this all afternoon”  
“You want to tell me what’s going on? I haven’t been able to get out my head how you looked at me when I left”  
Lance ducked his head, turning off the tap, that blush was sneaking back in  
“I... uh... okay. So don’t be mad, and you totally don’t have to be there if you don’t want to... I... um... I’m preheat”

What the what now?  
“Preheat?”  
“You know how werewolves get horny in spring but before that they’re all like super affectionate and make sure they’re well stocked and safe? Yeah, I’m that”  
“You haven’t been preheat before. You kind of just go into heat”  
Lance huffed. Turning, he crossed his arms and stared at his feet  
“Thank you, Captain Obvious. Curtis came by earlier because you’d talked to Coran and we kind of figured it out together. I drank your blood like 3ish months ago... I’m either pregnant or preheat... and seeing we use protection... well... yeah. Matt reckons he smelt it on me. Rieva agrees. My... uh... scent’s sweeter and stronger ‘cause apparently my body is trying to tell you I need looking after and stuff. Look, I was going to tell you at the hotel, but Matt hasn’t stopped teasing me and it’s not fair you don’t know. He told the others were having a romantic week together... but I’m not forcing you to be there. I mean, we don’t know how long it will last and can you please say something because I’m kind of freaking the fuck out and embarrassed as hell about how I acted last time”

“So this is a thing?”  
Smooth. Real smooth. A heat was better than a baby... but a proper heat... Hadn’t he had a long enough day as it was? Now he was being unfair to Lance  
“Yep. Surprise”  
And Lance sounded resigned  
“I... Okay. Neither of us know much about this really and honestly I’m pretty much asleep on my feet and the only thinking happening isn’t much. But you can’t act like I don’t want to be there with you”  
“And you can’t act like I didn’t freak you the fuck out last time. You went through that all for me! When do I finally get to do something for you!? It isn’t fair! I hate this body of mine. I just want to be a good boyfriend!”

Lance covered his mouth. Keith kind of felt like punching him in the dick. If Lance could tell, so could he!  
“Why do you have to be like that? You can’t help it!”  
“Because I’m this! This is me! What I want is to go back to you living with me and none of this other shit even happening! You’re too fucking good to me!”  
“You’re the good one! I woke up this morning and realised I hadn’t even gotten a present!”  
“I don’t need a present! All I want is you!”  
“It’s your birthday!”  
“And all I wanted was to be with you!”  
“I’m here now! Again!”  
“And I don’t want to leave at the end of it!”  
“Then why are you yelling?!”  
Keith spluttered  
“I don’t know! You yelled back at me!”  
“I was yelling because you were yelling! I miss living with you!”  
“And I miss having you around! I miss it! I miss it and I can’t change it because I won’t put you in danger... I can’t lose you”

Both of them stared at each other, Keith moving at the same time as Lance... more or less crashing into each other than a romantic moment. Wrapping his arms around Lance, Lance held onto his jacket   
“I miss you, Keith. I know I’m supposed to be the cool older one... but sometimes it hard to go home”  
As hard as it was to go back to “normal” life while Lance wasn’t around  
“I miss you too. You’re like... the good thing in my life I still can’t believe I have... I... confession time, Shiro helped me with your present”  
“Confession time, I don’t mind. We’re working out this boyfriend thing together... I’m haunted by the memories of things I’ve written in cards”  
That seemed to be a common theme. Keith wasn’t too sure about what he’d written in Lance’s card  
“Shiro said the same thing this morning”  
“I’m far too much on his wavelength”  
“Bad taste in music. Odd taste in men. A constant need to talk thing out...”  
“Don’t forget I care about you. I don’t want people caught up in this that shouldn’t be. I’m ruggedly handsome and mysterious... Um. I... care about you”  
“You said that twice”  
Lance sighed against him  
“I really do. When Curtis said things went south my heart nearly stopped. Three months isn’t long enough... not to be around you. Not to know you...”

Lance was being too adorable and too sweet. Keith couldn’t lie to him about today  
“I’m okay... Don’t tell Shiro but I fell off a roof and was saved by a pile of electrical cable spools”  
“Babe!”  
“And then Ezor saved me. She was there with Zethrid”  
“Keith! What the hell!?”  
“I don’t know why they were there, probably poking into the same things as us...”  
“God. Why can’t you Blades be bloody careful!?”  
“I was falling back when it happened... does that count?”  
“Yes, but, babe... are you sure you’re okay? Did you hit your head? Do you know where you are?”  
“I’m in some weird restaurant with some weird guy?”  
“That isn’t funny!”

Lance was in tears now. He’d teased him too much. Kissing Lance’s hair, his boyfriend was still clutching him, Keith wondered if the jacket would forever retain the marks from how hard of a grip Lance had on him  
“I’m fine. The suit protected me for the most part. The worst I got was a little winded and a few bruises. I’m with my boyfriend, on his birthday, which is the only place I want to be”  
“I... You’re not allowed to scare me like that. You’re too important”  
“I know. I only had to survive for Shiro before, now I have you... and... maybe I think I want to survive for myself”  
“I should punch you in the dick”

It’d be deserved. Lance wore his heart on his sleeve and Keith really loved that about him   
“Please don’t”  
Lance sniffled softly, still angry despite crying  
“Only because it’s you asking... You have to tell Shiro you saw them there. It could be important”  
“I’m going to let Coran know”  
“And Shiro”  
That wasn’t a conversation he relished the thought of  
“He’ll worry... How about I tell them together?”  
“Fine. As long as you swear you’ll tell them”  
“Only because it’s you asking. We should get back”  
“I suppose so... I’m so fucking relieved you’re alright”  
“I know... me too, babe. I wouldn’t miss being here with you for anything”  
“You’re such a fucking sap... but... I really like you. I know it’s your job, and this preheat is making me extra emotional... but... the world is better for having you in it”

What was he supposed to say to that? It was Lance’s birthday but he felt like he was the one who’d been given the best present of his life.


	97. Chapter 97

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me... not write smut? What?

97

Keith never wanted to move again. Lance was preheat for a week, Coran having him stay with Keith to help keep his hormones and emotions stable, while Matt and Rieva were staying with Matt’s parents, Blue at Shiro’s. A new group chat was made between the four of them, plus Shiro, so Matt could keep them updated and see if the pair needed anything. What Keith needed was to be left alone with Lance. They’d spent three days at the hotel, Keith knew Shiro extended their stay, but he’d thought one extra day, not two. Lance tried to downplay his symptoms and tried even harder to be normal about the situation. Keith had to give a full report over what had happened on his end of things went the stakeout went south. Shiro had not been a happy camper. Keith forced through a whole heap of tests to prove he was fine, like he’d told them a hundred times. So when he finally escaped Platt to Lance’s house, he never wanted to leave.

And then Lance’s heat came. 

Oh dear lord, had Lance’s heat come. The house would need a thorough scrubbing from top to bottom. It lasted four days, five if you included the fact it rolled into the morning of the fifth day. They’d “accidentally” discovered Lance really, really, liked it when he used the pocket pussy on him during sex. Blindfolds and restraints weren’t their thing. Keith thought maybe, but seeing Lance like that made him feel weird not in a sexy way, and the butt plug seemed to help Lance sleep better between the waves of need. The fifth day had been pretty brutal despite Lance’s heat tapering off. His boyfriend spent most of the early afternoon making love to the toilet bowl, while Keith “snoozed” against his back. 

Coran had given them emergency contraceptives, but neither of them wanted to go without a condom, despite what their fevered minds told them before, during, and after. It was completely whack that their bodies got mad at them for being in a happy relationship that didn’t need a baby to prove it. Lance’s waves were more intense then when he’d smelt Sendak for the first time, but they’d made it through. Lance swallowing down one of the yellow pills on the fourth night when they noticed things definitely starting to calm. Keith had the suspicion that Lance’s vomiting was a side effect from that, and the stress of having so much sex that his dick felt broken.

Cuddling up together on the sofa later on the fifth day, Lance fell asleep sipping on one of his blood bags before his energy finally ran out and his boyfriend turned into a bat. Keith would have too if he could have, because even trying to walk had him shuffling. Lance’s body had wanted sex, his mind wanted a baby, but Lance himself wanted him to be okay. The moment his heat would simmer down, Lance would be asking if he was okay. His boyfriend too fucking sweet... and his arse too fucking good. They’d flirted with fire the first time, Lance’s legs locked around his waist, barely giving him space to pull out in time. Keith would like to say that was the only time, but when you wake up very hard and very in your boyfriend, you thanked whoever was out there for contraceptives as you wondered if you’d done this the first time around... as well as being amazed you could get in there when your boyfriend’s butt was already preoccupied.

Lance had spent two days as a bat, cuddling Keith wherever he went as he stayed clinging to Keith’s shirt. He’d had to go shopping for coffee pods and lactose free milk, Lance tucked up inside his jacket where he squeaked to make his wants known. They made a pretty good team, though one or two members of Garrison’s general public might now believe Keith was crazy from the amount of time he’d spent “talking to himself” in the supermarket. Keith didn’t care. He wasn’t dating them, nor was he friends with them, so he wasn’t going to let their opinion of him get to him.

Keith was in the bath with Lance when his boyfriend finally turned back. After a ridiculously long day. He’d brought a container up so his boyfriend could float without drowning. Lance had seemed sceptical, but after nearly losing him hiding too much body wash and filling the sink with bubbles, this seemed safer to both of them. Keeping their friends under control had seemed like less work than trying to clean up the bathroom after Lance accidentally flooded it with his sudden transformation. They’d worked out a system. Lance couldn’t push the buttons on the phone, so Keith asked him how he wanted to reply... kind of getting into being both of them, but not enjoying it when he’d make his boyfriend flap his wings and squeak his protest over something Keith said for himself. 

He’d also gotten himself into trouble for calling himself an idiot when accidentally broken a plate and cremated his toast. Lance had bitten him for it. When Pidge and Hunk had learned Lance was not only home but also a bat, they’d invited themselves over. Pidge was the only one game to try give Lance flying lessons. His boyfriend couldn’t fly straight if his life depended on it. He’d flap his wings, get a few feet, even a couple of metres before gravity would remind him of its existence. Both their friends were disappointed when he and Lance came down humanish.

Still exhausted from the medication and his heat, Lance collapsed on the sofa, Pidge wrapping her arms around him and cuddling Lance tight. With Hunk on the other side, the bear of a man rested against Lance, arm around Lance and hand resting near Pidge’s knee. Neither of them knew what’d happened, they simply wanted to comfort their friend... while Keith fought down the need to protect Lance. He felt as if he really would have shot someone had they tried to come near Lance sooner. Had they come during Lance’s heat, he wouldn’t have lifted a finger to help them if Lance had torn their throat out. They could say what they liked about him, or try to pick a fight, but when they went for Lance, he wouldn’t stand for it. Like Lance wouldn’t stand for the same happening to him, or their friends.

With a sleepy Lance, and Keith not providing of their “romantic week away”, Hunk headed to the kitchen to make popcorn as they decided on a movie night. Lance mumbling about some movie starting with “G” that they had to watch together. Pidge pulling Lance’s hair for it and Lance pretending to snap at her finger with his fangs. Hearing something from the kitchen, Lance called out that he should invite Shay tomorrow for a family dinner. Pidge taking teasing Lance over having forgotten everyone thanks to his vacation. Cuddling the gremlin tighter, Pidge sighed dramatically, pretending to make a deal out of it, when Keith could see she was happy being back with Lance. Things were good.

This all led to Keith not wanting to get up and human the next day. He’d had his coffee, Lance bringing up breakfast in bed, to draw out their alone time together before the house swarmed upon by Shiro, Matt, Rieva, Curtis, Hunk, Shay, and Pidge. After having Lance alone to himself again, he wished he hadn’t mentioned Lance was bat, so they could have spent some more time together being boyfriend’s and not adults. Cuddled up after breakfast, Keith nearly jumped when Lance’s voice broke the comfortable silence between them  
“I may have done something”  
“Mmm?”

Lance moved to lay across him, looking him the face with a semi worried expression. Now Keith was getting nervous  
“I... um... okay. So I know you’re like me and birthday’s are a bit of an issue... but I um... might have made plans for yours seeing ours are like three months apart, well, a little less”  
Keith groaned. Yeah. Now he got why Lance didn’t want to talk about his... July, August, and September had to pass first  
“Babe...”  
“Do you remember when you said you liked hiking?”  
Keith didn’t have a single clue where this was going. He liked hiking, but Lance didn’t seem so keen on it   
“Yeah”  
“And do you remember how you haven’t had much time to work on your photography?”  
“Mhmm?”  
“I may have organised for us to go camping for your birthday”

Keith blinked half a dozen times at his boyfriend. Camping for his birthday?  
“What?”  
“Not “camping” camping. But like a three night stay over the weekend... All of us too, but there’s like 3 seperate cabins and a small communal kitchen area. We’ll have a cabin, Matt and Rieva will have a cabin, and then the others will share the main one”  
He’d done what? When? Since when had Lance had the time to sneak this in on him?!  
“You did what?”  
Lance winced. Keith too shocked to feel guilty at the harshness in his tone  
“I’m sorry. It seemed like a really good idea at the time. It’s like a three hour drive from here and then a hike up to the cabins...”  
“How? What... hang on... we haven’t even talked about my birthday”  
“I know. I should have asked. I got carried away trying to think of what I could do for you on your birthday. I know Shiro’s been working pretty much nonstop and I thought maybe it’d be nice to be away and I should have asked but when I saw the photos I got excited and kind of maybe booked it on the spot”

Lance dropped his head to Keith’s chest, his boyfriend kind of seemed less than happy now he’d told him  
“Hold up. I didn’t even want to do anything for my birthday”  
“I know. We don’t have to make a big huge deal... I just thought... I thought maybe we could be there to show you that we care... and you know, hang out as a group somewhere other than here... and I thought it’d be a nice place for you to take photos”  
Lance seemed really happy with the coffee table album Keith made up. It lived on the living room mantle between the bobble heads Shiro gifted Lance. But there was another problem to this whole plan  
“What about work?”  
“Coran okayed it because you have to work Halloween security and because, you know, you had to work my birthday too...”

Keith could see Coran being easily swayed when it came to Lance. It was kind of hard not to be  
“You should have asked”  
Lance sighed, rubbing his cheek against Keith’s chest  
“I know. I know... I’m stupid and impulsive. Plus the next few months I usually get swamped with work. The holidays are hard for a lot of families. Sometimes I’m even working on Christmas Day and there’s been too many times I’ve had to request welfare checks”

Keith had had to work Christmas days too... all the Christmas crowds tended to bring out the less desirables, preying on people getting their Christmas gifts...  
“But you don’t even like camping. Can you even go camping? What about the blood?”  
Lifting his head back up, his boyfriend’s chin dug lightly into his chest  
“Thanks to this super modern invention that science has gifted us with, there’s this super magical thing called ice. You see, you put stuff in ice and it stays cool”  
His boyfriend was a dick. Ice was hardly a new invention  
“What about the sun? How do you hide the blood?”  
Lance shrugged a shoulder  
“I cover up, and I’m the only one who drinks red wine. Pick a dark bottle, wash it out, then pack it”  
That was... impressive. With the blood being red, you wouldn’t think it blood at the first glance of a wine bottle.

Reaching out, Keith ruffled Lance’s hair  
“You’ve kind of... really smart”  
“It’s not a perfect system... I mean, I only came up with it because Pidge wanted to hunt things like Mothman...”  
“Mothman is real”  
Until he proved otherwise, Mothman was real. Lance patted Keith’s chest   
“Of course he is, dear. Anyway, I’ve got the information on my laptop”  
“I still don’t know when you had the time”  
“At the hotel on my phone. You keep saying you’re not great at this boyfriend thing, but it was really nice at the hotel. I thought about maybe going to the coast for a week, but you’ve got work, and Rieva’s got work, and so do Shay, Shiro, Curtis, and Hunk at his parent’s garage... so I thought a weekend would be better. Head down Friday around lunch, then back either Sunday night or early Monday morning”  
“I suppose next you’re going to tell me you’ve gotten me a present”  
“Yep. Only because you told me what you wanted”  
“When did I do that?”  
“Pretty much within the first month of meeting you. And if you’re worried, everyone else has chipped in to cover their part of the rental costs for the weekend. I covered yours because you’re the birthday boy”

Keith hadn’t thought about that bit. Lance could afford to treat them all, but knowing Keith would be uncomfortable with that had let everyone else contribute  
“It’s not too much is it?”  
“Nah, it’s off season at the moment with things cooling down. Apparently people don’t want to risk hiking when you could get soaked”  
Pfft. He and Shiro had hiked in the rain before. It wasn’t terribly awful, but it wasn’t always great  
“Whimps”  
“We can take Kosmo too. He’ll have to be on lead up there and around the camp site. They used to trap there before humans over hunted the deer population. Matt and Rieva should be fine to run around the forest as long as Shay doesn’t see them”  
Not as well as everyone else. Did Shay like him?  
“I barely know Shay”  
“Dude, you totally know her enough. She’s like Hunk’s soulmate”  
Hunk was soft and gentle... Sometime’s Shay could be as ruthless as Pidge in chat  
“She’s a lot like Pidge”  
Lance rolled his eyes at him  
“Who’s Hunk’s platonic soulmate. Shay is super shy until you get to know her. Then she’s as ruthless as Mami”  
“Have you called Mami yet?”  
“Nope. Wanted to do it with you. We should probably get up”  
“If she was closer we could have brought her to dinner”  
Lance brightened right up. His boyfriend always seemed kind of amazed that Keith thought of Miriam as much as he. Kissing his cheek, Lance pulled away, Keith knowing he was about to be forced up and to human   
“That’s a great idea... I’m gonna call Mami and see if she can stay the night”

With Lance now super excited and wearing his “determined face”, Keith bit down talking Lance out of it. For her own safety, and the safety of her sanity, Mami really was better staying in Platt. All their friends were weirdos.


	98. Chapter 98

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Curtis and Lance time makes me happy

98

It was weird to have slow weeks again with all the excitement Keith had brought into his life. Keith had called to update him on things in Platt which weren’t exactly good. A scuffle had broken out between three vampire clans, so Lotor, and his generals, were now calling VOLTRON home for the foreseeable future. Asking far too much over Lance for Keith’s comfort. Keith and Shiro were both back in with Blades after the failure of a mission, though Keith was two weeks out of loop, so he’d had to work extra time to catch up on everything he’d missed. Then the last two weeks August had seemed to disappear into thin air, without seeing Keith. Lance honestly didn’t know where they’d gone, only that they were wankers for leaving him without Keith for so long.

Filled in far too much, Sendak seemed to be the cause of the recent vampire fighting. The four clans suffering heavy casualties, which meant pretty much every night hunters and Blades were on the look out of for potential vampires turning humans to bolster their numbers. Plus they had to deal with werewolves getting all uppity with their mangy noses out of joint. Two murders had made their way into the news, the reports on the details varied differently with between each printed news report. Someone had brought up the question of it being related to the theft he and Keith committed, with that particular story disappearing within 6 hours of making it to socials. The Blades could make anything disappear, maybe even him if they got sick of all these vampire drama. Lance didn’t envy Keith at all. He knew his boyfriend was working hard, even harder as he tried to avoid his approaching birthday weekend... despite how freakin’ long it was until their holiday. The broody anger loaf as as bad at him over birthdays. He could have easily pushed it to the back of his mind, but instead he wanted all the information and considered hiking it ahead of time so they wouldn’t get lost.

Lance was working in his own way. Pidge found them a “case” a few towns over. Lance didn’t want to go. He felt wiped from his heat. Pidge had no pity for him after a “romantic week away”, Lance ending up going. Matt coming along for the night and succeeding in pissing off Pidge by explaining away phenomenons with science. He was kind of right. There wasn’t the feeling of death in the building despite its age, nor any annoying shadows to ignore. Hunk saved them all from Pidge’s bad mood by suggesting the turn the video into a “debunk” video for the watchers. It was nice to have part of his old life back. He felt as if things were finally settling down for the Garrison Trio, and that they’d worked past his whole “vampire” issue. A new video landed him a couple of new clients seeking advice, giving him a chance to feel helpful in a different way from tagging along because Lotor wanted it.

Vegged out on the sofa, their new family member mooed loudly from outside. Yeah. They’d kept the damn cow. Three weeks seemed too long to now be going out and finding the owner seeing she hadn’t been reported missing. They’d even named her Kaltenecker. Blue wasn’t fond of her. Her Royal Highness was sulking as it was. She and Kosmo had gotten pretty close, Lance feeling she missed the hyperactive pup as much as he missed Keith. She’d tried to be friendly with Kaltenecker, but was out the moment Kalternecker’s long slobbery tongue passed over her head. He didn’t like to admit that he slept with one of Keith’s shirts over his pillow these days, because it felt kind of stalkerish and really rather lame. He couldn’t help that he slept better with Keith’s scent close to him, despite the fact he felt a 45 year old man should probably have grown out of nightmares long ago.

Matt and Rieva both tried to help with his nightmares. Lance appreciated the thought, but his dreams had been so weird lately that he had no idea what to make of them. Sometimes they were about him being turned. Sometimes he’d turned Keith in them and they were having the weirdest adventures. He’d had one dream where he was pregnant and Keith was on a quest to find him shorts... though, the worst dream he’d had was when Nyma and Rolo had kidnapped Keith and he’d come home to find his boyfriend dead. It took calling Keith to calm him down from that one.

There was also one big change in the house that made Lance happy. Curtis had moved back in. When he’d come to check on him at the hotel, they’d talked, entertaining the idea of finding an apartment in Platt, only to decide that it was more practical if Curtis lived there. It was nice to have him back. Curtis felt as lost as he did over not being able to be in the field with Keith and Shiro. Having found a home outside VOLTRON, where his curse wasn’t such a big deal, Lance fully supported Curtis moving in and having fresh air and freedom. Plus, it helped to have someone get as emotional over soap operas as he did. Matt forced to watch the pair of them make fools of themselves as they’d yell at the TV over the script.

With Rieva at her waitressing job, Lance having cleaned through the house, and nothing much to do, Lance was curled up against Curtis, Christmas shopping for their friends group, and trying to ignore the feelings of anxiety that came with waiting for Keith to check in with him. Seeing he was giving Keith a twin set of blades for his birthday, Lance was facing he dilemma of “Did he buy Keith another blade” or “Should be he buy him camera equipment without knowing anything about cameras”. His boyfriend really did get excited at the idea of stabbing things... Maybe too excited so he shouldn’t give him a potential murder weapon?

He could always gift Keith a voucher to a camera equipment store, but he didn’t want to spend too much on the voucher and have Keith feel guilty over the cost of the gift. He could probably pick up a vintage camera as a gift... 

Then again, he’d seen some amazing antique blades. As well as custom jobs that seemed to scream Keith’s name at him. It was hard containing himself. Huge gifts would be nice, he’d spoil Keith rotten for every single bad birthday memory he had, yet a heartfelt gift was worth more than spending thousands. That’s why he loved that he had a small selection of Keith’s photos. His photography so super personal that the vampire felt kind of honoured. He adored it. He adored the photos of them all, the photos of the caves, but his favourite was of Keith and Kosmo cuddled up together, even more so of the ones where he was kissing Keith’s cheek. Now he was missing his boyfriend again. God. Okay. No more swords. Time to move on to Shiro and who better to ask than his boyfriend?

“Hey, Curtis. What are you getting Shiro for Christmas?”  
“I’m not going through this again”  
Tilting his head back, Lance frowned up at Curtis  
“What does that mean?”  
Curtis sighed at him  
“It means Keith nearly had a mental breakdown trying to decide on your gift. I will not go through that again”  
Lance blinked at him, a warm feeling in his belly that his boyfriend cared that much. He didn’t blame Curtis for not wanting to go through that again, a stressed Keith could be very bossy and uncooperative   
“No, I’m being literal here. I don’t want to get him the same thing as you. I’m tossing up between getting Keith another blade, or some camera equipment. I thought I’d move onto Shiro”  
“Oh. I was sure you were edging into asking what you should purchase for Keith. He was quite the wreck the morning of your birthday. 5 cups of coffee, all in different cups. Pacing nonstop. Freaking out because he hadn’t purchased a present and it had to be just right and in no way lame”

Lance huffed at Curtis. He really wanted to call Keith now... Their camping trip seemed so long away... 52 days. Every day counting down was being marked off on his office calendar and his friend calendar   
“I am trying not to think about how much I miss my boyfriend. What should I get Shiro?”  
Shiro was filled with “Dad” vibes. Sometimes it felt he was the only mature one around them  
“You could get us matching T-shirts. I’m with stupid pointing to him, and his saying “I am stupid””  
“Dude, that seems more like something you should give him. Maybe I’ll skip him for now”  
“You could get him an ugly sweater?”  
Lance hummed. Shiro was a closet nerd. He’d seen the bobble head collection... and the movie collection...  
“That could work. Maybe some socks to make it feel like a dad present. Thanks for the idea. What are you getting him?”  
“I’m thinking I should get him an ugly sweater now”  
Lance rolled his eyes  
“That’s what you told me to get him”  
“But it’s such a good idea. Why don’t we all get him ugly sweaters?”  
“Because you’re the one who’s going to have to live with the consequences”  
“I don’t mind”  
“Fiiiiine. But you better gift him something else to make up for it, or he’s really going to think we don’t like him”  
“I think I’ll manage. Why are you shopping now?”  
“So it’s all out the way. Postage gets hectic around Christmas and if there’s going to be delays than I want the extra time”

He was letting his age show. But with two months to go before everyone started going mental for Chris, he wanted things all organised so he didn’t have the last minute rush to deal with. He had his eye on a nice outdoor setting as his birthday gift to himself, a little late, but if he timed it right he couldn’t always say it was an early Christmas present. He wanted something bigger to fit them all comfortably, once he’d extended the brickwork... maybe built a pen for Kaltenecker... ohhh... Kaltenecker could have her own stall near the house. They could build a doggy training course for Kosmo... and Matt...  
“Curtis, do you know anything about construction”  
“Not particularly. Dismantling measures... Explosives. Survival measures”  
“Do you want to try building a cow pen with me?”  
“No. And you will not be building one either. Go back to your Christmas shopping”

Lance pouted. Not liking being told not to do something. It wasn’t an ego thing. It was something he’d heard so many times in his life. No matter how good he’d been, he wasn’t good enough  
“I did all the repairs on the house for like the most part, and things are still standing”  
“So you did the electrics, the plumbing, reroofing...?”  
Well... no. The walls had to come down to tackle the mould and... his ego didn’t like what Curtis was saying  
“I pulled down the walls and replaced them once I got rid of the mould”  
“Great. You broke stuff. Speaking of broken stuff, Matt and Rieva broke the bed again”  
“I heard. Maybe it’s time to get them another bed for that room? Instead of two singles pushed together?”  
“Weren’t they planning on moving out once their probation ended?”  
“That’s beside the point...”

He really liked having them there. Not just because he’d become friends with them, but for the added security of having two werewolves in the off chance of things going south  
“You’re acting delusional. Maybe it’s the stress of Christmas shopping?”  
“I’m not stressed. And before you ask, I’ve already ordered your present”  
“I know. I’ve been on your laptop”  
“Dude! Privacy! I’ve got confidential client... you’re an arsehole”  
Curtis started laughing as he snapped at him  
“You should have seen your face”  
“You should see what I’m going to do to yours”  
Curtis brushed his hair back from his horn  
“It’s because I’m horny, isn’t it? You wouldn’t hit a horny man”  
Lance choked on air. Curtis laughing at him as he spluttered. Part of Curtis’s Christmas present might have to go missing in revenge. Sulkily, Lance snapped his laptop closed. His friend was a dick. He was a raisin cookie pretending to be filled with chocolate chip goodness  
“I’m going to go make lunch while you think about your actions”  
And check in on Matt who was doing “Top Secret Research”  
“Oh, good. Food and free entertainment. This really is the life”


	99. Chapter 99

99

Lance would have paid good money to go back three days to when Curtis was teasing him. He would have emptied his whole bank account and sold every possession he owned, other than Blue and Keith’s coffee book. Woken at 3am, he was on the road to Platt 5 minutes later with his heart hammering in his throat. Breaking every road rule on the back country road, he was in Platt 30minutes later and pulling into the hospital car pack 10 minutes after that thanks to bad weather and morning traffic.

He’d happily go back to Christmas shopping and buying Shiro ugly sweaters from everyone in their friends group, including mami, Coran and Allura because he could. 10 ugly sweaters. He’d trade every millimetre of wool not to be pulling into the hospital car park. Not to be out on a stormy night that felt cold and oppressive instead of refreshed from the rain. He’d tried Keith as he’d driven, his boyfriend not picking up... because Keith had had some kind of accident. It was bad. Shiro barely holding it together on the phone call. Running into the emergency department, he tripped over his words trying to explain who he was and that his “brother-in-law” called him about his partner. Hospitals were more sympathetic towards couples who were “committed”, a load of shit in his opinion. With how loud he’d been, Shiro must have heard, a few moments later he was buzzed in much the annoyance of the triage nurse. He hadn’t meant to be rude, but Keith needed him.

For all his panicking, he wasn’t prepared to see his banged up boyfriend. Keith scowling at the world from where he was propped up on the examination bed. He could have punched him in the dick if Keith didn’t have a massive gravel rash up his arm and along his leg. Blood in the air from the oozing sores  
“You fucking idiot!”  
Keith had been on his bike. Lance didn’t need to be a qualified doctor to see bad weather and a motorcycle weren’t best friends  
“Babe?!”

Keith squeaked, yeah. The fucker caught in the act. Moving away from Shiro, Lance threw his arms around Keith   
“You absolute fucking idiot! Why didn’t you let Shiro fucking drive you!?”  
Behind him, Shiro coughed, clearing his throat. Keith was probably shooting a desperate plea for some kind of explanation over Lance’s shoulder  
“I didn’t tell him you were on your bike”  
“He didn’t need to! Black leather and gravel rash! You’re a fucking moron!”  
Keith hissed  
“Okay... ow... okay, you’re crushing me. I’m okay...”

Lance drew back, not at all impressed  
“Well?! What do you have to say for yourself?”  
“He wasn’t at fault. He got clipped by a car”  
A fucking car?!  
“Babe!”  
Keith moved his right arm to pinch the bridge of his nose  
“Okay. Stop yelling at me. I was on my way home when it happened”  
“And that makes it okay?!”  
“Kind of?”  
Lance glared at his boyfriend who sighed, before amending his statement  
“No. Look, I was being careful. Less than the speed limit. The lights went out and the car didn’t mean to actually hit me”  
“You were out in the rain!”  
“And right now I’m more scared of you than the accident. I’m okay”  
Scared of him?! What was he in trouble for? Shiro should be the one in trouble  
“Shiro was crying his eyes out! He could barely tell me what happened!”

“Shiro, what did you tell him?”  
Keith scowled at his brother, Lance didn’t want Shiro in trouble but the man had fucking scared him  
“The ambulance brought you in. I called him when I arrived, but you were still in X-ray at the time”  
An ambulance brought Keith in?! Wait... that was logical. A normal person in an accident would go to hospital via ambulance...

“Mister Kogane?”  
A young nurse in scrubs stood holding Keith’s chart, Keith nodding at his name   
“Yeah?”  
Brightly the nurse smiled at them. She’d probably already been on shift way too long... Lance couldn’t be in the medical profession. Not only thanks to the blood thing, his and the patients, but he’d be crying his eyes out cleaning a patient’s wounds, never mind how he’d act if something actually worse happened  
“I’m here to clean your wounds up. If your visitor’s would like to wait in our family visiting room, I’ll get started”  
Keith looked at Shiro, then to him, then back to Shiro. Keith didn’t want to be alone... but didn’t want to hurt his feelings for choosing Shiro to remain with him. Lance making the choice for him  
“I’ll wait there. You know, blood and stuff...”  
“Okay... you’re not leaving though...”  
“Nope. I’ll be right down the hall. Been here with Mami enough times to know this place”

He gave Keith a small smile, trying to reassure him, before heading to the visitors room near the emergency doors where the ambulances would dock. He was still shaking in shock. Sitting in the old and well used sofa in the corner of the room, Lance drew his knees up, resting his chin on his left knee as he closed his eyes. He felt jumpy. Ready to run a marathon... and then some. He could have lost Keith, all thanks to someone’s bad driving. Shiro should have fucking called him to let him know Keith was alive. He’d... hearing Keith was in accident... he was so fucking scared.

He’d only been talking to Mami about Keith yesterday. She’d only been teasing him, well, her and Matt had been teasing him, as Matt listened in on his phone call. He wanted to tell Keith that he loved him. Calmly. Uninfluenced. Properly. Not mumbled or without thinking thanks to the fact that he loved his boyfriend. He wanted to tell Keith under the stars at the cabin. Cheesy as hell. Camping seemed so far away... and he’d definitely known he was in love Keith for a while now. His Mami had told him not to wait, but Lance didn’t want him to feel pressured.

He wanted his Mami and his boyfriend. He felt sick and scared, desperately in need of her warm loving hands and soft cuddles. The Emergency Department was filled with feelings and shadows just out of sight. How he’d remembered his glasses he wasn’t sure. Fuck... If Mami was here than he’d be able to breathe again. She loved Keith. Keith, who’d supposed to kill her “baby boy”. They hadn’t seen her together since the morning after she’d slept over. She’d been up and making pancakes by the time Lance had roused, doting on Matt and Shiro, as Pidge held her coffee cup like her it was the only thing keeping her alive. She’d made so many pancakes, so happy to be in the kitchen, shooing off his worry and instance he should be making her breakfast. They’d talked on the phone. Lance planned to see her on the weekend, but got carried away planning the extension to the brickwork in his yard... this morning Keith could have died without seeing her again and it would have been because of some stupid bricks. Lance had driven her back to Platt, with a car sick Keith in the back, his Mami smiling like a school girl with dozen mixed roses in her lap.

Keith fitted. He fitted into his family. He was the piece of the puzzle that filled a long empty spot. What if something worse was happening to Keith on the inside? Breaks and secret bleeds happening. Had Keith hit his head? Was he wearing his helmet? Was his bike alright? Keith really loved his motorbike. He didn’t want it taken away and crushed if they could fix it for him. As fear smacked him in the face, Lance started crying again. He wanted to be the one Keith wanted with him... but he and Shiro were brothers. The pain they felt when either of them were hurt was something he wasn’t in on. He felt so fucking stupid for thinking like that.

Lance was still crying when Shiro came to fetch him. His body shaking harder than before from the invisible chill in the air. Sitting down beside him, Shiro wrapped his arms around him  
“He’s okay. No fractures”  
“Internal bleeding? Did he hit his head?”  
“He’s off for another scan now they’ve cleaned him up. I think his pride was hurt more than anything”  
Shiro didn’t say “no”  
“That stupid anger loaf! Why’d he have to be in an accident!”  
“These things unfortunately happen. We’re lucky he seems to be okay”  
“Seems to be! He could have died... it’s not enough time... six isn’t enough time to love him. I can’t lose him!”

Shiro kissed his hair. Lance not used to it, though he was sure that Keith’s habit had been learnt from his older brother  
“He’s going to be okay, kiddo”  
“I can’t... I thought... I thought he was going to be dead and that’d be the end of... of everything”  
“He had his leather on, and his helmet...”  
“And sometimes that’s not enough... I can’t bring him back if something happens to him. I can’t do it. What good am I when I can’t help him?”  
He couldn’t rob Keith of his warmth. Of his life. That was assuming he’d survive the bite. Shiro was firm, not mean or scolding firm, but kind of firm a dad used on their chin   
“Lance, you are not to blame. You weren’t driving the car. The driver was beside themselves. They called it in, and he was brought straight here. He’s going to be to be sore and cranky, but he’s going to be okay”

The vampire felt absolutely miserable. Shiro wasn’t keeping away the cold and the shadows. Those fuzzy grey things just out view were still just of view  
“I love him... I love him so much... we... we made it a month. A month and then this happens. Why does it have to happen to him? Why couldn’t it have been me?”  
“Keith would be asking the same question, if it had been”  
That’s because under everything Keith was the softest and sweetest anger loaf around. He was every bit the emo edge lord he looked like. All dark and violently beautiful on the outside with unicorns and cotton candy on the inside   
“But I would have healed... I... feel like I’m going to be sick... It looked so painful...”

Lance moved his hand to his mouth to stop himself throwing up on Shiro. He could see the bits of leather and bitumen in the wound. Shiro rubbed his arm  
“They’re going to give him pain meds, as well as pain meds and antibiotics to take home. I wish he wasn’t this bad, but this is hardly the first time he’s been in hospital. He’ll be okay. He’s awake and lucid. He knows who we are and where he is. He knows what happened”

Keith should have gotten checked after he’d fallen off the fucking roof. Maybe something was still was still wrong from falling? He couldn’t see Keith getting into accident. He just couldn’t see it. If he’d been calmer he would have, seeing the Keith’s bike was a death trap on wheels. He didn’t get how Keith got cleaned up. He said the car wasn’t going fast, but the gravel rash said he’d skidded. Head trauma may cause some memory loss and confusion. Full amnesia like in the movies didn’t exist. No one forgot their whole life and woke up a stranger. That was just a plot device used to make the masses sympathise. Stress did crazy things to the memory too...

“I’m sorry I’m being like this...”  
Shiro had to be as messed up inside as he was, and now he was making it all about him  
“He scared the fuck out of me too”  
“It’s like... like... the worst feeling ever”  
Shiro nodded in agreement   
“Yeah, it never gets any easier. He’ll be grumpy for a day or three, but he’ll heal”  
“I know that logically... but... I can’t stop shaking”  
“It’s not the best way to wake up”  
“No. Next time you call me I want better news”  
Shiro snorted  
“I can arrange that”

Shiro moved around him, Lance’s phone started vibrating in his pocket  
“Are you ringing me?”  
“I don’t know. Am I?”  
Drawing back from Shiro, Lance fumbled his phone out his pocket, already knowing it was Shiro as he slid his thumb across the screen before holding it to his ear  
“Lance, it’s Shiro. Keith was in accident tonight. He came off his bike, but he’s awake and he’s going to be okay. A few grazes and his pride is dented, but he’s okay, kiddo”

A wobbly grateful smile came to Lance’s lips. Shiro hanging up. That was better news, still not great news, but better than the scare he’d had the first time around   
“You’re such a dad”  
Shiro snorted with a smile on his lips  
“I’ve been told. You sure you’re ready for a cranky Keith? He’s got to take it easy for a few days”  
“Yeah... I can deal with his cranky... um... is... it okay if I’m there?”  
He hadn’t even asked permission to come home with them. Keith and Shiro might not even want or need him around  
“Of course it is. I’m not babysitting a cranky Keith. He throws things”  
“I feel like those are knives”  
“Sometimes. Sometimes coffee cups. Usually it’s whatever’s closest”  
“Maybe we can distract him with Kosmo?”  
“Or I can distract him with you”  
“Great. So you’re sacrificing me to the angry Keith god?”  
“Someone’s got to do it”

*  
Keith didn’t want to be carried, Lance didn’t give him an option. Shiro took his car to VOLTRON, so Lance drove them extra carefully and very paranoidedly home. Carrying Keith in, his boyfriend did the alarm code, before Lance carried him through to his room. He physically couldn’t let Keith go. He was so scared Keith would slip away if he did. Laying him down on his bed, Keith hissed slightly, Lance jumping back thinking he’d hurt him. With a sigh, his boyfriend waved his non-bandaged arm  
“I’m fine”  
“I’m... sorry”  
Keith softened  
“Babe, I’m fine. A bit busted but okay. You’re shaking still”

Lance nodded, hugging himself tightly. He wanted to grab Keith back up again  
“Don’t look at me like that, come back here”  
Tentatively Lance sat on the edge of Keith’s bed  
“That’s not coming back here. Come back here properly”  
Forcing himself to move to lay beside Keith, Keith huffed  
“I’m not going to fucking break if you touch me”  
Three comments in a row now, he felt bad about needing Keith’s reassurance  
“I’m sorry... I don’t want to hurt you”  
“You’re hurting me more by not being yourself”  
How was meant to be himself?  
“I can’t... babe... I thought... I thought I’d... I thought you were dead”  
“Hey, I’m not dead. It was small accident”  
“It couldn’t have been that small if you’re so grazed!”

Keith sat up, hugging him around the waist with his good arm  
“I slid. I covered my head with both arms. I’m trained to react... I didn’t get hit by the car full on. It clipped my bike. It was an accident. You don’t think I’d really leave you alone, do you”  
“Not willingly...”  
“Good. Now come cuddle me. Work was shit and I’ve missed you”  
Lance turned his head, kissing the corner of Keith’s lips... It wasn’t enough... Not for either of them it seemed as Keith pulled him back, Lance turning into the kiss winding up holding himself over his boyfriend. Now was not the time to be getting horny, but he was so fucking relieved Keith was alive.

A little over eager to show his relief, Keith broke the sting of hungry kisses  
“Babe...”  
“I’m sorry... I don’t think I can stop”  
Keith stared up at him, those galaxy eyes of his filled with love   
“I don’t think I can calm down. God. When you came into the hospital... all panicked, I started panicking too... I kept thinking what if had been worse... what would I say to you if it had been. Who’d be there with you...”  
Now wasn’t the time for a confession but he had to say it  
“Keith... I... I love you. I’m in love with you. I’m not saying this because I nearly lost you... but I love you. I love you so fucking much. Mami said I should just tell you and I wanted to do something special and I can’t stop... I can’t stop loving you. I’ve known you for six months now and it’s not enough. It’s not... because I...”  
Working himself up, he didn’t get why Keith was smiling. Was he laughing at him? Laughing at him for being so stupid?  
“... what? Why are you smiling?”  
Keith snorted a pretty unsexy sound. Raising his arm, he wrapped it around Lance’s back  
“Because I love you. I’ve... I mean, you’ve said it before but now you’re hear and you’re telling me... I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have you. It’s okay if you can’t calm down... just go slow... and we’ll work things out together”

He was meant to be the cool one. Keep his composure and be the adult. But all of that went out the window with Keith around   
“I love you”  
“I love you, too”  
Leaning down, the kiss was the kind of kiss that only Keith could give him. The kind of kiss he’d given a hundred times before that made him feel so fucking special. He wanted to shower his lover in affection. Monopolise all those parts that made up Keith and show him that no one in the world was like him or made him feel this way  
“I want you”  
“Good, because these scrubs aren’t doing anything for me”  
“Let me do something about that”  
“I’m all yours... but mind the bandages”

Stripping Keith down, his nails had lengthened, proving useful against the fabric of the scrubs Keith had been sent home in. They’d cut through his pants, thanks to the leather in his grazes. His jacket in tatters, but it’d saved him by being more protective than normal jeans and a shirt. Stripping off his own clothes, they landed somewhere in the bedroom, neither of them caring as he sank between Keith’s legs. He couldn’t go slow, but he could give Keith pleasure. Kissing Keith’s inner thighs, his boyfriend’s hand rested on his head. 

The smell of the hospital and antiseptic still hung to his boyfriend and Lance was determined to change that. Keith was his. His precious boyfriend that he treasured. Sinking his lips down his boyfriend’s erection, he was careful of his teeth, enjoying the moan Keith let out and knowing he was the only one who got to do this. Drawing back, his eyes were on Keith, his boyfriend’s eyes meeting his, making him feel bolder. The saltiness of Keith’s sweat and precum filled his mouth, such a dirty act that lovers did. Keith gave an amazing blowjob, Lance wanting to do the same, keeping his gaze on Keith as he bobbed his head, enjoying himself watching. Between his legs, Lance felt himself growing wet. Felt the need for Keith, but first he wanted to make him cum. Wanted to make Keith feel amazing.

Blowing Keith wasn’t enough for him, he wanted more of his lover. Careful not to hurt him, he nudged Keith onto his good side, before sliding up to bury his face in his arse. Keith didn’t like penetrative sex, but he did like this. He couldn’t use his fingers, nails too sharp and he’d never risk cutting him if he could help it. Moans bled into more moaning. Keith gasping softly as his tongue went from teasing his opening to slipping into Keith’s heat  
“Shit, babe...”  
When Keith went to move his hand to his erection, Lance caught it, interlacing their fingers as he delved as deep as he could. It was different with Keith, his lover didn’t grow wet, their tastes completely different, even if the act was the same  
“Shit... Babe... let me touch you... I’m... I need too...”  
If Keith wanted to come that badly, he’d let him. He moved both their hands to Keith’s neglected erection, pumping lightly enough to send Keith over with a nasally grunt.

Rolling his spent boyfriend back, Lance licked their hands clean. Before licking Keith clean. Keith panting slightly, arm across his eyes, sweat across his skin. Straddling Keith’s lap, his boyfriend moved his arm   
“Babe? I can smell you”  
Lance blushed, trying not to grind against his boyfriend. His hands on Keith’s chest as he watched him  
“This isn’t about me...”  
“Isn’t this about both of us...?”  
“You’re tired. I just want to hold you”  
Sliding his hands up, he wrapped his hands over Keith’s shoulders as he laid his head against Keith’s chest  
“I can feel how wet you are...”  
“It’s alright...”  
Lance nuzzled into Keith’s warmth. The cold dread of the hospital chased away  
“Mhmm... maybe... I know I can’t do much right now, but I want you... I want to have sex with the man I love”  
“I don’t want to hurt you...”  
“And I’m not made of glass... I love you, Lance”

Lance lifted his head, Keith smiling at him again. Dopey from his high and probably the pain meds they’d given him before sending him home. Lance was literally trying his hardest not to lift his arse and practically hump Keith like a fucking rabbit. He was so fucking happy. Happy. Exhausted. Relieved. Horny... and most of all loved... surging up, his lips found Keith’s. Heated kisses sweeping reason away. He loved this man so fucking much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp


	100. Chapter 100

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve actually had to work at work :/ meaning I haven’t been able to catch up with my comments... I’m sorry guys!!! That’s also why 127 isn’t up on tumblr yet... please forgive me!

100

Keith was an arsehole. He was being a grumpy arsehole, and he knew it. Shiro had taken to raising his hands in surrender and double checking before creeping out his room. He couldn’t help it. He didn’t want to be a cranky arsehole, but his arm fucking hurt. He didn’t like that Lance had to clean him up. Showering made him fucking yip. He’d come up in a web of bruises, he stupid leg looked messed up. Lance fussed over him without letting show how his moodiness was hurting him. Setting him up on the sofa, his grazed leg was elevated, a pillow under his ankle that rested on the coffee table. Clothing was too much effort, his boyfriend “helped” him with his underwear and his shirt. Keith could work his own fucking shirt and underwear. He wasn’t crippled. He was grazed... and cranky.

In the kitchen Lance was cooking. He’d shopped online, sent Shiro out to collect, then went on a bloody cooking frenzy. Keith wasn’t allowed to help. Kosmo was loving the attention. Lance “accidentally” occasionally dropping little treats. They weren’t really an accident, double not when he’d tell Kosmo to sit before rewarding him. Kosmo was skitzing out over having Lance there. He was running around the apartment, barking and jumping up on the sofa for pats, before taking off again. Keith felt brain dead. Bored to tears... and not allowed to work.

Hearing the kettle click, Keith perked up in the hopes of coffee... then Lance carried the kettle over to the pot he had on the stove, whisking the hot water in. What a waste. That hot water could have been another cup of coffee. He’d only had three...   
“Aren’t you done yet? And can I have another coffee?”  
“I’ve done a enough meals for like two weeks for you and Shiro. There’s different ones. This is for dessert tonight. Don’t tell Hunk, but I prefer custard powder to making egg custard”  
That didn’t answer the coffee question. Lance was acting like a housemaid. They’d told each other they loved each other, and now Lance had cleaned the whole fucking apartment up. Aired it... Taken up permanently residency in the kitchen while the washing was in the machine. He was still in his boxers and shirt, if he was going to walk around looking sexy, he could at least be over snuggling Keith and looking sexy   
“Do we need dessert tonight?”  
“I’m making extra. Coran’s going to bring over some blood, so I thought I’d send some dessert back for him and Allura. And some for Mami...”

Apparently they needed dessert... Lance paid for all the ingredients, then tried to pay Shiro for the fuel he’d used picking them up. He’d been up before him to make breakfast and hadn’t stopped since   
“You’re making me dizzy watching you”  
“Well, once all the prep is done we won’t have to cook properly for a couple of days... that means more cuddle time”  
“So you’re using your worry to be constructive?”  
“Pretty much. You’re supposed to be resting”  
“I’m grazed...”  
“And I’m panicked. I need to work through this, so my head shuts up about nearly losing you”  
Keith huffed. They’d had sexy times and cuddles, Lance was alright until the shower   
“You didn’t nearly lose me”  
Lance sighed dramatically   
“Tell that to my fucking anxiety”  
“I am. And you. Can I please have another coffee? I need it to keep up with you”  
Lance laughed. He should be over cuddled into Keith laughing, not in the kitchen   
“Yep. As soon as I’m done whisking this. I’ve got lunch ready too, and a roast ready for dinner”  
“You do know Shiro has work right? That he won’t be here for dinner?”  
“That’s why I’ll place his in the fridge for when he gets the chance. I’m making dinner for you... and me... but for us... because, you know, I blew my romantic evening by telling you I love you last night and stuff”

Well. Fuck. He couldn’t be grumpy with Lance when he was going to this much trouble   
“Shouldn’t I be helping?”  
“Nope. Your job is to rest and recover”  
Aaaaand now he was grumpy again  
“I’m sick of resting. I don’t even know what I’m watching anymore”  
“Do you want your laptop or your phone?”  
“Can I have my camera?”  
“As long as you’re not planning on walking in around on that leg”  
“Where am I supposed to be walking too?”  
“I don’t know, but I know you’re terrible at sitting still”  
He was. They both knew he was. Lance had fussed when he’d wanted to go to the bathroom unsupervised  
“That’s because I’m bored”  
“And cranky. Don’t forget your cranky”  
“Thanks, babe. Like I totally needed reminding”  
Lance shrugged. He was acting worse than when Keith fell off the roof... Lance needed to destress... maybe he could him into his lap and distract him into sitting still... or at least staying in his lap for half an hour without running off... that seemed a good plan to him. They had the whole place to themselves  
“Happy to help. Okay. My custard is whisked. I’ll get that coffee and your camera now”

Managing to get Lance into his lap when Lance brought his red camera and laptop over, his boyfriend ignored his subtle hints. Keith had started tugging on Lance’s earlobe when the washing machine rang out and Lance was off again. He was going to have to be proactive about this. Proactive and provocative.

Taking the risk and getting off the sofa, he put Kosmo in Shiro’s room, before hobbling back to the sofa and shimmying off his boxers, and cringing as he stripped his shirt. Trying to lay “sexily” across the sofa, it was either bad side down and in pain, or bad side up and bandages showing. On his back, he looked a bit lame, dick half hard, and too long for the sofa... drawing a knee up, he failed at looking casual. Trying to roll, he was semi stuck to the sofa...

“Um... what are you doing?”  
Caught in the act, Keith sighed in defeat with a heavy blush in his cheeks. His boyfriend standing over the end of the sofa staring down at him  
“Trying to look sexy... but I’m not sure I got it right”  
Lance pursed his lips, the bastard shaking  
“Stop laughing”  
“I’m sorry! But babe... you look like you’re constipated and you’re...”  
“Fuck you”  
“I’m sorry... I should have noticed when you were trying to get my attention”  
“You could have said something”  
“I thought you were squirming because you were uncomfortable. Not because you’re frustrated and horny”

Keith huffed. His plan had failed. He’d failed to be sexy  
“Forget it. You didn’t need to fucking laugh. I feel stupid enough as it is”  
Lance’s smile fell completely   
“No, no. Hey. I would love nothing more than to get dicked down by you”  
“But?”  
“But I don’t think the sofa is the best environment with how uncomfortable you look”  
“I was trying to look sexy”  
“You are sexy... even when you’re constipated. Why don’t we head to your bedroom?”  
“Because...”  
There was something naughty about doing it on the sofa that his mind had fixated on. All he’d wanted was Lance to sit down, but his dick had taken hold of this thought and now he just wanted to fuck his boyfriend on the sofa... and he kind of wanted to watch Lance sit on the coffee table and prep himself like he’d prepped himself with his fingers last night   
“... I kind wanna do it here”  
“You know Coran’s coming over later”  
“Yep”  
“And you’re feeling horny enough that you wanna do it now?”  
“Pretty much”  
“With the risk of getting caught”  
“Yep”  
“This is a terrible plan, Keith Kogane... I’ll check the door’s locked”  
“Or you could leave it unlocked and join me down here...”  
Lance swallowed hard, nodding quickly  
“Or I could do that...”  
“Mmm... now come down here”

Keith wouldn’t admit that Lance was right about the sofa being a poor choice. He wanted Lance under him, but his stupid leg didn’t it like... His dick might have been up, but it took a while to finally get into, around the pain and discomfort. He felt pretty defeated. Switching positions, Lance straddled his lap, Keith’s leg once again stretched out and propped up on the coffee table with a pillow under his ankle, guiding himself down, until Keith was buried inside him completely. How Lance fitted him up there would always be one of the great mysteries of the universe  
“I’m going to start moving now, lemme know if it hurts”  
“Mhmm...”

Keith was more transfixed in watching Lance than the front door. Reverse cowgirl wasn’t a common thing... well, not like this... behind was... but this was hot... putting him more in the mood than he’d been seeing he could watch Lance ride him. Like really watch him... the way his butt wobbled and hips rolled. He could watch Lance’s wobbly butt all day... pain be fucked... he was going to come. Rocking upwards, Lance mewed, Keith grabbing him by the hips, completely ignoring his body’s protests  
“Keith... someone’s coming... fuck... slow down...”  
He wasn’t quite wired to stop now that he was actually progressing from the duddest sex they’d tried to have   
“Don’t you dare stop”  
“They’re... shit... stop... they’re outside the door... agh! No... no... Mhmm... Keith... don’t... I’m going to come...”  
“You’re going to have to do better if you don’t want them to hear you”  
“I... can’t... Keith... shit... Keith... come on...”

Lance tensed and clenched hard around him as Coran knocked on the door  
“Hang on, I’m coming!”  
And he was. Literally. Lance clenching around him in fear of being sprung pushed him over. Pain mixed with pleasure, Lance was going to be mad, but he was pretty sure he’d pulled a muscle and upset the bandages thrusting up. Sliding out his lap, Lance wobbled, hand covering his junk. Keith panted...   
“Babe...?”  
“We need to get cleaned up”  
“Did you come?”

Lance looked back at him, eyes guilty. Nope... Lance didn’t need to feel guilty because they’d taken so long to work out a position... They were both horny and clumsy, wanting each other too much to brain   
“Babe?”  
“I told you he was coming...”  
“Coran won’t be mad... here, let me finish you...”  
“I told you...”  
Keith lifted his arms out  
“Come here...”  
“We need to get dressed”  
“Just, stop being responsible for a moment. Come here. I’ll suck you off”  
“I’ll take care of it”  
“Babe... it’s fine”  
“It’s not fine! I’m supposed to be looking after you, not riding you! I’ll get some pants”  
Ouch. Now he was starting to actually feel guilty... but Lance shouldn’t have told him to “come on” if he didn’t want to finish as much as Keith had  
“Babe...”  
“Don’t... I... I’ll be back”

Whelp. He was in trouble with his boyfriend. Lance disappeared into the bedroom. Everything hurt as Keith pulled himself off the sofa, hobbling hunched over to the kitchen to dump the condom in the trash. Shuffling through to his room, Lance was pulling his clothes on. Sinking down gingerly on the end of the bed, Lance folded him   
“You’re supposed to be resting on the sofa”  
“Ba-... I thought it’d be easier to get dressed in here”  
“You’re in pain! You were supposed to have your meds with lunch”  
It didn’t matter if his meds were a little late, it wasn’t like he wasn’t going to be a good boy and take them   
“It’s fine”  
“It’s not fine! You can’t even stand up. Fuck. Sit down. I’ll let Coran. He’s going to know...”

Lance went to brush past him, Keith grabbing him by the wrist  
“It doesn’t matter if Coran knows. We’re adults and we’re in a relationship. Take a breath”  
“He’s waiting in the hall”  
“And he’ll understand. Babe. Hey, being angry isn’t going to change things”  
“I wasn’t going... I told myself... I told myself I’d take care of you... then I jumped into your lap... when you’re this fucking hurt!”  
“So I can’t be horny? I can’t want my boyfriend when he’s walking around the apartment barely dressed?”  
“I should have said no... you’re in pain...”

He’d totally brought that on himself... but the pain was kind of worth it. They’d had more sex at night than during the day. He liked being able to see Lance’s slim body completely. Crap. If he kept this up he’d been ready for round two... Lance looked so fucking beautiful naked. He was beautiful all of the time. Probably hands down the most beautiful person he’d ever met  
“And I wanted to have sex...”  
“And now you can’t even stand upright! I hurt you!”

Worth it. Absolutely worth it to feel connected with the man he loved   
“You didn’t hurt me. Look, I know you’re mad at me now... but it’s okay”  
Lance shook his head, he knew his boyfriend treasured him but this was going too far   
“It’s not... I’m not supposed to be...”  
“Not supposed to be happy and fool around?”  
“Not when it hurts you... I...”  
“You love me. Look, if Coran says anything, I’ll tell the truth that I’m the one who wanted to. Take a breath and calm down”

Lance’s pants had a very obvious tent that Keith was trying to be tactful about. Hiccuping, Lance then sniffled, free hand rubbing his eyes with his fist   
“I can’t, okay! I can’t... I can’t calm down”  
“Then let me finish you...”  
“But...”  
But nothing. He’d been too horny to stop and Lance deserved to come too. They’d probably spent time arguing than it would have taken for him to blow his boyfriend   
“Coran go fuck himself if makes a deal out of this. You’re my boyfriend. It’s my fault you’re worked up. Let me help”  
“But...”  
“Babe. You’re allowed to live a little. What we do is no one’s business. Coran will understand. I can lie if you like”  
Lance deflated, leaning down to hug him with his free arm  
“No... fuck... but we have to be quick and quiet”  
Lance wouldn’t last long, not with how enthusiastic he’d been in Keith’s lap. Keith was sure he’d make him come, then Lance would see that a few more moments wasn’t such a bad deal   
“Come here, you”

*  
Sitting in the living room, Lance opened the windows before opening the door. Face flushed and adorable. Keith trying to pretend nothing had happened  
“Sorry Coran, Lance was trying to help me get dressed”  
Coran let them off. Lance’s scent hang in the air, the old fae would have put two and two together   
“That’s alright. I see you had quite the accident there”  
He was in shorts. He didn’t even know he owns actual shorts until Lance pulled them out. Leg propped up again. Lounge in reasonable order, though his underwear, and Lance’s, were stuffed down between the cushions. Keith hand resting on the gap to make sure they were completely hidden   
“It’s not much. I don’t know suppose you know what happened to my bike?”

Lance huffed, as he walked over to the kitchen. He needed to remember not to dismiss his injuries, even if he’d had worse. The hunter felt he kind of deserved a medal for how patient he’d been about his bike   
“I called around until I found where it’d been towed, then arranged to have it delivered. We’ll have one of our technicians take a look”  
“Thank you. I’m sorry for what happened”  
“Nonsense. Bikes can be replaced, you cannot, my dear boy. Now where’s Kosmo?”

Shit... Kosmo wasn’t going to be happy about shut away. Provided he hadn’t chewed anything too valuable the puppy’s cuteness should save him...

“He’s in Shiro’s room... I had to shut him away... because he keeps getting under my feet”  
Coran smiled happily, walking towards Shiro’s bedroom door. Keith couldn’t take his eyes off the bag with him... suspicious of the contents   
“I’ll let him out now, Lance, I don’t suppose you happened to be making tea?”

Craning his head to watch his boyfriend, instead of Coran and the bag of mystery, Keith bit down his smile. Lance was adorable. Adorably flustered, and very much not meeting his gaze, yet a far better view   
“Yep. I’ll bring it over in a minute. Thanks for coming over. Keith doesn’t know the meaning of resting”  
It’s not his fault Lance was walking around in his boxer briefs and hiding his sexy behind the kitchen bench. Thankfully Coran didn’t know what he was thinking about  
“I’ve given him a weeks sick leave, full pay, and Krolia had been told. She was most upset. I thought perhaps maybe you’d be able to reassure her. No great hurry, she’s talked to Shiro. Shiro mentioned something about you not being too happy”  
“That’s because it sucks... What am I supposed to do for a week?”

Lance slammed one of the cups down a tad to hard purposely on the kitchen counter. Oops. He shouldn’t complain because Lance was there, but work was interesting again. He was making a difference in a small way. He hadn’t saved anyone, but no one had been turned on his watch and that was a huge win. Coran cleared his throat   
“Actually. About that... I wanted to have a little talk with the pair of you. Let’s wait until the tea is brewed. I’ve brought some goodies with me...”  
Lance clicked his fingers, acting like he’d forgotten something. Keith so close to hearing what was in the bag. He wanted to know... Stupid Lance  
“I’ve got dessert to send back with you for you and Allura. Have you had lunch?”  
“I’ve eaten... but perhaps there’s room for a few biscuits. By the smell of it you’ve been baking...”  
Lance gave a fake laugh. Keith didn’t know biscuits had been baked... Hopefully his tyrannical nurse would be kind enough to share   
“You know me too well. Okay, go ahead and let Kosmo out, we’ll have to mind he doesn’t get at the snacks. He’s probably torn Shiro’s room to shreds”

Keith noticed how Coran sat on the blanket on the sofa, instead the sofa itself. Kosmo wet himself in excitement, Lance mopping up the floor before finally bringing the tea and biscuits over, then doubling back for Keith’s coffee, lunch, and medication  
“Pills before food”  
“Yes, mum”  
His boyfriend still wouldn’t look at him. Now it was getting annoying, but that was forgiven when Lance sat down next to him, careful not to bump his grazes. Sitting so he was facing Coran and Keith, Keith was reminded of the fact they needed another sofa instead of the three of them being forced to face the TV.

Deciding enough time had passed, at least in Lance time, Keith still trying to figure out if he wanted a biscuit or his sandwiches first, his boyfriend asked  
“Soooo... you said you had something to talk to me about?”  
Setting his cup of tea down, Coran finally pulled something out the bag. The envelope thick and dull looking. That was hardly exciting at all. Aside from a few blood bags, he didn’t know what Coran would have packed otherwise, making the mysterious bag boring   
“Ah! Yes! Now, your probationary period is coming to an end next month. In light of recent events and Lotor’s particular fondness, the Blades wish to recruit you on a temporary basis”

Oh get fucked. Not happening. Nope. No. No way. Lance wasn’t a hunter. He was his idiot crumpet who wanted to work on his own life. He had clients and cases, Keith answering for him  
“Not happening”  
Coran tilted his head, fingers going up to okay with the end of his moustache   
“I assure you...”  
Nope. Just nope  
“Lance isn’t a hunter”  
Coran shifted, his words coming hesitantly, gaze falling to the envelope. Keith felt the need to set the envelope on fire   
“No... but I was speaking with Lotor and in light of recent events... I believe Lance learning how to protect himself is important. Lotor has offered to assist in helping him”  
“Lance has a life in Garrison. He doesn’t need to be pulled into all of this crap”  
It was safer not to be a vampire in Platt right now  
“There’s no pressure to agree. I already protested this to Kolivan. As you know we simply do not enough people where they need to be. Lance blends into that community”

“Lance would like to remind you both that Lance is here. Keith’s right. I’m not a hunter. And it’s not just me I need to consider here. There’s Matt, Rieva and Curtis think of, as well as Pidge and Hunk, plus their families. I’m not a hunter but I need to be there to protect them”  
He didn’t get a mention? What about how he felt about Lance being in danger? His boyfriend sounded cranky, which he shouldn’t be seeing Keith’s sinuses were still burning. Coran sighed softly. It had to be hard for him   
“I understand. I know Matt has been working on Curtis’s curse. I caught your last video also. At the very least, please read through the documents I brought. Then you’ll be able say you made your decision after careful consideration. I would prefer you not be in danger... though Lotor is the only other vampire I could let you train with... Even it’s only once, it could be an invaluable experience for you”

Lotor would use Lance up and throw him away. He also hadn’t forgotten the threat against his precious puppy. Narti hadn’t saved him, Zethrid and Ezor had. She still rubbed him the wrong way. They all did. He’d seen Lotor and Allura all giggling and felt compelled to shoot Loturd in the head in the name of community service   
“We both know he’d kicked my arse to next year rather than let me beat him. What can teach me?”  
“I believe he may be able to help with your bat problem. Training with Keith has certain advantages, however, you know Keith wouldn’t hurt you. That fear is not there, and your emotions weigh a lot on your transformation. If you can find a way to channel those feelings, then perhaps you’ll stop randomly turning. I can’t use the Blade werewolves due to their missions. I would like someone who you’d be on even ground with if you let your ego slip”

Lance placed his tea down, before placing his hand on Keith’s knee. His boyfriend trying to ask him for comfort, and maybe some one to accept his words?  
“Coran. I can’t. If I let go of my ego, I might as well through everything away. I love Keith. I’m in love with Keith. I’m terrified with his line of work, but he knows what he’s doing most of the time, and I don’t think I can contribute anything helpful”

Coran mentioning ego meant that he thought something big might happen. Coran was proud of how tightly Lance kept his ego reined in. He didn’t go around telling him to let it loose and go crazy. Keith felt all weirdly warm in his chest as his heart went funny at Lance loving him. Coran didn’t back down   
“I’m not saying to Lotor’s extent. But your ego has definitely changed to match the changes in your body. I have seen these changes in you. Seen you mature. Watched over you from that small and scared boy, into the wonderful man you are today. I refuse to use you as a pawn, or a tool, nor do I want you to see combat. I only ask that you read what they have give you”  
“I’ll read it... but, I don’t think I want to. I’m too emotional and I remember too much. I can maybe look at data and analyse it, or help with legal things, but as for hunting, that’s not my place”  
Lance could be a fine hunter if he wanted to, but his boyfriend felt too much as he’d said. Each wrong mission or person lost would stay with Lance and his caring heart   
“That’s perfectly fine. I did say I would talk to you, not that I’d make you agree. Now, I also brought a couple of other things with me. Let’s get those out the way, then I’m afraid I have to head back. A faes’ work is never done”

Coran stayed another half hour. He’d brought jigsaw puzzles, magazines, snacks, and blood. His bag of mystery was kind of mysterious as it didn’t look like it should be able to hold all of that. Lance was lost in his head for the most part, clearly thinking about the offer. Keith had forgotten his probation period of six months would be coming to an end, thought if it was six months instead of 12 that was a good sign that they didn’t find him a threat. Seeing Coran out, Lance came back, throwing himself down on the sofa with a sigh  
“You don’t have to say yes”  
Snorting, his boyfriend smiled at him, before drawing his legs up and resting his head against Keith’s shoulder  
“I know I don’t”  
“But?”  
“But I would like to figure out how to “unbat” faster. And maybe how to be a bat when I am one. I can’t even fly”  
“We could get you a tiny harness and you could ride Kosmo around”  
“Or I could just stop turning... Never mind that. I don’t see why the Blade would want me around”  
“Because you’re smart? And you know the city?”  
“More like because Lotor is a douche”  
“That’s true... What do you want to do?”

Lance sighed as he took Keith’s hand in his  
“I stayed out of that world for a good reason, but now I have a better reason for helping. I want to be able to support you, even if I don’t know how to do that other than being here for you”  
Such a Lance answer. Keith’s heart going all weird as he felt fuzzy... but that could be the pain meds kicking in  
“You being there for me is all the support I need”  
“I know... but... I want this case to hurry up and end before people get hurt. I want to stop randomly getting heat flashes and have control of myself again. I want to know I’m not going to wake up to another phone call in the middle of the night. I don’t want you or Shiro to be hurt. It makes me question my whole... outlook, I guess. I stayed away because I didn’t want to be like those other vampires with their queens and covens and shit. I could have spent my time learning more about them, but I spent my time living carefully and that was all I needed. Now I have a man I love, that runs towards that danger that everyone runs away from and I want to understand”  
Keith squeezed Lance’s hand  
“You’re fine the way you are. You’re safer on the outside. I don’t think I could recover if something happened to you”  
Lance rubbed his cheek against Keith’s shoulder affectionately   
“And I’d never be able to live with myself if something happened to you”  
“It won’t... before you bring up the accident, accidents happen every day. I’m not very good at being hurt or ill...”  
“I noticed”

Snorting at his boyfriend, Keith supposed he had been a bit of an arsehole   
“I’m sorry. I do appreciate you here, but you’re not my maid. You’re my boyfriend. You don’t have to make meals for me and Shiro”  
“I just needed something to do with my hands. I learned it from Hunk. He bakes a lot when he’s stressed”  
“He does seem the type. Are you going to look at the documents?”  
“Yeah, but I don’t... I don’t think I’ll say yes. I mean, I want to help and I feel kind of obligated too seeing they haven’t killed me or sentenced me to death. But then I think about the others. Matt’s been holing himself up in his room, I think he’s been talking to Rieva’s parents about European werewolf culture. I don’t want to get Curtis’s hopes up about finding a way to severe the demon from him”  
“I’m still shocked they managed to perform magic in the first place”  
“I know right! I mean... there’s just so many things we don’t know. Do you think they’ll be mad if I don’t help?”  
“Kolivan might be, but mum will understand”

Keith didn’t realise what he’d just said, Lance tilting his head to up to smile up at him  
“What?”  
“Oh, nothing much. Anyway, I’ve got to put dinner on. You should call Krolia and let her know she doesn’t need to come break in and make sure you’re okay”  
Keith snorted. He could picture his mother letting herself in. He’d probably be in the bathroom then come out to a mini heart attack at her in the living room  
“It’s probably a bad sign when you can picture that. I’ll send her a message, just because you asked me too”  
“Mmm... Okay. Then can we do one of Coran’s puzzles? I want to do something brainless”  
“We could go to bed?”  
Why was he getting horny again? He should be in too much pain to be horny  
“That’s enough of you. We’re lucky Coran said nothing. I don’t think my undead heart could take the embarrassment. You pick the puzzle and I’ll put the roast in the oven”   
Keith kissed Lance’s forehead  
“Okay, babe. I love you”  
“I love you, too”


	101. Chapter 101

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Demon Keith continues to reign

101

Keith wasn’t very good at sitting still and being a cooperative patient. Taking him to VOLTRON, his boyfriend was a grumpy snarky creature who’d inhabited his little anger loaf’s skin. Keith hadn’t been behaving. He’d slipped mopping the floor, instead of letting Lance clean up Kosmo’s mess. Keith had his pride, but he also had no “stop button”. That his boyfriend could look after him so effortlessly, then be such a terrible patient was enough to do his head in. Keith’s little stunt with slipping, when he was supposed to be sitting on the sofa behaving, had Lance in tears. He’d carried his damn boyfriend to VOLTRON, because Keith had made himself bleed through the dressings on his wounds. Keith insisted he was overreacting. Lance would rather be safe than sorry, especially now more of Keith’s bruising had come up. They had more than enough medical supplies at home, and been around long enough to know how to treat a wound, but this was Keith and he couldn’t live with himself if he’d missed signs of infection.

As Coran helped Keith out his shirt, Lance sat staring at the floor. He was so tired of feeling useless. Keith always took such good care of him, even when he was being a douche and didn’t deserve it. He knew he was stressing Keith out, but Keith was stressing him out too. He wouldn’t listen to his body, and Lance didn’t want to make him feel even worse about being banged up  
“Okay, number two. Let’s take a little look here. This might hurt a bit”

Lance gagged as he watched Coran peel back the bloodied dressing. The smell of blood taking him by surprise when it really shouldn’t have. Covering his mouth, he felt Coran’s eyes on him, Lance giving a tiny shake of his head. He didn’t want to make a big deal out of it  
“I see you’ve opened some of the scabbing. Not to worry, I’ll get you cleaned right up and back to Lance’s care”  
Now Keith’s eyes were on him, his boyfriend looking cranky over the fuss  
“Thanks, Coran. I told him he was overreacting, but he insisted on having it looked at”  
“That’s because he cares, my boy. Even the smallest of wounds can turn serious”  
“I’m okay... a bit stiff and sore, but you get that”

Coran moved away from Keith to gather up what he needed to redress Keith’s arm  
“I’m quite certain you’re very stiff and sore. How’s the leg been?”  
“Worse than the arm”  
“Ah, that’d be the weight on it. It’s important you do gentle stretches, but rest as much as you need”  
“I’m resting too much if you ask me. There’s nothing to do at the apartment but rest”  
Now Lance could have dobbed him in right there. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t admit Keith had been hurt cleaning, a job he should have been doing  
“Patience, my young one. I’m sure you and Lance are having a fine time”  
“He keeps telling me off. He won’t accept I can do things for myself”

Lance’s stomach rolled as misery smacked him in the face. He only wanted to help. He’d tried to include Keith where he could. He’d sat down next to him to sort the washing, but when Keith had accidentally dropped a pair of Shiro’s socks, his boyfriend burst into tears over being useless. He wasn’t useless. He’d never been useless. Lance was the one who felt useless. Keith was amazing about taking care of him, while he was clueless apparently. To see Keith’s wounds for the second time that day had him in tears. He needed air... why couldn’t he... Rushing from the chair to kneeling in front of the trash can, he threw up. The sound awful in the otherwise quiet room  
“Lance!”

The way Keith called his name hurt to hear. He didn’t need any fuss or attention. He was fine... Keith was the one who needed help. Flinging his hand up, he stopped Keith from climbing off the bed. Heaving again, before gagging and spitting. Thoroughly and completely embarrassed over his behaviour, he sucked down a deep breath. He was overreacting. He was being dumb. Keith was alright  
“I’m okay...”  
“Babe...”  
“I’m okay... just let Coran treat your arm”  
“You threw up! You’re the one who should be up here, not me”  
“And I’m okay now... just... need a minute”  
“Shall I call Allura?”  
“I’m fine!”

Shit. He’d snapped. He didn’t want to snap. He shouldn’t have snapped. How dumb could he be?  
“I’m sorry. I’m okay. It’s anxiety...”  
“Coran, is there anything you can do for him? He’s been on edge since the accident”  
Like Keith hadn’t been an anxious mess when he’d been hurt or sick!  
“I’m fine! I’m sorry I threw up!”  
“Babe...”  
“Don’t “babe” me! I could have fucking lost you, Keith! I’m sorry. I know I’m driving you fucking crazy! I know I’m not entertaining enough. I know you’re bored, but why can’t you just listen to your body and rest... I can’t... I can’t cope when you... when you’re hurting. I can’t cope knowing it’s my fault because I didn’t mop the floor. If I’d been better you wouldn’t have tried...”

Crying on floor, he felt sick. Keith’s arm and leg would heal, but if he’d been better then Keith would have stayed put. Now Keith had a chance of scarring worse than he would have had he not opened his wounds. When Lance was feeling shit, Keith was always there with plenty of cuddles. Only Keith didn’t want to cuddle like that. He was constantly bored. Lance knew the feeling, but when Keith held him, he got it. He got that Keith wanted him to rest with his best interests in mind. 

With a grunt, Keith climbed off the examination table, shuffling over to him, hissing as his knees cracked and his boyfriend squatted beside him  
“Babe... hey...”  
“I’m sorry... I just want to take care of you but I’m not doing it right”  
Keith slipped his arm around Lance’s shoulders   
“No. I’m the one who’s sorry. You’re freaked, but I’m going to be okay”  
“You keep... I know you’re bored... but you... I’m not being a good boyfriend...”  
“I’m terrible at being sick. I’m not used to having someone stay around all the time. Adam and Shiro tried, but I get... frustrated and pushed them away”

He knew that. He knew Keith had spent so fucking long thinking that he had to do it all alone. But he didn’t have to now. Lance wanted to take care of him. Love him. Treasure him and show him that he was more than deserving of having someone there with him  
“Why can’t I be enough? I love you...”  
“I know. I don’t mean to stress you out so much...”  
Lance cried harder at that. Keith was being too nice to him  
“I’m the one stressing you out. You should be relaxing... but you don’t even want to cuddle and I can’t make you feel better”  
“Babe, you do... Sitting around makes me feel useless”  
“But you do it with me”  
“Because I know it makes you feel better. I like knowing you trust me enough to hold you”  
That made it sound like he’d been a burden... he didn’t want to be a burden  
“So you don’t trust me?”

Keith sighed  
“It’s not like that...”  
“Then tell me so I understand. I know you want to do everything, but why can’t you let yourself heal? Why can’t my cuddles be enough for you?”  
Lance gagged, hunching back over the bin as he suddenly threw up again   
“I think that’s enough, boys. Keith, let’s get that arm dressed then you can both talk about this at home”  
Keith ignored Coran   
“It’s not that it’s not enough... it’s just... I feel really stupid for getting in the accident to begin with. When I see you rushing around, it reminds me that I hurt you by scaring you and then I get mad at me”  
“You don’t have to be mad at you. You didn’t ask to be hit”  
“But I could have left you all alone and I’m not okay with that”

Then why couldn’t Keith hold him like he usually did? Why did couldn’t he talk to him about how he was feeling? Sure, his anger loaf wasn’t known for his communication skills, but he’d gotten better   
“Then stop... pushing so hard. I just... I know it sucks when you can’t do what you want and it’s frustrating... but you could still die! A slip or a bump on that bruising... it could cause a clot... and you could just... die like that... I’m a fucking vampire and I can’t help you!”  
“I’m not going to die”  
“You don’t know that...”  
“I’m pretty sure you’d kick my arse if I did. Babe, I know you’re stressed, but I am grateful you’re with me”  
“I just want you to get better”  
“How about we make a deal? You won’t rush around the house cleaning every microscopic particle of dust and I’ll try not to be so cranky”  
“I just want to go home and cuddle”  
“Coran will change my dressing, then we’ll go home. I promise I’ll behave”

Lance finally leaned into Keith’s touch. His stomach felt horrible, and he craved Keith’s comfort   
“You better, Keith Kogane. I love you so much that it scares me”  
“I love you too, babe. So much. I didn’t mean to stress you so much. I’ll try to be okay with you needing to work through your anxiety”  
“I’m only anxious because every time I look at you, I’m reminded how fucking lucky I am that you’re alive, and how fucking lucky I am to have you as my boyfriend”  
Keith nuzzled into his hair, kissing the spot as he nuzzled   
“I’m the lucky one. I’m sorry I’ve been arsehole”  
“I’m sorry for being scared”  
“We’re both idiots, aren’t we?”  
“A bit... I’m okay. I’ll be okay...”  
“Okay. Wanna help me back up? Or are we taking up residency on the floor?”

Lance snorted, regretting it as he snotted. Crying helped a bit... All he wanted was his Keith to be safe and loved... and maybe a tad less stubborn but that was pushing his luck   
“It is a nice floor”  
“Yeah, but I mean, when compared to being at home in bed... it could be better”  
Bed sounded heavenly... Maybe because Keith was suggesting it, his boyfriend would actually stay put for cuddling?  
“Let’s get you fixed up and go home”  
“Yeah, babe”

*  
“Don’t shoot me, I’m coming in”

Knocking lightly on Keith’s open door, Keith glared at Shiro for the unnecessary knock and comment. Lance was cuddled up against his side. His fingers lightly threaded through Lance’s hair. Lance had needed a cry. He was beating himself up too much, and Keith hadn’t been blind but he had been too cranky with him  
“Shhh. He finally calmed down enough to fall asleep”  
“Coran told me he had a bit of an incident”  
That was one way to put it. Lance throwing up suddenly made him jump. His heart hammering, then his boyfriend wouldn’t even talk... before making Keith feel pretty damn small about himself   
“I’m a fucking wanker”

Walking across to his bed, Shiro sat on the edge, throwing the chocolate Keith had asked for onto the bedside table. He’d text Shiro to let him know Lance had forced him to see Coran, and that he was okay, and totally his fault. He’d asked for Lance’s favourite comfort food, wanting in some way to apologise with more than words  
“You do tend to be an arsehole when you’re injured”  
Yep. He knew. He knew and he knew he’d never really worked on fixing that. He’d been a complete shit to Shiro when he’d thought he’d been turned... then his brother left and drove those feelings in... then Lance got under his fucking skin, and here they were  
“Yeah. Well. I upset him enough that he threw up”  
“I heard about that too. Was it something specific?  
“I slipped trying to mop a spot on the floor, opened my arm up a bit”  
“Ah. You still haven’t figured out how to sit still. I remember when you sprained your wrist...”

Keith didn’t want to remember when he’d sprained his wrist. He’d gotten in the shit with Adam, who’d splinted his arm unnecessarily and told him he’d be homeless if he didn’t sort his shit out. Keith huffed  
“I’m not a little kid”  
“Lance isn’t trying to treat you like one. He loves you, like we all do. Pidge and Hunk want to come visit, I told them you’d head down on the weekend”  
They’d blown up chat over the accident. None of their friends group happy that they hadn’t called to talk properly, Keith unable to cope with the guilt of them worrying   
“I don’t think I’m the best company”  
“You’re not, but don’t beat yourself up. Think of it like you’re Lance for a change and he’s trying to do the things you do to comfort him”  
Keith played with Lance’s hair. He’d really messed up making Lance cry like that. Lance’s anxiety was off the charts and he knew that. He knew he was the same when Lance was hurt, but hadn’t taken into consideration the fact his boyfriend was so damn soft to him  
“I stressed him out. He took one look at my arm and puked”  
“Better than taking a look at your face and puking”

Keith was not amused. His arm and his leg looked revolting. He didn’t know why Lance hadn’t run for the hills rather than holding him  
“It’s not funny. I don’t know what to do”  
“Maybe take it easy and actually rest? You’re human, he’s probably taking it hard that you’ve got a bit of a recovery ahead of you. He was hysterical at the hospital. He also said that 6 months wasn’t enough time to love you, nor was a lifetime. He really cares about you, kiddo. If he was banged up instead, you’d be beating yourself up too. Logically he knows it was an accident. But you scared the absolute fuck out of both of us. He needs a little time to see that you’re healing”  
“It’s so frustrating... I’m letting him down. I’m letting work down. I should be out there helping people”  
“And you’ll be out there in no time, you need to be patient for now. Patience yields focus”  
“All I can focus on is not being there”  
“Then you’re missing out on everything Lance is doing for you. Has he mentioned the blade offer?”

Keith let his head thud back against the bed frame   
“No. He doesn’t want to be in the way... but maybe Coran was right. Coran was going to help him, so was Curtis, but neither of them helped him figure out the bat issue. I don’t want him near Lotor... But... I don’t know how to help him, myself...”  
“It might be a good idea to at least let Lotor show him some moves? I can be there, or we can wait until you’re there too?”  
“I’ll probably lose my temper”  
“That sounds like you. Anyway, I’ve got to head back to work. Do you need anything while I’m here?”  
“Can you let Kosmo out? I don’t think he’s going to wake up soon”  
Keith didn’t want Lance to wake up soon. His boyfriend needed the rest. He shouldn’t have been stressing him out as much as he had  
“Fiiiine. I’ll take care of the child while you two laze about”

Keith rolled his eyes at his brother. Cuddles weren’t lazing about. Cuddles were necessary. Lance had kept shaking from the time he threw up right through to getting Keith resting in bed again. He’d cried all over again when they were safely tucked up bed, apologising for things he didn’t need to, and shouldn’t have to  
“You’re such an arsehole. I know you love him”  
He had photographic proof. Kosmo was the second best thing to happen since they’d moved here. Lance, Kosmo, Coran as his boss, and suddenly a group of friend that actually cared about him. He’d been so spoilt since they’d come to Platy  
“Nope. Not at all. That’s a vicious rumour. You got your meds?”  
“Yes, mum. And I’ll ask Lance if I need anything”  
He meant it too. He wasn’t good at admitting it, but he couldn’t keep making Lance feel shitty. Shiro looked proud, like he’d made some massive leap in personal growth   
“That’s a good step. Instead of being cranky, you need to admit what you need, and need help with. I’ll be back later”  
He didn’t to have to need help to begin with... Lance was so fucking strong and he wanted to be strong like him  
“Stay safe”  
His brother smiled at him. He didn’t deserve Shiro and he didn’t deserve Lance. Why they loved him, he wasn’t sure  
“Always, kiddo”


	102. Chapter 102

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha ha ha  
> A crusty anger loaf

102

Keith felt crusty. Scabbing felt gross. His clothes rubbed at against his scabs, but he was trying not to be cranky. Nope. He wasn’t going to be cranky today at all. Not cranky in the slightest. He was going to be the cool, not-overly-protective, supportive, tongue-bitingly-silent boyfriend... as he watched this bad idea play out.

Coran had set up extra cameras in the gym, which was closed for the morning. The Blade werewolves were on standby, as if that’d stop two fighting vampires totally vamping out. Keith had talked Lance through warming up. His boyfriend dressed in sinfully right pants and a singlet, preferring yoga poses to listening to him. Keith itched to be moving, blaming his constant need to shift his weight on that and not being physically itchy. Bending forward with his arms stretched behind his back and fingers laced together, his boyfriend was too damn flexible  
“See something you like?”

Asked with a cocky smile, the vampire was a shit. Yeah. He did. That fucking arse in those pants had driven him half mad all morning  
“I’m thinking about all the positions I could bend you into”  
Lance blushed, leaning down further, before rising and stretching himself high, showing off his snail trail and the “V” of his hips  
“I am kind of flexible”  
“I know. Now, do you remember what I told you?”  
Lance let his arms drop, shaking out the stretch   
“Don’t get hit?”  
“Don’t be like that”  
Lance sighed dramatically   
“Babe, yeah. I remember. Tap out if I need to. And if I need to stop, the word is “red””  
Lotor had to respect Lance’s bounds. Coran had set things up, after Keith had talked to Lance over what he wanted to do. It sucked that Lance couldn’t train with him how they’d trained before, but Lance knowing how to protect himself came first  
“He’s going to be messing with your head”  
“I know. One training set before we go home on the weekend and I can go home and practice with Matt and Curtis”  
“And you’re sure you’re up for this?”  
“Babe, I’ll be okay. You better leave before Lotor comes. You smell like blood still”  
“I’m not leaving you alone”  
“I’m only going to be alone for a few minutes, if that”

Keith was trying not to leave. He wanted to be with Lance and act every way he’d told himself he couldn’t. Swallowing down the burning need to whisk Lance away, he shuffled over to his boyfriend, wrapping his arms carefully around him, before kissing him softly   
“I love you”  
“I love you, too. Thank you for being understanding”  
Keith didn’t quite have the right response for that  
“I’ll be watching in the briefing room. If anything happens, or you don’t feel well, say red and we’ll come”  
They were going to be watching in one of the conference rooms. The cameras would provide them views of every angle possible during the fight   
“I know... I’m sorry I’m probably going to scare you”  
“I’m less scared with you training here. None of will let anything happen to you”  
“I know you won’t. I love you and I’ll see you soon”  
“Stay safe, my little sharpshooter”  
Lance snorted. Keith thought himself rather clever, Lance might have too as he earned himself another kiss. His boyfriend smiling stupidly. How he loved that damn smile  
“You shoot one target in the nuts and they never let you forget it. You’ve got it, Samurai. See you soon”

*  
Lance watched Keith leave the gym. He knew this was hard for his boyfriend. He’d read the offer the Blades had put before him, it wasn’t a bad offer really. He’d have stable pay, days off to deal with his heat, rolling shifts and would be trained by Kolivan with assistance from Blade werewolves. Plus, he’d be able to tag along with Keith and Shiro. Yet, he hadn’t accepted. Keith and Shiro worked without the need for words. One look said it all, and they didn’t need a third party between them. What the Blades needed was a vampire they could trust and knew the city. They were tired of chasing their tails and never getting closer to Sendak’s base of operation. Sendak had said he was there for Lotor, but the vampire could have easily spirited Lotor away at any moment he wanted. His lie wasn’t holding water anymore. He was clearly aiding Honerva, probably the boss and lord over whatever Honerva was doing to fuck with Platt.

Turning to examine the gym, the room was interesting. There was as much to do on ground as their was to do on the roof. The rear wall was for climbing, then footholds and ledges ran around the ceiling. A set of monkey bars were anchored into the roof, as were rings, netting, knotted ropes that were kind of intimidating. Sport hadn’t been his favourite subject, yet he might have actually made an attempt if the room had been like this. Behind him the door opened, Lance turning to face Lotor. The man never out of a suit, even when it came to training it seemed.

They both moved to meet towards the middle of the room  
“Lance! Splendid to see you again. I’m excited that you took up my offer”  
Lance was not excited. His ego didn’t like how Lotor made him feel. He wasn’t compelled to drop to his knees and pledge his ever living allegiance, but his ego did feel inferior   
“It’s nice to see you too. Thanks for this”  
“No worries. I’m very curious to see what you know”  
“I’m looking to retrain. I’m used to fighting werewolves and humans”  
Lotor crossed his arms  
“Filthy mutts and mortals are child’s play. We are above them in terms of strength”

Ugh.

Lance felt as if he had all the strength but the will of a dead snail to match  
“Look. I know you’re some big arse important vampire, but I like humans and werewolves. We need humans, and not just for their blood. We need them to keep sane and keep our egos under control. If you rely too much on your ego you’re going to lose your mind for it”  
Lotor sniffed at his comment, the actually sniffed the air before smiling. What the hell was that? Lance didn’t think he was releasing pheromones... Lotor... just didn’t do it for him. He wasn’t blind, but Lotor wasn’t Keith   
“A very... particular answer, for a very particular man. In your current situation, I think perhaps you should rethink your words”  
Lance raised an eyebrow. What situation was he in?!  
“Meaning?”  
“If you do not know, it isn’t for me to point out. Now. Today’s exercise will be about avoidance. You will try to hit me, and watch how I avoid you”

Lance wasn’t impressed. Ego flaring at Lotor’s disinterested air. His nails were staring to cut into his palm as he clenched his fists. What a wanker!  
“Are you serious?”  
“Very. You will endeavour to strike me, I will avoid. Feel free to make use of the whole room, though we’ll avoid weaponry today. The humans would call this game “tag”, though that implies you can catch me”  
He was going to make Lotor eat those words  
“Bring it on”

Lance held back as Lotor moved, watching the ease and grace in his movements. There wasn’t a day that passed where Lance wouldn’t somehow trip on thin air or walk into something, not like Lotor who seemed to defy gravity. The man nearly looked like he was teleporting with how fast he moved. Lance’s ego was stung. It didn’t like feeling inferior to Lotor, despite the huge differences in their skill set  
“Your opponent would never give you this much space in a real fight. Or are you frozen solid with fear?”  
“I’m not afraid. Charging an unknown beast asks for trouble”  
“Staying open in all directions also asks for trouble. I could have snapped your neck a hundred times over”  
Lotor climbed the fair walls with ease, pulling himself up, then swinging out onto the netting and across to where he perched up on a knotted rope, resting left hand over right   
“And you favour your left side over your right!”  
“What good is that if you don’t do something about it?”

Lotor looked smug. Like Blue when she climbed to the top of her cat tower to survey her kingdom   
“If I move to follow you up, you’ll jump down. It’s obvious”  
“And yet, I won’t move until you do”  
“And then you jump down and I chase you around... How does that teach me anything?”  
“All I’m hearing is that you don’t want to use the gifts given to you by being turned”  
“I’m quite happy living like a human”  
“But you’re not a human. You have more speed and power than those hunters have in their little fingers”

So fucking what? What good was power when all he wanted was a small simple life with his friends. He envied all of his human friends so fucking much... The only good thing being dead had ever brought him was Keith   
“I never asked to be a vampire”  
“So you’d rather deny who you are? Live a broken life?”  
“My life isn’t broken. I won’t be a slave to my ego”  
“Because you’re too afraid. You could have anything you wanted”  
“I have what I want and what I need”  
“Then why is it that you can’t control your emotions. A little ego isn’t a bad thing. Doesn’t it get boring playing the good guy? The saviour? The dependable one?”  
“I’d rather be who I am than listen to my ego”  
“And that’s your problem. You fight your ego too much. Your ego gives you strength. You need to channel that strength if you wish to protect the ones you care for. You wouldn’t stand a chance against Sendak in your current state, yet your friends are ready to run to their slaughter to capture him. I could deliver him right into their hands with one phone call, but I don’t because they’d die before they ever landed a blow. Now, Little Lance, let that ego go. Show me that vampire that refused to cower before my ego. Unless you’re too scared to show that precious human of yours that side you keep hidden”

Lotor kept trying to get under his skin. For all Lance’s talk, it was working. He had to fight to not let that side loose  
“He’s seen it before. He isn’t so scared as to run”  
“Perhaps. But will he always stay by your side? Or will he run when he learns the situation you’re in?”  
“And what situation is that?”  
“You’ll soon learn...”  
Lotor dropped down from the rope gracefully, Lance stepping back as the vampire landed in front of him. Leaning in, Lotor whispered, eyes fixed on Lance’s, preventing him from taking another step back   
“Your scent’s changed since we met. You think you’re in control but you have no idea the things you’re capable of. If you want to learn what I know, you need to beat me”  
Lance felt dreamy... almost foggy as he stared into Lotor’s eyes. Gritting his teeth, he mumbled   
“Your games won’t work”  
“This is no game. Let that hold go. Learn to use that ego when you need and you’ll learn how to control that bat form of yours. I was watching that night. Those wings. That form. That human of yours doesn’t appreciate how rare a trait that is. We are the sons of kings. Their blood carries through out very veins with their hate and rage from where that human god cast us aside. The war’s already begun, the die is cast and very soon this city will be pushed to the brink. Choose to fight, or watch it fall”  
“If you’re that fucking knowledge, help the Blades! Do the right thing!”  
“I am no match for Sendak alone. Together we could take him... with no need for those humans to hurt”

Lance felt as if Lotor was trying to get into his head hole. Baring his teeth, he tried to focus on the feeling, pushing against it  
“You’re manipulating me”  
“And you’re finally showing your colours. Go crazy with me”  
“You’re already crazy”  
Lotor laughed in his face, before grabbing him by the shoulders and throwing him down. Zero appreciation from his ego. Snarling at Lotor, his face twisted, eyes narrowing. He wanted blood... Lotor dared to lay hands on him like this. No one touched him. No one but his precious little human Keith  
“You shouldn’t have done that, half-breed”

*  
Watching Lance thrown aside by Lotor, Keith jumped to his feet too fast, grunting and staggering sideways into Allura’s hold. Lotor had kept provoking Lance, over, and over, and over, but it wasn’t until Lance hit the floor that he couldn’t sit still any longer. His boyfriend had resisted provocation. He’d smartly watched Lotor’s moves, keeping a safe distance and somehow that’d gotten Lance thrown on the floor. Groaning as Allura supported him, Keith was not a happy camper. He’d opened his scabs up again. Lance was going to be cranky... just like he was fucking pissed that Lotor had laid hands on his boyfriend. Lance’s voice like ice as he threatened Lotor. This was all going to go to crap. He could see it right now  
“Quit fussing, Allura, I’m fine. I’m going to go get Lance”  
Coran interrupted  
“I would suggest waiting right now. Lotor’s finally provoked him. I know this hard to see, but this is what we were aiming for today. If you would prefer not to watch, you may wait in my office”

Keith wanted to stop this. He didn’t like this at all. Something in him screamed to go to Lance and stop this... but right now, he may have moved too fast and hurt himself... Lance would be madder about that than whatever happened with Lotor. Trying to sit down, pain shot up his spine, Keith shooting upright. He was going to be in so much fucking trouble with his boyfriend  
“Keith?”  
Allura gently asked his name  
“I’m okay, sat wrong...”  
He might have to wheel himself down to the gym...  
“Do you want to me to try manipulating your quintessence? Perhaps see if I can lift some of your pain?”  
Allura could do that? That sounded too much like magic... He wasn’t sure he wanted anyone messing with his quintessence. Her blue eyes were soft, staring at him rather at the screen past him   
“Nah, I’ll be okay. How’s Lance?”  
He’d have to work up to turning back towards the screen. He didn’t want to see Lance hurting  
“I don’t think I can watch... I do hope they don’t injure each other”  
“Me too... Lotor won’t hurt him, will he?”  
“No. No. He was quite happy to meet with Lance. I think he’s rather happy to have found a kindred vampire here”

The expression on Allura’s face drew dreamy. Oh, no. He knew that look. Lance gave him that look. Allura saw something on Lotor that she liked... Good thing he already knew she wouldn’t let him walk all over her, or he’d have to be worried. Deep down under all that effortless glamour, Allura was a little bit scary. He didn’t want to ever piss her off  
“Yeah. Right...”

Inching his chair around, Keith forced himself to watch Lance and Lotor. Lance wasn’t holding back, but somehow he’d been injured, his arm across his stomach as he held his side. His boyfriend wasn’t used to fighting like this, knowing that idiot, he’d probably pulled a muscle. All Keith could describe the scene as was what he imagined Kosmo would be like if got into a bag of sugar, both vampires constantly moving, thought Lance clearly hadn’t landed a touch on Lotor by Lotor’s smug impression. Not that his boyfriend wasn’t trying... he just had a very clear tell of when he was about to move. Keith seeing his own stances thrown in there as Lance threw repeated jabs, only to to hit air. This was way worse than watching Lance and Matt bond. Lance was faster and deadlier than he’d been with Matt. But never lost focus enough to be striking recklessly... for that, Keith felt proud. Scared slightly, but proud. Lance could do real damage if he ever wanted to, but those cold hands of his held a special kind of warmth reserved for those he cared about. Lotor wouldn’t feel that warmth. Lance couldn’t care less for him, and Keith couldn’t be more relieved that he didn’t. This Lance was a far cry from the Lance told him to pull the trigger. This Lance fought like he wanted to protect... though what he wanted to protect, Keith wasn’t sure.

Letting the fight play out, Coran finally decided it was enough after Lance was thrown for a second time. Crashing into the training dummies, the wooden frame splintered, Lance smacking hard into the wall, before pulling himself up and spitting what seemed to be blood. Wiping his mouth, his boyfriend grew faster still. Lotor not quite escaping as Lance grabbed him by the arm and slammed him into the ground with a sickening thud. Lance was as human as a vampire got, but still... vampires really could take a beating. Lotor sweeping Lance’s feet from under him, and they all felt the air in the room shift, despite only being there through the cameras.

Leaping back from Lance, Lotor smoothed out his suit jacket. Lance climbing to his feet like a drunken animal. Swaying as his arm came back across his belly  
“I think we better stop it there. Any more and they’ll destroy the gym”  
Keith couldn’t agree more. He worried about Lance spitting blood, and worried that his boyfriend had been impaled or hurt by being thrown into the training dummies. Shiro volunteered  
“I’ll come with you”  
Coran shook his head, replying firmly   
“No, no. You stay here, number one. No one should approach until they’ve had a moment to regain themselves”

On the screen Lance went for Lotor, Lotor grabbed by the lapels of his jacket. Breaking the hold, the vampire tried to throw Lance, only for Lance to bite Lotor’s arm. Allura let out a gasp, betraying her emotions. Lotor growling as he shoved Lance away hard enough for his boyfriend to fall backwards badly. There was none of Lance’s softness on the screen. His eyes black as he snarled. Hurriedly, Coran left the room. Keith tried to stand, his legs shaky as he forced his knees to cooperate. If this was the training Lotor expected, Lance was the wrong vampire for the job.


	103. Chapter 103

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did a silly little stick drawing today on tumblr of a scene I couldn’t get out my head. It’s awful but it’s there

103

“That’s enough!”

Pausing as went Lotor, Lance felt his knees give out as Coran yelled. Falling down hard, he let his body continue so he was laying on the cool flooring of the gym, chest heaving in exertion. Fucking Lotor. Fucking piece of shit Lotor. His ego wanted the vampire’s blood. Lotor had no right touching him. He had no right being in the same space as him. Clutching his stomach, he groaned. Everything fucking hurt... Everything hurt and he hadn’t even beaten Lotor. It wounded his pride. He wanted to scream in anger, yet he could. He could barely do anything other than lay there and groan. Coran had brought him back. He’d snapped him out his ego, and now Lance was left with a dirty feeling throughout his whole body. He’d been pushed so far in anger, but he’d failed at turning into a bat. The whole purpose of this stupid little farce.

Catching his breath, Lance rolled to his side. Lotor was sitting cross legged, watching on. Lance wanted to get up and punch that smug look off his face... God. What kind of a face must he showing right now? He must be hideous. His monster wearing his skin like it owned it. Clutching at the floor, his nails snapped as he tried to find purchase to pull himself up. Fuck... He was a fucking freak. Lotor had tossed him around like he was trash that refused to stay in the bin. He wasn’t fucking trash. He was someone who... who deserved to live. Someone who had... who had what Lotor never would... his stupid ego flooding him with that feeling. God. Shit. He’d... he’d lost it. His ego growing and growing. He felt trapped in his own mind by its presence. Trapped and left in a dark corner to stay out the mind.

“Lance?”  
Coran’s voice shocked him. Lance jolting, whining softly as his hand clutched his side   
“He’ll be fine. He is not wounded”  
Who was Lotor to answer for him? Ugh. He wanted Keith. Coran didn’t seem happy with Lotor’s answer  
“Lance? Are you with us?”  
“Ow... I think I’m stuck”  
Hurrying over to him, Coran took him by the upper arm, Lance growling as Coran touched him. He wasn’t the one he wanted touching him. Embarrassed, the heat in his cheeks was lost from the solid however long he’d fought with Lotor   
“My boy, are you okay?”  
“Sorry. Sorry... I’m... is Keith okay?”

Keith wasn’t even there. Keith was safe, but his boyfriend wasn’t where he could see him. Part of him panicking that he couldn’t see him  
“He’s quite alright. Are you?”  
“I want to see him”  
“You need to calm yourself first”  
“I look bad, don’t I?”  
His face was messed up. His nails hurt as they started retracting. Where was a paper bag when you needed one? Coran chuckled at him  
“You’ve looked better. Is your side injured? You have been clutching it for some time now”

Looking down at his hand, Lance tilted his head. He didn’t remember why he started clutching it, but with how everything hurt, he imagined it’d been a stitch... Why didn’t he remember? Lance blinked... He always remembered? Fucking Lotor... His ego must have set Lance’s off  
“I... don’t know. Everything kind of hurts. I feel like someone dropped a house on me... Are we still in Kansas, Toto?”  
Coran looked alarmed. The reference flying right over his head. Whatever. Dorothy wished she was as glamorous as him. He’d rock those red shoes. Clearing his throat, Coran tugged gently on him  
“Let’s get you back to my office. Lotor, will you be alright?”  
“I’m perfectly fine, thank you, Coran. Thank you, Lance. It had been some time since my heart beated so fast. Perhaps next time we shall work on your emotions”

Lance nodded, wrinkling his brow at the taste in his mouth. He’d lost a tooth... but... ugh. He remembered what he’d done now  
“Shit... I went for your throat... I’m sorry. Thanks... for whatever this was. I’ll be sleeping like the dead tonight”  
Lotor chuckled. Damn. Maybe he should be a stand up comedian...   
“Nonsense! It was exhilarating! I’m still tingling from the look in your eyes. Positively exhilarating”  
Lance wasn’t exhilarated. He was agitated. He wanted to see Keith in one peace. Why were they going to Coran’s office and not to see Keith?! Shaking Coran off, Lance drew his battered form up, stalking towards the door and leaving Coran to jog to catch up.

Keith was coming to find him, Lance rushing his boyfriend in relief. He didn’t know why he’d been stupidly scared. There was nothing around that would have hurt his lover. Too aggressively, he wrapped his arms around Keith, nuzzling into his neck as he mouthful of blood so kissing wasn’t safe   
“La-Lance?”  
“Thank fuck you’re okay”  
“You’re the one... what were you thinking?! Why didn’t you...”  
“Boys, perhaps you can wait until Lance has calmed before you get into this?”  
Lance shook his head. His human was so soft and warm... and smelt like blood. Drawing back, he gripped Keith by the shoulders  
“Who hurt you?”

Keith frowned at him, Lance’s emotions deciding he needed to cry right then  
“Babe?”  
“I smell your blood! Who hurt you?”  
Keith’s confusion grew, jerking his head back, his boyfriend’s gaze flicked to Coran then back to him  
“Me? No one. It’s the dressings against the scabs”  
Scabs. Right. Fuck. Keith must have opened his wounds. Fuck... The scabs had opened earlier. He’d seen it happen when Keith had dropped down on the end of the bed. His boyfriend hissing as he clutched his leg, then jerking up from hurting his arm  
“No one touched you?”  
“N-... Babe, what’s going on?”  
Lance hugged Keith close again, resting his cheek on Keith’s shoulder   
“Thank god. Thank god you’re okay”  
“Coran, what’s happening? Did he hit his head too hard?”  
Had he hit his head? He’d hit the wall... and the floor... and the floor... being thrown was only fun when Keith was throwing him down on the bed  
“I stopped the fight. He’s shaken. He really let his ego go, so you should expect some conceit and unusual comments until he settles”

Rationality? Nope. Lance didn’t know them right now. He just couldn’t calm down over the thought Keith was somehow hiding wounds... Yeah. Zero rationale in those thoughts. His boyfriend patted his back, kissing his cheek and ignoring how stupid Lance was being   
“I’m fine. I’m worried about my boyfriend. Is that not allowed? He could have been injured!”  
“Babe, Coran’s right. Let’s get him to give you a quick check over...”  
“Why? Do you think something’s wrong with me?”  
“No. I think you scared me. He threw you at the training dummies... and you’ve clearly hurt your side”  
Ah... Yeah. Okay, that hadn’t been fun. Maybe they were why he felt like a house dropped on him? Nope. No. Maybe Lotor hit him there when he’d gotten too close?  
“I don’t think I did... I feel weird”

He was cranky, yet not. He was exhausted, yet not. He felt good taking on Lotor, yet absolutely really did not like it at all. Why wasn’t there a word for how he felt? Weird didn’t fit... How was he wordless? Shit. He still needed to drive them home after this... Hopefully Matt wouldn’t start his ego again... How was his face? Was it all messed up still? Was his teeth showing? He’d lost a tooth. He shouldn’t smile with one tooth, it was weird. Kissing his cheek, Keith brought him back from thinking too hard over how to name how he was feeling, Lance nuzzling into him all over again, trying to rid himself of Lotor’s scent, only to realise he was making Keith smell like Lotor and he didn’t like it  
“Then let Coran look at you, babe. Please? For me?”  
“I... yeah. Maybe that’d be best. I think I got Lotor’s blood down my throat... it’s revolting”  
“You did bite him”

He had and he wasn’t sure why he had. He’d acted on instinct. Anything to get Lotor off him and to stay down. Lotor said let go, and to let his ego go. He didn’t feel like he’d done anything right from the moment he’d been thrown down. Something snapped and he just wanted to fight. He wanted Lotor to hurt for throwing him... He’d roughhoused with Matt plenty of times, but he’d never been like that. Even fighting Matt hadn’t felt like this. Maybe Matt and Rieva could help him figure out how to feel? They’d both be happy, only serving to prove how wrong his actions had been. Then again, he hadn’t wanted Coran touching him either. What a confusing mess. 

*  
Having friends was hard. Keith decided so as he sat in Lance’s living room. Hunk and Pidge had invited themselves to stay, throwing a small party for him, where Pidge proceeded to drink too much. Their friends had made a banner “Welcome Back, Moron”, hung across the mantle side of the space made from sheets of A4 paper. Hunk had baked a cake, Keith and his bike reduced to being made out of modelling chocolate on the top. He’d gone from having Lance and Shiro to consider with his snappiness to Lance, Curtis, Matt, Rieva, Pidge, and Hunk. With so many people, it was hard to pretend he was on top of things.

The weekend had decided it needed to go far too fast. When he and Lance had gone to bed on Friday night, they’d barely had a chance to talk about how Lance felt his training with Lotor went. Coran had given Lance a quick exam, had him drink some blood, the sent him on his way. Keith kind of felt that Lance maybe needed to talk to Coran, as he wasn’t really acting “right”. His boyfriend pulled himself together for the surprise party in Keith’s honour, only after he’d showered and reappeared wearing one Keith’s shirts and a loose pair of sweats... that Keith also recognised as his.

The following morning Lance was up at dawn. Keith woken to the sound of the vacuum cleaner. He wanted to head downstairs and drag Lance back up to bed, but knew better than to try the stairs as Lance would kill him if he fell down them. He couldn’t make sense of why Lance was so certain he’d crept off and gotten himself secretly hurt. He’d been in the briefing room. Safe and sound. Where neither Lance or Lotor could touch him. Keith had a dreadful feeling. It welled in the bottom of his stomach, refusing to leave. Lotor had called the current state in Platt “a war”. He’d told Lance to stand beside him, and admitted he could have drawn Sendak out sooner.

Pidge and Hunk stayed over Saturday... and Sunday. Keith hugged so many times by accident that he hurt more “relaxing with his friends” than he had trying to find a way to have sex with Lance on the sofa. Coran said no work until the scabbing wasn’t so tight and crunchy. Keith would have pealed and scratched at them if he’d been left alone long enough to. Instead they hung out pretty much from sun up to bedtime in the living room. It soothed him being there. Lance had the whole house. He wasn’t trapped in his tiny apartment listening to the world go by. He felt bad about the apartment not being enough, especially when Shiro tried so hard to make it their home.

No. Keith didn’t get to talk to Lance until Sunday night. There hadn’t been a right time... or if there was, Lance would give him a look and Keith’s heart would go funny. The hunter knew Lance had talked to Matt at some point, because thanks to that, Matt kicked Hunk and Pidge out, then he’d gone out to take Rieva on a date after her shift. Finally they had the house to themselves. Keith dragging his crusty body off the sofa and hobbling into the kitchen where Lance was making dinner   
“You’re supposed to be resting”

Lance didn’t look up as he scolded him. Keith shuffling up being him, shaking his arm around Lance’s waist where he rested his hand on his boyfriends belly  
“We finally have the house to ourselves”  
“We’re not having sex”  
His track record might have taken a dip with frustration induced horniness, Lance excuses for jumping to that conclusion   
“Nah. I was hoping we could finally talk about Friday. I’ve been trying to talk to you all weekend”  
“I know. Pidge and Hunk haven’t made that easy. Honestly, I still don’t know how I feel about what happened”

Keith rubbed at his boyfriend’s belly, the act subconscious as he tried to reassure himself that talking was the right thing to do. He hadn’t been shot down, so that was a good sign   
“Do you want to try to tell me?”  
Placing the kitchen knife down, Lance twisted in Keith’s hold. His boyfriend hugging him gently  
“I feel like that’s the kind of person I don’t want to be. I gave myself a real scare... and I don’t like that I bit Lotor. That’s not okay with me. I get Lotor was baiting me, but I never should have let him in my head. I went all vampirey and that scares me. So I’m still messed up about it, and I think my anxiety didn’t help. If anything it made me paranoid that you’d been injured because I was hurting”

That was an answer and a half. Keith catching himself before he could ask “How does that make you feel?”. Lance was talking, he wanted him to explain more and get it all off his chest   
“Yeah...? That’s a lot”  
“I want... I want to be stronger, but I want to do it on my own terms. Without my ego clouding my decision making. I don’t want to feel like I won’t be able to protect the people I care about. I don’t want to choke when I’m needed, but I can’t... bury my head in the sand. If this spills into the public, everything Coran has worked for will go up in flames. Families will be torn apart. And though that’s scary, you not coming home... that scares me even more. My reasons might not be the best, but I’m going to meet with Lotor again”

What. What part of the first part of what Lance said led him to think meeting Lotor again was a good idea?!  
“I can feel how angry you are. But I want to... if he can bring Sendak in, the Blades could stop this sooner. If I have to fight for what I love, I can’t be a burden”  
How stupid could Lance be if he thought going to Lotor was a good idea?!  
“You’re not a burden! Lotor is bad news...”  
“He is... but I need to know how he controls his emotions. How he can use so much ego and then let it slip back to his usual douchiness. I turn into a bat when I’m emotional or stressing too much. So maybe if I can figure out what exactly pushes me over, I’ll be able to control it. I don’t want to fight like him. I don’t want to throw away my humanity. I just want to be able to handle everything inside me”

Keith felt like he was being tossed aside, his voice low and lost as he asked  
“And we can’t work it out together?”  
“We are working out together. Anything he tells me, you’re the one I want to talk to about it. Coran and Curtis promised to help but they’re too busy. We’ve been trying to work it out on our own, and I’ve been so up and down, and I’m sick of it. You’re my stability. I feel stable enough in this relationship to touch that side of me I’ve tried for so long and hard to ignore. I think I need this if I’m going to get my life back on track properly... and I know I need you, because you are the single most important and good thing in my life. I love you, and I respect you. I want to find a way to have a safe and stable future with you. I’ve never felt this way about anyone. I love and trust Pidge and Hunk to the moon and million times over, but you... I can’t even put it into words. I treasure absolutely every moment I have with you in my life”

Lance had filled him with doubt, then crushed all of that an instant with his sincerity. He didn’t deserve Lance’s love  
“I love you, too. I’m scared of what Lotor will do to you”  
“He plays mind games. I’ve realised something too. I’m susceptible to his ego. But if I push, I feel like I can break through it. If I learn how to break through it, I won’t be sent into heat randomly. I only want to go into heat when you’re touching me”  
Lance loathed his heat. His boyfriend would never be comfortable if he constantly felt threatened, and Coran and Curtis had both let him down there. If Lance could bring his body under control, they’d be able to date. To like go on dates without worry... he wanted to date the fuck out of his boyfriend   
“It still sounds dangerous”  
“That’s why I’m relying on you. You call me out on my shit. When you talk, I always listen. I’m weak on my own, but we’re damn near unstoppable together”  
“I feel like this is the most optimistic I’ve seen you in a while”  
“I feel optimistic because I’m with you”  
Keith’s heart was freaking out. He couldn’t process so much love. He wanted Lance and all the parts of him  
“What do you say we blow off dinner for now and head up to bed?”  
Lance nodded against him  
“I think I’d really like that. I’m sorry... Our friends are so clingy and they don’t see you as much as I do”  
Keith snorted   
“They’re fine. We’ll talk to Coran, but first, we’re going to bed”


	104. Chapter 104

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith is over his head, while Lance is an amazing actor

104

The Blades had no patience, and Keith’s had run fresh out. He was yet to read his mother’s letter, but she’d given him space and hadn’t tried butting in on his life, so for that he was grateful. He was finally allowed back at work, “on light duties”, meaning he was playing desk jockey and doing more of the planning towards missions. He’d liked to say he enjoyed himself, but paperwork sucked and Lance was too busy with Lotor to do much. Though. He had done one crucial thing. Coming to meet Keith after “training” with Lotor, and his generals, his boyfriend had kind of been too full of energy to sit still. Keith did not enjoy the way Lance talked about the thing he talked with Lotor, despite the fact his boyfriend was being open and honest with him. Four sessions with Lotor and Keith wanted to skin the vampire alive for spending so much time his Lance. Lance hadn’t done anything wrong. He wasn’t off having some illicit affair with Lotor. Their training was filmed, Keith could even watch if he wished, but the whole thing filled him some ugly growth that sat in a lump in his chest thanks to it. Lance had decided after the third two-hour session that Lotor had given him enough tips to practice at home, the fourth session being the last over the ten day period. Lance declaring it happily as he threw the briefing room door open bounding in. Hyperactive and handsy, his boyfriend threw himself on him, Keith smiling like a moron as Lance nuzzled into him, pressing kisses to his cheek. The news couldn’t have come sooner as his boyfriend kissed his cheek then dashed off to check in with Allura and let her know the good news... leaving Keith to realise he had no idea where he’d been in the stack of purchase orders before him.

Being a desk jockey came with perks, that he was fully taking advantage of. Without being awake at obscene hours, he was able to talk with their friends more, instead of Lance and Pidge alone, due to her insomniac ways. Plus, he’d been going back to Lance’s for the night when his boyfriend had to make the drive back the following morning. Lance was welcome to crash at the apartment, yet his lover wanted to work through the things he’d done with Lotor in their training sessions in the yard where it didn’t matter if the grass was pulled up or things broken. Lotor thought Lance was wasting his potential, but Lance stuck to being as human as possible, meaning Lotor had to fall in line with him.

That’s how he ended up on a double date after that fourth training session. A double date was something he’d never actually ever believed he’d have to suffer through. A double date he could have probably handled, maybe, had the other couple not been Allura and Lotor. Seeing he was busy with paperwork, Lance had gone to catch up with Allura, then the next thing he knew, for some unfathomable reason, that had turned from hanging out into “Hey, let Shiro know you’ll be out tonight because we’re going out with Allura and Lotor”. His boyfriend wasn’t on the ”Team Lotor” bandwagon, he was on the “If Lotor touches Allura or looks at her the wrong way, I’m going to castrate him” team.

And god if it wasn’t the most awkward five hours of his life for the month. Relying on Lance to help him piss after the accident didn’t come close to how awkward an evening with Lotor was. Opera. Keith did not do opera. He wasn’t completely sure he understood why the main character suddenly regained her strength to then go and drop dead. Lance and Allura clutched each other as they cried over her tragic demise... and for some reason the opera kept going! What was this fresh hell?!. Lotor seemed vaguely bored, and Keith had spent most of the time making silent bets with himself over how long he could his breath. He couldn’t use his phone, the screen would be glaringly obvious in the blackness of the theatre. Fuck it. He needed the bathroom and doubted he’d be missed. Allura was holding hands with Lotor, not like how Keith was holding Lance’s hand in his lap, thumb rubbing the back, enjoying the touch and that alone, but like holding hands all the same.

Turning towards to Lance, he nudged him with his knee, Lance raised his head to smile at him. His boyfriend was so damn pretty. Okay. Maybe they were a little loved up. Lifting their hands, Lance kissed the back of his. Keith enjoying that much more than what was happening on the stage. Bumping Keith with his knee, Lance gestured with his chin  
“I need to use the bathroom, babe”  
“Oh, sure. Me too, actually”  
Thank god. English conversation with no singing. He was amazed by the skills and that production it’s self, but the issue came from the fact he didn’t speak Italian, and the story writer had no clue how to write.

Finding himself following Lance to the theatre bathroom, Keith was clueless. Lance walking over and waving his hand under the tap sensor. There was something familiar about the two of them hiding in bathrooms   
“Why am I here?”  
Here, as in, “Why the hell were they being tortured slowly?!”  
“So Allura and Lotor could have a moment”  
How did they need to be there to... never mind. They were being good friends  
“You could have saved me sooner. Do you actually have to pee? Or are we just staying here until Allura and Lotor have had their moment”  
It was kind of hard to have a moment at the opera. Keith’s arse was numb and his leg stiff. A headache was building in his temple... ugh. Nope. Opera was not for him.

“I was trying to make Allura feel less self conscious about us being there. She was so nervous about tonight. I couldn’t say no to her”  
Lance did that... Took care of everyone. Fine. He’d forgive him this time  
“Do you think she’s okay?”  
“She can handle herself... but at the moment, I’m more concerned about you. I’m sorry I decided for us both. I know you don’t like him”  
“It’s fine. You’re being a good friend”  
“It’s not really. This isn’t really us. I much prefer you, us, in our pyjamas, mocking horror films”  
Lance said that, but he deserved more  
“Babe, I don’t know how to do fancy... If I... If you want to do fancy... I mean, I can try”

Lance must have reassured him so many damn times over him not being rich and smart.  
“I know, but... I also love the real you. Pidge hates the opera too. Colleen tells her she’s a disgrace to her Italian heritage. But Hunk’s pretty cool about coming with me. You... don’t mind, do you? I mean, I haven’t been in a long time....”  
Now Lance was rambling. Rambling and playing with the tap sensor like he could trick it  
“It’s fine. Are you okay? You were crying pretty hard when she snuffed it”

His boyfriend snorted, shaking off his wet hands and before wiping his face to rid himself of the tear tracks. Smiling at him in the mirror  
“Yeah. You know me and tragic love stories”  
“I don’t think I got it. I mean. She died and they kept singing”  
“It’s alright. Nah, I’m okay. Just wanted to give Allura and Lotor a moment, and kind of wanted a moment to check in with you... this bathroom’s pretty nice”

It was a bathroom. All grey marble and matt gold. What did it matter as long as it did it’s purpose  
“I suppose so?”  
Lance snorted. His boyfriend letting his old man show  
“I can take the hunter out of the practical, but I can’t take the practical out of the hunter”  
“If you say so. How long are we supposed to wait for this moment to be over?”  
“I don’t know. Like 5 minutes. Allura was super nervous. Lotor burned her in the past and she definitely hasn’t forgiven him”  
“Couldn’t she just work him for the information?”  
“She could, but she’s got to protect herself too. She’s fae, and there isn’t that many of them left these days”  
“I feel like she could take Lotor”  
“Yeah. But then there’s Honerva and Lotor’s generals to think about. I don’t like Narti. Acxa seems okay. I saw her talking to Krolia”  
“Maybe she’s planning on jumping ship”  
“I’d jump ship too. I swear I’ve never had to tell someone “No” as many times as I’ve told Lotor no over using ego”  
“I can’t believe that I can’t believe he brought us to the opera”  
“I can. At least I won’t have to see him for a bit after this”  
Crossing his arms, Keith kicked the marble floor with the tip of his shoe  
“He can fuck off”

Laughing softly, Lance came over to him, wrapping his arms around him. His boyfriend smelt like soap and spilt alcohol. Lotor had gotten them champagne delivered to the private box they were being tortured in, he’d offered Lance blood to add to his, yet his boyfriend wisely declined  
“I know you’re not happy about it. But, I think I have a plan to turn back next time I’m a bat... I can’t say for sure though”  
“You didn’t tell me you figured that out”  
“I said “I think”, Babe. Anyway, you know I know you haven’t had a fun time lately... so I was thinking after this, we grab some pizza and go watch the stars”  
“Why are you always trying to bribe me with pizza?”  
“Because I’m a pizza kind of man, and your kind of man”  
“I fail to see the logic... but that sounds so much better than heading back with them. I want to burn his stupid limo”  
Lance kissed his hair   
“You only get to burn it if I get to douse it first”

Keith shoved Lance off playfully, he couldn’t keep the laughter out his tone  
“I’m shocked! What happened to my sweet law abiding boyfriend?”  
Lance was so cute when he scrunched his face up with laugher   
“He fell head over heels for a bad boy...”  
“Are you saying I’m the bad influence?”  
Wiping small tears from his eyes, Lance hugged himself tightly with his right arm as he nodded  
“Oh, totally. Matt says I’m completely unbearable when you’re not around. All I do is mope and long for you”  
“Matt met you after you met me”  
“I know. He smacked me with a pillow last night and sent me to bed too, reminding me I’d be here today... like I could forget”  
Keith reached out, grabbing Lance by the arse to pull him close, his boyfriend automatically looping his arms over his shoulders, laughter turned unexpectedly serious as Lance rubbed his forehead against Keith’s. He loved this man so damn much... the hunter hated that sometimes he couldn’t help but need him to tell him that   
“You really miss me that much?”  
“Babe, I miss all of you like all of the time. Literally the best thing about getting up early to come to Platt is seeing you”  
“So you don’t come to Platt just for the opera?”  
“Nope. You really don’t like the opera, do you?”

Keith shook his head. Sitting in the dark, with the only light coming from the lights on the steps and stage, he could easily picture vampires feeding in secret. Maybe they should have had a vampire kill the lead, it would have been exciting then  
“Not at all... But I kind of feel it’s very vampirey”  
Lance replied, overly heavy on the sarcasm   
“Yeah, babe. Completely vampirey. Like, didn’t you, the opera is in our blood. Why do you think the theatre is dressed in red velvets? To hide the blood, obviously! We’re drawn to it, seeking out our next hit. I don’t really go back to Garrison... oof!”

Stepping on Lance’s foot, his boyfriend shut up. Lance didn’t to rub it in that he was way smarter than him  
“I get it. I’m uncultured”  
Lance nuzzled into him, sensing his teasing had dropped his mood further  
“Other than stomping on innocent feet, you’re cultured enough. Seriously though. Allura never said opera. She said dinner. And I was like, we can do dinner... And now I’m like “Please God, let Coran call with some emergency””  
“Hey, you’re the one who’s suddenly friends with Lotor”  
“No I’m definitely not. Nope. He taught me some stuff, mostly about vampire culture and it’s whack. He keeps going on about ego and quintessence and I can do more things if I tried. I got a stitch last night thinking about having to train today. I seriously threw up last time”  
He didn’t know about that. Lance shouldn’t be pushing himself that far. How had his boyfriend had time to come from practice to him, with a stop to throw his guts up and brush his teeth on the way?  
“My poor baby... Did you miss your big bad boyfriend?”  
Lance whined at him softly, nuzzling into him as he did  
“Yes, give me sympathy. Seriously. I’m thinking of stealing his phone and finding a way to lure Sendak back to pick his brat arse up”  
“Tell me about it. They’re off raiding a place tonight. I had to do the stupid paperwork. I don’t know why. Kolivan comes and takes it, then that’s that”  
“I’m sorry you’re still benched”  
“Nah. I’ve got something to do with my time...”  
“Do you think if we’re good tonight, Lotor will finally help?”  
“I think you’re more delusional than me... someone’s coming. We should head back”  
“Nooooo...”  
He was happy hiding here!  
“Now who’s the baby. I’ll buy you an ice cream if the confection stand is still open”  
“Lactose”  
“Fuck. Fine. If the opera isn’t over, then I’ll call Coran and beg him for a pick up”  
“We need an excuse to leave”  
“Then I guess I’ve finally found a reason for you deciding you needed to be banged up”  
“I think I can support that. Those seats aren’t comfortable”

They didn’t need an excuse. The opera had ended, people milling into the theatre’s entrance hall. Leading Allura along, Lotor made his was through the crowd and over to the pair of them  
“We thought you’d left”  
His tone was cold, like they’d disappointed him by not  
“I’ve got a headache and Keith’s stiff from those chairs”  
Allura immediately took the reason as her chance to let go of Lotor’s hand. Moving to Lance, she placed her hand on his forehead  
“You do feel warmer than usual. Perhaps we should head back for the night?”  
Lance played along  
“I don’t want to ruin your evening”  
“Nonsense. You’ve been pushing yourself again. I’m sorry, Lotor. We really should head back. Lance may be going into heat again”  
Lotor scoffed  
“I doubt it. Yet, in any case, we shall return if that is what you wish”  
Wanker. Keith tugged Lance up against him. He was supposed to be their excuse to leave, being a weak and lowly human. Not Lance. Lance was good about it. Their prayers silently answered  
“I think it’s for the best. I really am sorry to interrupt your night”  
“Nonsense. Your health is more important than dinner. You’re both very important to me”  
So was escaping Lotor apparently. Unpleased, and outvoted, Lotor swallowed down his snark, though made it very clear he was unhappy as he swept ahead of them. Allura not disappointed at all as she winked at them. Hopefully this wouldn’t bite them in the arse.


	105. Chapter 105

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhh this the chapter...

105

Lance felt as if he’d died all over again. He and Keith had spent the night under the stars after the opera, feeling like he’d died of happiness with Keith, before his boyfriend suggested they head home for the night as the first rays of morning started to creep across the sky. This was not the same kind of happy pleasant death thanks to Keith’s love. The Blades had had a successful mission, according to his boyfriend, but Lance felt too sick to care. This was the “Death warmed up” kind of death that really, really sucked balls. He didn’t know what was wrong with him, only able to reason it was a batch of bad blood, because it was definitely not the nice new slow release birth control capsule that sat in his arm. Keith had held his hand as he’d had it done, Coran springing it on the pair of them the day after the opera. Flushing the toilet, he was in the process of pushing himself off the floor when Matt came to his aid. Pulling him up on his feet, Lance nearly fainted at the change in sudden position  
“You need to see Coran. It’s been a week, Lance. Keith is worried”  
A whole week without Keith. After spending the night he’d spent the day with his Mami, then headed home. Keith was off desk duty, onto helping in the labs, between surveillance missions . His boyfriend could do anything he put his mind to... apart from be there with him.

“Mmm... I’m fine. Coran said there were side effects”  
He was lying poorly. He wasn’t fine. Matt knew it. He’d been on his case about his scent being wrong when he’d come back home  
“There’s side effects and then there’s this!”  
“Just back off! Go fuck something or... something! Just get off my back!”  
Starting to cry, he felt awful for what he’d said to Matt. He didn’t like his moodiness being directed so outward-sly when Matt only wanted to help   
“I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that... I’m sorry...”  
“Lance, you’re being stupid. You need to talk to Coran”  
“I’ll... I... this was supposed to work...”  
“And it’s not. You’re miserable. You’re barely eating and barely leaving your room”  
“I’m sorry... I... I need to lay down for a bit... Can I call him once I’ve taken a nap?”  
“Can I talk to him when you call him?”  
Lance nodded, regretting doing so. He felt faint, but worse still was fact he threw up in his mouth as he nodded. His stomach was so fucking sore from all the vomiting he’d been doing  
“Alright. Two hours. If you’re not up in two hours, I’m calling Coran”  
“Okay... I’m sorry... This was supposed to work!”

Matt tried to hug him, Lance feeling sicker at the touch, forcing himself back from him. It wasn’t just with Matt. Anyone, other than Keith, made him feel physically revolted  
“Coran might need to adjust the dose. It might be something as simple as that”  
“I can’t think... I’m really... I need to lay down”  
“Do you need me to get you anything? A bucket? You look pale as fuck, man”  
“No... I need my bed... and my soil”  
“That’s already on your bed, isn’t it?”  
“Yeah... I’ll be okay... just give me a bit”

Lance left Matt for the safety of his bed. Blue had been by his side almost nonstop, as if she knew he really needed her and her toe beans. Crawling under the covers, he was buried under his blankets. Barely able to function, he’d been limited to messaging Keith, or falling asleep with Keith on the other end of the phone. His boyfriend was stressed over the side effects, that Lance was hoping would kindly go away before Keith’s birthday weekend. Keith’s present had finally arrived, the blade looked incredible, and well worth it’s price tag. He was super excited about giving it to Keith, knowing his boyfriend would love it. 

Sleeping fitfully, Lance woke in a sweat. His clothes clinging to him as his stomach rolled and cramped. Downstairs he could hear Rieva scolding Matt, Curtis laughing at the pair of them. He must have come back from seeing Shiro in Platt. Curtis had been keeping a record of Lance’s condition, and reaction to the medication in his system. As far as they knew this was the kind of reaction to be expected initially. When his body got its shit together, they’d know more. He simply had to hang on until then. 

Climbing out of bed, Lance held his stomach as he shuffled from his room. He’d promised Matt two hours, but now he was feeling even worse. The world was spinning. Everything stank like mould and dust. The light in the house was too bright... and his skin was itchy. Making it to the stairs, the room swayed heavily to the right, Lance going to the left to correct the feeling, foot missing the top stair...

*  
“Keith, it’s Lance. Matt’s just rushed him in from Garrison. Something’s happens”

Whipping around to where Allura stood in the doorway of the lab, Keith was signing off on the trace reports from their clothes. The Blades had no use for them now that all trace had been collected. They were set for disposal, unless he wanted them, which he did. Not Lotor’s pet get up, no. These were clothes he’d worn as Lance’s pet. Letting the datapad slip through his fingers, his body started moving without thinking, until he was grabbing Allura by the shoulders   
“What do you mean something happened to him? Where is he?”  
“I don’t know. Coran’s rushed him through for emergency treatment. You’d been come”

Jogging through the halls, VOLTRON’s main infirmary was on the same level as the labs. What was only a few minutes walking felt somehow longer as Keith panicked hard. Lance had only just started on the contraceptive Coran designed for him, and somehow he couldn’t help but feel it was related to that. Reaching Matt, the werewolf was sitting on the floor crying. He’d never seen Matt cry like this... his alarm at the blood over Matt’s hands sent goosebumps across his skin. Whipping his head around, he found blood on the doorframe a little past Matt, feet carrying him towards it, before he was bursting into the medical room.

Laying limp on the bed, Coran and two others worked around Lance. The inside of Lance’s sweats dyed a deep red, blood smeared across his feet  
“Allura, get him out of here!”  
Keith flinched, pulled backwards from Lance at Coran’s command. His legs giving out in the hall, as the door between him and Lance was snapped closed. What was happening?! He could smell Lance’s blood. His stomach rolled. His lover was far sicker than he’d let on. Anger flaring, he wanted to move to Matt. To grab him by the shoulders and shake the truth out of him. He couldn’t. Allura draping herself around him, softly asking as she sniffled  
“Matt, what happened?”

“I don’t know. He’s been sick for days. Throwing up nonstop. Barely eating. I... he wanted to take a nap. He promised we’d call Coran when he woke up... He... This is all my fault. I... I left him to nap... because he needed rest, and I... I heard him get up and then... then he fell down the stairs... There was so much blood. He wasn’t bleeding before. He was just feeling sick. I knew that... he... he smelt different lately... and I... I should have made him come sooner... this is my fault”  
Matt started crying harder again, his hands in his hair as he curled in on himself. Keith shaking. He knew there were side effects. He knew it. Lance had been so happy, that he’d agreed. So happy that finally Coran had good news for them. He felt like he was finally going to be in control of his body, despite Keith not minding how he was already... unless there were vampires close to him.

It was a sickening long wait in the hallway. He and Allura curled up waiting with Matt, and Allura had taken Matt to clean the blood off him. There’d been so much... too fucking much. Bringing back watching Lance dive across to save them when Matt wolfed out. Finally the door opened, the three of them looking to Coran who stepped out with a weary sigh  
“He’s going to be okay”  
Coran was haggard, as if years had been stripped off of him, or his long life had finally caught up with him. Relief flooded through his body, as Keith used the wall to push himself up  
“Can I see him?”  
“He’s groggy, but awake, yes he’s stable. I’ve removed the capsule from his arm, and I have to warn you, he is extremely weak. I’ll analyse the capsule. I was sure the dosage was correct... Keith, can I speak with you for a moment?”  
That didn’t sound good. Looking to Allura and Matt, they both nodded, Matt smiling through his tears  
“We’ll wait here, man. Go see him, he’s been missing you”

Heading into medical room, the nurses finished up with Lance, before excusing themselves and closing the door behind them. The bed moved from the middle of the room, to jut out from the right side, Lance hooked up to too many machines. Rushing to his boyfriend side, Keith buried his face in Lance’s hair, wrapping his arm around his chest as he did  
“Hey... mullet”  
Slurring the words out, Lance was conscious enough to know it was him. Keith couldn’t help but hug him tighter  
“You scared the fuck out of me you, dick”  
Laughing weakly, Lance’s laughter broke off with a hiss of pain.

“I’m afraid he’s going to be staying with us for the next week. I have something very important to talk to you about”  
Keith didn’t particularly care, as long as Lance was alright  
“You said he was going to be okay”  
“He is. But... I still need to monitor him closely. You see... how should I put this...”  
Keith forced himself off Lance, hand sliding down to grip his boyfriend’s hand  
“Just spit it out”  
“I suppose I should say, I have to monitor them carefully”  
What now? He didn’t get it. There was one Lance, not two... He could barely handle one Lance...  
“You said you needed to monitor him...”  
“Yes, well, you see...”

Lance got there first, slurring again, Keith jumping at his voice. His boyfriend really should be sleeping things off, he was a stubborn little bastard  
“I’m pregnant?”  
“At this stage. You and Keith are generally quite careful with the use of contraception, though that isn’t always effective. I look the liberty of running the test while the nurses made Lance comfortable”  
Keith went wobbly at the knees. Air knocked out of him. Coran sadly continuing   
“I can’t say how far along you are, and for today you need rest. I’ll organise an ultrasound for the first thing tomorrow morning so we can get a better view of the situation. I was stupid to accept that you’d been careful and not administer the test before implanting the capsule. For that, I cannot apologise enough”

Hold up. Just. Wait. What? He knew he sounded dumb, but... What?  
“How?”  
Coran sighed at him tiredly   
“I know you know how sex works by now. Pulling out and use of condoms doesn’t guarantee that conception will not occur. In fact, I’d advise against the pull out method entirely, though... I expect you two need a moment to adjust to the news. For now we will keep this amongst ourselves. Lance lost a lot of blood, the pregnancy may no longer be viable. Keith, I’ll leave him in your hands. I want you to monitor him for any bleeding, or unusual behaviour. I need to run tests on the capsule and his blood, but he absolutely needs to stay in bed, no matter what he may say, or how he may act. Matt saved his life today. Had the bleed been sustained, he may have lost control of himself entirely”

Coran was talking a lot at him. The words lodging in brain without processing. They liked them. As them. Babies weren’t a thing they were ready for. That he was ready for. They didn’t even live together and they might as well be on different planets given how much they missed each other when they were apart. Coran moved to fetch over the examination stool, Keith sank heavily on to it. He literally no longer had the strength to remain standing. A baby... They’d been careful. He didn’t know how... He didn’t know what to say.

“I’ll leave you two for now. If anything happens, press the red buzzer above the bed. It’ll alert the staff. Don’t worry, my sweet boys. We’ll work this out together”  
What about the fall? What about all the blood? There’d been so much blood? Keith felt numb. Someone had once said that humans only have three main emotions; happiness, anger, and sadness. Every other emotion was like a colour on the spectrum, made from those three emotions. What a load of crap. He didn’t know where his emotions apparently fell, but he did know he wasn’t any of them, and all of them at the same time.

Left alone with his boyfriend, Lance watched him. Keith holding his hand tightly as he had been when he’d first taken it in his  
“Babe... dun... worry... ‘m okay”  
“How is any of this okay?!”  
Lance was hooked up to monitors, two IV’s running into his left arm. His face was bruised, and there was a light weight casting around his left wrist. He looked how Keith had expected him to look after he’d fought Lotor. Not fallen down a set of stairs. Fucking stupid stairs. What was Matt thinking leaving Lance like this?! He’d been so ill. Did Matt not care about Lance?! Was all of this some fucking joke? He should have brought him in sooner. Lance... was having a baby... their baby...

Wearily, Lance squeezed his hand with all the strength of a human, proving how weak he was  
“I’m... sorry... I thought... It’d pass... in a few... days”  
The words were taking so much effort on Lance’s part. Chest heaving as a machine beeped at them, Keith softly scolding his boyfriend   
“You should have told me sooner. You never tell me”  
“Got worse today... Keith... I... don’t know what to do... a... baby... I...”

Tears rolled down Lance’s tilted face. His boyfriend sniffling, he didn’t have the strength to wipe them away. Keith knew he probably shouldn’t climb up next to him, but Lance really needed him right now and needed to hold his boyfriend... despite the part of him that wanted to run until his head had cleared and the whole thing had sunk in. It felt so surreal. It wasn’t a near miss. It was the real thing. Letting go of Lance’s hand, his boyfriend whimpered softly at the loss. When he moved the blankets, Lance scrunched his eyes closed, as if he expected Keith to turn on him, or throw him out the bed. 

Settling carefully beside Lance, Keith laid on his side, forehead against his boyfriend’s. He knew Lance was trying to work up the strength to apologise again, his hand coming up to cup Lance’s cheek as he rubbed at the tear mark with the pad of his thumb  
“You need to rest. Then we can talk about this”  
“I’m...”  
“You’re exhausted”  
And Keith needed to think. He’d been planning on surprising Lance dressed in the same clothes he’d worn as a pet for a laugh. Not having Lance rushed here by Matt, and having to be made to feel useless at the sight of all that blood  
“Baby...”  
“We’ll work it out”  
“I... sorry...”  
“Shhh, enough apologising. You can apologise when you’re awake enough to know you don’t need to”

*  
Lance fell asleep next to him, Keith unable to sleep. Somehow his hand had found its way to Lance’s belly, his boyfriend whining softly in his sleep when he caught himself and went to move it. A baby was not part of their plans. Not in the middle of all this shit. He wasn’t father material. He didn’t know how that worked. He’d enjoyed having what he had with Lance. He couldn’t be like Krolia. He couldn’t leave Lance with the responsibility of raising a child alone, but he couldn’t turn his back on what was happening.

When Shiro finally arrived, his brother had brought flowers. Keith wondering if Coran hadn’t been able to keep the secret over their news. Matt had probably heard everything. What was he doing now? Telling everyone? Laughing at them for getting themselves into the situation? He couldn’t work out when it would have happened. He prided himself on his ability to take care of Lance through his heats. Carrying the flowers over, Shiro placed them at the end of Lance’s bed near his feet  
“Hey, kiddo. Is he going to be okay?”

How was Keith supposed to know? Lance was male, turned breeder because of him. Surely there was bound to be all kinds of complications   
“I don’t know”  
“Matt told me he drove Lance here. Something about having a bad reaction?”  
His brother was probing for information. Keith had the answers but not the desire to disclose them  
“Something like that”  
Shiro sat on the opposite side of Lance’s bed. Keith nearly slapping his hand away as his brother felt for signs of a fever  
“Coran mentioned he’d be here for a few days. Did you know he was sick?”  
“A little... Coran said there’d be side effects and Lance just thought it was normal...”  
“Krolia’s worried. She got the call before me and left the mission ahead of time. She’s sitting in the hall, no ones allowed in without going past her”

What right did his mother have to be there?  
“The flowers are actually from her. She didn’t want to upset you by coming in. She offered to pick up Miriam if Lance was up for visitors”  
“Not today. Maybe tomorrow”  
Tomorrow when they’d have a clear idea what was going on... hang on  
“You saw Matt?”  
“Yeah. He said Lance wanted to lay down, then got up again and fell down the stairs. He was burning up, crying for you”  
Keith wished Shiro hadn’t told him that. He wasn’t there when Lance needed him... It felt fucking awful. No wonder Lance had made a huge fuss over his accident   
“Did he say anything else?”  
“Lance was bleeding, and pretty out of it... I know you’re probably angry at him, but right now no one is angrier about it all than Matt. Coran’s got Allura staying with him until Rieva can come up from her shift. Did Coran say anything else?”  
More than Shiro could imagine. His brother’s hand had gone from Lance’s forehead to resting on his hair  
“We won’t know more until tomorrow”  
“Alright. Would you like me to stay?”  
No  
“Yeah... just... I don’t think I can leave him..”  
“You don’t have to. As Lance would say, “I’ll punch anyone in the dick if they try to make you leave””

Keith snorted wetly, appreciative of Shiro’s attempt at humour   
“He’s strong, right?”  
“Yeah. He’s strong, and he’s going to be okay. The blood bag is a little low, I might let the staff know”  
Keith hadn’t noticed. He was supposed to be monitoring Lance’s condition. How could he be a dad if he couldn’t do this one simple thing?!  
“Hey, I don’t know what’s going on in your head right now, but this isn’t your fault. Not everyone has extreme reactions to things. Lance is different and he’s special. This won’t keep him down, you know that”  
“I’m not so sure”  
“I’ll have to be sure for all of then”

Over the night, Keith had too many visitors. Matt came with Allura. Coran popped in like clockwork, insisting he rest or eat. Keith moving off the bed to sit on the stool, falling asleep with his right hand on Lance’s belly and his left holding Lance’s hand, his cheek laying against it. Waking to fingers playing with his hair, he yawned as he blinked, back protesting the awkwardness of his sleeping position. Staring across the room, Lance was the one playing with his hair. Shiro was snoring where he sat against the wall with a blanket up to his shoulders. His brother staying as he said he would   
“Babe?”

Shifting his gaze down to him, Lance’s blue eyes hurt to see. He seemed so utterly defeated. Rising from the chair, Keith climbed back into bed beside him, pulling him close. Any other time he’d be making a joke about his coordination without coffee. Yet somehow, he was more awake than he should be. That look in Lance‘s driving away his fatigue  
“I’m sorry...”  
“Shhh...”  
“I didn’t know. I didn’t even suspect. I’ve gone and ruined everything”  
“No. No, you haven’t”  
“Did... did I lose it?”  
How long had Lance been awake wondering that?  
“Coran won’t know until he does an ultrasound”  
“I’m so fucking scared. I don’t know how... we... were careful”  
“I know we were... I know, babe”  
“You must hate me... but I didn’t know... I didn’t”

Lance started to weep, drawing his knees up as Keith kissed his hair   
“I know. I believe you”  
“How could I not know?!”  
“Shhh... Stress isn’t good for you...”  
Keith swallowed hard, forcing out the words that felt weird in his mouth  
“... or the baby”  
“I don’t know how to do this”  
“You think I do? Fuck. When Allura came to get me... I get how you felt now... not being there. I should have come when you first started feeling sick”  
“It... wasn’t... that bad until yesterday...”  
“Why didn’t you call me?”  
“I thought it was just the side effects... then I woke up feeling wrong... I went to get Matt...”  
So Lance had tried to do the right thing? He’d recognised, all be it late, that something more was going on  
“Shhh... okay. I get it”  
“I’m sorry...”  
“You don’t need to be sorry. Coran’s going to come check on in on you. Allura and Matt visited. Shiro slept here. None of them think you did anything wrong”  
“But I still made everyone worry”  
“Idiot. We love you. Of course we’re going to worry”  
Lance sniffled  
“I’m being so selfish. I haven’t even asked if you’re okay”

Keith could lie. He could lie and comfort Lance by pretending to be strong... yet he couldn’t do that. He had to be honest with the man he loved   
“I don’t know what I am... other than confused and scared”  
“What do we do?”  
“We wait. We see what the ultrasound says... and we figure it out”  
“And what... if they’re...”  
“Either way, we’ll work it out”  
Lance clutched up at him, Keith relieved his lover’s strength had started to return   
“I don’t think I can do this. I don’t think... I want to lose them”  
Keith swallowed down the emotions choking his throat. He didn’t know if Lance meant it or not, and Lance wasn’t in the right frame of mind to question him  
“Okay... okay... I’m here. I’m staying. We’ll figure this out”  
“I love you... so much... I wanted this in the future... I feel so guilty for it happening now”  
“You’re getting worked up again. Coran wants to you stay as calm as you can. We can’t do anything for now”  
“I’m still really tired”  
“You nap. I’ll be here holding you”  
“You really are the best boyfriend ever...”

Half an hour later, Coran knocked on the door before letting himself in. Waking Shiro up, his brother stretched as he yawned, Coran kind enough, and smart enough, to bring coffee with him. With Lance cuddled against him, Coran first handed a cup to Shiro, then brought one over to him. He didn’t get what Coran was trying to do by repeatedly jerking his head towards Shiro. His poor brother standing behind the man looking anxious. Coran finally having to take it on himself to gently send Shiro off for a shower so they could do testing, and Keith then getting what Coran meant. Social cues were not his friend.

Waiting for Shiro to leave, Coran then smiled at him softly  
“How are you feeling?”  
“Still pretty shocked and confused”  
And really clingy. Despite how he felt before, he didn’t want to let Lance go, nor did he want to let anyone near him  
“I’m sure you will for the next few days at least. How was Lance?”  
“He woke up for a bit, said he was still really sleepy”  
“Ah, to be expected. I did introduce a mild sedative into the IV. Nothing major, just a little something to help him rest. Now, I’m sure you’re both anxious. Why don’t you wake him up and I’ll get things organised. I’m afraid you’ll have to stand, I need space to examine him”  
Fuck. He didn’t want to move. Lance would get too upset if he did, but for Lance’s sake he had to  
“Can you take the cup for a moment?”  
“Of course. I’ll put on the table for now”

While Coran got organised, Keith nuzzled into Lance’s hair, kissing the soft locks between words  
“Babe. It’s time to wake up”  
Groaning at him, Lance made it clear what he thought of that idea   
“I know, but Coran’s here...”  
“Coran?”  
That got his attention. The cogs in Lance’s brain starting to work  
“Yeah, he’s here to do the scan”  
Lance groaned again, trying to wiggle in the bed before giving up. So damn cute...  
“Fuck... okay... ugh... something smells bad”  
“He brought coffee”  
Lance tried to sit up straighter again, groaning when he didn’t move. Sleepy Lance was adorable. Adorable and cute. He’d fight anyone who said otherwise.  
“Here, I’ll help you”

Modesty went out the window as Coran pulled the sheets down, and slid the gown Lance was wearing up. His boyfriend blushing, though he really didn’t need to. They were all men. They’d all seen a dick before. Squeezing whatever was in the bottle across Lance’s stomach, Keith wondered how the hell this all worked. In the movies it was all about full bladders and having to pee. It was like Coran read his mind   
“Now, this is going to be cold. You’re probably not going to enjoy it being cold, but you’re in good hands here. If we can’t get an image this way, we might have to... go up the ol’ pooper”  
Lance whined at the thought, Keith sympathetic, as Coran chuckled  
“You’ve had plenty of fluids over night. Alright, are we all ready?”  
Nope... Keith looked to Lance, who had his bottom lip trapped and bleeding  
“Babe, it’s going to be okay”  
Guilt flashed over Lance’s face. His boyfriend releasing his lip to take a deep breath   
“Okay... do it...”  
“Rightio!”

Coran was too enthused... and Keith was lost. Setting everything up was confusing enough to watch, now looking at what looked like grey fish in black, he hadn’t a clue what to look for. He truly was hopeless. Coran kept them hanging, humming and “ahhing” every so often as he’d stop. The wait was killing Keith’s soul. He was surprised it hadn’t flown out his mouth already and left him a lifeless heap on the floor. Enlarging the image on a black dot that looked the size of a coin, Coran smiled happily  
“And there is you baby”  
Keith blinked, blurting out   
“It’s a dot”  
Coran chuckled at him   
“Lance isn’t far along. 4 weeks if I do say so myself. For a man in a motorcycle accident, you must have been very active”

“Wiggling” his eyebrows, Coran had no shame with what he was implying. Drugs were good. And they’d both been desperate to feel each other... maybe they’d been too enthused... though he was sure they’d used a condom. In his defence, he was medicated and Lance was addictive  
“It’s... still there?”  
“Yes, my boy. Now, it’s too soon to know if there’s a heart beat. I’m having you stay here where I can monitor you. No stress or strenuous activity until your next scan. We’ll also need to get you on a new diet that’s got all the good things this little one will need. It’ll be a learning curve for all of us, and we’re all a little clueless how this will be for you. I’ve never looked after a male breeder, let alone one pregnant, but I promise to do my best. Now, I need to make some adjustments. I’ll be back to hang a new bag of blood, and bring a little breakfast if you think you can manage it”  
“I don’t feel hungry”  
“Even if you don’t, your little one needs the nutrients. Is there anything in particular you feel like?”  
“Sleeping?”

Coran threw his head back as he laughed. Keith thinking how he’d brought that one on himself. Lance could be bossy when he was sleepy   
“You can sleep my dear boy after you and Keith eat. You both need your strength of this little one is anywhere nearly as rambunctious as the pair of you. Still. I suppose I shouldn’t be getting too far ahead. I’m afraid I let the excitement get to me. Whether you choose to keep the baby or terminate the pregnancy is a serious conversation you can’t have on empty stomachs either. I suspect Keith also needs more coffee if he’s going to make an informed decision. Right. Let me clean you up, then I’ll fetch you something for those stomachs of yours”

Left alone by the whirlwind that was Coran, Keith was back on the bed again, Lance having both his hands resting on his stomach over the blankets. Taking his boyfriend’s right hand, he interlaced their fingers  
“What are you thinking?”  
“That we made a baby”  
Keith let out a long breath. He still couldn’t see how that black splodge would turn into a baby. Okay. So he knew babies happened and sometimes they happened despite protection... but now he couldn’t remember if they’d always been careful. Had he come in Lance? Not pulling out in time? He wouldn’t let Lance blame himself. With such bold thoughts, he failed at expressing them  
“Yeah... we did”

Someone shoot him. He wasn’t doing this right. Lance rubbed his belly the best he could with his left hand  
“Do you think they’ll be okay? I fell down the stairs and I poisoned them without even knowing”  
That was a lot of guilt to carry. None of them had thought that a precautionary test was necessary  
“I think if they’re as stubborn as you, they’ll be fine. But babe, you’ve got to be honest with me, how do you really feel about it?”

Lance took a shaky breath, squeezing his hand as he released it, needing a few moments to compose himself   
“I’m... in shock. I look at you, and you’re like the future... but I can’t see past what’s happening at the moment... and that... I don’t know. They’re in there. A bunch of cells without a face or heart beat... but they’re still there... I love us. I love us so much... yet... I can’t see how... how you’re not mad. I don’t know why you’re not yelling. Why you’re not... why you haven’t run for the hills?”  
“Idiot. It takes two to make a baby”  
“But it’s inside me. I’m a guy. I like being a guy. I like being your kind of guy. Am I still your kind of guy, if I’m pregnant? And... there’s you. You’re scared. This... this is big. And it’s only going to get bigger. That’s a whole person forming from your stuff and mine... and that’s fucking terrifying. I wasn’t supposed to fall in love, or be happy... and now... how do I explain this? How do I... tell them... without... without them being grossed out?”  
“Idiot. You felt the same way about telling them you were a vampire. Things might have awkward, but Pidge couldn’t find it cooler”  
“Yeah... Matt had to be so scared. I... I think I need to think about this. You... you should talk to Shiro”

That sounded a lot like Lance was shutting him out. Had he made up his mind? He said he thought he wanted to keep it... and now he wasn’t sure? Did he want him gone so he could get rid of it without him?  
“You want me to go?”  
“No. I can hear what you’re thinking. You’re thinking the worst of me. You’re wondering if I did it on purpose. I told you I didn’t! I didn’t suspect! I should have, but I didn’t and now I’m thinking I need to fucking think and have a nap, and you’re there writing me off when I was thinking that you should tell Shiro so you had someone to talk to that wasn’t Coran! I can’t fucking believe you! This... we did this together. You said we’d work it out together!”  
“How am I supposed to know what to think!? You were covered in blood. All down your legs and your feet. Matt was covered in blood. You don’t want me to go, then you’re saying you need to think and I have to talk to Shiro!”  
“Because I want you to really think about this! I want you to have your brother there! God, I’m not sending you off to have him convince you I need abortion, that you think I’m too cowardly to say! I want you to talk to him because he’s your brother and you love him! He’s your brother. Your family... I don’t want you running around having to deal with guilt of lying to him”

He’d fucked this up. He needed to back peddle  
“You’re my priority!”  
“That’s why I was going to suggest it later when I finally get to take a nap! Honestly, I don’t want you to go anywhere I can’t see, but I want you to be to talk properly with your brother. Lies hurt, Keith. This is... you need to talk with him... this is bigger than us”  
Okay. He’d definitely been told  
“I’m sorry. I’m still freaking out. You’re not supposed to be stressing. We definitely shouldn’t be yelling. Fuck... I don’t want to leave you here alone”

Lance huffed at him, before hissing slightly as he shifted his weight. Stress was bad. He was stressing Lance out by making him cranky   
“I know that. I’m not planning on doing anything without talking to you. I’m just so fucking tired and kind of tender from falling down the stairs at home. I think I must have messed my wrist up and this cast thing is really damn itchy... and I literally don’t have the energy to keep fighting. You don’t have to go talk to Shiro, but I think you should. God. We’re lucky everything is sound proof around here. We’d be in so much shit if Coran heard us”

Thank fuck his mother couldn’t hear them... He had a feeling her liking of Lance would drop the moment she found out. As for talking to Shiro... he knew he had to... his brother was really worried about Lance, but how did he tell him that he’d knocked Lance up?

“If I say I’ll think about it, will I get hit?”  
Lance sighed at him, he’d paled a lot with all the yelling he’d done. Normally blood perked him right up. He must be feeling awful not to be letting his ego flare at all  
“No. I’m not going to force it on you. I’m not going to force any of this on you. Now, I’m going to try and get as many cuddles in and as much dozing as I can do before Coran comes back”  
“Good thing I’m here”  
“The best thing is that you’re here. Never forget that Keith. The world is better for having you... never forget that”

With his coffee out of reach, Keith decided he needed to keep his mouth shut. No more upsetting Lance. They had enough to figure out now. A baby. How did... how was Lance even expected to give birth? And where would he live? Their apartment wasn’t baby friendly, but Lance’s house had stairs. Maybe Lance was right and beyond the whole issue of keeping the child, there were a lot more things to work out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pregnant Lance!
> 
> Happy season of festivities!!!  
> I hope you’re all safe, well, and loved. I love every single people who’s popped by, shout out to you silent readers too! Thank you for all your love and comments! Thank you for taking the time to get this far! Thank you all so much!


	106. Chapter 106

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently we’ve gone back to updates every second day. I love you all!

106

Keith didn’t know what to do now that Lance had been fed and showered. Lance had wanted to use the bathroom, against Coran’s recommendations, leading to him throwing up on his blankets and Coran admitting maybe he hadn’t thought about that side of things. Lance distressed as Keith shot Coran an angry glare over his lover’s head, before he helped Lance in the bathroom, while the sheets were changed, his boyfriend too tired to be embarrassed. Keith kind of had an opener at the fact that Lance didn’t much strength after what had happened. That scared him. Lance always bounced back. He’d been out of it for days with Matt, but a good feed and some snuggles had perked him back up. If Lance was going to be this weak, there was no way he could go back to Garrison where his bedroom was upstairs. Lance had probably already foreseen this, because his boyfriend was stupidly smart.

Bringing Lance scrubs to change into, Keith dressed him, then helped him into bed. Kissing his boyfriend’s forehead, Lance smiled at him. His idiot crumpet knew what he was thinking, pursing his lips for his leaving kiss. Kissing him softly, Lance hummed at him sweetly. If he kept this up, he wasn’t going to be able to leave   
“I’m going to head back to the apartment, I’ll bring you back some of my clothes”  
“Okay... I’ll be here... don’t worry”  
“Idiot. I’m always going to worry. Do you want anything else?”  
“No... I’m gonna try and sleep”  
“I’ll take good care of him. I’ll call if anything happens”  
“Alright. I don’t think I’ll be that long. Get some sleep, babe. I love you”  
“I love you, too. Take your time, I’ll be here”

Keith nearly turned back half a dozen times on the jog home. He was going to be a dad and that wasn’t part of his life plans. He didn’t know he should be excited, or if he really should be telling Shiro, which was why had to. His brother had been his support for so long. He couldn’t shut him out of this. Reaching the apartment, he had to knock as his stuff was still at VOLTRON in the lockers, Shiro opened the door expression filling with relief. He should feel awful for letting his brother sleep on the floor, but that didn’t matter as his brother pulled him in for a hug. Kosmo coming flying with a scampering of nails on the floor, trying to climb up his leg for attention  
“Welcome home, kiddo”  
Parting form the hug, everything from the last 17 hours catching up to him. Squatting down he picked up his puppy, holding him tightly. He’d always be Keith’s baby boy, no matter if he was starting to get to be an armful   
“Thanks. I left my stuff at work”  
“All good, come on in. How’s Lance?”

There was that question. That heavy question that he couldn’t avoid  
“Um... I... uh, we better sit down. Are we alone here?”  
Keith’s gaze flicked to Shiro’s open bedroom door  
“Matt’s at his parents, Curtis went with him to make sure he’ll be okay. Rieva’s got work, but she left some chocolates for Lance and took care of cleaning the house up for him. Coran gave us an update this morning that Lance was doing better”  
“No one else is here?”  
“I don’t know who else you’re expecting”  
“You’re not funny. This is serious”  
His brother finally put on his “Serious Dad Face”  
“Then we better sit down”

All Kosmo wanted was Keith love and attention. He didn’t want to sit quietly in Keith’s lap. He hadn’t been able to talk Kosmo as much as he needed, and it showed in his hyperactivity. Still, a happy Kosmo meant he didn’t have to look his brother in the face. He knew he was going to be angry at them  
“Keith, you said you we had to sit. We’re sitting. What’s going on with Lance?”  
Fuck. Here it was...   
“You know how Lance had a bad reaction to the contraceptive?”  
“Yeah, kiddo. Did something else happen?”  
“You could say it happened before that... and we don’t know how it happened, and I know you’re going to be angry, but we didn’t mean for it to happen and this is all a mess but basically I guess I’m going to be a father... if Lance keeps it... I know we’ve been a thing since May and after the scare we wanted to wait and we didn’t think and it wasn’t on purpose and Lance wasn’t trying to hide it...”

Shiro slumped back against the sofa, covering his face with his hands and rubbing at his eyes with his finger tips. Keith was tearing up from his word vomit   
“How?”  
Defeatedly he sniffled sadly   
“We don’t know. I know you think... I know you don’t think we’re careful but we were... Lance would have freaked if we weren’t and he... he had no idea. Coran didn’t test... because we’ve been careful”  
“Are you sure it’s not another scare?”  
His brother sounded hopeful, crushing Keith with his tone. Keith mumbling, feeling like a kid dragged before the principal for bad behaviour when he technically hadn’t done anything wrong   
“Coran performed an ultrasound this morning... he says Lance is about 4 weeks. He doesn’t know if the pregnancy is viable because of all the blood Lance lost”

Shiro sighed heavily  
“Four weeks... normally people don’t tell anyone until 12 weeks, miscarriages are most common before then. Has... is... do you know what you want to do?”  
Keith shook his head   
“Lance is still tired from yesterday. He’s taking a nap... I know you’re mad. I know we fucked up, but I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what a family is meant to be like. I have you. You weren’t a baby I had to raise. You saved me... and gave me a home... and I don’t want to be like Krolia. I don’t want to... have to leave them behind for their safety... I feel sick... like I can’t breathe. It’s a baby... and Lance has to stay under observation because he could still lose it... He’s been through enough”

Grabbing him by the shoulder, Shiro pulled him up against him  
“I might be mad, but I’m never not going to be here when you need me”  
“I don’t know what to do! I never passed highschool! I don’t have a lot of money. Lance is better off and more educated than I’ll ever be! What if this pregnancy fucks him up? What if his body can’t support it? What if I lose him? I can’t let him go home if he can’t even hold my hand properly. And what about the baby? We were so messed up, and that was... that was a false alarm! Where do we live? What about Lotor? What about what’s happening? I don’t know what to do”

Shiro rocked him gently as Keith melted down. Kosmo trying to get his attention, but instead had to pat himself against Keith’s limp hand   
“It’s a lot, but you’re going to work this out. You and Lance are okay. Lance is probably in the best place he can be. Did you see the ultrasound? We’re you there for it?”  
Keith nodded, hiccuping as he tried to sniffle up his breath through his nose  
“I don’t know how a tiny black dot is supposed to be a baby. We used condoms. I pulled out. Lance would remember if we didn’t...”

Shiro didn’t need the details, cutting him off before he got them. They’d been pretty intense, Lance trying to show him how much he loved and needed him, Keith somewhat high and needing his boyfriend to feel that he was alive and hadn’t left him.

“Okay. Shhh, you’re okay. What’s happened has happened. What did Coran say?”  
Too much about some things and not enough about the others. Keith envied how calm Shiro was able to make himself sound  
“Last night he was running tests but he didn’t mention them this morning. He was more concerned with the ultrasound... he said... it happened around the time of the accident”

His brother kissed his hair. Shiro knowing made it all so real and heavy. He was potentially going to be a dad. He and Lance had been dating since May... Keith’s birthday was approaching too fast. At this rate he wouldn’t be able to have time off work for his birthday... not with being there for Lance and making sure he was resting and eating. Shiro spelled things out bluntly   
“The moment my back was turned you both dove into bed, passionate to show each other you’re alive, and you made a baby. I hate to say it, kiddo, you probably got too caught in the heat of the moment to think things through. Are you staying?”

Possibly? Maybe? Probably... It had been... kind of hot and they’d definitely been caught up in the moment...  
“Lance told me not to worry... but I feel like shit being away from him. I haven’t even thanked you for staying last night... I... I’m a bad brother... you can’t tell the others. Please. Not until... he might still loose it... we... haven’t talked properly. I upset him. Coran said no stress and I thought... he said I had to go talk to you and I thought he was trying to kick me out because he didn’t want me now he had the baby...”  
“You’re an idiot. Lance would walk through hell if it meant seeing you. He adores you”  
“And I love him... but I don’t know how a baby fits into this”  
“I’ll support you. Support you both, however I can”  
“But... he’s probably going to have to stay here, because he’s got stairs and he’s so weak and I don’t want you feeling out of place in your own home”  
“Keith, we will work this out. What do you really want? Forget everything complicated for the moment. What do you honestly want?”  
“To be with him”  
“And the baby?”  
“I don’t want, but maybe? I just... I have no idea what I’m doing”  
“Let me tell you a little secret, no parent does. I didn’t know how to look after you when I met you, and look at us now. We worked it out together”  
“Yeah, with Adam...”  
“Adam wouldn’t want you to be sad. He’d probably kick your arse and tell you to face this head on, but he’d be so proud of you. So proud”  
“For getting my boyfriend pregnant?”

Adam would have kicked his arse for being irresponsible... Then he would have insisted the sit down and form a plan for what comes next. Shiro would scold him when he was being to blunt... but they’d been... They’d pretty much been the best stand in parents... despite the times Keith felt like he was the third wheel.

Kissing his hair, his brother ignored what he’d said  
“For letting yourself finally chase something that makes you truly happy. This won’t be easy, but you have all of us. Lance can stay here as often and as much as he needs. I imagine you’ll worry a lot less”  
“He has a whole life in Garrison. He’s been fighting his hardest to get that life back”  
“He’s been fighting his hardest to have you in his life and to be with you. You’re not taking anything away from him. You’re not taking his life away from him. He adores you, kiddo. He’s proud of you. This baby, that doesn’t mean he loves you less”  
“Are you sure?”  
“I’m certain. Now, what do you want to do?”  
“I... feel like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop and Lance to miscarry”  
“And if that happens, we’ll all be here. But until then, and hell, it might not happen at all, you’re allowed to be excited”

A baby with Lance. That... he’d entertained the idea mentally. He’d felt that need that Lance felt during sex. Lance would make an amazing father. He had so much patience and so much to give. That it was his baby... he couldn’t... he didn’t want to abandon it. He didn’t want Lance to lose it. His eyes widening as he realised that’s what it really came down to. He wasn’t ready, but he... a kid with Lance. A warm and happy family. Lance waiting for him to come home. He could almost see it now, without the intrusive thoughts. This was his kid. Their kid. Something of the both of them that hadn’t been planned but now it existed he wanted them to live...  
“You’ve made up your mind”  
“I don’t... I think I...”  
“You’re going to be a dad. And an amazing dad at that. Even better I get to be the awesome uncle. I can’t wait to show them my bobble head collection”  
Oh lord. The jokes had started  
“You’re not teaching my kid to be lame like you”  
“You and Lance are lame enough to do that yourself. Now, are you staying?”  
“I want to head back. Even if he’s sleeping, I want to be there”  
“Alright, kiddo. I have to catch up with Matt and Curtis, they’re talking with Sam. He actually helped develop a program for VOLTRON that decrypts dead languages. He didn’t even realise at the time until he was approached for more work from private parties. That’s how he knows. He told Colleen about it. She grows a lot of herbs for the medicine used for werewolves. I had no clue at all. I just thought he was slightly weird because he had Matt and Katie for kids”

That explained a lot. Keith didn’t really know Pidge’s parents. He did know Colleen liked plants and Sam was some kind of engineering genius. Coran would want the best, even if it meant out sourcing  
“Pidge would kill you if you called her Katie”  
“I know. Do you need help?”  
“Nah. I’m going to grab a shower and some clothes. I was thinking of taking Kosmo to visit”  
“Lance would like that. You get ready and I’ll drop you off on the way”  
Lance was right about him talking to Shiro. His brother was far cooler and more mature than he’d tell him. Shiro was always there when he needed him  
“Thanks... thanks, Shiro. I... really can’t thank you for everything you’ve done for me...”  
“Hey, we’re brothers. No matter what happens, you’ll always be my little brother”

*  
Lance was awake when Keith come back, his boyfriend poking at the food in front of him. The fork dropping out his hand at the sight of Kosmo. Krolia hadn’t said much as he’d left the first time, just asking him to let her know if he needed anything, then telling him to call her when he was ready to leave when he came back  
“It’s my fur son!”  
He seemed perkier. Keith didn’t even get a hello. Kosmo pulling on his lead to get to Lance  
“I thought you’d like a visit and I thought you’d be sleeping”  
Lance nodded, then wrinkled his nose up  
“Coran woke me up, apparently I have to have lunch early”  
Nope, Lance wasn’t perkier. He sounded exhausted, the perk limited to his excitement over seeing Kosmo. Though, he was probably also nervous over what Keith had talked to Shiro about. Moving the hospital table out the way, Keith then hefted Kosmo up, keeping his arms around his chest so he wouldn’t just jump on Lance.

Lance got plenty of licks off Kosmo, Kosmo straining for more pats  
“I think he missed you”  
“I think he’s best boy. He can have my lunch”  
“No. You have to have your lunch. He’s going back down until he settles”  
Lance pouted, Keith lifting Kosmo down off the bed, then moving the hospital table back into place. Lance’s lunch didn’t look terrible. At one stage it’d been a salad  
“I really don’t want to eat it all...”  
“It’s good for you, and the baby”  
Lance blinked at him at the word “baby”, sighing heavily as he made a show of picking up his fork  
“Fine. Just maybe find a bucket?”  
“Your stomach still unsettled?”  
“A bit. That and when you know you’re going to throw up again... I mean, it has to come up, but usually I’m not on display. It’d be nice if it could just stay down until I’m ready to deal with it”  
“Yeah. That doesn’t sound fun, but I’m back. I got you a some of my clothes”

Keith wasn’t sure what he’d shoved into his backpack. He’d just grabbed whatever looked comfortable and a towel so Lance wouldn’t have to use one of the ones there  
“Thanks... you didn’t have to come back so soon”  
“It’s fine”  
“Not when you’ve been crying... Did... did talking to Shiro go alright?”  
Keith nodded. It’d been better than expected and helped him pull his head in  
“Yeah. I told him. It was... you were right”  
“Sometimes that happens. I’m sorry if he was mad”  
“Nah. He’s like over the moon and said some stuff that helped. He said you can stay with us as much as you like”  
Lance bit his bottom lip. Keith didn’t know what he’d said wrong, but tears were forming in Lance’s eyes  
“Babe?”  
“I can’t believe I didn’t know”

Oh. Lance had been beating himself up again... Keith letting go of Kosmo’s lead in favour of holding Lance’s free hand  
“You couldn’t have”  
“I still feel like... like I should have. Lotor kept saying “someone in my situation”... he must have already known... I didn’t even notice my scent changing”  
“Lotor is a dick. He was probably just trying to mess with your head. There’s no way I’m letting him near you, or our baby”  
“So... does... do you...?”  
“If you’re asking me, I’m behind whatever you decide. Shiro calmed me down... he said he’d support us whatever we chose and I... that I’m allowed to feel what I’m feeling”  
“I’m glad you know what you’re feeling, I feel like a mess”  
Keith squeezed Lance’s hand carefully  
“To me you kind of feel like the man I love. Rieva left some chocolates with Shiro. She had to go back to work”  
“I need to apologise to her, and to Matt”  
“We’ll get there. For now you need to eat”  
“I was really hoping you’d forget about that”  
“You can hope all you like, buddy. If you eat your salad you can have the chocolate”  
“You’re holding my chocolate captive?”  
“Only until you’ve at least tried to eat the salad”  
“Picking me already... you’re not supposed to be mean to pregnant people”  
“You’re different. I don’t care about them. I care about you”  
“Fine. Ugh... I wonder if Coran try making smoothies. I wonder if it’ll stay down if there’s blood in there”  
“You haven’t tried it before?”  
“Nope. Sounded gross and creepy. Oh, he’s coming back soon. I get to be stabbed. Yay”  
Keith jerked slightly. He didn’t like the idea of Lance being stabbed. Coran already took samples. What else did he want?  
“What’s that meant to mean?”  
“Vitamin shots. For all I’ve been throwing up, and that. My levels aren’t awful, but he’s in full “Doctor” mode”  
“That makes sense. Now, eat. Then we can cuddle and you can get some sleep”  
“You need sleep too. You’re exhausted and I can tell, so don’t try say you’re not”  
“If you’re a good boy and eat your lunch, then I’ll sleep up next to you. Deal?”  
Lance sighed at him. Keith sympathetic. Eating when you knew you were going to throw it up after days of throwing up didn’t sound fun. From here on out Lance would be doing all the hard bit of the pregnancy. All he’d would be able to support Lance the best he could   
“Deal”

Kosmo took it upon himself to try to destroy the room as Lance slowly ate his lunch. He didn’t find a bucket, but he did find disposable vomit bags in one of the cupboards, Lance seeming self conscious about eating in front of him. They’d already gotten to the cuddles by the time Coran came back. Kosmo making himself at home on Lance’s right side, Keith on the left where he was conscious of the cannula in his boyfriend’s arm. The best was hardly big enough for the two of them, let alone Kosmo who liked to sleep on his back with everything on display.

“Keith, good to see you back, my boy. And Lance, I see you ate. Excellent. Normally dog’s aren’t allowed up on the bed, but I think we can make an exception for Kosmo. Now. Have you two had a chance to have a little chat about what you want to do?”  
Keith was the one snuggled up against Lance the best he could be. It was easier for Lance that way, as he didn’t have to bend his arm to cuddle  
“We’re...”  
Lance sounded hesitant. Like he didn’t know what to say or how to say it. Keith manning up. He got that his boyfriend would be nervous when Coran could be so damn weird   
“I’ve told Lance I support him and our baby, no matter what happens”  
Coran clapped his hands together as he beamed from the foot of Lance’s bed  
“Excellent. No matter what happens, you both have my support. Has Lance told you about the injection?”  
“Yeah. It’s because he can’t keep food down, isn’t it?”  
Coran nodded quickly   
“Indeed. I’ll be giving him injections over the next few days and monitoring his bloods. I’ll also be giving you a list of things I want him to take when he leaves. Fresh blood would help a lot, and I want you two to have a serious talk about that. There are a lot of unknown factors in this pregnancy, so we’ll all need to work as a team. I’m going to keep Lance here for about a week. Then I want him to spend the next week close to Platt where we can get him help if anything were to happen. I’ll have a word with our Shiro about what to look out for, and a word to both of you, closer to discharge time. You have found out rather early, and in a rather unpleasant way. It grieves me deeply I let this happen, but finding out so soon means we can make real progress on stabilising both Lance and your child. Now, Lance, your blood levels weren’t bad, the transfusions would have helped with that, but you’re not out of the woods just yet my boy. Any cramping or bleeding could be a sign of loss. I want you to be honest. Not speaking up will only serve to hurt you and your baby”

They both hand their hands resting on Lance’s belly. Keith’s on top of Lance’s. The vampire moving his hand slightly as he rubbed at the nonexistent swell  
“I... yeah. I get it... I’m still really tired and I threw up lunch before you got here”  
“Would you say it was sooner or later than you’d normally throw up?”  
“About the same? The nausea is better than yesterday. I spent most of the morning on the bathroom floor”  
“Excellent. I’ve been adding blood to everything administer. Now, you may develop some sensitivity as the pregnancy progresses. The child is mostly human after all. I want to take a few samples from you Keith. Just as a sample data. That can wait for now. Right. I’ll give you this injection and get out of your way until dinner time. Don’t you worry about Miriam either. I’ve given her a call, and I’ll pop round to see her tomorrow”  
“Can she come?”

Lance’s question was directed at both of them. Keith nuzzling into his boyfriend’s chest  
“Babe. You don’t need to ask me. She’s your mum. It’s okay to want her here”  
Coran’s smile lessened a little  
“I’m sorry that’ll have to wait until you’ve regained some of your strength. It’s taxing enough on you, as well as controlling your ego. Rest today, then I’ll bring her by tomorrow”  
Lance’s body seemed to slump without moving. He might not be close to Krolia, but Mami meant the world to Lance. If Lance needed her there, he’d pick her up himself   
“I understand”  
He shouldn’t have to  
“I know this is hard. Krolia questioned me already over your condition. She was quite angry at being able to help. Until I’m certain there won’t be a mishap, we must air on the side of caution. If Keith was not your partner I wouldn’t have allowed him to stay as it was”  
“You let everyone visit last night”  
There was bite Keith’s tone as he pointed out the obvious   
“As Lance was sleeping...”  
“Babe, it’s okay. He knows that if something did happen, I’d be devastated. If he says it’s safer for us to wait, then I’ll have to be patient”  
“It’s not fair”  
“It’s not, but I’ve got you... honestly, I’d probably sleep through her visiting. The pair of us would be snoring our heads off. Coran can I have that injection now? I wanna take a nap”  
Lance was trying to hard. If he could see his boyfriend’s face he knew he’d see that fake smile. This sucked  
“Sure, my boy. Just a quick jab and then I’ll be on my way”

As quick as Coran appeared he was gone again. Keith still mad at him, and Lance knew it  
“Babe, it’s okay”  
“It’s not. She’s your mum. You should be able to have your mum here. You don’t have to hide how much you want her”  
“No, but I do have to be careful... I really do want to see her... but not if I could hurt her”  
“You wouldn’t do that”  
“You can’t say that for sure”  
“I can because it’s you. I can go...”  
“No. No. I’ll see her tomorrow. I don’t know what I’m going to tell her”  
“The truth?”  
“I know that much... Keith, are you really sure you’re okay with this? You’re not trying to put my wants first?”  
“No, babe. I’m scared and I have no idea what a father really is. I lost my dad too soon. And I’m probably going to be the worst dad ever...”  
“You? I’m probably going to drop the baby”  
“You’d catch them with those reflexes of yours”  
Lance snorted at him  
“I don’t think normal people make these jokes”  
“Fuck normal. You’re going to be a good dad”  
“No... we’ll be good dads together... I don’t want to lose it now I know they exist”  
“Me neither... I’m scared too”  
“I know you are... I’m just sorry I’m so sleepy. I want to talk to you better but I can barely keep my eyes open”  
“That’s okay. Get some rest. I’m not leaving your side”

*  
Lance was internally freaking the fuck out. He was pregnant. Baby on board. Life growing inside of him. His own personal version of that Alien movie where it burst out his stomach. There was a baby in him. Keith and his wonder dick had proved he definitely had great swimmers in there and now he was up the duff, bun in the oven... Pregnant.

In a lot of ways he was grateful for being so fatigued. He really did want to talk to Keith, but he was so damn tired that sleeping meant it was put off. Keith couldn’t possibly be as okay as he was making out. This wasn’t something small. This was like a whole life inside of him. They’d been careful... but not careful enough... and now he had a baby growing inside of him... and it was weird. Keith’s birthday weekend was approaching. He’d been looking forward to that too much, but if he went hiking, Keith would probably fret too much to enjoy himself. And then there were the others to consider. What did he tell them and when did he tell them? Pidge and Hunk were physical people. Pidge would drop into his lap for cuddles and Hunk would sweep him off his feet. That’s how it was. How did he tell that was a no go? And how was his baby even alive after what happened? What if they’d been hurt? What if something was wrong with them? He couldn’t stop the continuous bombardment in his sleepy head. 

Keith was snoring against him. His poor boyfriend had to see him hurt again... and it’s been bad from what he’d said. He’d hurt him again. Scared him. He’d scared him so many times... but he... When this all sank in, what would he really say? When the shock was over they were left with the truth, would Keith still want a baby with him? Or would he ask him to abort? His damn stupid mind was already attached to the tiny thing knowing it existed. Part of him screamed with happiness, the dirty rotten traitor part. He wanted to be rational, but the idea of having a baby with Keith, though a surprise, was something he’d wanted long into the future when everything was over... He couldn’t... He wanted... He wanted to keep the baby... but he couldn’t do that if Keith wasn’t ready. This might be his body, but Keith was his heart and soul.

He’d had kind of the same talk with Coran when Coran had brought him lunch. Coran back and forth between being happy for them being realistic. His decisions no longer were purely his to make... He wondered if his mother felt the same. He was 3 years older than when she’d had him. Her brood already full of 4 mischievous kids. Kids were loud and messy. Scraped knees and blood noses came with the territory. Would their baby be fully human, or would it pop out with little bat wings and ears? Would he be able to cope? And would there ever be that urge for blood and to feed on them? It made him feel sick thinking about it.

But... he kept coming back to it. He was attached. This little life he and Keith had made. Their love had made a whole other human. No. More like their lust. They liked where they were. Keith job was finally making him happy. Lance was the one overthinking things, always stalling and pulling away. Acting his age went out of the window when Keith was around. His boyfriend had had a pretty shitty life. They both had. They both had the emotional scars to prove it. He wanted this baby. But he could very well lose it and all of this could be for nothing. Keith would put on a brave face, tell him it wasn’t his fault. When it would be. He didn’t want to lose it. He didn’t want to fall asleep and wake up covered in his own blood. He didn’t want to cause everyone pain... but most of all he was so fucking tired of being like this. With all these thoughts. What would his Mami think? She’d thought she’d never see him fall in love. She loved Keith. But this would drive his family further apart... and he was so sick of that. Luis wouldn’t understand... None of them ever could. They were human. He wasn’t. No matter how much he tried. If he was human, he wouldn’t be pregnant. His body would change. His stomach would round out. Would Keith still love him then? When he no longer looked like this? He’d never deny Keith access to his child. He’d never take that away from him, even if they didn’t work out. But would he be filled with longing for Keith every time he saw him? Would he cope with Keith moving on? He knew he wouldn’t. Keith was so fucking good to him. Too good to him. He was amazed how much love Keith had for him, especially seeing how much he’d hated him to begin with. If Keith had pulled that trigger, none of this would have happened. He’d never know what it was to love someone like he loved Keith. He didn’t want to hold Keith back. This thing with Honerva... he’d leave. He’d leave when it came time to go after her... and Lance wouldn’t stop him if that’s where he needed to be. Keith had been wounded by the loss of Krolia... Lance had Coran. Coran, Allura, Matt, Rieva, Hunk, Pidge, and his Mami... would Keith feel replaced?

Keith let out a rather loud nasally snore, his fingertips digging into Lance’s stomach. His boyfriend was so incredibly adorable. So soft and kind, under his anger loaf outside. He’d come a long way from when he thought he didn’t know how to people very well. He wasn’t the problem, it was the people around him who didn’t care what he had to say. Shiro and Adam did the best they could, but now Keith had a whole bunch of friends who loved him for him and his confidence had grown. He didn’t lurk in group chat anymore, sometimes even initiating conversation. He loved that. That Keith was opening up to them fully. He was so proud of his boyfriend... and now he was carrying his baby. Their baby.

Letting Keith’s snoring lull him back to sleep, he fell asleep still holding Keith’s hand.


	107. Chapter 107

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good morning! The shenanigans continue

107

“Careful! You’ve only just got out of hospital this morning”

Lance rolled his eyes at Keith. He totally hadn’t noticed that at all. He totally hadn’t enjoyed standing in the sun, and feeling the cold wind across his. After a week of tests and monitoring, Lance was sooooo not in a rush to go back to that room again  
“I’m fine”  
“Here, Let’s get you to the sofa. You should be resting”  
Keith looped his arm around his waist as if he thought Lance as some kind of wounded soldier and not 5 weeks pregnant. He was doing so much better for having rested and seen his friends.

They went the half truth. A lie that weighed heavily. Pidge and Hunk had come up with Rieva to see him. Hunk in tears that his best bud had had an accident, Pidge having some not so nice words for not letting them come see him sooner. The first three days all he’d pretty much done was sleep. When Mami came, Keith gave up his position beside him in bed, Lance falling asleep against his mother. When he’d woken again, his Mami was talking to Keith about how he’d been as a child. It was embarrassing. His Mami had come to see him three times, thanks to Coran and Shiro picking her up and dropping her off. Krolia had come by to check on him when he’d sent Keith off to find a decent cup of coffee before VOLTRON wound up burnt to the ground. His friends had come twice. Matt was in tears as he apologised, his, and Rieva’s, scents making Lance’s stomach roll, yet he got to thank both of them which made up for the discomfort. Lance knew he couldn’t put off telling his mother, but Coran wanted to do another ultrasound the following week. Provided things were still okayish, he planned to tell her then. Making her worry needlessly over something they couldn’t control... he didn’t want that, but it was hard not to blurt everything out because she was... she was his guiding light.

Forced to sit on the sofa, Lance patted Kosmo as he climbed into his lap. Keith pulling him off him  
“Babe, you’ve got to be careful. You can’t let him climb on you like that”  
“Coran wouldn’t have let me out if it wasn’t alright. I feel better. I’m doing better”  
They were keeping the baby, but not telling anyone for the time being. He was too tired to tell his Mami, and honestly was avoiding the conversation for now until it’d sunk in   
“You still need to take it easy”  
“I am. I don’t know how much easier I can take things”

Keith argued that he should take time off work. Lance disagreed. Keith was cranky. Lance stressed. Shiro stepping in to gently pursued Keith that as long as Lance was at VOLTRON he was getting the best care he could. Keith had work throughout the day, suiting Lance fine as it meant cuddles at the end of it. His body was telling him to rest, and he was listening  
“Maybe the bed would be better?”

Reaching up, Lance pulled Keith down by his shirt to awkwardly kneel at his level. He didn’t want Keith to leave, still, this wasn’t about him. Keith needed to head to work, the scent of him in the apartment was strong enough to make him feel safe. Pursing his lips, his boyfriend kissed him gently like he’d wanted him to do. Smiling from the kiss, Lance hoped it’d relieved some of Keith’s worries  
“Babe, I’m fine. I’ve got the TV and my soap operas to catch up on”  
“I should be here”  
Lance rolled his eyes again, before kissing Keith   
“I’m not going to die from loneliness just because you’ve got to go to work. I’ve got my phone thanks to Rieva, go enjoy being bossed around. I’m just gonna look at some stuff online and watch TV”  
“You need to cancel my birthday weekend too”

Lance didn’t want to fight, but that wasn’t happening  
“We’re still going”  
“You can’t be traipsing across the country side”  
“First off, who says “traipsing”. Secondly, I am living for that get away. Coran said if everything stays good, we’ll be able to go. Even if I can’t go, I still want everyone else to have fun”  
“But the baby...”  
“Isn’t going anywhere if I can help it. I’ll call if anything happens, which it won’t. You’re fussing too much”  
“You’re not fussing enough!”

Lance let out a chuckle  
“If you’re this bad, I can’t imagine what you’re gonna be like when I pop this baby out. I’m fine, I’ll be fine. You’re only at work until 5, then you’re back home”  
“That’s ages”  
“Babe, it’s 6 hours”  
“Seeeee ages!”  
Not for a vampire it wasn’t. But to be without Keith it was. He wasn’t going to be selfish. If it got too much, he’d take himself to bed and sleep until his boyfriend returned  
“Time will pass sooner than you think with all your secret Blade work”  
“I’d rather be here”  
“I know. Look, I won’t even do housework. I’ll be good. Here, bathroom, kitchen or bed. That’s it”  
“You’re not supposed to be moving around”  
“I’m not going to be running laps of the apartment. Not with this little one to think of. Now give me another kiss”

Keith tried to draw out leaving as long as possible. Lance finding it cute. When his boyfriend finally left, he pulled his phone out as Kosmo jumped up on the sofa for pats. Keith wanted them to work this out together which meant he needed to understand more about what being pregnant entailed so he knew if something was wrong. Having a human baby inside of him, Coran wanted him to graze throughout the day in an attempt to get down as many calories as he could for the little one. Keith had to pick up a few things from the chemist on the way home from work, Lance not reminding him as he seemed sad enough over leaving. His boyfriend was basically an overgrown puppy.

After an hour of reading too much, he dropped his phone at the sound of someone outside the apartment. Kosmo growling, before leaping off the sofa and rushing to the door. Lance felt the need to bolt to safety. To lock himself in Keith’s room. He felt foolish when Shiro unlocked the door. Of course Shiro would be back. He was stuck on night shifts and surveillance, though Lance wasn’t sure if that was related to Honerva or trying to keep the peace. Letting himself in, Shiro went about locking the door again and setting the alarm, before scooping Kosmo up for pats. The hunter jumping as he noticed Lance, Lance flinching momentarily   
“Sorry, Lance. I completely forgot you’d be home today. Nice to see you out of that place”

Lance forced himself to relax. Shiro didn’t sound mad. Tired, but not mad. He’d stressed repeatedly that was okay for Lance to stay, but Lance still felt guilty as he couldn’t really contribute anything to the household lest Keith worry  
“Hey, Shiro. Uh, how was work?”  
“Long. I’m ready for bed. How’s freedom?”  
“Better than four white walls... Keith’s made me promise not to do anything”  
Shiro chuckled, Kosmo licking at his face as Shiro tried to be out of reach and failed  
“I can imagine. Don’t worry about him. He’ll settle down”  
“Dude, we both know that’s not true. He doesn’t even want me getting up to use the bathroom”  
Keith had to help him use the bathroom more than once thanks to his lack of energy and Lance had felt an all time low over his useless   
Shiro chuckled again  
“He’s just excited. I’ve already been told I’m not allowed to make your kid lame like me”  
A smile formed on the edges of Lance’s lips  
“You’re gonna be like the favourite uncle an he’s already jealous. This kid is going to be so confused. A werewolf for uncle. A slightly cursed uncle. A grandmother pushing 90. A hunter for an uncle... I could go on...”

Shiro dropped Kosmo down on the sofa, his fur son giving him a cocky look over his shoulder, before jumping off to trot after Shiro into the kitchen. His love for Lance lost to the slightest chance of a treat from his uncle   
“On the plus side I don’t think anyone outside of a royal family has had this much protection. I’m gonna make some coffee, you want one?”  
“Nah, I’m good... if you want to watch TV I can move”  
“It’s fine. I usually just have it on for background noise until I fall asleep. Besides, I don’t think we’ve been alone like this for a while”  
That was true. Keith was like a guard dog when Lance was in VOLTRON’s infirmary   
“Not since Keith decided he bitumen needed his skin more than him”

Keith had the scars from the accident. The lighter ones would fade one day, yet Lance would never forget to treasure the darker ones as proof Keith was still alive. His boyfriend a little self conscious, but Lance didn’t mind. Shiro hummed, setting about getting his mug out and his coffee made  
“Yeah, that sounds about right. How are you feeling, mother, or is father, to be?”

He wasn’t the first man to be pregnant, though his plumbing was a little unusual  
“Father to be. And I know it’s been a week, but it’s still pretty surreal”  
“I can’t imagine. I already talked to Keith, and he’s still pretty shocked”  
“I don’t blame him. This wasn’t exactly planned”  
“Still, it gives you guys hope for the future. I hope we can wrap this case up soon”  
That’s be nice. Nice to know Lotor had left and life was returning to normal  
“So do I... I know I’m not supposed to be prying, but if you need someone to bounce ideas off, I’m here. Literally. Keith seems pretty keen on me avoiding going home. He really has an issue at the thought of me and stairs”  
“I know you couldn’t help it, but you could have been less dramatic about announcing you’re pregnant”

Lance felt himself laugh before he realised his mood had actually picked up. Shiro wasn’t Keith, but having someone in the apartment washed away the loneliness he didn’t know he felt. He’d been so spoilt for attention lately  
“Trust me, I would have picked a different time too. Maybe, like, in a few years.... like, when Honerva was dealt with and Keith was in a better place?”  
“He’s already in a better place. He worked his arse off for the Blades, and still felt like nothing. Now matter what Adam and I did or said. I’d been with Blades so long that I guess I was used to their...”  
Shiro paused as he tried to think of how to word it  
“Particular brand of weirdness?”  
Shiro snorted, Lance kind of happy he could talk to Shiro like this without pretence or being careful with his words  
“Yeah. Pretty much. He’s really come out of his shell”  
“He’s still a little anger loaf at heart. He always had it in him”  
“He has. Lately he’s come to see that, and as his brother, I’m relieved”  
Shiro and Keith were tight. This little one had him wishing he had someone like Shiro   
“You’re a good brother to him. I can’t help but be jealous”  
“You know what they say, family is what you make it. Blood doesn’t matter when it comes to being there for those you care about”

Lance’s hand drifted to his belly. He didn’t really know why, but rubbing his belly seemed to have some psychosomatic effect on making him feel better  
“You okay there?”  
Catching Shiro watching, Lance ducked his head  
“Yeah. This little one definitely wasn’t planned, I want you to know, I’d never deny Keith access to them, or you. Keith and I are still in the honeymoon phase, despite all that’s happened. Sometimes I can’t help but caught up in all the “what ifs””  
“I could say I know what you mean, but I only have a vague idea. Keith was already all grown up when I found him. Things really weren’t great at first”  
“How not great are we talking?”  
“He stole my car. He eventually came back, but he was so full of anger and confusion. It took a long time to build that trust up”

That actually sounded definitely like something Keith would do. He lashed out something fierce when he was trying to protect himself from developing feelings  
“I can’t even imagine. This one has so much love around them already. Shiro, if anything happens, you’ll be there, right?”  
“Nothing’s gone to happen. I know what you’re asking, and you don’t need to ask”  
“I kind of do. I haven’t told Keith but my anxiety has been pretty whack. Sleeping so much helped keep the thoughts away”  
“I’m sure he already knows. He sent me a long list of things I’m not allowed to do or say, and I’m supposed to make sure you eat”  
Lance groaned. Food was not his friend. It went down and it came up. At least here he’d have some form of privacy for that bit   
“He’s obsessed with that. I don’t think he thought about it when he sentenced me to sitting on the sofa”  
“He knows you like Italian, had me pick up some last night. Then he sent me on a chase to find garlic knots too. I know I’ve known you six months now, but I don’t think I can cope with a vampire who eats garlic”  
“Which is weirder, that I walk about in the sun, or, that I eat garlic?”  
“Definitely the sun. I wasn’t sure you were a vampire to begin with. It’s not like they teach us that vampires are out and about in the sun”  
“Coran says it’s because I turned so young. Then again, we don’t really go up in flames until after the third degree burns”  
“Did he say anything about the baby?”  
“They should be human from what I understand. Lotor already seems to know I’m pregnant. Keith says I’m being paranoid”  
The more he thought about the more he was certain Lotor knew, and this body knew too. That’d by why he’d subconsciously tried to protect his belly  
“Maybe we can throw Lotor out in the sun?”

Lance laughed again. How he wished  
“I don’t think Allura would be too happy. She’s already mad he’s being so useless”  
Bringing his cup of coffee over, Lance tried not to smell it. He didn’t know what it was about the scent... it just made him feel gross. Sitting down, Shiro put his feet up on the coffee table, Kosmo half sat on for not moving. It was now a battle of wills  
“They used to date, from the sound of it?”  
“Yeah. Long before I was born. They were closer thanks to Honerva and the whole fae thing. Then he kicked her heart to the curb by leaving. He didn’t cheat on her. I thought that was it, but it was him making all these plans to leave then leaving without telling her. She’s not so quick to forgive. She’s really making Lotor work for her time”  
“Good on her. I did worry she’d let her past feelings sweep her away”  
“They did... kind of. She’s kind of a bit like Keith. Really good at not forgiving and forgetting. Not that that’s a bad thing. The pain fucking sucks”  
“You know what else sucks? Kosmo. Move it buster, off!”

Kosmo crawled into Lance’s lap, ignoring Shiro telling him to get off. The doggo shooting Shiro a wounded glance as he made himself comfortable on Lance  
“Kosmo, off!”  
Huffing sadly, Kosmo stood right on Lance’s junk before using him to jump. Lance groaning as he drew his knees up  
“Paw to the junk?”  
Shiro asked sympathetically, Lance nodding  
“He’s best boy, but those paws are no joke”  
“He’s good for finding the wrong places to stand. Managed to do it to me and Curtis once...”  
“Ugh. I feel your pain. Keith’s been trying to keep him off me. He thinks Kosmo’s going to hurt the baby”  
“Kosmo is boisterous”  
“Kosmo is best boy, living his best life. Keith brought him to visit and he ended up getting into the cupboards. I think he had the time of his doggy life messing up the room”  
“I bet that went well with Keith”  
“I slept. Angry Keith can be scary”  
“That he can. At least he wasn’t throwing knives”  
“This is true. Do you want the remote?”  
“Nah. It’s fine. Curtis had been trying to get me into soap operas”  
“That’d be my fault. I thought he’d be here”

He missed Curtis. Maybe in some way Curtis was kind of like the cousin he’d lied and said he was. His bluntness wasn’t always comforting, but at least he didn’t hide things  
“Matt and him have been hanging out with Sam a lot lately. Whatever the deal with his curse is, it gave Sam some pretty interesting readings”  
“Appliances don’t seem Curtis friendly”  
“Nope. Keith’s banned him from going near the coffee machine”  
“I’m not surprised. These days I’m more surprised when he finds a way to function before coffee”  
“You should see him after a mission. He has to have his coffee or he’s a moody bastard”  
Lance laughed, he knew that too well  
“Yeah. He tells me about it in chat, or calls if it’s around 6 because he knows I usually get up then”  
“You’ve got him trained”

A blush appeared in Lance’s cheeks. He could always count on Keith to message him. Now he was thinking about him solely, he really missed him, a small whine escaping before he could stop himself   
“What was that?”  
“Apparently I do that. I’m putting it down to this whole breeder thing... it kind of happens”  
“Because you’re missing Keith?”  
“Pretty much”  
“I’m not Keith, but if you need a hug...”  
Lance very shyly leaned against Shiro who sling his arm over his shoulders  
“I’m sorry. He’s spoilt me so much that I feel a little lost when he’s not here”  
“You don’t have to explain, kiddo. You’re going through a lot right now”  
“I’m freaking the fuck out internally”  
“I would be too. But you’ll get through this”  
“Yeah... yeah, I know. I want to tell Mami, but I decided to wait until the ultrasound next week”  
“You miss her, don’t you?”  
“Especially right now. She... she protected me so much growing up. My family say I leach off her... but when I was making enough money, the first thing I did was get us a better house and I never wanted her to go into a home”  
“If you want to bring her here, I understand”  
“Thanks, but this is your home. It’s like I tried to explain to Keith. You and he need a place you know is safe. Mami doesn’t mean to talk but sometimes it comes out. I don’t want to put you guys in danger”  
Shiro ruffled his hair  
“It makes helping you hard. I’ve always respected that you respect the people around you. I never should have been so harsh on you when I came back”  
“You had a lot going on. You didn’t know how Keith was going to be and you left your whole life behind to come here. You lost a lot thanks fo vampires...”

Still, it felt nice to have Shiro apologise properly. He didn’t blame Shiro at all for worrying over Keith  
“Things got really rough after Adam. Keith blamed himself for so long. I should have talked him sooner than I did, but I didn’t... I wasn’t there yet”  
“Sometimes it’s like that. Adam was important to you. Plus, your brother doesn’t always phrase things right. It took you to point it out for us to realise he didn’t have a heart condition but a crush”  
“Don’t remind me. I swear every grey I have is because of him”  
“If you think that’s bad, try looking like a teenager. I’m sick of it”  
“Some vampires do seem to age”  
“Yeah, I’m still a baby vampire really. I’ve got to be pushing like a century. Then again, look at Lotor. He’s old as fuck and prances around like a college jock-strap wanker”  
Shiro chuckled  
“I don’t think anyone has ever called him that before”  
“If you can’t tell, I have pretty strong opinions on vampires”  
“Oh, I can tell. Are you sure you don’t want anything to drink?”  
“I’m alright. If I fall asleep, just leave me here. I’ve got most of my strength back, but I still feel really drained”  
“Emotional stress will do that. Besides, not to brag or anything, but I’m pretty sure I could lift you up”  
“Dude, I’ve totally put muscle on”  
“Sure you have”

Lance pouted. His ego annoyed. He’d never been in better shape, other than being fatigued and pregnant. He’d never worked out as much as he had over the last few months, and though undead. He was sure he fitter than ever  
“I totally have. And I’ve trained with Matt, Curtis, Keith, and Lotor. I’m deceptively heavy”  
“And still Keith manages to carry you around”  
Keith made it look easy and it wasn’t fair. His boyfriend wasn’t a muscle meat head, instead he was like deceptively strong   
“Is this a sibling rival thing? Who can pick up and carry the vampire around?”  
“Maybe?”  
Lance groaned at him. He didn’t want to be in the middle of that particular fight   
“Please don’t pick me up and carry me around. Let me pretend I’m tough and manly”  
“You’re a tuff and manly twig”  
Ouch... His gremlin would have laughed herself stupid if she’d heard   
“Now you sound like Pidge”  
“She’s a smart one. Nah, you’re fine the way you are. I won’t move you if you don’t want to be, but if you need help, let me know”  
“Thanks, Shiro. Honestly I’m zonked, but I don’t know if I’m gonna freak out being moved. I don’t want to risk it”  
“Alright. Now, what the hell is going on in this show?”

*  
Keith was flustered as he left work. Krolia had pulled him aside to ask if he was okay, Keith knew she was trying to ask if he’d read her letter yet. He hadn’t, then he’d been snappy towards her without meaning to. His mother kind of seemed like a different person these days. More human and more approachable... and that had him thinking maybe he’d been unfair to her for a while now. It took Lance getting pregnant to actually fucking get it. He’d never leave Lance like she had, but if he had to live in constant fear of bringing home werewolves or vampires on his tail, he could see how not going home was an option he might be forced to entertain. His dad hadn’t been a loner. Stray feelings of his dad having friends lingered then disappeared when he tried to focus. Maybe if his dad had had friends like his and Lance’s... No. Going down that road only brought up the pain of the past. He’d awkwardly apologised to her in his own way before leaving, calling Shiro as he did.

When Shiro didn’t answer, Keith ran all the way to the apartment. He hadn’t tried Lance’s phone. His lover needed his rest, as tempting and as hard as it was not to message him. Letting himself into the apartment, Keith melted at the sight in front of him. Shiro and Lance were both asleep on the sofa, Kosmo cuddled into Lance’s side, wagging his tail as his tongue lolled out. Yeah. He was kind of ready to yell, and kind of jealous, but Lance had needed comfort from the look of it, and Shiro had stepped up to be there for him. Leaving the alarm too long, Kosmo started howling as the alarm went off. Lance and Shiro both jumping as they were rudely awakened. Hurriedly Keith turned the alarm off, the apartment falling silent after a way too long moment. Damn it. He should have got a photo of Lance and Shiro sleeping. His brother, his dog, and his boyfriend. His little family safe and well... and now wide awake.

Closing the door, Keith dropped his backpack next to it. Lance was rubbing at his ears, Shiro trying to bring Kosmo under control. His poor boy hated the alarm  
“Sorry. I didn’t punch the code in in time”  
His brother pinched the bridge of his nose, Kosmo climbing into Lance’s lap, panting hard  
“We noticed. Is it past 5 already?”  
“Yeah. I don’t need to ask what you two got up to, do I? But did you need to do it on the sofa?”  
Lance jumped to defend Shiro, Shiro grinning him because they both knew nothing happened   
“Shiro fell asleep... and it’s not his fault. He was trying to make me feel less lonely”

Unable to hide his smile, his boyfriend flipped him off  
“Don’t do that to me”  
“Sorry, Babe. I’m glad your okay. Did you eat?”  
“Fuck. Sorry. We passed out... Let me warm dinner up. Why don’t you go take a shower?”  
Fucking Shiro. He had one job. Make sure Lance ate. Glaring at his brother, his boyfriend seemed to think to directed at him as he cringed away. Shiro noticed immediately, moving from Lance so Keith could take his spot. Sinking down, he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend   
“I’m not mad at you”  
“You glared”  
“At Shiro. You need to eat”  
“He didn’t... we talked and fell asleep watching TV. It wasn’t on purpose”  
“I know... I’m worrying too much. When Shiro didn’t answer I expected the worst”  
“We didn’t really mean to fall asleep”

Keith buried his face in Lance’s hair, kissing his boyfriend’s scalp  
“It’s okay. I’m not mad at you. You need the rest and I’m home now. Do you want to come take a shower with me?”  
Lance nodded against him. He hadn’t been allowed to shower alone, cursing the shower chair he needed to use. No shower chair, no shower. Coran putting his foot down  
“Shiro, we’re going to take a shower. You should start getting ready for work”  
“Yeah. Let me get this heated up first. I’m famished...”  
“That’s for Lance, not for you”  
“I don’t get any of it? Not after I had to drive all over the city and spend hours making sure I had the right food?”

Lance snorted, his boyfriend too cute as he raised his head  
“Ignore him, Shiro. You totally did all the hard work”  
“Thank you, Lance. Feel free of stay as long as you want. Keith on the other hand...”  
Lance laughed softly, Keith not amused  
“So this is how it is now? You’re both going to pick on me?”  
“We tease you because we care. I missed you today. I had to make do with Shiro”  
“I see how it is! Keith comes home and I’m dumped. I’m hurt, Lance”  
And now Lance was being sweet and honest, laughing at Shiro’s fake offence   
“I’m home now. Let me show you much I missed you...”

Lifting Lance off the sofa, Lance groaned at him as Shiro laughed at the pair of them  
“My image is ruined. I really am a manly twig”  
He was missing something here  
“What?”  
“I tried to tell Shiro I was manly, and he said I was a twig. Now you’re just picking me up like I weigh nothing”  
Keith wasn’t sure how to reply to that... maybe airing on the side of caution was safest  
“You’re a very manly twig...”  
“Babe... no. You’re supposed to say I’m very manly”  
“You’re very manly”  
From the kitchen Shiro called out  
“Lance, it doesn’t count if you tell me what to say”  
Yeah. He’d missed something. He kind of felt on the outside but whatever Lance and Shiro had talked about, they’d obviously gotten closer, which was good  
“My ego can’t take this. Let’s just shower already, before Shiro picks on me anymore”  
“I’ll protect you. Just threaten his collectables and he’ll behave”  
Lance laughed, wrapping his arms around Keith’s shoulders  
“So what’s the secret to getting you to behave?”  
“I’m like a model citizen here”  
Lance laughed harder. The sound much needed after the long arse day Keith had  
“And I’m a manly twig. Now, how long are you going to stand here for? To the bathroom, oh great model citizen”  
“Don’t make me drop you”  
“Pfft. You wouldn’t. You love me”  
“Fuck. I can’t deny that”  
“Can you two go be gross in the shower already? Some of us want to eat before work”

Keith couldn’t flip his brother off, so settled for poking his tongue out as he carried Lance to the bathroom. Whatever Krolia had written could wait another day.


	108. Chapter 108

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Le sigh. I miss bat Lance. I miss sleep... I’m writing chapter 141. Silly me thought I’d wrap up at 150... at least the chapters are short

108

Lance was tired of behaving himself. He felt better. Stronger. More alive. But he still wasn’t pushing things, wallowing and trying to become one with the sofa while Keith was working, between bouts to the bathroom to throw up. Pidge and Hunk kept pestering him about coming home. Matt teasing him over Blue being his cat now. With Keith and Shiro both out, he was home alone with Kosmo. He’d called his Mami, and longed to borrow Shiro’s car so he could spend some time with her. She knew something was going on with him, something more than a simple accident. And he knew she was worrying about him. Keith wouldn’t be home until lunch time, working from 5 to 12, then back out again at 8 that night. He’d been determined not to tell his Mami about the baby until the ultrasound, but he really wanted that maternal comfort only she could provide.

Keith would be mad, but he didn’t see how putting a load of washing on was pushing himself. Matt had given clothes to Shiro to pass on to him, yet he still preferred Keith’s things because they smelt like the safety of his boyfriend. Technically he’d already done one load. Keith finally coming home and breaking the hours of boredness to the sound of the machine going off.

“Babe, something you want to confess?”  
Not particularly   
“The washing was already in the machine, all I did was turn it on”  
Technically true. The washing was in the machine, after he’d put it in there  
“You’re supposed to be resting”  
Pouting, the vampire crossed his arms   
“Tell that to the baby”  
“I’m telling it to both of you. You’re not supposed to be doing anything”  
“I know”  
“Then why?”  
“Because it was in the machine?”  
“Did you put it there?”  
Fuck, Keith was good   
“Maybe?”

Sighing heavily, Keith carried his backpack to the kitchen bench  
“You promised you’d rest”  
“I have been. Look, I didn’t strip the beds or mop through. I didn’t cook anything. I only put on some washing, and that was it”  
It was hard not to, but a promise was a promise and he didn’t want to break his promise to Keith   
“I’m supposed to be taking care of you”  
“You are. You’ve been doing all the cooking”  
Keith was trying his hardest. Lance supplying “help” only when his boyfriend was seconds away from catastrophe   
“That’s beside the point. I’m going to take a shower, then we can relax. No moving until I come back”

Aside from the “don’t do anything but lounge around all day until you wonder if you’re growing mould” approach to life at the moment. Lance had the other issue of “Keith is hot as fuck and I might be tired, but I keep popping inappropriately timed boners every time we snuggle”. Keith ignored his wandering hands, or worse he’d pick Lance’s hand up and intertwine their fingers as he avoided anything intimate other than kissing. They had two more days until the ultrasound and Lance was trying to behave, but he might just have to jerk off if Keith didn’t give in and touch him. He didn’t want to force it on his boyfriend, and mentally he wasn’t all that horny. He just wanted Keith to touch him so badly that it was ridiculous. He didn’t need sex. He just needed that feeling of Keith’s skin against his. He didn’t want to feel like he was made of glass anymore. Fuck it.

Dragging himself off the sofa, Keith crossed his arms and fixed in him in a stern gaze   
“What are you doing now?”  
“I’m going to lay down”  
“I thought you... never mind. Do you need help?”  
“I’m fucking fine”  
Lance covered his mouth, immediately remorseful about snapping   
“I’m sorry. I just... go take a shower”  
“Babe?”  
“I’m sorry for snapping. I’m fine... sorry”  
“Oh. Okay... I’ll uh... come check on you in a bit”  
“Come check on him”... it’d be nicer if he came on him. Lance immediately kicking himself mentally. Keith was trying his best. And now he had to deal with Lance who was being a horny shit... Living with Keith was nice and all, but he’d been so fucking lonely waking up by himself this morning that he’d scared himself, for a moment feeling like he was the only person left in the world. Split shifts sucked. Keith working on paperwork in the morning and stakeouts at night. Coran shifting things around thinking that Keith being home more in the daylight hours would help. It didn’t. Scary things came out at night.

Buried under the blankets of Keith’s bed, Lance sniffled, tears pouring down his face as he berated himself for his mood and his actions. Between his legs throbbed, his body screaming for Keith who wasn’t there. How could he explain to him what he meant when he didn’t feel touched. Keith’s hands held his. His boyfriend washed his body, the callouses catching here and there, but he loved Keith’s hands. He loved that Keith held him... and now he was acting spoilt, like those touches didn’t mean the world to him. Taking himself to bed he’d stripped down to his boxer briefs, regretting the decision now. He felt so stupid for wanting more. For wanting to feel like this pregnancy didn’t change how Keith felt about him. He’d realised something and it hurt. Keith only touched his belly when Lance had his hand on it, or to help him shower. If Keith didn’t want the baby, then why was he acting like he did?

“Lance?”  
Curling tighter around himself at the sound of Keith’s soft voice, he tried not to let his crying escape. He knew how this would go. Keith would come to him and he’d make him mad for being like this. A sob betrayed him. Why did being in love have to hurt? Why couldn’t it feel like the movies?  
“Babe?”  
“G-go away”  
He was lashing out. Choking on the words. He didn’t want Keith to go. He was saying the exact thing that would make him stay... and he did.

Lifting the blankets, Keith slid in behind him. Hair still damp from the shower as he wrapped himself around him. Lance couldn’t hate himself anymore than he did for baiting Keith under the covers. He was such a bad boyfriend. He was going to hurt Keith with the truth  
“Hey, what’s wrong?”  
“It’s nothing... please just leave me alone”  
“Babe...”  
“Leave me alone!”  
His heart was breaking from his self imposed misery. His dick still half hard, emotions not sure what to think when cuddled close by the man he loved  
“You know I can’t do that when you’re crying”  
The words hurt. He couldn’t even stop himself. He didn’t want to be like this... but everything felt like too much   
“Leave me alone... please... please just... leave me alone”

Keith didn’t leave. Cuddling him harder  
“Not until you talk to me. What did I do?”  
Keith always blamed himself   
“It’s not... I don’t... do you love me?”  
His words came out halted and fearful   
“You know I love you”  
“Then why don’t you touch me?!”  
He knew Keith was confused. His boyfriend literally had his arm around him  
“I... am?”  
“It’s the baby isn’t it? You can’t love me anymore knowing I’m going to change... I’m going to get fat and... you can’t handle it”  
“Whoa. Hey... what’s going on with you?”  
“You don’t want to touch me anymore, do you? I’m just someone you don’t know how to break up with... because I’m not even human”

Keith tensed around him. Lance could hear his boyfriend’s racing heart  
“What the fuck?”  
“You don’t touch me!”  
“What does that mean?! I’m touching you right now. What the fuck, babe?!”  
Lance whimpered at Keith’s anger... He’d known it was coming  
“No, serious. What the fuck? Why am I supposed to break up with you? Do you want to break up? Is that what this is?”  
Shaking his head, that wasn’t it   
“I just want you to touch me!”  
“And I don’t understand!”

Lance progressed into ugly sobbing, whole body heaving kind of sobs where he fought to breathe. Keith letting out a long breath and throwing back the covers so they weren’t hidden from the world anymore  
“Lance... hey... I’m sorry I yelled. I don’t understand why you’re crying, or what I did to make you mad”  
“It’s me. I’m a bad boyfriend! I ruin everything! I can’t blame you for being disgusted”  
Keith sighed softly. Lance man handled into his lap as Keith sat up. Wrapping his leg over Lance’s, Keith took both his hands in his   
“Stop it. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong”  
“I... I just... want you to touch me...”  
“Babe, I’m wrapped around you”  
Lance shook his head quickly, hiccuping breaths as he tried to explain   
“That’s not it! I... you don’t touch my stomach unless my hand is there... I don’t even know if you really want the baby or if it’s because you don’t like my body changing... but... I’m not made of glass!”

Keith sighed again, dropping a kiss on Lance’s shoulder before resting his chin there  
“It’s not that”  
“Then why...? Why won’t you touch me, if it’s not because you’re grossed out?”  
“Because I don’t want to hurt you”  
“I want my boyfriend to want me...”  
“Lance...”  
“I don’t care if we don’t fuck but you’re treating me like... like I’m... not even yours”  
“Coran said you need to rest. To take things easy. We can’t stress your body”  
Keith didn’t get it... Struggling against Keith half heartedly, his boyfriend didn’t let go   
“Let me go”  
“Babe”  
“Let me go!”  
“Lance, stop it! Stop and talk to me properly. I didn’t know I was hurting you”  
“I just want... to feel you... I feel... so lonely without you... but you don’t... I don’t know if you want this baby or are trying to give me what I want. I want you to want me like you used to when you couldn’t keep your hands off me... I want you to touch me”  
“Babe. I never didn’t want to... but the baby...”  
“But what about me... what about what I want? I should the slightest bit of interest and you pull away... I don’t want to be treated like... like I’m only for display”

Keith sighed again, squeezing both his hands  
“I didn’t want to put pressure on you. And... I... I’m scared okay. You nearly lost the baby and I nearly lost both of you... I don’t hate your body. I think your body is amazing”  
“But why won’t you touch me?”  
“Because if I start, I don’t think I can stop... and then I... then I think about all that blood...”  
“So I ruined us?”  
His fucking heart was breaking. Was this what they were going to be now? Stuck like this?  
“God, no. Hey. You didn’t ruin anything”  
“I want you to want me...”  
“I do want you. Not being intimate and touching you is driving me crazy, but...”  
“But you only care about the baby...”  
“It’s you I care about, Lance, it’s you. I don’t know how to... how to hold back”  
“I’m not made of glass”  
“I know you’re not... You’re the one I desire... the only one, but you’re supposed to be resting”  
“I just want to feel close to you... I feel like... like even when... we cuddle you’re not here... and then I wake up in bed alone and you’re really not here. I feel like we’re slipping apart... and I don’t want to feel like that when I know you have to work... but it really hurts when I feel like you find me being horny revolting... and I feel so fucking horrible being like this. I don’t even know why I’m so horny... all I do is look at you and I want your hands on me so badly it hurts”  
“You’re not revolting... you’re not. You’re not a monster. I love you”  
“But you won’t touch me?”

Keith sighed. Lance had made him do a lot of that  
“I don’t want to do anything to hurt you”  
“You’re not going to...”  
“I might”  
“Keith... you won’t...”  
What happened to fooling around? Kisses and touches that weren’t sex? Being intimate without having sex?  
“Maybe we can use the pocket pussy, you seemed really into it”  
So now he was a chore? A job left to a plastic toy? Tugging his hands free, he lifted Keith’s legs off of him, climbing through the sea of blankets to get off the bed  
“Lance?”  
“You don’t get it! You don’t get it at all! If I’m that much of a burden I should take my horny arse and get out of your house! We don’t have to fuck to be intimate! We don’t kiss like we used to. We don’t touch like we used to! I’ve been doing everything right and you pass me off to a toy rather than using your hand!”  
Keith looked shocked, followed by devastated as Lance stared down at him sadly   
“I’m fucking trying here!”  
“I know! I know! Because that’s who you are. You love me so fiercely that it hurts not to be held by you... Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it myself”

Stumbling on thin air, Keith came to his “aid” as Lance straightened himself up. Slapping his boyfriend’s hand away, the action hurt both of them  
“I’m sorry... just... just leave me alone. I’m no good how I am right now”

*  
Keith watched Lance leave the room. He didn’t know how he could have got things so wrong trying to do the right thing. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to be intimate with Lance. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to lose himself in kissing his boyfriend, but Lance didn’t want to hear that he was scared. He was kind of terrified. Lance brought out the carnal and possessive side of him. He loved sex with Lance, because it was with Lance. He didn’t know if he could stop himself if he got too carried away, so he’d tried to ignore when Lance got handsy. He’d only been getting handsy... for like three days now? Keith didn’t know what being “touched starved” was until he realised how physical Lance was. A hug. Cuddles. Showering. He’d thought he’d been comforting Lance, not making him feel insecure. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to... Fuck. Lance had been distraught... He couldn’t leave him like that.

Heading into the bathroom, Lance was sitting on the toilet, head in his hands as he wiped at his eyes   
“Babe”  
“Don’t...”  
“No. Listen to me. I love you. I love you and I adore you. I’m just scared that I’m going to be the one to make you lose the baby. You might be ready, but I’m not”  
Lance sniffled loudly, his boyfriend was a total mess  
“I know... but... it’s really hard to feel wanted when you pull away. I know you’re not ready... but... but... it’s... hard. I want to feel as desired as I used to be...”

Walking over, Keith crouched down before him, placing his hands on his boyfriends knees   
“I love you. You... this baby doesn’t change how I feel about you”  
“But it does, doesn’t it? We used to kiss and touch... not even having sex. It feels lonely. You don’t touch my stomach and I didn’t realise it first and now it really bothers me... I’m...”  
“No, you’re not made of glass. You made that very clear. I’m scared. I don’t know how to be a dad... I’m scared that holding onto to tightly rightly... that we’ll lose them and I’ll lose you”  
“So you’d rather not touch me at all”  
“It’s not that. I don’t know how to touch you without hurting you”  
Not after seeing all that blood...  
“Kissing me and touching me aren’t going to hurt this baby. I can’t... I can’t calm down. I look at you and I want to be dumb and mess around... but more than that I want that feeling like how I feel having sex with you... like I’m connected to you, without this baby between us. I feel... ugh... I want to be us again... and I want my mum”

Keith leaned up, kissing Lance’s forehead   
“I know it sucks, but can you be patient with me? At least until the next ultrasound where we’ll ask Coran... okay?”  
Lance sucked down a couple of deep breaths before looking up at him. His fangs poking out from under his lips. Even wrecked, Lance still managed to look cute  
“I don’t even know why I’m horny. I feel so fucking shitty... I know I’m acting shitty... I don’t know why I’m even hard when I can’t stop crying. I start thinking about your hands and it bam, it happens... I love you so much... I don’t want to keep feeling like this... I just... I want my mum and I want you... but I can’t take up all your time”

That was twice he’d mentioned Miriam. Nuzzling into Lance’s forehead, his boyfriend was relaxing again... either that too exhausted to be sad   
“Is that what you want to do today? Go see see, Mami?”  
“We said we’d wait... but...”  
He was reaping what he sewed. His boyfriend didn’t want to stress him, kept it inside, then finally burst when he it got too much. Maybe he shouldn’t have had a go at him over the washing. Lance was a saint at resting when compared to him... He’d definitely deservedly hand job, or at least Keith touching his stomach. The problem was that Keith knew he could be rough with Lance, not intentionally but it happened, he knew being too rough on Lance’s belly... He didn’t want to lose everything being over eager   
“I left you alone to overthink things”  
Lance shook his head   
“You shouldn’t have to feel guilty for leaving me alone. I want you to have your own life. To go to work and not worry”  
“Babe... I want you to be selfish with me. What do you want to do?”  
“I want to see Mami... fuck, I’m going to need a second shower... she’ll freak if I turn up looking like this. I’m sorry... I think I took lessons I not dealing well with my frustrations from you”  
“And I’m still trying to figure out that things are going to be okay. I never meant to make you feel neglected”  
“I know... I just wished you’d touch my belly without my hand there. It’s your baby too...”  
“I’m scared I’m going to hurt them”  
“While I know you’re not. You helped me shower remember?”  
“That was helping you”  
“And having you not touch my stomach like I’m diseased is really helping?”

Lance and he weren’t on the same wave length there. He flinched as Lance pulled his right hand out of his, then took him by the wrist, pressing it gently to his stomach   
“Keith. It’s your baby... under that fat and muscle is your baby... you’re not going to hurt them. You’re going to be a great father”  
“You don’t know that. I’ve killed...”  
“Keith. This is probably going to sound callous, but you killed for work and to survive. What you killed, we can’t be called human. This baby, you’re not going to have their blood on your hands. You feel all their deaths... and carry a heap of pain that’s not yours to carry. Keith, we’re the monsters that wear human skin. You do the job that keeps everyone from being like me”  
“You’re not like them!”  
“And you’re not like every other hunter... see, you’ve had your hand against my belly and nothing at all happened. If anything, it makes me feel better having you touch me here. This is what I need right now. You consciously touching me here... not just having your hand on my stomach or arm around my waist when cuddle or sleep”  
“What happened to being horny?”  
Lance chuckled   
“Oh, I still am... but I’m happy you’re touching me here for now”

Lance’s skin was as soft and smooth as always. It didn’t feel any different from all the times he’d run his hands over Lance’s belly. Cold to the touch, as it should be. His small snail trail... but... touching his belly was like wow... because their baby was in there. He wanted to pull his hand away, but he couldn’t  
“It’s not as scary as you thought, is it?”  
“It’s weird”  
Lance let go of his other hand, bopping him on the head  
“I’m going to try not to be offended. Now get out of here because you’re making me horny”  
“How am I making you horny?”  
“By existing. Go put some clothes on, you can’t go see Mami in your pyjamas”  
“They’re not pyjamas... and who’s says we can’t?”  
“Mami wouldn’t care”  
“No, but we’re going to tell her we’re going to be parents. You wanna do that with no underwear on?”  
He had sweats on. Out the shower into sweats... that was how he relaxed... Oh, holy fuck.. He couldn’t see Mami and admit he’d taken her son’s virtue in sweat pants   
“Maybe not”


	109. Chapter 109

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhh. I’m sorry!!! I know I’ve been losing bookmarks with no clear end in sight 😟
> 
> Given most chapters average 2.5k, yes I know there’s big arse long ones, I think I’m going to aim for 180... so I can tie up all those lose ends and have that happy ending.

109

“Relax. It’s Mami”  
Keith had forgotten how to walk. Like when you’re being examined by a doctor and they tell to you walk normally but in that exact moment you have no memory of this walking normally business  
“It’s because it’s Mami. What’s if she hates me?”  
Lance swatted Keith hand away from here he was trying make his jacket collar sit properly   
“Dude, you are the son she always wanted. I’m the son she got stuck with”  
“But I got her son pregnant. I took your virtue...”  
“You mean you railed my arse into next year as you knocked me up? I’m pretty sure she knows how that first bit works”  
Lance was stressing now they’d arrived. He’d been stressing picking them perfect flowers, the stressing when Keith had to pull over so he could throw up. He was nervous, Lance was stressed, this was going to go great  
“Babe, you’re getting cranky”  
“Because she’s my mum... do you know how I worked to sleep through not having this conversation?”  
“I knew you were faking!”  
“I’m weird enough... oh, god. I hope she doesn’t ask how I’m supposed to give birth. I don’t even know how it’s going to come out!”

Keith hung his head. They weren’t even out the car park and they were both acting like fools  
“You wanted to see Mami. We’re going to see Mami”  
Lance whined softly at him, tugging on Keith’s left arm  
“I know... let me nervous”  
“I’m nervous too. I’ve still got work after this an a fear I’m about to be orphaned again”  
“Mami’s not going to keel over!”  
“I didn’t say she would. I meant more like she’d boot me to the curb and take her walker to my head”  
Lance nodded, an action that wasn’t exactly reassuring  
“Babe!”  
“What? I could see her doing that, but not to you”  
“Your reassurance fills me with confidence”  
“Mami loves you, it’ll be fiiiiiiine”

It was fine for Lance. He’d had 45 years with Mami. Keith also had the suspicion his boyfriend had jerked off in the shower. Lance didn’t usually take 10 minute showers, not unless they were fooling around. Having a vampire for a boyfriend did give him the advantage when it came to shower sex. None of this not so sexy freezing his arse off. He missed shower sex... Now Lance was dressed neatly in black skinny jeans, a white dress shirt and cardigan. Keith dressed also in black skinny leg jeans, though he wore a black button up shirt and his leather jacket... he kind of looked ready for his inevitable funeral.

Signing them in, Lance managed to spell his own name wrong. Starting with a “K” instead of an “L”. Yeah. This was going to be a long trip. He’d already walked into the doorframe, after pulling instead of pushing. Keith scrubbing his face with his hand in secondhand embarrassment, then feeling his stomach bottom out once they got to the sign in book. Lance didn’t seem to have noticed that Luis was signed in. Keith didn’t know if he could possibly keep his temper if Luis so much as breathed. Not with how protective of Lance he was feeling. He’d fucked up so badly, and was determined not to let Lance feel like that again.

Following Lance through the centre, Miriam was sitting at one of the activities tables playing cards with Luis and a man he didn’t recognise by name, but knew from his looks exactly who he was. Marco. The middle brother. Okay, so it might be wrong, but if Lance ever grew older he hoped he looked more like Marco than Luis  
“Mis hijos!”  
Mami dropped her hand of cards down, Luis sighing. Marco pushing his chair back as he rose to his feet. He was smiling... smiling wasn’t awful? Lance stalled beside him, mumbling softly   
“Marco...”  
“Been a while baby brother... Time’s been kind to you”  
“I didn’t know you were back”

And just like that Lance was on guard again  
“Mami talks about this place so much that I thought I’d see if for myself”  
“Marco!”  
Luis scolded his brother, the way he said the man’s name said it all  
“Would you three stop it. Keith, so good to see you again. Come sit by this old lady. These two cheat at cards”  
Fucking awkward as fuck. Without Lance explaining that “mijo” was a contraction of “mis hijo” he wouldn’t have got what the extra “s” was on about.

Towing Lance around the table, Keith snagged an empty chair for his boyfriend. His Mami hadn’t really said hello to Lance, Lance looking very lost as Keith sat him between him and Miriam purely to keep him from sitting closer to his two brothers. Marco asking  
“Sooooooo, who’s this?”  
He even sounded like Lance. Like an older Lance. Dressed casually, Marco seemed to be “beach bum” personified with his Hawaiian shirt over his blue single, and his black board shorts. Around his neck was a single necklace, a ring and small carved surfboard pendant on the chain. Mami smiled proudly   
“This is Keith. Isn’t he handsome? Our Lance snagged a good one when he snagged him. Keith, this is Marco. His not as cranky as Luis but he has his moments”

Marco held his hand out, Keith forced to take it, his fingers nearly crushed in the firmness of the handshake. Marco definitely testing him. He wasn’t about to be scared off. He was there to see Miriam, with Lance, who really needed his mother right now. Marco released his hand, eyes on Lance  
“Damn, man. You haven’t changed a day. Bet you love looking like that. I turn my back and you’ve gone and got yourself a boyfriend”  
“Marco, you leave Lance be. He’s only been out of hospital a couple of days and doesn’t need you being bratty”

Marco raised his hands in defeat, shaking his head. He really was so much like Lance that it bordered creepy   
“Didn’t mean anything by it. Just saying dating a vampire isn’t everyone’s thing. It’s been years, Mami”  
Casting a glance to Lance, Mami’s flowers seemed in danger. Plucking the bouquet out of Lance’s hands, Keith placed it on the table, before taking Lance’s hand in his  
“It’s fine. I know about Lance being a vampire. I’m a Vatican approved Vampire and Werewolf hunter based here in Platt”  
Two could play this game. Luis crossed his arms, feathers ruffled as he was knocked down a peg  
“That’s a thing?”  
“Yep. I don’t scare easily, though Lance isn’t scary at all, are you, babe?”

Lance stared down at their hands. Maybe Keith was taking it too far by not letting himself be bullied. Mami didn’t care   
“Keith has been so good for Lance. Plus, he’s such a hottie. All the ladies here are in love with him and Lance. Both of them very patient with us old geese”  
“Some of us have all the time in the world”  
Lance pushed his chair back at Luis’s comment  
“Sorry, I need to use the bathroom”

That could have gone better. Keith should have followed him, but Mami gave him a look that told him to stay put as Lance walked away  
“Must you antagonise him? Both of you. That was unacceptable. Marco, I thought you’d know better. Now, I’m disappointed in both of you. Keith, would you mind bringing those flowers along. I can see it in your eyes that you and Lance have something you need to tell me”  
Luis wasn’t happy   
“You see them more than you see us... Marco tried to see you last week and now we find out Lance was in hospital. You owe us an explanation”  
“Your brother was in an accident. The details of which I don’t believe I should tell you lest you hold it over him. I’m old and I’m tired, Luis. You all used to be so happy when you were younger. Marco, I’m sorry, dear, but you’re as much to blame. Now, you can come back tomorrow. Keith and Lance have to come to visit, it’d be nice if the next time we all see each other if you could make the effort to be mature. We could have had a nice game of cards. Keith would make an excellent strip poker player”

Miriam winked at him. Keith felt kind of weird about being designated the family stripper. Mami didn’t let anyone hold her back... and any thoughts of feeling bad about interrupting the game went out the window when both brothers had gotten snarky   
“Sorry, Keith, maybe next time, bro. I’d love to know how my brother snagged you”  
Luis didn’t look pleased but that wasn’t unusual nor was it his problem. His problem was his pregnant boyfriend that couldn’t deal with this not so touching reunion   
“Lance will be in my room, no need to fret”

Lance was indeed in Mami’s room. Sitting on her bed he was staring at family photo. Shuffling over with her walker, Mami sat herself down next to him, Keith awkward as he held her flowers  
“You didn’t run far”  
Lance snorted at his Mami  
“Sorry. I wasn’t expecting to see Marco after so long”  
“He’s staying with Luis at the moment. Something to do with that job of his. Now, I know you and Keith are hiding something from me...”  
Miriam took the photo frame from Lance, smiling as she ran her fingers over the glass  
“... you kids were always such trouble. Always getting into scraps and coming home with bruises... Those days are my fondness memories...”  
“That one was taken in Cuba, wasn’t it?”  
Mami nodded  
“Shortly before we left... Do you remember it?”  
“I remember Aunt Sarah calling all of Gerald and praying for our souls... It was the first time I heard Veronica say “fuck”, but I’d already started to forget before the bite”  
Mami chuckled  
“Veronica had some very strong opinions of moving here. She’s still as stubborn and wild spirited as she was as a little girl”  
“Veronica ran the household like an army general, Mami... I remember times when you had no idea what to do with her”  
“But we never stopped her from being herself or encouraging her. Now, tell this old bird what’s going on. Both of you look more jumpy than a cat with worms”

Keith wasn’t sure what that had to do with things, Lance sighing at his Mami   
“Mami, you know how I’ve been going through some stuff since I fed on Keith... well... something else has happened”  
“You can’t fool me into thinking it was just an accident. Now spit it out, I’ve only got so long in this world and I’d like to hear what you have to say before I pop off the mortal coil”  
Lance sighed again. Usually Mami was much softer but he knew she was worried about her baby boy  
“Well... I’m pregnant”  
Mami let out a chuckle, Lance looked kind of hurt. Keith finally moving over to place the flowers down on Mami’s bed, feeling overly protective of his boyfriend   
“It’s not a joke, Mami. Lance is a special type of vampire... that’s why he was in hospital at VOLTRON”

Mami placed the photo down beside her, before placing her hand on Lance’s  
“My dear boy... at this stage I thought nothing in the world could surprise me... Has Coran confirmed it?”  
Lance reached for Keith’s hand, Keith half hugging his boyfriend as he answered for the both of them  
“Yeah... Lance had a bad reaction to contraceptives and when Coran tested his blood. He’s had an ultrasound and has another in a couple of days...”

Mami squeezed Lance’s hand, his boyfriend still wouldn’t look at her  
“Now the both of you have baby jitters... My sweet boys. A baby is nothing to fear. You should have seen Lance’s father. He was beside himself, a mess of excitement and worry. He didn’t know what to do. Things were very different then. You got on did what you had to do around it, but he was very careful. Worried I was made of glass. Absolutely infuriating, I’ll tell you”  
Tearfully Lance asked her softly   
“How are you okay?”  
“Lance, you’ve been a vampire a long time now. I’ve seen many things and met many people. This baby might have come as a shock, but you’re my precious son. We’ve come this far together. How far along are you now?”  
Keith forced himself to ease back, to let Lance say whatever it was he needed to tell his mother   
“About 5 weeks...”  
“Ah, still very early, and very early for you to find out. And you want to keep it?”  
“I... yeah... I think but I nearly lost it once”  
“Close calls can be quite scary. I nearly lost Rachel... but you, you were always a fighter. As soon as you could move you were off and moving, my little Lance”  
“You never told me about Rachel”  
“Ah... it was harvest season, I collapsed in the heat. Jorge was beside himself... You worry too much about me, and not nearly enough about you. How do you feel?”  
“Tired. I’m sick of throwing up, but Coran says I have to keep eating for the sake of the baby”

Mami moved her hand from Lance’s to wrap her arm around him, Lance leaning into her as she kissed his hair  
“He’s a wise man, that Coran. Always been happy and always been very proud of you. He’s told me all about the soft spot he has for you. You better be listening to him”  
“Yes, Mami. And Keith...”  
His Mami let out a soft chuckle  
“How is the dad to be? I expect you’re feeling first baby jitters more so than Lance here”  
“He is. He’s doing all he can, but I lost my shit at him earlier”  
“That’s because it’s a very emotional time for the pair of you... You need to talk. You might feel awful about the things that need to be said, but there’s no room for misunderstanding when there’s a baby to consider. Jorge and I got into some pretty bad fights, he was convinced he’d drop one of you on your heads or leave you in the chicken pen. He was wonderful when you kids were little. You all made him so happy. You made me so happy. Has the morning sickness started?”  
“Not really... just, you know, I can’t eat without it coming back up”  
“Ahhh... yes. You’re rather limited with your diet. Growing a baby takes a lot of time and patience. Some days you feel like the world is against you. Some days you don’t want to move at all. Some days you’ll find the smallest of things bringing you to tears, but it’s all worth it to hold your baby for the first time... I’ll never forget holding you. You were so active, then so quiet when you came out. After 4 kids, you practically walked out the door... There wasn’t any of this pelvic floor business when I was birthing you. Now, when’s this ultrasound?”  
“On Tuesday... do... can you be there?”  
“I can, if that’s okay with Keith. He’s the one who’s going to be there more than I ever could”  
“Don’t say that... Mami... I’m so sorry... I... fucked up everything and... I... wasn’t going to tell you until after the scan and I’m scared I’m going to lose it... I’m not normal”  
“You stop that, you hear me. You’re my precious boy with a heart too big for this world”  
“But... won’t this make things complicated?”  
“You leave that to me. I might be old but I can still whip your siblings into shape. Never underestimate an old woman and her slippers”

Lance snorted, nuzzling into his Mami   
“I still live in fear of those pink slippers of yours. I’ll never forget the time Rachel poured nail polish on the mat in the living room...”  
“That girl was a terror. The stories I could tell. Her sneaking out to see her latest boyfriend. She never thought we knew until your father nailed her window shut”  
“I remember that. She came in through my room...”  
“And you both got the slipper for it. You’re going to be okay, mijo... and you too, Keith. This baby might not have been planned, but you’ll grow together, learn together. I feel it in my waters”

Keith didn’t have these stories like Lance did... He felt out of place. Krolia didn’t know, and he doubted she’d be supportive, like Mami was. He found himself asking   
“How do you stop being scared?”  
“That one takes some time. Take day step at a time, and don’t forget to love each other along the way. All couples fight. No couple is as perfect as they seem, but it’s what you do after you fight. There’s nothing more important than an apology. Don’t let the things fester between you. And when you’re in doubt drawn comfort and strength from each other. You see the best in each other that you yourself might not think is there. My son found happiness in you, and you and in he. Things won’t always be easy, but approach them as a team and your troubles won’t be so bad. You’re a kind man, Keith. You remind me of my Jorge. I bet you’ve been panicking over this as hard as Lance, feeling like you’ve done something horribly wrong. You haven’t. You’ve made an old girl like me happy by showing this one he’s not the monster he thinks he is. Heavens knows how stubborn he is”  
“He is pretty stubborn”  
“All of them were. Now, come here and give me a hug. You look terribly uncomfortable standing like that”

*  
Mami always gave the best advice. Working her magic on both of them. Lance holding Keith’s hand with both of his as they walked back to Shiro’s car. When he’d seen Marco interacting with Keith, he’d felt jealous. Luis wouldn’t touch Keith with a ten foot pole and then some, Marco shaking his hand as if it was his right. Resting his head against his boyfriend’s arm, he felt better for seeing Mami. He hoped Keith did too... He’d really lost his shit at him before and was mortified over all the yelling he’d done.

“I wish I didn’t have to get back to work”  
“I wish you didn’t either. You didn’t even have time to take a nap”  
Keith sighed at him. His boyfriend had something to say and wasn’t saying it to him or to Mami. Lance guessing what it was  
“You’re thinking about Krolia, aren’t you?”  
“Why didn’t Mami ask about her?”  
“Because she knows that’s your business. She wants you to feel ready to talk to her when the time is right”  
“I don’t know how I’m going to tell her”  
“We can do it together? Or we can have Mami there? Or if you want you can talk to her alone. I’ll support what you choose”  
“I don’t know what to choose”  
“Then think about it. Let me know when you know, or if it happens, I won’t be mad”  
“You were pretty mad this morning”  
Lance blushed in shame  
“I was a total shit to you. I really wasn’t cool at all”  
“You have a lot going on”  
“Not as much as you do. It’s hard seeing you scared and I know you close down, but it...”  
“Was hard?”  
Lance nodded  
“Yeah. I mean... like whenever we’re together we’re always touching, and then you didn’t want to touch me there and I freaked out thinking that you were done with me”

Keith sighed, pulling Shiro’s keys out his pocket  
“I’m not done with you. I’m just... caught in the past”  
“I know. I shouldn’t have lost it at you because you were trying to respect me”  
“And you should have pointed out I was being a douche”  
“It’s okay now”  
Keith bumped him lightly with his hip   
“You totally jerked off, didn’t you?”  
Lance’s cheeks burned harder. Yep. He couldn’t deny it   
“Yeah... didn’t really help but whatever”  
“What do you mean it didn’t help?”  
It’d been more of a chore than pleasure, just something to get rid of the throbbing between his legs  
“The reason I want you touch me is because it’s you. I look at you and my body reacts... you’ve turned me into a total pervert”  
“I’m sorry I’m not ready”  
Keith didn’t need to be sorry, the vampire simply wished he’d been able to tell Lance sooner. Maybe if he hadn’t been a self centred butt nugget he would have?  
“It’s okay. My dick totally has a mind of its own...”  
“Would blood help? Fresh blood. Coran said...”  
Coran needed to stop putting ideas in Keith’s head, and let Keith work his own thoughts and feelings out first  
“Coran says a lot of things. Let’s head home and go from there”  
“Babe...”  
“Keith, there’s today and tomorrow, then we’re going to see Coran again... and we can talk to him then... until then, please stop worrying so much about blood”

Keith pulled away from him, Lance seemed to have stepped on some mental landmine. Clenching his fits, his boyfriend stared down at the ground   
“Keith?”  
“It’s my baby”  
Yeah? Who else’s was did he think it was?  
“Yeah, babe. It’s your baby”  
“So why is it okay for you to rely on other people’s blood and not mine? Why is my blood never good enough... even when you’re carrying my baby you won’t let me help you”  
Oh...   
“Babe, it’s not like that”  
“But it is. Some stranger’s blood is keeping you alive and moving... why can’t it be mine? Why is someone else’s blood better than mine? You only feed on me when your a bat or in heat... why won’t you let me help you?”

Using a little of his speed, Lance moved to stand in front of Keith, taking his face in his hands  
“I can’t feed on you consciously because you are my world. You. If I feed to much, or too often, you’re going to be sick... You’re not my pet, you’re my partner, and you take care of me so fucking well... When I have fresh blood I’m an arsehole with way too much energy. I’m scared to feed on you because I’m in love with you”  
“You say you know I won’t hurt you... but I know you won’t hurt me. I want to help. I want to give you my energy... I want... my blood to... be good”  
Keith was breaking his heart now  
“Your blood is good. Your blood is so good. You’re so good... but what if I fed on you too much? What if because of me you can’t work? What if me feeding on you leaves you weakened and you can’t protect yourself? And what if I can’t stop?”  
“But you do... when we... you do... I don’t... want you having to live a half life off other peoples blood when you’re growing our baby... I want... to be wanted”  
“You are wanted. You are the single most wanted man by me in existence... I know you’ve been like this a while, offering me your blood, but you’ve been bottling up how much it annoys you, haven’t you?”  
“Sometimes I think about it... but I guess... I guess seeing your family really made me think about blood... family isn’t about blood... but today... I want to be your boyfriend you can rely on to be there. I don’t want you think I’m going to leave you alone like your brothers... I want my blood to be more than our baby”  
Lance sighed softly, leaning up and kissing Keith on the forehead  
“I know this is hard for you. But... I’m... I worry that if I feed on you I won’t be who I am anymore... that my ego will slip out of control and I won’t be the man you love anymore. I know you want to support me. I know you’d offer me your neck in an instant... and I know you trust me... but you’ve seen how fresh blood can affect me. I practically pounced on you when you fed me in my first heat and your hips were sore for days. I love you and your blood... but I get it more now than ever. You don’t want your baby surrounded by a strangers blood... that’s what it really is. You humans are so fragile, babe. You can’t feed me what I need for days. Vampires get too hungry, that’s why most pets are weakened or why their not the only pet belonging to their master”  
“Then... then how... how do I help you?”  
“We can talk to Coran? He’s the only one I know who we can talk to about all this. Maybe if we tell him what’s been going on in our heads, he can help us figure it out?”

Keith threw his arms around, Lance pleasantly surprised by the affection  
“I just want to be in our baby’s life”  
“Dude, you will be. Who’s hand do you think I’m going to be holding when it comes to getting this little out of me? You can break my heart and chop me into a zillion little pieces and I wouldn’t deny you access... Even... even if you have to leave, for work or whatever, I’m going to be taking videos and telling them all about their daddy. You lost your dad too young, but that doesn’t mean the same will happen to you. They will know you and who you are Keith Kogane. I will never ever let them forget you”  
Keith sighed softly at him  
“Thank you...”  
“Sometimes you just need to hear the words...”  
“Yeah...”  
“You’re so much better with your words these days. I’m proud of you”  
“I’m lucky to have you”  
“I’m the lucky one... and you should probably let me go now. You’ve stirred up the monster”

Keith sniffled as he chuckled, pulling back   
“I’m going to make it up to you... when we know it’s okay”  
“I’m counting on it... and counting the places I expect to be bent over”  
His boyfriend turned beet red, adjusting himself as he tried to turn away. They we’re definitely weirdos for popping random boners in the car park of a nursing home  
“That’s not fair”  
“Sure it is. You can make a list of all the things you want to try”  
“Shut up. You’re making it worse”  
Lance started towards the passenger side door of Shiro’s car, throwing over his with a wink  
“Just remember to think of me when you’re jerking off at work”  
Keith groaned at him, very awkwardly shuffling to the car. Both of them were stupid horny loved up idiots, and Lance was not helping things at all. The ultrasound couldn’t come sooner.


	110. Chapter 110

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, right lemme copy this over. Phone, I think you no longer need paragraphs. Me... fine... no... not fine... Le sigh

110

It’d been a long time since Keith woke up screaming. He didn’t know he was screaming until the bedroom light flicked on and Shiro came rushing in. Lance was already holding him, tears running down Keith’s face, mingling with the sweat that covered him. Shaking in his boyfriend’s hold, his screams died out, broken sobs falling in their place. Kissing his hair, Lance held him tightly, Shiro letting out a long breath in relief, not that he could hear it over the blood pounding in his ears. God. Fucking nightmares. He hadn’t had one this bad in so long. Lance always seemed to chase them away... well, nearly always... most of the time. Thank fuck it wasn’t real. Thank fuck Lance was okay.

“Kiddo? Old or new?”  
Sitting on the edge of his bed, Shiro hugged him from the other side, waiting the long moment and a half for Keith to finally catch his breath. Fuck. It’d been messed up. Shiro knew sometimes he couldn’t talk about new nightmares  
“Old and new”  
“Want me to stay?”  
“Yeah... fuck... fuck...”  
Lance nuzzled into his hair  
“You’re okay, we’ve got you, babe...”  
“Sorry... fuck...”  
“It’s alright. Lance, wanna get him settled while I turn the light out?”  
“On it... come here, babe...”  
“Where’s Kosmo?”  
He’d been on the end of the bed when they’d fallen asleep... Shiro volunteering   
“I’ll get him”

Lance laid on his back with cuddling into his chest, Shiro curled up behind him and Kosmo at their feet. It was a narrow fit, and he still couldn’t calm his heart rate down. Lance was stroking his hair, behind him Shiro’s breath tickled his shoulder. He didn’t want to go back to sleep... and he didn’t want to be up. There was greyness in the room, the sun must be rising soon...  
“Babe, you don’t have to talk, but do you want to tell us what it was about?”  
Stupid Lance wanting to talk. He felt foolish for how vivid the nightmare was...  
“You don’t have to. New can be pretty bad...”  
At this rate Shiro and Lance were likely to bicker about whether he should talk or not. He talked to Lance... it’d take a while and something he made no sense at all  
“Dad...”  
Shiro made an “Ah” noise. Nightmares about his dad had stuck with him since he was kid  
“Oh, babe... hey, it was just a horrible horrible dream. You’re okay. You’re okay”  
Lance comforted him gently, Keith feeling a sob welling up as he nosed into his boyfriend’s chest   
“You were in... in the fire... and I couldn’t get you... and the baby kept crying... but I couldn’t find you... and then...”  
“Okay... hey, I’m okay... I’m okay... this little one is still okay...”  
“It was so fucking real”  
“You were screaming, I guess that makes sense... I’m here. We’re okay”  
“It’s so fucking stupid”

He was angry at himself for making a scene. Today was ultrasound day... he’d planned to take the morning easy... It’d been all he’d thought about the day before  
“Babe, it’s not stupid. That’s like saying my nightmares are stupid... you can’t help what happens when your sleeping”  
“But I couldn’t find you...”  
He could almost hear the cries of the baby as his family burned alive   
“You found me now... I’ve got you, Keith. I’ve got you... you’re safe and we’re okay, we’re all okay... just let it out”

Keith didn’t mean to fall back to sleep, but he woke easily when Lance moved beneath him. Shiro still holding him as he slept, very groggily he mumbled  
“Babe?”  
“Bathroom...”  
“Okay...”  
Kosmo jumped off the bed, his nails clattering on the floor as he padded after Lance. Fuck... he wished he couldn’t remember his stupid nightmare. He didn’t know the house. He didn’t know how he’d even wound up in the house... He didn’t know if Lance was the only one burning, other than the baby... he just hadn’t been in time to be there... 

He wanted to see their friends. Not simply talk to them over the phone, Pidge had called to abuse them for Keith “not sharing Lance”. They hadn’t talked about Lance going home, but he also hadn’t really thought about them hanging out in Platt. Curtis had stayed with Lance the previous day, the pair of them in the kitchen when Keith and Shiro finally got home, Keith trying not to be worried as Lance “wasn’t made of glass”.

Coming back from the bathroom, Lance sighed softly as he crawled under the covers, his boyfriend way too cold, like a block of ice, Keith shuddering  
“Sorry, babe... it’s a cold one. It’s been snowing all night”  
Mumbling, he wriggled back against Shiro  
“Fuck the snow”  
“It’s not that bad. Now stop running away, I’m freezing”  
“That’s why I’m running away”  
“So rude... fine, be that way”  
Rolling away from him, Lance was now too far away, Keith wrapping his arm around him, despite him being a walking ice block. 

*  
Shiro left to pick up Miriam alone as Keith didn’t want Lance in a car in such slippery weather. He didn’t want Shiro out their either, or Mami, yet today was the day. Lance was not happy. His vampire bundled up in an obscene bundles of layers, tracking through the snow with anger in every step. Soft and gentle Lance was gone, his boyfriend acting as if the snow had insulted his ancestors.

Making into the bookstore, Lance huffed as he rubbed his upper arms. Snowflakes on his lashes and his lips blue, striding angrily over to the elevator   
“Babe?”  
“Fuck the snow”  
Keith didn’t think Lance minded the snow that much. Breakfast hadn’t gone as planned, Keith dragging himself around as Lance hid away in his room, only to waddled out for blood, then again to start drinking water before the ultrasound. Shiro hovered, being lame, teasing him about dual wielding two cups of coffee, when Keith needed both of them to calm his nerves and another cup before Shiro took his coffee privileges away. Keith felt like both Lance and Shiro were being careful to make him feel like he didn’t interrupt the night with his screaming.

Huffing and sighing, Lance brushed his hands away as Keith brushed the snow from his shoulders in the elevator   
“Babe?”  
Lance took pity on him, sighing again as he shuffled a little so he could lean against Keith, taking his hand and his. Having no mittens, Lance had stolen a set of his work gloves... then pulled socks over his hand  
“Vampires don’t do well in the snow. This vampire doesn’t do well in the snow. Fucking stinking snow”  
“I thought you didn’t mind the snow”  
“I don’t... I just don’t like that it makes cold. It’s nicer when it’s outside the window and not attempting to freeze me solid”  
“Vampires don’t usually seem to have much trouble in the snow. Not from what I’ve seen”  
“Those lucky wankers... I like to think I’m a tropical vampire... made for the sun and the surf”

Keith snorted at his boyfriend. He pictured Lance falling off repeatedly despite his vampire senses  
“Babe. You’re not coordinated enough to surf”  
“Excuse you, I can surf. I can swim too... plus I don’t wear my glasses when I’m surfing”  
“So you cheat?”  
Lance huffed, not impressed   
“Shut up... fuck... my phone’s vibrating but I don’t know what layer it’s in”  
“You’re the one who put so many layers on”  
“And I would be wearing a sleeping bag over them all if I’d found one. I need to get some heat packs... winter has no mercy”

Coran was there to meet them at the elevator as the door opened, the man chuckling at Lance  
“I thought you might be bundled up. How many layers did you get on this time?”  
“7... and no where enough”  
“Never you mind, we’ll get you warmed up in a jiffy. Left my office heating up just for you. Now, how’s my baby doing?”  
“How am I supposed to know, that’s why we’re here”  
A cold Lance was a snarky Lance, Coran chuckling again  
“Right you are. Come on through and we’ll get you out some of those layers. Shiro is bringing Miriam?”  
“Yeah, because someone decided I’m not allowed in a car on a snowy day”  
“Let him fuss. It’s a big day for the both of you. I’ll get you comfortable and take your bloods, they can process as we wait”  
“Hurray”

There was no cheer in Lance’s voice. Keith nervous as all hell over the ultrasound, but more worried about the health of the baby thanks to Lance being so cold. He hadn’t thought about how Lance’s low core temperature might affect their child. He’d been mentally practicing how to ask what he wanted to about Lance and fresh blood, his courage all used up between the question and the scan. Towed along to Coran’s office, the room was like a furnace, heat slapping him in the face as Coran opened the door  
“Warmth!”  
Lance let him go, happy to walk over to the examination bed. This wasn’t warm. This was like the upper level of hell, or however it worked down there. Whatever the coolest part of the depths of hell was like heat wise, this was it. Struggling with his top jacket, Lance whined as he couldn’t get the zipper undone. Keith forced to enter into the furnace.

As Lance stripped, Keith helped until he found himself all sweaty and settled for holding Lance’s still cold hand. Coran turning down the heat when noticed how damp Keith’s hairline was getting, making Lance pout. As he’d helped his boyfriend out of his layers, he didn’t question Lance wearing two sets of pants, to match his three shirts, jumper, second jumper, and jacket, instead he teased him in an attempt to settle his nerves  
“Are you sure you put enough on?”  
Lance pouted at him. Those big blue eyes nearly had him caving and he wasn’t sure what over   
“It was cold outside... I like to be kept at room temperature, not below”  
“Now, now, boys. This isn’t the time for fighting. Lance, go ahead and lay down. You know Keith wasn’t experienced you during winter”

This was an actual “thing” then? Lance being snarky when he cold? No one warned him about that. Lance included   
“No. He had to experience me being an arsehole though. He’s been very considerate and I’ve been the anti-Christ... I’ve become spoilt rotten with his love”  
Laughing at them, Coran moved to prepare the tubes for blood sample collection   
“You have found a good man. Excellent worth ethic. Have you developed any symptoms since your last stay?”

Lance settled himself down on the table, smiling up at Keith as he placed a hand on his belly, other hand holding Keith’s loosely. Keith had working hard to remember to touch Lance there, he swore his boyfriend let out a happy chirp when he’d rubbed his belly in bed. Mami helped Lance relax. Keith catching his boyfriend taking photos of his stomach. He didn’t want to be one of those social media parents who posted everything for all the world to see... He couldn’t do it. Not when his mind liked to remind him there were plenty of sickos out there, but he did want to “document” the growth of their baby  
“Nope. We’ve got a few questions though”  
“Go ahead. I’ll answer the very best I can”

Lance opened and closed his mouth, Keith trying not to blurt out anything stupid as his boyfriend was clearly thinking hard enough it looked as if it hurt   
“It’s rare to see you so lost for words, my boy. Maybe we’ll get through my questions first?”  
Lance nodded, Coran humming happily   
“Excellent. Now. Have you been eating?”

Lance sighed, Keith deciding maybe he should answer for Lance, fondly smiling at his boyfriend  
“He has. Shiro and I have been hounding him, and so has Mami”  
“Excellent. And how long has it been staying down?”  
That one he couldn’t answer  
“Half and hour to maybe an hour at a maximum. 5 meals a day is going to make me fat”  
“You burn through everything so fast that a high calorie intake is best. Blood consumption?”  
“About the same”  
“Hunger?”  
Lance frowned. He kind of looked like he needed to use the toilet, like he was constipated... The cold really must have slowed him down  
“Mmm... I’m not sure... I still do one bag a day”

Coran hummed again as brought over a kidney bowl, the cannula, needles, and collection tubes. Now was Keith’s time. The best time to ask  
“Would fresh blood be better than a bag a day?”  
Lance settled his expression into something neutral that screamed he didn’t think this was the best time   
“Ah, the ol’ “bag VS fresh battle””  
“Keith wants to feed me and I don’t want to hurt him...”  
“A little wouldn’t hurt, though I suspect your daily intake will grow to match the needs of your body as your pregnancy progresses”  
“How much is a little?”  
“A third of a bag of fresh in the morning. A good feed would keep you topped up all day. Plenty of fresh energy and quintessence”

Lance winced as Coran slid the cannula in  
“I refuse to hurt Keith”  
“You may not have a choice if your body begins to reject other blood in favour of the same time as the father”  
Lance went pale, Keith’s colour also washing out his face. That was a thing?  
“You didn’t mention that before!”  
“We have no real guide for this thing. I can see you’ve both discussed and found yourselves unsure. Small feeds will not harm Keith, though you may suffer from an inflated ego each time until you learn to control your egos exposure. Am I right I assuming you are worried how the blood will interact with Lance’s organs and your child?”

Keith nodded at Coran, finding himself staring at the blood filling the collection tube. How much of that blood was Lance’s? Did his body convert strangers blood or did it simply move about inside of him? He didn’t realise he was being quite for so long that he’d worried Lance  
“Babe? Sorry, Coran. We... honestly are trying to work this out. We want to do what is best for the baby but we’re both working things out still. We don’t want to risk losing it...”  
Coran smoothly swapped the tubes out, nodding as he did   
“That’s understandable. Preparent jitters. I once treated a werewolf with a particularly nasty fear of blood. When she went into labour, Allura had to hold her head up or she’d faint at the sight of each newborn. Jitters are normal. Now, have you two been sexually intimate since you left?”

They made a baby, Keith shouldn’t feel so embarrassed over that question   
“No. We weren’t sure if it was safe and we’re working back towards that”  
“No petting? No touching? My dear boys, I can’t imagine how you’ve kept your hands off each other with how physical you both are towards each other”  
Lance shrugged  
“It’s fine. We had a talk after I lost my shit and I get I was placing a lot of pressure on Keith without thinking things through... we haven’t had sex... is that even safe?”  
“Resting did your body good. Indulge in moderation, provided the ultrasound results are clear. Many people at this stage still don’t know their pregnant. It reminds me of this clan of werewolves I stayed with... Great times, very limber and excellent stamina. Taught this young fae a thing or three...”

Coran was off onto another story, Lance pulling him back on track  
“What does this have to do with me?”  
“Oh, um, absolutely nothing. I was thinking how the clan leaders daughter had no shame in revelling in pleasure or her body. She refused to take a single mate, then she ran off with a human. She was really something else... Ah, well, she didn’t know she was pregnant to her lover at the time. It wasn’t until she was just about due that she popped over night. Brought him back to the clan and he was turned in time to see her intimate with a female wolf, before birthing the first of their children. The three of them had quite their hands full. I believe it was 8 or 9 children between them... Now, her brother. He was a whole other experience. One night with him and his mates...”

“Coran!”

Lance used the exact same tone he used on his Mami. Keith didn’t want to think about what Coran and the werewolves had been up to. The Coran before him was nothing like the wild and adventurous Coran that seemed to have existed back in the days of fairytales. Surely more than half of what he said had to be that... a fae wouldn’t last in a wolf pack come spring. He’d be torn apart... Keith felt lip raise in disgust, that wasn’t really disgust but more like “what the hell, I didn’t need to know that”. What Coran did was his business but the idea... nope. He could do without.

“Yes, you’re right. I am letting myself be swept away by my youth. You and Keith are much tamer than all of that. A little heavy touching and sex won’t hurt, as long as you’re not throwing each other against walls and beating on each other as you... Keith, are you alright? You’ve gone quite red”  
Lance defended him, Keith grateful. Someone needed to stop Coran   
“That’s because you’re getting sidetracked with stories. Keith and I... we’d prefer to keep what we do between us... and I like it better that way”  
“Of course, you are both private in that regard... never mind this old fae reliving his youth. I do hope Shiro and Miriam arrive shortly, I’m most excited to see your child again”  
“And I have to pee... oh, fuck, that’s right. Babe, can you get my phone? I want to record this and I need to see who rang”  
Keith leaned down and kissed Lance on the forehead  
“Sure thing”

Lance was squirming by the time Shiro and Miriam arrived half an hour later. Pidge had called, Lance messaging her that he’d call her back once he was free. Miriam as rugged up as Lance had been, though she had an excuse being older and all. Coming to Lance’s side, she took his left hand as she brushed his fringe back lovingly  
“I’m here, Mijo... I didn’t miss the excitement did I?”  
“No, Mami... but we need to get started, I seriously need to pee”  
“This cold weather is horrible for that. Never like this in Cuba. 37 years and you’d think I’d be used to it”

Mami chuckled, Keith finding Shiro standing near the door. He didn’t want to kick his brother out  
“Shiro, you’re staying, right?”  
Shiro shrugged, playing it cool. Keith knew he was excited and worried as the rest of them   
“If you want me to”  
Lance looked so much happier now Miriam was here, leaning up, he smiled at Shiro   
“Dude, you’re part of the family... but close the door. I think we have enough people in here without letting stragglers in”

Lance flinched as Coran smeared gel across his belly. His boyfriend gripping his hand nearly to the point of being painful. The pain helping Keith focus and not show all his worry over the results  
“Let’s get started... you all ready?”  
Lance groaned at Coran  
“I’m past ready. If you get peed on, I’d like to blame the insane amount of water you had me chug”  
Coran laughed as he swapped the bottle of gel for the ultrasound wand  
“In that case let’s take a look”

It was surreal the first time around, the second time Keith still found he couldn’t quite believe that blackness was supposed to their baby, Mami getting sniffly, not that he didn’t have tears in his own eyes... He felt really stupid for not being able to process that surrounded by what looked like grey fish was their baby. Their’s. They’d made an actual baby and it was still there... Not like when his goldfish died...

Miriam kissed Lance’s cheek, both of them brimming with pride   
“Oh, Mijo... they didn’t have these fancy things when I started birthing you lot... to think you were that tiny inside of me”  
Coran sniffled. Who knew a good ultrasound could be such an emotional thing  
“Everything looks good... I’m seeing one... and I’d definitely say you’re roughly six weeks meaning you’ll be due in June... provided this advances like a normal human pregnancy... Now, let me take some photos and get some measurements on this little one”  
“When will we be able to hear the heartbeat?”  
An image was good and all, but it didn’t tell them it was really... that everything was alright... Keith’s shock had hit him for six again  
“The internet said 7-8 weeks”  
Lance blushed, Keith realising his boyfriend must have googled the hell out of being pregnant   
“We’ll have your next scan at 8 weeks, provided things progress smoothly. It’ll be a nice thing to return home to after your weekend away”

That was right. Lance stubbornly refused to cancel Keith’s birthday weekend  
“Will Lance be up for that? It’s a lot of walking”  
A hell of a lot of walking especially when Lance didn’t hike to begin with   
“He should be fine. The main reason for rest was that bleed, but this little one is stubborn. Are you still having your vitamin shakes?”  
Lance nodded. The shakes didn’t seem to stay down that long, less than human food  
“Yeah. Twice a day...”  
His boyfriend didn’t love the flavour. Maybe he should mix a little blood in there... It was probably the taste that had them coming back up   
“Excellent. Those, with the injections, will help. You’ll need to keep your body temperature up. Heat pads and heat bags, and avoid prolonged periods in the cold”  
“And going home?”

They hadn’t had that discussion...  
“As smoothly as things are at the moment, I would still prefer you remained in Platt, at least during the night. You may visit, but I have noticed you’re particularly clingy to Keith right now. I think staying with him will help continue to keep your hormonal and emotional levels stabilised. You react strongly to touch and scent”  
“Should I be taking off work?”  
Lance shook his head quickly  
“Babe, I’ll be okay. I know you want to be with me, but you’ll lose track of everything if your focus is on me alone...”  
“I don’t want you alone if it isn’t good for you”  
Coran chuckled at the pair of them  
“Lance doesn’t like to be smothered, even by you. He’s very stubborn like that. I’ll check the schedule with Kolivan, he’s been forced to swallow his pride over the stalling in the search for Sendak. I’m sure if he was made aware...”

“No!”

It wasn’t a yell, but it wasn’t not a yell. More like a very heated and very solid “No way in hell”. Lance sighing softly at him, a sigh that told him they’d be having a serious talk about this later. Shiro pinched the bridge of his nose. Coran looking almost confusidly alarmed. Mami still watching the black blob on the screen. Keith’s gaze dropping to his feet. He didn’t want special treatment... that so ingrained in him that it made it hard to be honest   
“We’re waiting. Until things settle down, we’re waiting...”  
“Keith is right. It’s not like we’re not going to tell them, but for now we’re doing what’s right for us. We want to wait and grow a bit more confident over what’s happening”

This is why he had Lance. Lance translated his stupid words into something other people got. The baby might be there now, but he just... He was a feeling a lot of things he couldn’t verbalise. Excited. Proud. Shaken. Drained. Slightly horny... Proud. Worried. A lot of things. Rubbing the back of Keith’s hand with his thumb, Lance drew his gaze back to him. His boyfriend smiling at him, expression filled with love and wonder. He felt kind of chicken shit for being more scared of a baby than a vampire  
“It’s okay, Babe. You don’t need to look so sad. I’m okay, and this little one is still there. Soooo, Mami, what do you think?”  
Lance effortlessly took the attention off him and he was grateful   
“I think that old Colleen has nothing with her new great-great-grandson. Not when my baby boy is going to be a father. Oh, I can’t wait to rub this in her face”  
“Mami... Seriously, who knew nursing homes could be so competitive. Next you’ll be taking bets”

Mami laughed as she patted Lance’s hand. Shiro took the bait   
“If we’re taking bets, I’m betting on a boy”  
Lance laughed then cut himself off, moving his hand to his belly  
“Oh, god. Don’t make me laugh... Coran, are you nearly done?”  
“A few more clicks... Hmm... a betting pool isn’t a bad idea”  
“Put me down for a girl. Call it mother’s intuition”  
Shiro nodded, pulling out his phone  
“We’ve got a boy from Coran. A girl from Miriam. Sorry, Miriam, I’ll side with Coran on that one... Two for a boy... Keith, what should I put you down for?”

Keith didn’t know... either would be adorable if they took after Lance...  
“Don’t tease him like this. We don’t mind as long as their healthy”  
“You two are no fun. Shall we say $50 to winner? Or split the pot?”  
“I’ll be happy to take your money... don’t go leaving town before you pay up”  
Mami was ruthless, Shiro snorting with laughter. Lance squirming again  
“Guys, seriously. Not cool”  
Coran apologetic as he clicked the mouse connected to the ultrasound machine  
“I’m sorry, Lance... give me... okay, there we go... all done”  
Lance let out a long breath of relief, starting to sit up, despite his belly still covered in gel, the moment Coran pulled the wand off  
“Thank God for that... sorry, Mami... I just really need to pee”   
Mami didn’t mind, she probably understood. From the movies Keith knew pregnant people seemed to need to pee a lot  
“Off you go. Why don’t you take Keith with you?”  
“Yes, why don’t you two have a few moments to process today’s scans while I clean up here. Off you boys go”

It felt like they’d been evicted as they headed to the locker room, Lance striding in ahead of him, leaving Keith to drag his steps so his boyfriend could have some privacy peeing. When he finally made it into the shower/toilet area, Lance had locked himself away in a cubicle, Keith wondering if it was weird as he stood outside the door  
“Babe?”  
“I’m all good... this lube stuff is seriously sticky”  
Keith snorted. Lance didn’t love sticky things but seemed perfectly fine with it during sex  
“Want help?”  
“Nah... hold on”  
Opening the door, Lance was rubbing at his belly with a wad of toilet paper  
“See, almost all gone. God... I really needed to pee. Next time I’m waiting before drinking that water... I felt like I was going to burst when Coran pressed on my stomach”  
“I’m sorry”  
“What are you apologising for? You’re not the one with a bladder that decided it needed to be pea sized today”

Keith shrugged, stepping back out the way, Lance slipping past him, throwing the toilet paper in the bin before washing his hands  
“I don’t know. I don’t like you being uncomfortable”  
“Babe, I’m fine. Crisis adverted... How are you? You didn’t say much, but you’ve still got tears in your eyes”  
“It was kind of amazing... I guess...”  
His boyfriend huffed at him, crossing to close the distance between them before pulling him into a hug  
“More than amazing. I’m okay and the baby is too”  
“I’m sorry... it’s just... I’m still scared”  
“That’s why you asked about the heartbeat. It doesn’t really feel like this ball of cells is going to be an actual person”  
“I’m still scared it’s not going to be”  
Lance nuzzled into his neck  
“I know, but... it’s... we can still be happy, you know. I know we over think things, but Coran isn’t messing around”  
“No... sounds like he did enough of that when he was younger”

Lance laughed, raising his head to shoot a brilliant smile at him  
“That he did... but good news, us messing around won’t hurt this little one. Before you say it, I know you want to wait, but honestly I feel so happy right now I want to cry that I’m about to jump up”

Keith was not prepared. Lance jumping up and looping his legs around his waist had him stumbling into the closest sink. Laughing happily, Lance clang to him, Keith not even grumpy about the lack of warning as his boyfriend dived in to kiss him. Several long kisses later, Lance pulled back enough to lap at the blood beading on Keith’s lips  
“I love you, Keith Kogane”  
“I love you, too, Lance Bratty-Arse McClain”  
Lance’s happiness was infectious. Keith grinning up at Lance, his hands supporting his boyfriend by his arse  
“Good. Because you and me, we made a baby, and it honestly feels like things are looking up... like a whole baby, babe... we did that... I was so worried trying to think of what to say if today hadn’t gone well... and I know I’m getting ahead of myself...”  
“Babe, shut up, I get it. You’re happy”  
“Very... and cold. This place is freezing...”

Keith snorted. The shower area wasn’t that cold. Lance was being a baby  
“That’s because you’re like an ice block”  
“Am I at least a cute one?”  
“Very... but I don’t know if I should be feeding your ego. 6 weeks is still really early”  
“Mhmm... but for now, can we just be kind of really in awe...”  
“Can I be shocked? I’m still really fucking shocked”  
Lance laughed at him. God. He felt like it’d been too long since Lance was jumping into his arms happily   
“I am too. I don’t know why I decided to leap up on you, but I feel really good that this little one is okay. Should I get down?”  
“Nah, you’re fine... I feel like you haven’t been smiling much lately”  
“I feel like I didn’t have as much to smile about... just wait until the embarrassment kicks in...”  
“For jumping on me?”  
“For letting myself be happy. Are you happy? Are you okay? I’ve been all about me and today hit you hard”  
“I’ve been... better... but I feel better knowing the scan was good”

“That’s good. You always stress so much. You’re going to get wrinkles way too young”  
The way Lance pout at him made him want to kiss him all over again. Which was playing with fire... Once the relief had worn off, and he was back to feeling himself, he’d have to reassess how he felt over being intimate   
“And you’re a brat. What happened to the 45 year old dressed in seven layers?”  
“Coran heated the office. Rose my core temperature... but you’ll snuggle with at home, keep me warm, right?”  
“Depends. You were fucking freezing when you came back to bed”  
“Mmm, but you were nice and warm... Wanna go home and watch the scan again? The two of us? Pidge wants me to call again, but right now that’s what I want to do...”  
That sounded nice  
“Sure... provided you behave long enough to get home”  
“I always behave. It’s the snow that’s out to get me, not the other way around”  
“Right... I’m pretty sure snow is older than your old arse”

Keith regretted the words as soon as he saw Lance’s face fell. His boyfriend climbing out of his arms to wrap his arms around his waist in a self hug  
“Babe... I was joking”  
“But that’s the thing... maybe I am too old? And what do we tell them when they notice I don’t age? I’m old... like way older than you... you could be happier with...”

Nope. Grabbing Lance, Keith pulled him back  
“I shouldn’t have said it like that. I like you, and you’re not that old”

Lance raised his right hand to rub at his eyes, he wasn’t wearing his glasses today. His boyfriend really wanted to see the scan clearly   
“I’m 45... most people have kids your age... and... I know you were joking. I do... but it’s something I’ve been thinking about. Fuck. Here I was lecturing you and now I’m... I’m sorry”  
“It bothers you a lot, doesn’t it?”  
He’d been careful with the grey hair jokes because he knew Lance still held a lot of sensitivity over them... Making a mental joke, he was going to have to avoid age jokes all together for now  
“Yeah... I was trying not to think about it... but like, I don’t get older... and I hate it so much... I know you’re okay with it, but it’s something I’m not okay with... throw it in with my body changing and it’s... yeah... Sorry. Can we go home now?”

The change in Lance just about gave him whiplash  
“You know I don’t care about that... You’re still you”  
Lance hardly acted his age, unless he needed to. He was so full of love and life... Keith liked the man inside the body... though the body was pretty smoking hot  
“I do... I mean. I know. It hit me again out of nowhere... I think... maybe I’m going to have some problems with it until I settle down. I’m like so relieved they’re okay that it’s not even funny”  
“Me too. Do you want to get anything on the way home?”  
“Nah... I just... I just want to watch the scan alone with you... I love Mami and I love Shiro and Coran, but I want to watch you watch it again...”  
“Why? What did I do?”  
“You were crying but you were smiling... I really love it when you smile”

Keith’s heart went funny as he ducked his head. Only Lance could make him feel like this... and feel braver about that letter  
“When we get home, there’s something I want... I need you to see with me”  
“Is it bad?”  
“I don’t know, but I think I’ve left it long enough”  
“Alright, Mullet. Let’s go... I feel pretty rude leaving but I need some alone time with you right now”  
Mami had come for the scan and sure, Keith liked her, but Lance and their baby came first. Besides, the scan was over... He wasn’t letting Lance go out in this weather on those slippery roads. His heart had enough trouble letting Shiro drive around   
“Yeah. Funnily enough I do to”


	111. Chapter 111

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soft bois being soft... although that’s almost every chapter. Happy soft bois working out life together

111

Lance had Keith tucked up in his lap, Coran way ahead of him by sending through the ultrasound video. Technology was scary, he’d recorded it, yet in the time it took for them to get home, he’d already received the photos with the measurements and a copy of the video like it was nothing. Keith want to hold him, but Lance was happy with the three blankets over his shoulders between him and the sofa, plus he was doubly happy having Keith there kind of as a protector between him, their baby, and the rest of the world. Pidge and Hunk wanted to make plans for the camping trip, more like snoop if they asked him for the truth, Lance banning them from driving over to see them in this weather, he’d head down tomorrow if things cleared up. Yeah. He was paranoid. Keith hadn’t pried into his paranoia, Lance holding back telling him that stemmed from a nightmare he’d had over losing his two best friends to the snow. He’d tell Keith, but only if he asked.

Watching the ultrasound on repeat, Lance couldn’t get used to the background noises. There was something not quite there, his heart telling him it was the racing heart of their baby. He felt the same as Keith did, that fear that lingered like the fear that lingered after that near miss. With his chin on Keith’s shoulder, he could watch the scan all day now that he wasn’t needing to pee  
“You okay?”  
Keith hadn’t said much, watching the screen as intently as Lance  
“Yeah... I still... it’s... wow”

His boyfriend was so eloquent  
“You know, we need a name for them so we stop calling them “it””  
“People name them? Like before they come out?”  
“Some people even have names picked out before they fall pregnant. I suppose “squirt” is the obvious one”  
Keith hummed, mind more on the video than the conversation   
“Not squirt. That’s how we got them in the first place”  
Okay, maybe he was paying more attention than Lance was giving him credit for  
“Lots of people go with “bean”. I don’t know...”  
“Let me think about it”  
“Yeah. That’s probably the smartest idea... ultrasounds look so weird. Like what’s all the grey? I mean, obviously is like inside me and all, but it looks like we’re watching a bad fish film”  
“I was thinking the same thing but thought I must be stupid”  
Lance melted, nuzzling into Keith   
“You are not stupid. This is new territory for both of us. If anything I’m the stupid one for not realising I was pregnant”  
Keith leaned his head back against Lance’s shoulder, looking to him with a soft smile   
“You’re not stupid. Maybe... we could name it something like “Macaroon”? I mean... if I’m an anger loaf and you’re an idiot crumpet... I don’t know what a crumpet and a loaf make together”

Lance didn’t know why he found Keith saying “Macaroon” so funny. His big bag boyfriend definitely had a hidden sweet tooth  
“You’re laughing at me”  
“I’m laughing at the word “Macaroon”. There’s a macaroon floating around in my stomach”  
His boyfriend snorted  
“Okay, point taken. Not “Macaroon””  
“Noooo. Let me have this... it’ll be like the longest I’ve kept down food in 37 years”  
“You are pretty bad at keeping food down”  
“Don’t blame me. I have no control over this body. Sometimes even water gets thrown back up, other times it doesn’t... it’s weird”  
“It’s fine. You should eat though”  
“But the baby”  
“The Macaroon needs food... the idiot crumpet needs food to feed the Macaroon”  
Lance snorted at his boyfriend   
“If I’m feeding something, then shouldn’t it be like an animal. Like a guppy in all those fish?”  
“You’ve been spending too much time on the internet”  
“I can’t deny that... alright, I know you’re going to be bossy until I eat. I’ll have a shake now then a nap with my macaroon maker”  
“Do you want to try blood in the shake? See if that keeps it down longer?”

Lance tensed. Keith was trying to be sweet, but he didn’t want him going out his way, or making him uncomfortable with his dietary requirements  
“I... uh...”  
“It’s okay... I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I’m not going to be grossed out”  
“It’s blood”  
“Babe, you drink blood all the time. I might not like the taste, but it’s something you need”  
“I never really... I’m still getting used to being able to feed without hiding it”  
He’d drank a few times in front of Pidge and Hunk, before overthinking about how they’d be uncomfortable watching him eat. Keith, Shiro, Curtis, Matt, and Rieva, were all different because they were used to this world  
“Let me make you a shake. I’ll use a little of my blood...”  
Not this again  
“Babe. No”  
“Not a lot...”  
“You can’t”  
“Lance, I want to. You’re scared over my blood, so I think maybe we can try just a bit in your shakes and see if that helps them stay down longer”

Keith broke his heart bringing up his jealousy over a strangers blood in his system. To Lance it was food now. He’d fed for so long on blood bags. Nameless blood bags. Sources responsibly, without the donor being harmed. They were of course compensated well too... He honestly feared too much fresh blood in his system would make him an arrogant arsehole. Yeah. He’d fed on Keith... when he’d had to. Keith’s blood was... easily very addictive. He didn’t taste like blood bag blood. He wanted Keith to feel connected with their baby. Not feeling inferior, like Lance was cheating on him repeatedly. He didn’t want to say yes, but for Keith... he couldn’t deny him. He couldn’t deny him anything... the words stuck in his throat... He wasn’t that kind of vampire...  
“Lance, let yourself rely on me”  
“I do. I need you understand who hard it is still to accept blood from you. Bags are like eating a well seasoned steak that’s cooled enough to lose its tenderness. Humans are like eating that steak while it’s still part of the cow... and knowing you can have the whole thing if you really want it. My teeth cut your lips when we kiss to much... so it’s not I haven’t tasted your blood a lot. Your blood tastes good... You are good. Good not food”  
“You sound like you’re deflecting”  
“I’m not trying to deflect. Fine. Think of it as having too much coffee”  
“You can never have too much coffee. I don’t mean like a lot of blood, just a little bit, and just to see if it helps keep food down for you and the baby. I’ll use some from a bag if you’re going to be this upset”  
“I’m not upset. You being hurt would upset... and we don’t know how I’ll react to the scent of blood... If you’re so set on trying this, then wait until Shiro is home”

Keith’s safety was his priority. As the pregnancy progressed he feared he’d need more blood to keep up...  
“Fine. But you’re having your shake”  
“Only if you finally show me what this secret thing is”  
“Deal”  
Well fuck. Keith agreed far too readily.

*  
Keith secret turned out to be a letter from Krolia. Though Lance liked to keep things neat and tidy, he respected that there were certain things he shouldn’t be touching or moving, the things on Keith’s desk being one of those cases. He also never touched his boyfriend’s phone or laptop with Keith’s nagging, respecting his boyfriend’s privacy. He knew Keith sometimes messaged their friends privately, and Lance like Keith feeling comfortable doing so. He wasn’t going to be that kind of controlling partner who had to know everything and didn’t trust their partner enough to let them have their own secrets.

Keith forced him into his lap this time. Sitting on the sofa again, Lance sipped his shake slowly, trying to do draw out eating in the hopes if he kept eating it’d take longer to come back up. The blood with the vanilla wasn’t the best flavour combination, Lance didn’t really know how to describe it. Blood lasted like blood to him, but it wasn’t gross tasting like it was to humans. It was only gross tasting now thanks to the vanilla flavour in the shake powder. Opening the envelope, Keith’s hands were shaking  
“Babe, it’s okay. We don’t have to rush”  
“I’ve had this for like a month now... I need to face it... before Krolia finds out we’re having a baby”

Honestly, if Krolia told him she knew, Lance wouldn’t be surprised. Allura had probably noticed the change in his quintessence... Though Krolia didn’t have fae powers, she was at VOLTRON a lot. Like a whole lot. She easily could have snuck into Coran’s office and found out, or intercepted lab results. Heck, the Blades had 4 werewolves who were probably smarter about this than Matt and Rieva  
“We can still take it slow”  
“I’ve been thinking about it for weeks... She... I don’t know...”  
“Maybe you don’t dislike her as much as you thought?”  
“She’s not the same here as she was in Rome”  
“That’s good. Noticing that, that’s okay. I’m not trying to pressure you, but if you’ve been thinking it’s time for a while now, maybe it’s time to read this letter?”

Krolia usually tried to say hello to Keith, or to him if she saw them. She wasn’t shooting him, a good sign that he was still in the clear with her, although it could be thanks to the Blade’s being busy. Lance had tried to forget the briefing room board and all the scraps of information on it, trying not to cross the lines or belittle their work... even if it solving the question of where Sendak was would be great. He’d loved to be able to rub in their face as revenge for not telling them about Antok.

Dropping the envelope into his lap, Keith separated the pages, photos falling out. The letter from Krolia was roughly two pages long, Lance noticing immediately that Krolia had enclosed a copy of the photo she’d shown him on his birthday   
“Dad...”  
The letter was no longer important. Lance taking them from Keith as Keith tried to hold both the letter and the photo at once resulting in the page crumpling. Turning the photo over, Krolia had written on the back  
“Keith aged 5 months”. She’d stayed longer than Lance thought. Keith seemed to think it was more a “pop and run” kind of deal. Turning the photo back over, his boyfriend’s tears started soaking into Lance’s borrowed long sleeve shirt  
“I think that’s my dad... and my mum”

Lance stared at the photo. Keith’s parents couldn’t have been much older than Keith when the photo was taken. Damn if Keith didn’t have some good looking genes in his family tree. Lance nearly pointing out that Keith’s dad was as hot as his son, then stopping himself him short thanks to thinking of how Keith had lost his father in a fire  
“I... I forgot his face... I had a photo at some point but... God. What kind of a son forgets his dad’s face?”  
“The kind of son who loses him far too soon. What are the other ones?”

Keith sniffled loudly, his hands shaking harder as he took three attempts to pick up the the other two photos  
“God... is that me?”  
Young Keith was holding his hippo, the photo older and taken from a distance... Hanging off his dad’s arm, Keith was wearing the biggest smile Lance had ever seen. Both hands holding around the arm in the photo, with his hippo barely gripped as he hung in the air. Lance wasn’t sure for sure it was his dad’s arm, but an educated guess would say it was   
“Yeah, that’s you. I’d recognise those knobbly knees anywhere”  
“I don’t remember this at all”  
“Check the back”  
The back read “Keith aged 5”. One of Krolia’s friends must have taken it, or one of the Blades, or even of one Lance’s father’s friends.

The third photo was a photo of a photo. The photo used when Keith’s father had died in the house fire. Keith’s dad really was very good looking, especially in his fancy firefighter uniform  
“How did she have these?”  
“She said she never stopped wanting to know you. She probably had hunters or friends take photos... I know you’re probably not going to be happy, but she showed me that one of you guys together. She says it’s her good luck charm. She’s proud of you... I’m not trying to interfere here, but I don’t think there was a time that you weren’t in her thoughts”

Keith sniffled hard, Lance moving to kiss his cheek  
“Hey, I’m here for you”  
“I... what do I tell her? I didn’t get it. She and Shiro tried to tell me and I didn’t get how you could leave your baby behind... and now you’re pregnant, I finally fucking get it. I wasn’t brave enough to read this sooner... she... she’s been respecting my boundaries more and more...”  
“You kind of wanted to talk to her before you found about the baby and now you’re worried maybe she’ll only be concerned with listening to what you have to say about it?”  
“I couldn’t have faced her if I hadn’t come here. You helped me so much... and she... she walks all over everything. She butts into my life. She shot you. She gets on with everyone else... but she’s... at the Blade of Marmora Headquarters she was terrifying. Like... a walking statue made of gold. Something you shouldn’t be approaching. I felt like she was always looking down at me... I hated it. I fought so hard to carve out my own space but that didn’t matter with her there. She didn’t even come when I nearly got killed. I was pretty desperate, hitchhiking and trying to get to the cabin. Caught a lift and it turned out someone let slip Krolia had a son. No idea who or how they know me. They tracked me down, assuming I was running back to dad’s shack. They were so nice that I thought I was being careful. Shiro was tracking them tracking me. I nearly became dinner. He shot out the windows, flooded the place with light and took me away... I didn’t even know I was in danger until they showed their faces and fangs...”

“You’re both lucky”  
Keith would have been lunch. There was clearly more to the story, which Keith had left out   
“He knew what he was doing. I had no idea. I thought I was a freak of nature that maybe deserved it. I can’t believe... dad...”  
He got what Keith was saying. He tried so hard to find a way back to his dad and now he had part of him returned  
“He looks so much like you... You even have that same crease in the corner of your eyes when you smile”  
“Do you think so?”  
“Babe, yeah. You two against each other photo wise, people would think you’re brothers”  
“I can’t believe she had these”  
Lance wasn’t sure Krolia had had them. He was secretly sure that out there there would be a file on Keith filled with photos and reports on Keith growing up   
“I think she probably always wanted to show you... but that’s okay. Because you weren’t ready before. You made to feel worthless by worthless people instead of being confident enough to see how much you are truly loved. I know it’s hard. When so many people are mean to you, you feel like people complimenting you are only doing so because they’re either lying or laughing behind your back at how dumb you are for believing them. I get paranoid like that too”   
“I don’t know what to tell her. You saw me today. I panicked at the idea of Kolivan knowing. I panicked at the idea of be treated differently... I don’t want to be given special treatment...”  
“You’re not as weak as you believe you are. If they still see you as weak, then they’re morons. You were in a fucking accident and still cared more about your bike than you”  
“I think that just makes me slightly stupid”

Keith bike was still at VOLTRON. Lance assumed it was being fixed, but Keith seemed pretty down about it still. His boyfriend would probably be working on it more if he didn’t have him to worry about  
“Nah. I’m shitting myself over you getting back on that death trap, but that’s what you want to do. Your brave. The world hurt you, and lately you’ve showing your face more. I really like it. You keep moving forward and that makes you strong. Your father was so proud of you. I can see it in his eyes. He loved you so much babe. He’d be even prouder if he’d got to see who you grew into. That stuff in the middle, that doesn’t make you a bad person... in his last moments I’m sure all he was hoping for was your safety and your happiness”  
“I’m sorry... I think maybe I... I think I need to talk to Krolia”  
Lance took it all in his stride  
“You don’t have to be sorry for anything at all. You talking with her is what you need. Again, I’m not pushing, but when we talked... she’s desperate to know you. She loves you. You’re loved very much”  
“I want to see the others too...”  
Lance nodding  
“Tomorrow. If the snow let’s up we’ll head there tomorrow. I miss them too”  
“I didn’t think I’d ever miss a bunch of people”

Lance chuckled at his boyfriend, totally in love with Keith so badly it hurt  
“That’s because we know the coolest and weirdest bunch of people. You’re in with the cool kids, babe”  
“And you’re sounding like Shiro”  
“Hey, it’s not my fault. I’m totally allowed to be lame when I feel like it”  
“You feel like an ice block again”  
“I’m thinking of taking a trip to the fridge just to warm up”  
“Or we could go to bed”  
Lance blinked half a dozen times. Keith didn’t mean that... like that...   
“Yeah. More blankets and snuggles sound good”  
“Who said anything about snuggles?”  
“Me? Right now”  
“I suppose that can be arranged. I want to make copies of these photos. I don’t ever want to lose them”  
“We’ll work that out... like we work everything else out”  
Keith kissed his hair, his boyfriend meant the absolute world to him, mumbling around keeping his lips to Lance’s hair   
“We make a good team”  
“That we do”


	112. Chapter 112

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya know what, I decided because 2020 was farking awful, I’m gonna post three chapters today because I sincerely appreciate every single person reading this.

112

Stopping at the service station on the drive up to the cabin for his birthday weekend, Keith was drawn away from Lance by Hunk and Pidge. His boyfriend wanted to stay in the car, Shay also staying. Matt and Shiro were on slushie duty for the lot of them, Rieva trying on sunglasses. Lead away from them, Keith found himself in the bathroom with his friends, feeling kind of nervous over being singled out.

“Alright. Spill. What’s going on with you and Lance. He’s been sulking all day”  
Lance wasn’t sulking, Keith knew exactly what was up with his boyfriend, despite what Pidge was thinking  
“He’s not sulking”  
“He’s been quiet the whole drive. Hasn’t even sung along to anything once, and he’s letting you drive. He doesn’t just let people drive”  
They weren’t telling the other. Not yet. Not until the next scan went well.

Keith had talked to Krolia. Kind of. He’d started crying and sort of just walked up and hugged her. His mother shocked, but slowly hugging him back. She didn’t know Lance was pregnant. That... he’d chickened out of. Though it kind of felt like she knew by the way she hugged him, which was totally ridiculous. All he could really do is say he got why she left, as even though he’d come to work early to see her, she was headed out for a new undercover mission. They barely spoke. She wished him a happy birthday and asked if she could call. Keith agreeing, but didn’t know if he’d get coverage... asking to talk to her better when she came back.

Hunk crossed his arms  
“We’ve known Lance long enough to know when he’s not in a good mood. What happened?”  
“He’s just tired”  
“Keith. Something has been going on and it all comes back to that accident. Don’t lie to us. We’re supposed to be your friends”  
It wounded him to hear Hunk be so firm with him... Ugh. He was going to have to be truthful to some degree   
“Lance is nervous. We haven’t had sex since the accident and he’s a bit grumpy, but he’s not sulking”  
Hunk groaned, Pidge gaping, before straightening her facial features  
“He’s cranky because he’s not getting any? Dude! We didn’t need to know that! Why’s he been staying with you if he’s not getting any?!”  
“Because Lance’s body is a little different, Coran’s wanted him to stay close while he tries a different diet...”  
Kind of true. And morning sickness had kicked in. Lance blowing chunks when Keith was brewing coffee. Lance insisted he’d be fine, but it was hard to enjoy coffee when your boyfriend was throwing up in the kitchen sink. Pidge continuing to be her blunt self  
“He’s a vampire, what kind of diet change could he possibly need?”  
“He likes human food. Coran’s trying to find a way from him to keep it down longer”  
“We know you’re still hiding something. It makes no sense. He heals and stuff, right. So why did he have to stay at VOLTRON for so long?! And why didn’t he want us coming to see him!?”  
“It’s not that he didn’t want to. He gets embarrassed about relying on blood... and paranoid about the roads in the snow...”  
Keith sounded lame, even to himself   
“He can’t help it”  
“He knows that but being a vampire isn’t easy, especially with how his body’s changed. Sometimes he gets really self conscious about it. So I had him stay with me so we could talk about it. He’s not avoiding you guys or anything... he missed seeing you”  
Pidge put a stern look on her face   
“Keith Kogane. I swear I’m going to steal Kosmo away if you’re lying to me”  
“I’m not lying... look, some stuff did happen, vampire stuff. He’s told you Platt isn’t safe right now. Just give us a little bit longer and we’ll explain”  
“You better. We miss having you home”

Keith opened his arms for a hug, because that’s how Lance would approach things and he really was trying to do the right thing by everyone involved. Pidge first to hug him back, then Hunk  
“You don’t get to worry us”  
“We’re both sorry. Lance is okay. He’s a bit exhausted, but okay... he’s been throwing up a bit but that’s because of his body. He’ll be okay with rest and time”  
“I don’t like him not being okay”  
“I don’t either. Plus, I’ve had some stuff going on, so I selfishly kept him to myself”  
“You can talk to us, you know. About that kind of thing. We’re all friends”  
“Yeah, but it’s complicated. Just Krolia stuff”  
“You can talk to us about her too. We’re pretty much like a big weird family... Lance is kind of like the weird uncle... and you’re dating the weird uncle”  
“He’s not weird”  
“He kind of is... I mean, seriously. He’s super older than us and still has no grasp on technology”  
“I’m kind of with him on that one. As long as it works then it’s all good”  
“This is why the pair of you are hopeless. Keith, is he really okay after the accident? Matt was really shaken up... we were too”  
“He fell down the stairs at home and started bleeding from it... he also had a bad reaction to medication Coran was trialing. He’s better than he was. Especially without the medication...”  
“You can’t just say that. Why does a vampire need medication?”  
“His body doesn’t always... it’s complicated. Um... I should probably tell you he has to have vitamin injections at the moment because his body burns through things pretty fast...”  
Lance would know how to reassure Pidge and Hunk better than the job he was doing   
“I thought being a vampire would be easy”  
“It’s not... I promise we’ll tell you everything, but not right now”  
Pidge giggled at him  
“You’re so nervous. It’s like you’re going to tell us something whack like Lance is pregnant. I know things are crazy, but it can’t be that weird”  
“Would it be so weird if he was?”

The joking tone in Keith’s voice was strained, he didn’t feel overly happy at Pidge’s joke, nor did he feel like Lance being pregnant was a joke in any way, shape, or form  
“Unless he’s hiding something down there... oh my god, next thing Matt is going to be pregnant... can you imagine that?”  
Keith let the hug drop. This was what Lance was afraid of and now he was living it, he felt physically sick. Pidge was laughing at the thought of Matt, but the way Hunk caught his gaze, it was like the big man knew something was wrong with him  
“Pidge, why don’t you head back to the others? I have to use the bathroom... and this is the men’s”  
Pidge rolled her eyes at Hunk  
“You boys and your junk. Actually. No. I don’t want to see that. Thanks for the laugh Keith, I needed it. Don’t take too long losers or I’ll have to tell Shay and Lance you’re cheating on them”

Pidge waltzed out the bathroom with a bounce in her step. Hunk waiting until the door swung closed before awkwardly worrying his middle fingers together  
“I’m... not sure how to ask this, man. But... you had a really sad look on your face right now and the only thing I can think is that... are you saying Lance is... like... you know...?”  
“What would you say if he was?!”  
Keith was harsher than needed with Hunk, Hunk flinching   
“Whoa! No... hey... um... I guess... I mean, he turns into a bat... and if he’s okay than that’s cool... I guess I don’t get it but he’s not really like human if he can turn into a bat... but if he’s okay than I guess that’s what I’m trying to ask... and maybe if you can please stop looking like you’re going to murder me because I really like Shay and I don’t want to be buried in the woods”

Keith clenched his fists, hurt by Hunk thinking he’d hurt him. Noticing, Hunk shuffled closer and hugged him, Keith’s own word vomit coming out as fast as Hunk’s  
“I didn’t mean to... I would never hurt you, or Pidge... It’s Lance. If he heard what Pidge said, he’d be really upset. He was a normal vampire until I came along. He couldn’t turn into a bat. He didn’t have all these complications he has now... he was happy and now his body is changing and he... I would never... I would never turn against you guys... you’re like... my first real friends”  
“It’s okay, man...”  
“No. I shouldn’t have snapped. I’m worried about him. He’s a special kind of vampire and he’s had to coop himself up a lot because of it... The accident was really bad and he needed a lot of sleep to recover. I’m still worried about him hiking today”  
“I can’t say I really get, but you can rely on us”  
“Even if you think I’m going to kill you”  
Yeah, he was miffed still   
“To be fair, there’s a lot of times I thought Pidge would kill me too... funnily enough, not so much Lance”  
“That’s because he’s barely even a fucking vampire... he’s more like a human with sharp teeth. I’m going to head back. Lance wanted some chapstick thing, I don’t really have a clue”  
“Good thing you’re mates with his best bud, he always goes for eucalyptus”  
“Thanks for the heads up. I thought strawberry would be more his thing”  
“I know right? I don’t know. Maybe it’s a vampire thing”  
“Probably... Thanks, Hunk. I’ve really missed hanging out with you, and Pidge. Platt seems pretty far away from Garrison”  
“You’re welcome any time, Dude”

Keith wanted to return the sentiment   
“I’m sorry I can’t have you at my place”  
“Nah, it’s cool man. It’s like you live in a top secret lair”  
“It’s just an apartment”  
Hunk groaned at him in a very Lance like way  
“Let me have this...”  
Keith supposed indulging his fantasies wouldn’t hurt   
“There’s safes with weaponry and swords, does that help?”  
“Definitely a secret lair. Oh man. I know you sent photos but I totally feel like it’s got lair vibes. Like weapons all in a hands reach”  
“Pretty much”  
“That’s... cool and also a little scary. Okay, let’s go before Pidge ends up with too many slushies”

*  
Lance was not having a great time in the back of his Bronco. Kosmo was out his carrier and in his lap, acting like his personal heater as Lance hunkered down. Everyone had food... apart from Keith. That combined with the scents trapped in the bronco left him feeling green around the edges. He’d so far not thrown up, but that was thanks to swallowing down his nausea. He regretted not stealing one of Keith’s shirts, his boyfriend’s natural scent was still there, but it had a lot to contend with.

Keith was driving. Not that Lance minded, but it was weird to be sitting behind his boyfriend instead of cuddled into him. He’d made a fuss of assuring Keith that he’d be okay for the drive, but his stomach was somewhere back in Garrison, and his head was still on his pillow. They’d spent the night in Garrison, against what Coran wanted, but Lance needed a little bit of normality to prepare for the weekend. He’d nearly chosen to go with Rieva and Matt for the warmth factor alone. Rieva had cleaned up so well that there was no traces of the accident, other than a new patch in the wall, which he wasn’t sure was his fault. It bugged him that everything was hazy between the top of the stairs and the bottom.

Waving her slushie under his nose, Pidge was a ball of energy  
“Do you want some?”  
Now he knew he was being pathetic. Pidge didn’t share her slushies. She treated them like her precious coffee  
“Nah, I’m good”  
“Dude, you’re totally missing out”  
“I’m fine...”  
He felt irritable. He longed to throw the stupid slushie out the window. He couldn’t have the window down because Kosmo wanted to stick almost his whole body out when it was. Having it only partially cracked made too much noise. He should have gotten out and stretched at the service station, only the smell of fuel made his stomach roll. Keith bringing back the right kind of chapstick helped. Eucalyptus pretty much saved him in crowds  
“Keith, Lance won’t be sociable!”  
“Leave him alone, he’s tired”  
“But he’s not even in road trip mode”  
“I’m fine. You’re making something out of nothing. I’m going to nap until we get there...”  
“Fine, I guess you’re not up for a game of “eye spy””  
Normally he would be. Family trips had prepared him to come up with some impressively hard things  
“Nope. I’m sleepy. Keith, don’t let her win. You’ll be hearing about if for days if you do”  
Keith’s eyes met his in the rear view mirror, Lance giving him a nod to let him know he was okay, before sinking lower in his seat and rubbing Kosmo’s fur. Blue couldn’t come, she was too adventurous. Kosmo was plenty adventurous, but he was also easily swayed by the idea of human food  
“Got it. Pidge, why don’t you go first?”  
“You asked for it, Kogane”

Closing his eyes Lance pretended to nap, listening to Pidge conspiring with Shay against Hunk and Keith. He’d really missed his friends and hated feeling too sick to join in. Keith would be worrying, but it’s not like he had some magical cure not to feel dead. The drive getting more interesting when Pidge called Matt, putting him on loud speaker so they could play eye-spy with everyone. Matt really was a dumb genius. His turns leaving Pidge demanding clues... and Rieva showed no mercy either. Shay was shy about joining in, then she stumped them all with “Glove Box”. Lance mentally cheering her on. 

*  
When they finally reached the parking lot, Lance was happy to be back on land. Legs wobbly as he stretched, before being tugged off by Kosmo who needed to do his doggy business. Keith jogging over to them, as Lance leaned against the tree  
“You okay?”  
“Yeah, babe. Kosmo needed the tree more than I did”  
Keith snorted, slipping his arms around Lance’s waist, Lance shuddering as his boyfriend’s hand rubbed at his stomach. He fucking loved it. There was something definitely mental about loving belly rubs, but it made him feel so much better when Keith did. His boyfriend’s voice coming from beside his ear  
“You were really pale in the back”  
“Mhmm... yeah, I’m okay. Just a lot of scents. Outside smells much better”  
“Okay. If you need to rest, let me know”  
“I’ll be fine. You’re worrying too much”  
“Says the guy who doesn’t hike”  
“Says the boyfriend of the guy who made him but proper hiking boots”  
“You can’t hike in sneakers”  
“Pretty sure I could have”  
“And rolled your ankle from the lack of support. Come over when you’re ready to go?”  
“I’m just waiting for Kosmo. He’s gotta have a sniff and decide he needs to pee some more”  
“Poor guy, he doesn’t know he’s losing his balls next month”  
Lance chuckled   
“I’m glad you remembered that... but this is a birthday weekend for you, not a weekend for Kosmo to be saying goodbye to his balls”  
“Both is okay. I’ll grab your bag. You’ll have you hands full with him”  
“Nah, I’ll be okay. We should get going soon so we don’t end up walking through the woods at night”  
“Okay”

The car ride might have been near torture, but hiking was worse. Things started how they usually did, with enthusiasm, then progressed into trudging after the first half hour. The trail was clearly marked, that being a nice surprise. What wasn’t a nice surprise was the blistered on Lance’s feet from his new boots. Pidge had blisters too, Matt piggybacking her after the 10th time they had to stop because of it. Hunk and Shay seemed fine, Shay allowed to hike in sneakers... Lance not salty at all. Being experienced hikers, Keith and Shiro could have easily left them in their dust. Lance happy enough to plod along with Curtis, who seemed to be taking it harder than Lance thought he would. The best bit of the hike was Keith taking photos along the way. His boyfriend’s face cute as he lined up his shot, looking so damn solemn as he took his photos that Lance smiled every time he did. He wanted Keith to have the best birthday weekend ever... and for him to totally not notice Lance had busted up his feet. They’d heal with in no time with a bit of blood, but his blood was in his pack and he couldn’t drink in front of Shay, or he’d look like an alcoholic taking swigs out of a wine bottle. 

Reaching the camp area, Lance was impressed by how modern and rustic it looked at the same time. The newer of the cabins had huge windows looking over the forest below them... the central area fitted out with a fire pit large enough for all of them to sit around it comfortably. Pidge seemed to miraculously recover from her blisters as she slid off Matt’s back  
“I get first dibs on my bed!”  
She made it a few metres before she came to a stop, taking off her boots and throwing them towards the fire pit, making her views on hiking clear. If he’d felt better, Lance would have enjoyed the hike. He loved the scents of the woods. The scent of damp earth and rain was far better than petrol fumes. With his grip on Kosmo’s lead lax, the Kosmo took off after Pidge, barking at her. Yeah. They all definitely deserved this weekend away  
“Let’s head up to main cabin for now and get everything put away”  
Curtis nodded in agreement with his boyfriend. The pair of them were totally the”Dads” of the group. 

Sighing to himself, Lance wanted to collapse on the closest bed and nap. It felt like time to nap. Hearing him sigh, Keith jogged back towards him, his boyfriend holding his precious camera as he did  
“Babe?”  
“I’m fine...”  
“You sighed”  
“It’s a long way to the cabin from here”  
Keith snorted at him  
“Is that your way of saying hiking isn’t for you?”  
“Nah, hiking is fine... I’m with Pidge though, boots suck”  
“Don’t be like that. This place looks amazing”  
And like that Lance’s mood lifted  
“You like it?”  
“What I’ve seen so far. Want me to piggy back you to the cabin?”  
“Don’t tempt me... I hope there’s a fire. I’m cold again”  
“Aw, no. We better get you inside before you get cranky”  
“I’m not cranky... I’m just... cold. Not all of us can hike 5kms then look like some kind of grizzled and rugged mountain man”  
Keith laughed at him  
“I wouldn’t say that”  
“I would. Look at you. You’re all sweaty and still hot as hell”

Keith was embracing his inner wild woodman... Yeah. Lance couldn’t think of the word for lumberjack. With his flannel shirt over his singlet, and his black jeans with thick belt, all Keith needed was the axe and he’d be a wet dream. Pulling him up against him, his boyfriend even smelt all grizzled and manly as he leaned in to kiss him   
“What was that for?”  
“For you. Now we’re here, I’m really glad you didn’t cancel it”  
“Is that so?”  
“Yep. And tonight, when everyone is sleeping, I’m going to show how glad I am”

This was a far cry from the Keith who wasn’t ready. Lance groaning at the interested twitch his gave  
“Baaaabe”  
Keith had finally sort of maybe found that he was okay with touching... or at least okay enough to get them both off in the shower that morning  
“I’m going to make you feel so good”  
“You’re going to have to blow me if you keep this up”  
“I planned to whoo you tonight”  
Lance heard... he’d heard and felt stupidly horny all the previous night because of it... he’d damn near assaulted Keith making out with him in the shower that morning, nearly crying at how good it felt to have Keith’s hands on his junk again  
“I know. I heard you asking yourself if you packed condoms, then telling yourself that it was okay and you weren’t going to hurt me... you talked to yourself a lot when you were packing”  
“That’s cheating”  
“Nah, it’s nice... just means you’re finally ready to start relaxing into things... now, Matt and Rieva have heard enough about our sex life, we should get inside before we traumatise them into wanting to leave earlier”  
That was his way of gently reminded Keith about the others not knowing he was pregnant   
“Sounds good to me...”

Inside the main cabin was a nice and neat modern set up with directions on how to use the batteries that powered the camp ground alone with a list of do’s and don’t’s. Pidge was hyperactive again, Hunk taking command of the kitchen and evicting her her to explore while the “adults” unpacked. Lance decided he wasn’t going to try and help with unpacking. Too many hands in Hunk’s kitchen would lead to Hunk turning into the Hulk, so the vampire was content to settle down in the living area, claiming the recliner for himself with a happy sigh. The fireplace in the cabin was huge, neatly stocked with a pile of wood in the hearth and another pile in a holder on the wall. Yeah. He liked this place. Too easily could he become a hermit up here, if it wasn’t for the whole needing blood thing. With his backpack in his lap, he pulled the handle for the footrest, wishing his boots would take themselves off.

None of this went unnoticed by Keith. His boyfriend coming over to lean over the back of the recliner and kiss him  
“You still okay?”  
“Yeah... reckon they’ll notice if we steal the recliner?”  
“Probably. You need anything?”  
“Nah. I’m going to work out how to covertly have a drink, then maybe convince myself to undo my boots”  
“I can do it”  
“It’s fine”  
“Nope... I’ll do it”  
Lance was torn. His feet hurt and he wanted out the boots, but he didn’t want to spoil Keith’s mood... Keith would be sadder if he wasn’t honest  
“Just... I’ve got blisters. I mean, they’ll heal, and they’re fine, but...”  
“Babe, why didn’t you tell me?”  
“Because it’s nothing much. It’s not the first time I’ve gotten blisters while camping. Normally I collect the wood while Pidge and Hunk start setting up... I’ve got loads of experience”  
“You should have told me, we could have taken a break”  
“We did take a break... more than once”  
“Still...”  
“Keith, you’re worrying too much”  
“But...”  
His idiot boyfriend wasn’t going to keep their secret this weekend if he kept this up  
“My craving for macaroons is fine”  
Keith sighed at him. “Macaroon” had kind of stuck  
“Alright. I’m still going to do your boots”  
“Fine, if you’re going to be like that, you can do the fireplace too... and I wanna leave my socks on”

Keith didn’t listen, or maybe he didn’t want to. Lance’s feet were slightly bloodied from the blisters. His little toes taking the brunt of them  
“Babe!”  
“It’s fine”  
“What’s going on?”  
Shiro jogged over to them. Right. He knew. Great. Now he had two idiots fussing over him  
“Nothing. Keith is overreacting to my feet being sore”  
Shiro let out a whistle as he looked at Lance’s feet. This was why they couldn’t have nice things   
“You should have said something”  
“They’ll be fine. Quit making a fuss. I just need something to eat and it’ll be all good”  
“Did you...?”  
Lance rolled his eyes at Shiro. He wasn’t stupid enough not to be prepared. All his clothes were in Keith’s bag, while Lance’s bag had his injections, shake mix, blood, and stash of chocolate... and Keith’s things like spare batteries  
“Yeah. I do know how to go camping. You’re acting like you’ve never seen a vampire camp before, besides, I don’t think this even counts as camping seeing we’re staying in cabins”  
“Alright, I guess you’ve got it sorted then. I’ll leave you too it”

Great. Now he’d driven off Shiro... and now he was getting teary about driving Shiro off...

From the kitchen Rieva called out  
“We’re going to figure out where we’re all sleeping. We’ll come back soon!”  
Pidge came running back from down the hall, Lance envious of her energy, as she bounded over to the kitchen bench and slammed her hands down on the counter. He wasn’t quite who she was talking to, but she seemed pretty happy with whatever she’d discovered   
“We’re in here. There’s like sooo much space in here. Shay, come check this out!”  
Shay had been happily passing things to Hunk over the kitchen bench, Hunk leaning over to kiss her before she left to be towed around by Pidge. Matt and Rieva giving them a small wave before they were off too. Oh to be young again. Wriggling his toes at Keith, Keith snorted at him  
“What do you want now?”  
“Nothing. I think I’m healing already”  
“You really should rinse them”  
“And give up this recliner? I think not”  
“Am I going to have to fight the recliner for your attention this weekend?”  
“Yep”

“You two haven’t forgotten we’re still here, have you?”  
Lance poked his tongue out at Curtis, who was acting under Hunk’s supervision to unpack into the pantry  
“Nope. Keith’s going to do the fire. You and Shiro should probably figure out what’s going on with the power tonight”  
“Or you and Keith could”  
Hunk was a traitor... then again, he had Curtis put to work already  
“But Keith just took my boots off”  
“And you can put them back on”  
Lance let out a whine. His ego was such a fragile bastard. He still couldn’t quite look at Shiro, even though Shiro seemed happy enough   
“Shiro and I can go... Babe, make sure you have something to eat while we’re gone”  
“Okay...”  
Now he didn’t want Keith to leave... ugh. All this anxiety from Keith being worried about him... he didn’t want it  
“I love you. I’ll do the fire when we get back, then we can start making plans for dinner”  
“No need! I organised things last night. It’s heat and eat tonight”  
That was why Hunk was the best person ever to camp with. Standing up, Keith placed both hands on the arms of the recliner before kissing him softly   
“Eat and get some rest. I’ll be back soon”  
Lance pressed two small kisses to his boyfriend’s lips in return  
“I will. Can you... I didn’t mean to upset Shiro”  
“He’s fine. I’ll talk to him”  
“You shouldn’t have to”  
Keith kissed him, probably to shut him up as the kiss was long and deep. Lance saddened as soon as it was over  
“It’s fine. I love you, babe”  
“I love you, too”

*  
Keith felt alive from the hike. It’d been too long. The only thing he didn’t like was that Lance had blisters, he forced to tell himself sternly that Lance would heal with blood and he’d made a fuss over nothing. A few metres from the cabins was a small shed with instructions over the generator and how the battery system worked. Following the instructions failed to bring doom upon them, Keith bumping Shiro’s shoulder on the way back, his brother kind of quiet  
“What’s up?”  
“Oh, what? Nothing... just thinking this place is nice. Lance did a good job with the booking”  
“He did... He said he’s okay...”  
“Yeah. Curtis has noticed something’s up and it’s hard not telling him”  
So that was what it was  
“I nearly told Hunk today...”  
“Yeah?”  
“Pidge made a dumb joke without meaning anything by it. He said I looked like I was going to kill him”

Shiro snorted as he wrapped his arm around Keith’s shoulder. Keith wondering if it’d snow with the sudden chill setting in on the air, drawn back to reality by his brother’s reply   
“We both know you wouldn’t”  
“I know... I know you want to tell him...”  
“You decided to them after the next scan...”  
“Doesn’t make it any easier. Lance really likes Curtis, I think he wants to tell him”  
“I think he’d kill us if we all started fussing over him”  
Yeah. He was stubborn like that... but Keith kind of felt he needed to worry and fuss when Lance had rubbed both little toes raw. Then again, Shiro was off with the fairies, and he had to wonder if his brother regretted coming   
“Probably. But are you okay?”  
“Yeah, kiddo. How can I not be?”  
“Because we’re on holiday with a vampire, two werewolves, a half cursed man, and three other humans?”  
Shiro chuckled at him, hand coming up to ruffle his hair   
“Don’t forget Kosmo”  
How could he forget his best boy?  
“And Kosmo. This place is really nice”  
“We’ve only seen the main cabin. I know you and Lance wanted a cabin to yourselves, but are you sure you don’t want to use the main cabin?”  
“Nah... it’s safer for you guys...”  
“Keith, you’re human too”

Keith blushed, but if you asked him his cheeks were red thanks to the cold, and not thanks to the plans he had later   
“I know, but... uh, Lance and I want to maybe try being intimate again. We haven’t done anything since the accident... well, we did in the...”  
In the shower and it’d been... fuck... Lance had been very pent up, his hips bucking against Keith’s as they made out clumsily thanks to a lack of coffee and a triple shot of morning wood  
“I don’t think I want you to finish that... I was thinking with how easily he gets cold”  
“We’ll work something out. If it’s too cold we’ll crash in the living room in front of the fire or something. What about you and Curtis?”  
“Did you just ask me if Curtis and I were going to have sex?”  
Keith groaned  
“Not on purpose. I mean... like... are you happy you’re here with him?”  
“Yeah, kiddo... and yep. We can’t let you and Lance have all fun”  
“Come on, Lance and I are tame compared to Rieva and Matt”  
“Don’t remind me. They’re going to be all over each other come spring”  
“Maybe we’ll be welcoming a new Holt soon?”  
“I think Rieva’s got a thing or three to say about that”  
“Probably... I bet Lance has already fallen asleep”  
“He seemed pretty tired”  
“I think he is, he won’t agree”  
“Did he nap on the way here?”  
“Nah. He pretended to, but his breathing didn’t even out and he wasn’t snoring”  
“You know you’re allowed to relax right? That you don’t have to focus on him alone”  
“I’m going to relax... now that we’re here I feel more relaxed because I know he can make the walk back down”  
“He really isn’t a hiker”  
“If you ask him, I think he’d be all like “Keep your vampire nice and warm and indoors””  
“He doesn’t do well in the cold”  
“Try sleeping next to him. It’s like cuddling ice”  
Shiro bumped him with his hip, teasing him gently   
“You love it”  
“Yeah... I do. This weekend is going to be awesome”  
“It sure will. It sure will”


	113. Chapter 113

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And smut for today’s third update xx

113

Lance was asleep on his feet as he and Keith headed to their cabin. Keith was carrying most of his weight because Lance didn’t want to move. He was fed. Dinner was fun. The fire was awesome, and now he’d started drifting off against Keith as the others argued what board game to start with. Shiro wasn’t mad at him. Shay didn’t think it was weird that he was drinking wine, not when Pidge was armed with alcohol and insisting they should cut loose. He was happy. Happy, sleepy and horny. Keith hadn’t had anything to drink, his boyfriend starting to yawn not long before Lance started dozing off.

Carried up the steps and into the cabin, Keith felt for the switch before the space was bathed in gentle light. Matt was going to drop their things off when he and Rieva called it a night, so there wasn’t anything to worry about as Keith sat him down on the side of the bed. The cabin was quite a lot smaller than main cabin. Only space for a small bathroom with zero privacy, and a huge wood carved bed that took up nearly all the space. The quilt was just that. It looked well loved and worn, soft and comforting beneath him as he scooched back on the bed. Climbing up over him, Keith caged him with his body, his boyfriend smiling handsomely as he stared down at him   
“What?”  
“Just looking at you”  
“I noticed”

As Keith kissed him, his boyfriend’s hands slid his shirt up, Lance gasping at the feeling of being touched again with clear intention... and because they were cold  
“Babe?”  
“Your hands are cold”  
Keith kissed him again, Lance wrapping his arms around Keith’s neck to pull him down. Sleepy was turning to horny, and Keith was completely to blame. As Keith broke the kiss, his boyfriend sighed softly   
“If you’re too tired, don’t want to, or your not ready...”  
Nope. Keith didn’t get to make him horny then confuse him with words   
“Babe, I’m okay. Macaroon is okay... and I very much want this”  
“You’ll tell me...”  
“If something feels wrong or isn’t comfortable”  
“Yeah”  
“Babe, I love you. I want to do this with you”  
“Fuck...”

Okay...  
“What?”  
“The lube and stuff is in your bag”  
Ooooh...  
“I’m pretty sure I’m getting wet thinking about you fucking me senseless on this bed”  
“But I need to prep you”  
“Babe, we’ll take our time, okay... because I’ve got a thing or two I want to do to you”  
Keith drew his brow. His boyfriend looked seriously confused   
“You do?”  
“Mhmm... I want to suck you off... and I was thinking... you do like this arse of mine...”  
Keith wasn’t getting it  
“What do you mean?”  
“I mean I think I should show, but first I want more kisses”  
“I can do that”  
“You can do that very well... now show me how well before I start forgetting”

Figuring things out together was slow... Keith wanted to take it slow. He kissed him until Lance felt drunk on him, before his boyfriend kissed his way down his chest and mouthed at his clothed erection. The cabin might have been cold, but Keith’s hands were warm. Keith’s hands were always warm where he held him. Undoing his belt and jeans, Lance lifted his hips to help Keith undress him, shivering slightly as his underwear and pants were pulled off. His plans for Keith coming to a screeching halt when his boyfriend lifted his knees onto his shoulders and starts to blow him... He really needed to gift Keith a thank you card because damn if he wasn’t thankful for Keith’s skills as he fisted the quilt beneath him. His body was that of a breeder, and Keith didn’t care as his he grew wet... Lance wouldn’t say he was sexually confident, he was only confident in having sex because he and Keith were both still working out things together. They gathered confidence from each other. That was what made sex with Keith sooooo very good... but... he wanted to come with Keith, and not because he was absolutely at the mercy of his mouth  
“Babe...”

Keith pulled back quickly, eyes wide and Lance realised what he’d done   
“I’m going to come if you keep that up and I want to come with you”  
“Are you sure?”  
Lance let out a shaky breath. He was really close to coming... he couldn’t even squeeze his thighs together to starve off the feeling. He’d come so fucking that morning that his body was craving that feeling again  
“Yeah... I want to come with you... come up here and let me touch you too...”  
Keith nodded quickly, Lance lifting his legs off his boyfriend’s shoulder, shaking as he tried no to chase that feeling alone.

Stripping down, Keith climbed onto the bed looking lost, Lance he slipped his own shirt and jacket off, pushing his boyfriend down on the bed as he let himself follow his instincts. Keith was already leaking precum, belly smeared by his curving erection. It stroked his ego to be this wanted by the man he loved after so long of behaving   
“Babe?”  
“Do you trust me?”  
“Yeah...”  
“Good...”

Sitting up from Keith’s face, his boyfriend held him by the arse, eating him as Lance sucked him off. He’d never done this with Keith before, and was kicking himself for not doing it sooner... He loved when Keith played with his opening, his moans meaning Keith was left to rut up against his face as Lance tried to keep himself upright against the onslaught of pleasure. His boyfriend was perfect, fucking his pretty little mouth like the vampire wanted him to do. His whole body was shaking, almost as if in heat. He wanted Keith inside him, deeper inside him  
“More... Keith... fuck... touch me more...”

Lance whined his protest as Keith’s tongue slipped from inside of him, toes curling as his boyfriend pressed his thumb into his soaked heat, god. He was going crazy...  
“Fuck... fuck... Keith...”  
Reapplying himself to giving Keith the best blow job of his life, Keith let out a hiss,   
“Babe... let me fuck you... please let me fuck you...”  
Lance ignored him, wrapping his hand around Keith’s saliva slick dick to work the shaft as he tongued his boyfriend’s slit, his ignorance not going ignored as Keith replaced his thumb with two fingers, Lance unable to stop from pushing back, as Keith started fingering him... Keith knew all the ways he liked to be touched. Made him feel incredible and without shame, jerking his boyfriend, Keith let out a panted groan, coming in Lance’s mouth as Lance rode his boyfriend’s fingers into his own orgasm... 

Shaky, he held himself in place over Keith, saliva and semen dribbling from his mouth as he came down from his high. Not done with him, Keith pulled him back by the hips, Lance finding himself seated in Keith’s damp lap, his own wetness rolling down his thighs as his cum smeared across his skin   
“I told you I wanted to fuck you”  
The way Keith said it... Lance was putty in his hands. Wiping his cum from Lance’s lips, Lance licked it off Keith’s fingers, nipping slightly without thinking... then sucking as he tasted blood. Keith deciding that he didn’t deserve the small treat as he pulled his fingers from Lance’s mouth and sealed it with his own. The kiss was hungry... nothing held back now that they were naked like this. Lance already growing hard again as he ground down, wanting more from Keith. He knew what he wanted too...

Breaking the kiss, he pulled back, climbing forwards and lifting his arse as he gripped the end of the bed. Behind him Keith took him by the hips, running his tongue along Lance’s spine before reaching his nape where mouthed at the spot. Keith was only human, still recovering from coming as he rubbed up against him  
“I thought I told you want I wanted. I don’t know if you deserve a reward for making me come down your throat”  
“Please... babe...”  
He needed Keith’s dick in him like yesterday. His hands on Lance’s hips were firm, almost like a jealous lover staking his claim, the way Lance loved to be held. He loved soft Keith, but he loved when Keith held him down and fucked him into oblivion even more  
“What was that?”  
“Please... fuck me...”

Keith’s left hand left his hip as Keith pulled back, Lance yelping his boyfriend smacked him hard on the arse. The area smarting, but fuck if it didn’t make him feel good enough that he felt himself actually gush wetness  
“What was that?”  
Keith slapped him again, okay... yeah, he actually... kind of...  
“Keith... more...”  
Lance threw his head back as Keith smacked him twice more, moaning obscenely. Fuck. Okay. New kink... Keith pausing, before hitting him again, then rubbing the spot, almost hesitant as he asked  
“Is this okay?”  
Lance had given up on thought   
“Mhmm... god... please... babe... I need you...”  
“You took your punishment well... but I don’t think I want to fuck you just yet... I want you to really want it when I finally fuck you”  
No. God... he needed Keith... that cramping wasn’t there but the need was... He was dizzy on his own scent...   
“Babe... please... I need you in me... please... please I need you...”

*  
Running his hand up Lance’s back, Keith marvelled at how much of a mess his boyfriend was. With his arse in the air, Keith smirked as he watched wetness roll from Lance’s twitching opening. He’d feared spanking his boyfriend would be too much, but the way Lance moaned... he felt like he had complete control over him... This was his boyfriend and no one else touched him like this... Lance wanted him and god if his scent was making Keith crazy  
“If I put it in, will you behave?”  
“Yes... please, Babe... please Keith...”  
He’d teased Lance enough, giving himself enough time to recover from coming...

Taking Lance by the hips, his boyfriend was lose enough to slowly sink into him. Keith hissing at how tight and wet he was, as Lance’s wetness squelched... he could easy eat Lance out any day of the week. His boyfriend’s pheromones reassuring him that he could be this selfish after keeping Lance waiting for so long. Keeping just the tip inside, he rocked enough to tease his lover’s opening, Lance gasping, his boyfriend loved when he teased him...  
“Feel good, babe?”  
“Fuck... don’t make wait like this again...”  
Keith chuckled, pushing down to bottom out as Lance clenched around him. Without a condom felt different, not majorly different, but knowing he didn’t have to worry when he came had him drawing back and thrusting again without Lance having time to adjust  
“Fuck... fuck... oh, god... Keith...”  
“Something you like?”  
“Mhmm... shit... don’t stop...”  
“I won’t...”

Keith was the one who couldn’t stop himself, he didn’t need prompting from Lance. Fucking Lance into the mattress wasn’t enough, his boyfriend moaning for him as he slumped against the quilt. Pulling his boyfriend back to sit in his lap, Lance was limp in his arms, legs spread open over Keith’s as Keith jerked him off in time with his thrusts, still having only come the once. Playing with Lance’s nipples, the vampire was too cute as he mewed, still trying to ride him, despite the mess he’d made over the quilt and his belly. He was so fucking erotic that he’d make a porn star blush. Lance was sex personified... Keith would never hurt him, but they both wanted to make up for the time being careful. Lance had come twice, his third orgasm dry as he cried out, shaking hard and clenching, cum dribbling lazy across Keith’s hand as he toyed with him  
“Babe... Babe... I... bathroom...”  
Lance’s hand went to his dick, wrapping around Keith’s, Keith chasing his high, as a Lance panted  
“I... Keith, I need to pee... it feels weird...”  
“I’m almost there babe, can you hold it?”  
Lance nodded, sucking down a breath as he did... He was so fucking hot... Keith closing his eyes and focusing on the feeling as Lance clenched harder around him... he was so fucking... fuck... fuck... fuuuuuck... shit... 

Shaking, Keith felt spent... more spent than today’s hike. Boneless and giddy on his high, finding himself mouthing at the soft flesh of Lance’s neck. Shit. No one ever could compare to how Lance made him feel when they were intimate like this. H  
“You like it like this don’t you? You like everyone seeing me in you”  
Lance nodded before gasping, trying to squeeze his legs together. Babbling weakly as Keith’s hips stuttered through the last few pulses soaked his lovers inside with his seed  
“Only you... only you... Keith... I need... to pee babe... please... it’s too much... I can’t...”  
“If I let you stand up, you’ll only fall back down”  
Lance misunderstood. Keith needing to regain control of himself and his breathing   
“Please... I can’t... hold it... I don’t want to wet myself... please...”

Lifting Lance off his lap, Keith wasn’t so far gone as to ignore his boyfriend’s actual needs... there was no way Lance would be able to stand, Keith’s own legs shaking as he gathered him up and carried him over to the bathroom, Lance too boneless to stand to on his own. His boyfriend would scold him later but he needed help for now. Keith lifting the lid of the toilet with his foot, an arm around Lance’s waist as he took Lance’s spent dick in his hand, Lance weakly protesting at him   
“I can do it”  
“Just let it out... I’ve helped you before...”  
Lance was mortified over needing to be helped, but to Keith it wasn’t anything he really needed to be embarrassed. At least they were dating. Shiro had once been so far in parent mode when Keith had busted his wrist he’d tried to help him.   
“But your thing’s near my arse...”  
Keith chuckled breathlessly, sweat beads racing down his back and cooling in the night air  
“There’s plenty of things I’ve bent you over, babe. But I’m not about to make you uncomfortable when you need to use the bathroom”

Lance’s body jerked, his boyfriend letting out what sounded like a sob of relief as he peed. Keith holding him until Lance’s was done. They’d over indulged. Both of them sticky, keith sporting some very impressive hickeys, though Lance had only fed from his fingers  
“Do you want to get cleaned up?”  
“P-please... I don’t think I can stand... your dick feels too good”

Too desperate to be in Lance’s pants, Keith hadn’t noticed the bathroom curved behind a half wall. A long bath hidden from prying eyes. Lance deserved to be pampered. His boyfriend was so fucking good to him  
“There’s a bath”  
“Can we..?”  
“Of course we can... I’ve got you, babe”  
“Mmm... god... I feel tired”  
“Was I too rough?”  
Lance shook his head  
“No... no, babe... I’ve missed you”  
He’d missed him too... being intimate but now that their baby was okay, he was working at being okay  
“I’m going to lift you up”  
“Good... my arse is throbbing...”

Settling into the bath with Lance, Lance held his hand to his belly, a dopey blissed out smile on his lips. The warm water pouring through the tap still, Keith taking advantage of his height as he was able to flick the handle once there was enough water for Lance to be most covered  
“Are you sure you’re okay?”  
“Mhmm... are you? I bit your fingers”  
“To be honest I don’t mind”  
Lance snorted sleepily at him   
“I thought maybe my body wouldn’t be so weird”  
“Your body isn’t weird”  
“It is like a little bit...”  
“Maybe, but I don’t mind”  
Lance hummed at him, before yawning, snuggling into Keith as he did   
“I love you... like I really love you”  
“I love you, too. I didn’t mean to...”  
“Shhh... I’m fine and this macaroon is too...”  
“I was...”  
He was like a rabbit with new batteries. He couldn’t get enough of Lance. Lance blissed to perfection   
“Perfect. You made me feel like I wasn’t made of glass... slow sex is nice but I wanted you too much to take it slow”  
“I noticed... as long as you’re okay”  
“I’m great... you’re great... Hey, Keith... I know it’s technically not your birthday, but I wanna be the first to say it. Happy Birthday”  
“What makes you think you won’t be the first to get in?”  
“You’ve met our friends... let me be a little more selfish for tonight”  
“In that case, thanks, Lance”  
“It’s okay... I hope... this birthday is the best one you ever have”  
“I’m sure it will be”


	114. Chapter 114

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please keep your dead boyfriend at a reasonable temperature.
> 
> Happy New Year!

114

It snowed as they slept, a tangle of limbs. Lance fell asleep in the bath, Keith carrying him back to the bed where he stripped off the dirty quilt and roused Lance enough to coax him under the blankets. They’d woken some time before dawn, the sex slow, sleepy and sweet, before falling back to sleep holding each other. Waking the following morning, Lance was shaking with the cold. Keith tucking the blankets around him as he fetched their gear from outside. Everywhere was dyed white. The lights on in the main cabin, but it was too early to human. Keith grabbing up their things and darting back inside, it was fucking freezing out there, barely past dawn. Sleepily Lance called to him  
“Babe?”  
“I’m here”  
He wasn’t about to wander off naked  
“It’s cold”  
“I know, I’m coming back to bed now”  
“‘kay... miss you”

Lance was still cold when it came time actually get up. Keith running them a warm bath. His boyfriend clinging to him as he carried him into the bathroom. He liked Lance being clingy, but those fingers of his were no joke. Getting Lance into the bath, his boyfriend whined softly when Keith didn’t join him right away. Keith hadn’t had his coffee yet, the fact Lance wasn’t dropped was a birthday miracle. Maybe he was magically cured... Nah. That wasn’t going to happen over night  
“It’s alright, babe. I’m going to grab us some clothes to wear”  
“Mmm, okay... but don’t be too long”

Heading back into the bedroom, Keith dumped their things out on their bed, finding Lance had hidden his present to him under all their clothes. He didn’t want to open it. Not yet. Not until he was awake to function. It was hard to ignore though. Lance had really nice handwriting, his name on a little gift card signed from his boyfriend with a heart. Forcing himself to grab them something to wear, he came back to the bathroom with the gift still on his mind. In his absence Lance started dozing in the tub... looking adorable as he did, surrounded by the bubbles that came from the provided body wash. 

Joining Lance led to bath sex... Lance’s skin smooth and oily from the bubble bath, his boyfriend whining softly at the hot water slipping inside of him, not that that stopped him. It was slow sex with plenty of kisses and Lance doing the hard work. It’d taken him three and a half weeks to be intimate with Lance again. He regretted not being ready sooner, especially in the wake of Lance’s breakdown, yet his boyfriend had calmed a lot since he’d started rubbing and touching his stomach more. They were being those kinds of parents, taking photos weekly as Lance’s stomach began to grow. Not that you could tell at the moment. The small amount of pudge still looked as if Lance had eaten too much, not that he was carrying a baby. He got what Lance meant about being physical, but he was also kind of glad they hadn’t rushed into immediately upon finding out they were expecting.

Lance was more awake after they’d had sex. His boyfriend dried his hair, then wanted to dry him down, peppering kisses to Keith’s scars. Lance never pushed on them, instead he seemed to know that some had stories Keith wanted forget. His kisses like he was trying to heal the hurt behind them. When they were dressed, and Lance had had his vitamin injection, Keith carried him to the main cabin seeing they’d left Lance’s boots their the previous night, Lance holding on for dear life as Keith’s pre-coffee clumsy was strong.

In the main cabin breakfast was underway. Pidge nursing her coffee as she sat at the dining table. Kosmo was already making a pest of himself as Hunk and Shay made breakfast, his dog lolling his head back to acknowledge their existence but the call of bacon was too strong. Matt and Rieva were in front of the fireplace. Shiro and Curtis cuddles up on the sofa. This was nice... nice, but Keith felt kind of left out seeing they were the last to arrive  
“We thought about sending a rescue party to find you”  
Lance climbed out of his hold, shivering as his feet touched the cold wood floors  
“Totally my fault. Needed a bath to warm up... stupid snow”

Lance flashed their friends a smile. Keith feeling worse about things seeing it was fake... Keeping up appearances was hard and unfair. Shiro chuckled  
“It’s a cold one. Matt and Rieva were straight in front of the fireplace. There’s coffee left for Keith”  
Lance kissed his cheek  
“Here that, babe, you better get some coffee in you while I put my boots back on”  
“Can you two not be gross before breakfast?”  
Keith rolled his eyes at Pidge. She was just jealous she wasn’t here with her partner. The thought sticking with him as Lance walked over to the fireplace. Pidge wasn’t dating anyone. He hoped she didn’t feel any less wanted there, because he wanted her there  
“Leave Keith alone. He’s allowed to be gross in his birthday weekend”

Flipping Shiro off, Keith cautiously shuffled into the kitchen, Shay an angel as she passed him a cup of coffee, giggling at the happiness on his face  
“Shiro already warned me I better have it ready”  
“Babe, he’s as bad as Pidge when doesn’t have her”  
Shay giggled at being called “babe”. Lance was right. Hunk and Shay were very well suited together. Taking his first mouthful of coffee, he found it lukewarm, meaning he could drain the whole cup. Hunk noticing  
“There’s coffee next to the kettle. The milk’s in the fridge. It’s lactose free, Lance made sure to tell us repeatedly, as if we forget”  
“Thanks, guys. You didn’t have to go to the effort”

Pidge snorted from the table  
“Dude, you’re our friend. We do nice things for the people we actually like. Everyone else can go fuck themselves”  
Matt and Shiro both called out in synch  
“Language!”  
The kind of timing that couldn’t be brought. Grumpily Pidge leaned back in her chair, cradling her coffee  
“Blow me”  
“Blow you what?”  
Matt was the only one game enough to mess with her. Keith making for the coffee and the kettle, dying for another cup and this time hopefully warm. This wasn’t a bad way to spend a birthday at all... Not now he had caffeine starting to drive the blood out of his caffeine system.

Feeding Lance for the morning proved slightly difficult. Shay was in the kitchen, meaning he could go pouring blood into Lance’s morning shake. Instead he had to be covert. Making like he was putting away the milk, he hovered near the fridge, pouring out too much blood into the shake cup. He then had to use both hands and some very awkward body language to hide the contents as he added the shake powder. On a cold day it was probably better for Lance to have more blood than he needed, though he didn’t know if it’d make his boyfriend short the rest of their stay. Topping the shake up with water, he snapped the lid into place, shaking it as he carried it over to Lance who was sitting near the fire now he had his boots on. A normal person would be sweating from the heat  
“Babe, food”

Lance eyed the shaker bottle with defeat. Matt shaking his head as the concoction  
“I don’t think I want to ask”  
“Have to hide breakfast somehow”  
“Leave him alone to eat in peace”  
“But, babe...”  
“You finish that sentence, Matthew Holt, and I’ll put you out in the snow to pee like Kosmo”  
Matt pouted at Rieva. Lance shooting Rieva a smile. Keith not jealous... He wasn’t. He simply needed more coffee  
“Am I making pancakes?!”  
Calling out from where he’d been frying eggs and bacon, Hunk laughed as they all called back “yes”. They really felt like a weird family... a weird family that he wasn’t sure he deserved.

With the baby, work and Lance, letting himself be distracted from his birthday blues was easier this year. Lance knew his past, knew not to push and when he needed that push. Shiro hadn’t pushed... Keith still feeling down about it especially between the ultrasound and the weekend, the feeling kind of like nothing good could possibly come from it and it was all going to be a big joke. That everyone was faking caring and there’d be no cabin. He felt dumb for doubting his friends... but some things were so ingrained that all the love in the world from his friends’ wasn’t going to magically break down those walls or heal the damage in an instant. All of these people being here for him scared him. He liked all of them... and they all liked him... he found a place here and he never wanted to lose it.

Settling down at the dining table with this cup of coffee, Pidge punched him in the arm  
“What did I do now?”  
“Birthday punches. Normally you punch the person however many times they are old, but I need more coffee for that”  
“Thanks... I think?”  
“You’re welcome. I’ve got your present in my bag. What did Lance give you?”  
“I haven’t opened it yet...”  
“Shit. I could have gotten in first... Guys, Keith hadn’t opened anyone’s present yet! He’s still fair game”  
Was that a thing?  
“Pidge, leave him alone. Besides, I booked the holiday!”  
“You just want Keith all to yourself. I’m into your McClain!”  
“He is my boyfriend!”  
“Finders keepers, losers weepers”  
“Merp!”

Pidge flipped Lance off. Curtis laughing at the pair of them  
“With your compatibility, I am sure you would find Keith most agreeable to keep. Though he is more compatible with Lance. You’d both murder each other over the first cup of coffee for the day”  
Pidge wrinkled her nose  
“If I have to share my coffee like that, you can keep him”  
Lance enthusiastically claiming him  
“Done! He’s mine! But I left his present in his bag...”  
He didn’t need presents... He didn’t need anything. Being here with them... he’d never had this like this...  
“Guys... you don’t have to give me presents. You being here is enough”  
Pidge raised an eyebrow  
“Dude. It’s free stuff”  
“I don’t need a lot”  
She wasn’t backing down  
“Shut up. You do too. Now drink your coffee birthday boy”

Breakfast was loud. There were discussions and firm plans put in place for a snowball fight, and something about maybe making snow men, Hunk bragging a little about his skills. Lance hadn’t taken the delicious scents as well as the others, his boyfriend slipping off to throw up, missing the second half of things before Keith went to check on him. Hunched over the toilet, Lance smiled at him weakly  
“You shouldn’t be worrying on your birthday”  
“I came to check you’re okay”  
“Better... just letting the cabin air a bit before... nope... never mind”

Throwing up again, his boyfriend weakly gripped the toilet as he did. Keith hated seeing him like this, and he hated he couldn’t do anything about Lance’s morning sickness. Sitting himself down behind Lance, he wrapping his arm around him, rubbing the taunt muscles of his stomach  
“I feel like I should apologise”  
Lance hacked and spat, sounding throughly done as he did, before letting himself relax back against Keith  
“You don’t need to. You’ve done nothing wrong”  
“Still...”  
“Nope. It’s your birthday. None of that”  
“You’re being stubborn again”  
“Because I’m okay. I feel better than I have in a while... other than this...”  
“This is kind of my fault”  
“It takes two to make a macaroon. You should be more worried about Pidge in a snow ball fight. She shows no mercy, even to her team”  
“She did seem pretty keen”  
“Personally I think she can’t wait to rain hell down on Matt”  
“I can see that. Are you up for it?”  
“Traipsing around in the cold? Ugh... maybe I’ll umpire”  
“We need one?”  
“You know Pidge will accuse Matt of cheating. This wasn’t supposed to... I mean... I didn’t think it’d snow so soon”  
“It’s fine...”  
“Mmmm... maybe. No one made a fuss, did they?”  
“Nah. Shay’s the only one who doesn’t know human food doesn’t stay down”  
“I really want to bring her in to sign a non-disclosure, but she deserves a life where she doesn’t have to fear the dark”  
“I think she could handle it... Hunk wants to tell her”  
“It’s not fair on him”

They both fell silent for a moment, Keith rubbing at Lance’s belly. This birthday was so weird. His next birthday he’d be father...  
“Babe... I know birthdays aren’t the best for you, but I hope you still make some good memories of today”  
“I already am... I... kind of feel weird having everyone together because of me”  
“That’s because we all love you, silly. You deserve every happy moment”  
“I don’t know about that”  
“Then it’s a good thing that I do. You, Keith Kogane, are loved. Very much... I’m just sorry that I’m tired”  
“Was last night too much?”  
“Last night was perfect. So was this morning... and this morning again... you’re a total horn dog”  
“I can’t help it... you’re so cute”

Lance blushed softly. Keith’s heart doing flips  
“Should I be worried you’re going to gobble me up?”  
“Maybe. But if you don’t want to... I mean...”  
“I like having sex with you. Even if I did worry I was going to piss myself in your lap”  
“Babe, I wouldn’t really... No. You need to feel safe with me”  
“I do... last night was pretty close though”  
“Let me know in future. I’d rather stop than hurt you”  
“I know. I think maybe I’m done. My stomach feels like it’s settling”  
“That’s good. I worried I put too much blood in your shake”  
“You did, but it’s alright. I needed the energy boost”  
“Should I be worrying about that?”  
“Nah. I’m sleepy for all the right reasons... and the fucking snow”  
Keith chuckled  
“You’re so much like Mami. Her showing up bundled up like that”  
“Mmm... I’m definitely a tropical vampire. It was hard to hide it all when Pidge and Hunk didn’t know. Hunk used to fret so much over how cold I was...”  
“I’m fretting over how cold you are”  
“Ahhh, but this is perfect weather for snuggling with the birthday boy, after he wins the snow fight”  
“If you’re not...”  
“Don’t you finish that. I’m your boyfriend, not your keeper. Have fun with our friends. I know how much you missed them. I’m not going to be lonely laughing at you guys”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yep. I’ll just borrow someone’s phone and take photos”  
“You could borrow my camera”

Lance raised an eyebrow, Keith not sure why  
“Your camera is your baby”  
Oh... that was why  
“It’s not like you’re going to drop it”  
“I don’t want to risk breaking it”  
“You won’t. I’ll set it up so all you have to do is point and shoot”  
Lance groaned at him  
“They’re going to awful compared to your skills”  
“I’m not that skilled”  
“Babe. Love of my life. Anger loaf and lover of Macaroon. You really are. I was totally thinking about getting you camera stuff for your birthday, and I mean, I know I remember stuff, but then they went off and started in talking in some weird language with exposure and angles and it was complicated”  
“Not as complicated as legal jargon”  
“Oh, that’s pretty up there... but give me a day in the courtroom over deciphering camera talk”  
“That’s because you’re not used to it”  
“Does that mean you’ll teach me?”  
“If you want to learn”  
Lance chuckled  
“Not really. I’m happier watching you. Okay, let’s get off the floor. My butt’s going numb with the cold”  
“We can’t have anything happening to that arse of yours. It’d be butt a tragedy”  
Lance’s glare said he wasn’t amused, Keith on the hand thought himself funny. For two people so close, he couldn’t believe how calm Lance was taking things when compared to him losing it over finding Lance the perfect last minute gift. Next year he was going to be prepared.

*  
Lance wasn’t imagining things. Shay kept looking at him like she wanted to say something, the looked away when their eyes met. They’d talked a little in the car, Shay asking how he’d been, the others must have told her he’d been, or more likely Hunk had turned to her upset over what had happened. Thanks to his life being flipped upside down again, he’d barely seen Shay as much as he used to. It sucked... and the snow really sucked.

Sitting on the veranda of the cabin, Lance watched the others playing in the snow. Keith hadn’t been keen, then had been ganged up on by Curtis and Shiro, his boyfriend tackled down and snow put down the back of his shirt. For all his yelling and complaining, Keith was laughing as hard at as everyone else. The air was still cool, but the snow had already begun to melt to slush. Kosmo was so confused to what to do, running after the balls of snow only to watch them disappear, or even worse for the poor doggo was when he thought he’d caught them onto find them vanishing like magic. He made his displeasure know as he barked, bounding around with everyone. This was how life should be. No shitty vampire “war”, and now worries. He truly hoped this would be the first in a long line of happy birthdays for his boyfriend. This time next year they’d be parents to a little Macaroon that really needed a better name.

Playing in the snow resulted in an early lunch. Lance skipping real food for a shake, the smells of breakfast still in the air, and he wanted to make an effort to keep something down. Lunch was less formal than breakfast, not that breakfast was formal. Deciding on snacks, they lounged around, Keith not keeping him warm as his boyfriend was damp from Shiro smooshing snow into his hair. Each time he went in for a hug, Lance sank back into the sofa wishing he had a blanket  
“Lance, I have to ask, what’s with the shakes. You didn’t even have a proper breakfast?”

Shay finally spoke what was on her mind. Their friends all looking momentarily panicked  
“I’m fine... just you know, dieting and stuff”  
Shay giggled at him  
“Dieting? If you diet any harder there’ll be. Nothing left of you”  
“She’s right you know, you’re a twig”  
Fucking Keith, Lance huffing  
“I’m a manly twig. Are you’re cold. Stop trying to squish me with your coldness”  
Keith laughed at him, laying back against him with that cold wet hair of his. All of them should have gone for hot showers and warm dry clothes  
“You love me anyway”  
“I do, but if you keep this up I might have to run away to Cuba until spring... I’m not made for cold weather”

Matt cackled at him. Stupid werewolves and their high body temperatures  
“Dude, it’s not that cold. What are you going to be like when winter really sets in”  
“I’m going to hibernate. Build myself a little Lance burrito and hibernate”  
Keith kissed his cheek, ignoring Pidge pulling a face as he did  
“Can I join in?”  
“Not if you’re going to bring the cold with you. I should have grabbed my heat packs from the bag”  
“Want me to grab them?”  
Keith was too sweet  
“Nah, just keep your frostbite to yourself. Honestly, the lot of you should have had showers and changed”  
“Your age is showing, dad”  
Pidge giggled at her comment. Lance sorely tempted to flip her off  
“Someone’s gotta be the sane and reasonable one around here”  
“As if you’re sane. I know you too well, Gremlin”  
“Saner than you”  
“Riiiight... I’m not the one who developed a macaroon fetish after getting out of hospital”

Lance bit down a laugh, relieved to know they didn’t suspect macaroon was a baby and not a dessert snack  
“That’s right. You were in hospital. Hunk said it was an accident. Are you okay?”  
Why was Shay bringing that up now?  
“Yeah. I had a stomach bug and fainted. A whole lot of worry for nothing”  
“Plus he’s been working in Platt...”  
Hunk was trying to help, but how was he supposed to explain that? Especially when Shay looked so interested  
“You’re a lawyer, right?”  
“Yep. Family law. It always gets busy towards Christmas”  
“Don’t let them lie to you, Shay. He and Keith have totally shacked up. We’ve been abandoned”  
Shay giggled as she bumped Pidge with her shoulder  
“They are kind of cute together”  
“If by cute you mean “totally gross”, then sure”

Shiro finally decided to “Dad” up  
“Now, now. They’re happy. That’s the main thing. So what do we want to do now?”  
“I could totally go for a nap right here... the fire feels so nice. Kosmo’s got the right idea, totally digging out and letting the fire warm his balls”  
Lance wished he had something to throw at Matt, instead Rieva proved to be on his side  
“Mmm... that’d be nice. I left my book in our cabin. I could go for dogging out too”  
Werewolves. You couldn’t take them anywhere. Curtis seemed to be on team “lounge about” too. Lance had kind of thought the weather would be clearer and they’d be able to explore the area more  
“We could do presents? It’d be an excellent way to warm up again”  
“Yes! Okay, let me get mine for Keith!”  
“And I’ll get ours!”  
Hunk seemed enthused  
“Matt’s going to brave the snow and get ours, the fire’s too nice to leave”  
“Baaaabe”  
“Awww, do you need me to hold your hand”  
“Yes”  
Rieva shoved Matt in the shoulder  
“Go get ours before I throw you into the snow. And be nice. Go grab Lance’s present and his heat packs. He’s making me cold looking at him”  
Matt dragged himself up  
“Yes, boss. Do you two want anything else from your cabin?”

Lance knew it was horrible, yet he was struck with the strong feeling of not wanting Matt in his and Keith’s space. He knew it had to be his ego being stupid, but the feeling was uncomfortable and unwanted. When he didn’t answer, Keith answered for him  
“Nah, thanks for asking, man”  
“Okay... I guess I’ll be back soon. No stealing my spot while I’m gone. I farted on it”  
Pidge wrinkled her nose  
“Are you sure you don’t just stink all the time?”  
“Not funny, Katie”  
“Come over here and say that. I’ll bite you”  
“And risk my ankles? I think not”  
Pidge glared at Matt who darted out the living area. Stupid werewolves and their high body heat, and stupid feelings. He’d nearly growled at Matt as he’d passed Keith. This was beyond ridiculous. How the fuck was he supposed to keep his secret for the whole weekend, let alone until the next scan? Maybe he should just take his bad mood back to the cabin after the presents. It was Keith’s birthday. He shouldn’t be acting pissy at their friend for absolutely no reason.

*  
Shiro’s gift wasn’t funny. His brother was an arsehole. He’d taken a photo of him sleeping, mouth open and all, then had it printed on a blanket, with matching socks. Shiro laughing far too hard at the look on Keith’s face. He’d wanted to open Lance’s first, but Lance seemed nervous for some strange reason, so Keith was now saving his for last. He knew whatever his boyfriend gave him, it had to be better than Shiro’s.

From Curtis he received a bat. A soft toy, but none the less it was bat. Poor Shay didn’t get the joke, Lance explaining Keith was totally terrified of them. Keith defending himself over the incident in the mine, though it was pretty good coverup story if he thought about it. He liked bats a little more, though only when they were Lance and not flying past his head like some great doom cloud. Curtis producing a second present that was heavily influenced by Shiro, because it was a damn bobble head of a bat. But of them sucked... not that he’d admit it, and not that they really did... Okay, Shiro did, but he already knew how lame his brother was. At least it wasn’t more sex toys. He hadn’t even told Lance he’d brought a few things with him.

Hunk’s gift was more practical. Seeing Keith’s bike still wasn’t on the road it was a voucher for his dad’s garage. At $250 it was far too much, despite Hunk insisting he’d be doing most of the work and Keith could help if he wanted too. 

Shay’s gift was a fuel card for Balmera, to go with his bike once it was up and going, and stern lecture about visiting more because they missed him. It was nice... but still, he felt like it was too much. He didn’t need $100 voucher on top of Hunk’s, though Shay said she used her staff discount it was still... a lot.

Pidge was a gremlin. She’d always be a gremlin. She’d brought him a hard book map of Platt, laughing about his terrible sense of direction, and GPS tracker that kind of looked like the ones worn when under house arrest. She laughed at the confused look on her face, explaining it was for Lance so he wouldn’t lose his boyfriend when they were out. If anyone needed a GPS it was Matt. Especially after he and Rieva had “relocated” a cow for Lance’s birthday.

From Kosmo he was gifted a bag of treats and new harness seeing the old one was snug with how much his dog had grown. Shiro had picked it out... it was red with little bones on it... definitely more his brother’s taste.

Matt had gifted him a voucher for a bike shop. Keith wondering if he really seemed the voucher type. He was under orders to get a new helmet. He hadn’t thought about it, but all his friends had been pretty worried after his accident. It felt nice to be cared about... too cared about. This wasn’t like his birthday’s in the past. No Adam with his practical gifts... Or smell of burnt cake in the air.

Rieva had gifted him books... Vampire romance books... that he wasn’t sure how to accept. He only wanted to be intimate with one vampire, so possibly Lance would have a laugh out of them later. Shiro’s gift was bad but this wasn’t that great... Did Rieva always... Surely she didn’t just read porn... Rieva was smart, highly educated, and confident in herself... but even she couldn’t ignore pop culture making things seem like everything was possible when you were a vampire... Maybe she thought he could use a laugh?

Lance’s gift was finally the last. By now Keith really didn’t want to open up another voucher. He already had anxiety thinking about going shopping. Naturally he wanted to take Lance, but that was now even more dangerous. They hadn’t even had like a real date. They’d missed their reservation and opera with Lotor and Allura didn’t count. Lance‘a gift wasn’t that big... it felt like it was maybe two thing in there... and something kind of solid...  
“Open it already!”  
Trust Pidge to want to rush him. She probably wanted to know what vampires thought an acceptable gift when dating a hunter. Careful with the tag, he placed it aside. Yeah. No one else got that treatment, but then again, no one else had bothered putting a tag on it. The gift wrapped in red ribbon, Lance knowing he loved the colour red... the paper was plain white, not giving him any clues to the contents.

Unwrapping Lance’s present, he was actually really thrilled. It wasn’t a voucher. It wasn’t something to do with his bike, that he now felt a little self conscious about. He loved his bike and missed the feel of straddling her... not that Lance knew he called her a “her”. There was a small butterfly knife, not great in a real fight but a handy thing to have in a human fight. His collection of them was somewhere in the boxes from the move. The second knife was a proper good quality hunting knife, his name engraved on the hilt. This... this was definitely making onto his work belt  
“I know you don’t like big expensive gifts. And I wanted to give you something useful. Just don’t go stabbing me with it”  
Lance nuzzled into him, Keith kind of in shock. Like... he knew Lance paid close attention to the things he liked, and he felt like after Lance admitted he didn’t know much about cameras that it was Lance’s was of confessing he didn’t know much about him. He’d been totally wrong  
“I won’t... babe... it’s perfect”

Keith hadn’t realised Shiro was actually recording the whole present opening thing. His brother chuckling  
“I guess we know who’s gift he likes the most”  
It was when he flipped his brother off that he noticed. It was probably bad that he wanted to start training with it...  
“I love it...”  
“We can tell. Happy birthday, kiddo”

Keith’s feelings flooded through him. The amount of love he felt for the group of people surrounding him was too much. He didn’t... he couldn’t thank them enough. Wrapping his arms around him, Keith hid his face against Lance’s cheek completely limp in Lance’s hold  
“Happy birthday, samurai”  
“I...”  
“It’s okay... you’re allowed to be happy. You’re allowed to be scared too... Pidge is pretty scary”  
“Fuck you. I’m a nice person when I want to be”  
Lance chuckled  
“See. She’s a terror. Okay, now that presents are done, I’m totally going for a nap... Take care of Keith for me”  
He didn’t get to come? Shiro chuckled at the pair of them  
“Don’t worry about that. He’s got his blades to play with. We’ll keep an eye on him”  
“I’d prefer you kept both on him, or he’s likely to lose one of his own, and I’m afraid I can’t let him. I love his eyes too much”

*  
When Lance left for his nap, Keith felt kind of lost. He couldn’t help but worry if his boyfriend made it back to the cabin and if he was okay. Still overwhelmed, he found himself sitting on the veranda of the cabin, playing with his camera because Shay would probably freak out if he played with his knife. Inside the others had figured out how to hook Pidge’s laptop up, playing some interactive game with their phones, which Hunk didn’t seem to be doing well at. Hearing the sliding door open, he knew it’d be Shiro coming to check on him.

Sitting down beside him, his brother looped his arm over Keith’s shoulders  
“How you doing?”  
“Okay... I... don’t really know”  
“It’s definitely different to birthdays back in Rome”  
“Yeah... louder... with more people and presents. It’s kind of weird”  
“Really? I think it’s nice”  
Keith looked up to Shiro who smiled down at him  
“That’s because you’re weird”  
“Nah. My baby brother is having the best birthday of his life. What more could I hope for?”  
“Not to be surrounded by weirdos?”  
“Nah. They’re fine. Is Lance okay?”  
“He doesn’t like the cold...”  
“I gathered that by how high the aircon’s been in the apartment. I also heard you kept a couple of wolves up last night”

Keith blushed. He loved the sounds Lance made and hadn’t thought about his voice carrying  
“Yeah... I know it’s sex... but with him...”  
“It feels special”  
Special didn’t come close  
“Yeah. We hadn’t done anything since the accident...”  
“I understand that. As long as you two are okay, that’s all that matters”  
“Are you okay? Is Curtis?”  
“Yep. He’s worried about Lance but knows Lance will talk to him properly when he’s ready. He’s missed having him back at the house”  
Keith groaned. He didn’t want Lance going back  
“Kiddo?”  
“I... it’s not fair but I... I get stuck thinking about what if he falls down the stairs again. We were so lucky the first time”  
“I’m sure he’ll be fine. I’m sure everything will be fine”  
“The word for that is “macaroon””  
“Let me guess, Lance decided?”  
“Nope. We couldn’t decide what an “idiot crumpet” made when combined with an “anger loaf””  
Shiro snorted with laughter  
“He’s a bit strange with the bread analogies”  
“He’s fine. I think you’re a croissant but it really depends on his mood”  
“Because I’m delicious and a killer on the hips?”  
Keith wrinkled his nose. His brother was too into this  
“I don’t want to think about that. That can stay between you and Curtis”  
“In that case let’s just say Curtis really likes croissants”  
Thank god he didn’t say he liked buttered croissants or croissants with cream  
“Ew... I’ve seen too much as it is. Is everyone else having fun?”  
“Yeah. They get it. They don’t expect you to have to hide away what you’re feeling”  
“Even when I don’t feel like I deserved everything they gave me. Them being here was enough”  
“They chose gifts thinking of you. I gotta say, that GPS on your ankle would save me hours of worry”  
“If you like it that much you should wear it”  
“Where’s the fun in that?”

A comfortable silence fell between the two brothers. Shiro had done so much for him. Keith wished he knew how to pay him back for everything. He’d given him first happy birthday memories that he could remember. The door behind the slid open, then closed, again, Curtis coming out to join them. Sitting down on Keith’s other side, he was squashed in an idiot sandwich  
“Pidge is ruthless. She and Shay have broken Hunk and Matt”  
That sounded about normal for them, Keith asking  
“And you?”  
“Came to see what was taking you two so long. I was sure you’d be with Lance”  
“He wanted to take a nap”  
“I’ve noticed the change in his energy levels. Don’t tell me. He will when he’s ready. I do worry about him in the cold... It won’t kill him, but he may become aggressive if his body temperature drops too low”  
Shiro sighed at Curtis  
“Don’t stress Keith out. I’m sure Lance is fine”  
Or he could be huddled up freezing his arse off  
“Nope. I’m stressed now. I’m going to check on him. Shiro, take care of my camera for me, I’ll be back soon”

As Keith left the two idiots behind, he could hear Shiro scolding his boyfriend, Curtis protesting awkwardly. Their friends were so damn weird.


	115. Chapter 115

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hunk will always be a pure beam of light.

115

Lance fully accepted he was going to be in trouble with Keith. He was too cold to care, regretting not just taking a nap in the main cabin where it was heated by the fireplace. He’d found the quilt, embarrassed by how dirty they’d got it, and had decided to scrub it clean, then his stomach had rebelled, leaving him feeling lousy. Now he was using up all the hot water huddled on the floor of the shower, his by an intense feeling of loneliness that made him feel stupid, and sure Keith would be slightly annoyed there was no hot water if he wanted to shower. He’d felt nauseous at Matt’s scent, now he supposed he was reaping the rewards of his stupidity. Why did it have to be so far from the shower to the bed? He’d had enough blood to have the energy to move. Keith had made the shake almost more blood than shake... but he felt wiped out. Almost as if he hadn’t fed at all. God... This sucked... he was so fucking tired.

*  
Entering the cabin, Keith didn’t need to look for Lance. Hearing the shower, he headed into the bathroom area. The person who’d designed the cabin obviously had no shame. Any sane person would have hidden the toilet instead of the bath and half the shower. Curled into a small ball, Lance had ditched his clothes, Keith sighing fondly at the sight in front of him, unable to blame Lance for seeking out warmth, though he was annoyed to find his boyfriend had hand washed the quilt they’d messed up. He was supposed to check if there was a laundry in the main cabin, but had decided it could wait for later.

Sticking his hand in the water to reach the taps, it wasn’t warm. He’d expected warm water. What was the point of being in the shower if it wasn’t warm?  
“Babe?”  
Lance didn’t answer him, his stomach dropping as he crouched down to shake Lance’s shoulder  
“Babe, it’s Keith. Can you hear me?”  
Lance felt like ice. Gathering his naked boyfriend up, Keith rushed him through the to bed, laying him down before jogging back to grab a towel. All sorts of panicked thoughts in his head. What if Lance had slipped? What if he’d fainted? What if something had happened to the baby? He needed to get him dry and get him warm.

Towelling Lance off, Lance mumbled at him, and Keith nearly kissed him for it. Mumbling out he was sleeping, changed how Keith saw the situation. The shower must have been warm when Lance climbed in. His boyfriend so tired he’d fallen asleep mid-shower... not that he knew for sure, but Lance was skilled at sleeping in the bath  
“Matt, I don’t know if you can hear me but I need you to send Shiro down to our cabin. Lance is really, really cold”  
Speaking louder than normal, he really hoped his voice carried enough to be heard over the game the others were playing. 

Towelling Lance over twice, his boyfriend begged to be allowed to sleep, sounding agitated over being cared for. Keith had only gotten as far as putting underwear on his boyfriend when Shiro practically burst into the cabin, making Keith flinch away. The moment Shiro was in the space, the space felt invaded. He felt like Shiro was angry father bursting in to yell at him for making a mess, or to bust him for something someone else in the house blamed him for. Childhood trauma never really faded. Sensing he’d upset him, Shiro raised his hands to show he had nothing in them, taking careful steps towards Lance   
“What’s happening?”  
“He fell asleep in the shower and the water went cold. His body temperature’s dropped. I need help getting him dressed and up to the main cabin to warm him back up”  
“Okay. You hold him and I’ll help dress him”

Lance didn’t like Shiro touching him. His boyfriend baring his fangs as he roused enough to open those pretty blue eyes of his for a few moments before falling back to sleep. Keith wondered if his protruding teeth mean he was hungry. Pricking his thumb on Lance’s left fang, he slid the digit into Lance’s mouth, Lance sucking lightly  
“Keith...”  
The way his brother said his name was a warning  
“I know. It’s to kick start his body enough for it to realise it’s warmer than it was”  
“Does that work?”  
No clue. Lance sucking his thumb made it kind of hard to keep the blood flowing to the brain he actually needed  
“Can’t hurt to try. I’ll explain it to him later. My main priority is getting him warm again. He’s got his pyjamas in there somewhere. We’ll put them under his main clothes...”  
“We should probably grab a blanket too. He did say he wanted to be a “Lance burrito””  
“He can be as much of a burrito as he likes once he’s dressed. Shit. I think his boots are in the bathroom”  
“I’ll grab them”

Keith had plenty of experiences being on Lance’s end of things and a few with Shiro in Lance’s position when the loss of Adam was still raw. He loved his brother, but Shiro hadn’t been pregnant with his baby. He’d felt sick to his stomach that he hadn’t been able to do more for Shiro on the nights alcohol shouldered all Shiro’s pain. The best he could do was clean his brother up, get him changed, then into bed. Now he was facing all those feeling again with Lance being so tired. He knew he shouldn’t force his blood on Lance, but Coran said Lance got more from fresh blood. He just hadn’t expected Lance’s tongue to rub against his finger or his boyfriend to whole heartedly suck at his bleeding thumb. Lance was definitely not going to be happy with him. He’d overthink things, then apologise to everyone, simply for falling asleep in the shower. Keith had done that before. Coming back from missions bone tired then showering before he’d had coffee. He was still panicked but unbelievably relieved that it hadn’t been a slip that resulted in Lance on the bathroom floor. Getting Lance into his pants showed no signs associated with slipping.

With Lance wrapped up like the burrito he longed to be, Keith shooed Shiro off, carrying his boyfriend himself. Lance was snoring now, adorable as hell as he did. His teeth had shrunk back, no longer poking out. Carrying Lance into the cabin, Pidge and Hunk both hit worried mode at the sight of him, Matt and Rieva had moved from in front of the fire, so he could settle down his vampire burrito  
“Is he okay? What happened? I thought he was going for nap”  
Ahhh Hunk. The constant worrier of the group  
“He fell asleep in the shower. He’s fine, fast asleep and the cabin’s like ridiculously cold. So I thought it better he nap in here”  
“What kind of idiot falls asleep in the shower?”  
Hunk shot Pidge down  
“Don’t you start. The amount of times you have and Lance has put you to bed...”  
Pidge snappy as she replied  
“Shut up. I was drunk”  
“Still counts. Why’s he all bundled up if he was in the shower?”  
Settling down with Lance propped up against him, Keith kept his arms around him, almost possessively   
“He was asleep long enough for the hot water to run out”  
“Damn. That’s some bad luck. Luckily he had you to take care of him”  
Keith rolled his eyes at Pidge’s teasing tone  
“You just wish you’d bundled yourself up”  
“Maybe. He does look all cozy like that”  
“He’s a Lance burrito”  
“And you’re more whipped than Matt. What are we going to do if Lance is napping here? We can’t wake him up”  
“I think he’s pretty dead to the world down there”  
Keith groaned at Shiro. He saw what he did there  
“You’re not funny... but you’re right. I don’t think he’s going to wake up anytime soon”  
“Soooo... wanna play the game with us?”  
Keith was content to hold Lance, but Lance would scold him for wasting time he could have been using to bond with the others  
“I’m not great at games”  
He didn’t mind them, he just didn’t have the same degree of interest as Matt and Pidge did. Pidge shrugged it off  
“We know, that’s why you’ll be on Hunk’s team. You can be losers together”

*  
The Lance burrito didn’t stir until it was nearly dinner time. Keith sending Pidge for a pillow so his boyfriend would be comfortable sleeping on the floor. His boyfriend made a cute burrito, rolling back and forth when one side would get too warm. Pidge and Shay were going to give him a moustache with permanent marker. Shiro volunteering to do the eyebrows. Keith didn’t find it that funny seeing it wasn’t Lance’s fault he was out of energy. Besides, they weren’t being creative enough.

Having bummed out of the game on account of his terrible drawing skills, he’d contented himself with his camera again. Lance wasn’t as bad as he thought he was, though he did manage to chop off heads and get his thumb in a couple of shots. He’d got a lot of Keith, and a lot of Kosmo. The pampered pooch sleeping next to Lance on his back... his dog just a little bit special, because there was no way sleeping on his back all the time could be actually comfortable.

Lance woke in time to bolt for the kitchen, throwing up in the sink. The smell of chicken soup in the air didn’t seem to agree with the vampire. Hunk nearly dropping his wooden spoon over suddenly having Lance hacking up in the sink. Thankfully Shay had decided that watching Lance take a nap was a good idea, leaving them to it, as the others kind of did their own thing. Lance was a talker. Sometimes Keith forgot that there was a thing called “comfortable silence”, and they weren’t all being quiet because he’d done something wrong. Hunk was rubbing Lance’s back, as Keith headed into the kitchen   
“He okay, man?”  
Keith laughed it off, hoping he was being convincing   
“You know vampire and human food. He loves it, until it decides to come back up. He’s got a snack stash in the cabin”  
“Man... he hid it so well. I always thought it was a him thing, like he had too pee or something”

Heaving himself dry, Lance let himself sink back into Keith’s arms as Keith turned the tap on to destroy the evidence   
“Why do I taste blood?”  
“Because you had it for breakfast and lunch?”  
“Oh... ugh. I feel like I napped for hours”  
“You did. Fell asleep in the shower”  
Lance hummed, Keith noticing the way his boyfriend was still gripping the sink and hoping he was going to throw up again seeing it kind of looked like Hunk’s chicken soup  
“Oh... I remember now... the hot water felt too good and it felt like too much effort to move”  
“Idiot. I found you on the shower floor. The water went cold”  
“That explains so much. I’m nice and warm now”

Matt interrupted, walking into the kitchen to inspect the large pot of soup   
“Talking about nice and warm, Rieva and I are going to take a run before dinner. Have we got time?”  
Hunk nodded  
“Yep. Give it half an hour and it’ll be ready. Though I’m not sure you should be running around in the slush left behind from the snow”  
Matt hugged Hunk  
“Not that kind of run, bro. If it’s only half an hour, we’ll save it for tonight”  
Hunk redden as he realised  
“Oh...”  
“All good, man. You’re still getting there. Lance on the other hand has no excuse. If you can’t regulate your temperature, don’t go falling asleep in the shower”  
Lance huffed at his friend  
“It’s not my fault. It was so nice and warm... seriously, the weather wasn’t suppose to be this cold”  
“It looks like it’ll warm up tomorrow. Drink some blood and perk up”  
“I’m getting there... I’m allowed to be sleepy”  
“Actually, Keith fed you, so you really should have more energy”

Keith shot Matt a glare   
“What makes you say that?”  
“Smelt it on you. Plus, you’ve got a scratch on your thumb”  
Pulling out his hold, Lance frowned at him, finally putting space between him and the sink  
“Babe... No. We talked about this”  
“Relax, your teeth were sticking out”  
Lance’s right hand came up to cover his mouth self consciously, his left arm wrapping around his waist in a self hug   
“Stupid fucking teeth”  
“Babe, it’s fine. No one saw, other than Shiro”  
“That’s beside the point. These stupid things have a mind of their own”  
Now he was in trouble with his boyfriend. Matt could kindly fuck off, though he had a better idea of how to get his revenge. Leaning in, the hunter whispered in his boyfriend’s ear  
“Actually, it was pretty hot having you suck on me like that”

Lance choked on air. Matt scrunching his brow  
“Really, man? Was it worth it?”  
“Yep. It shut your big mouth up, didn’t it?”  
“I don’t want to hear about your kinks”  
Hunk simply looked lost, sighing to himself as he went back to his soup  
“Babe...”  
“It’s fine. You should really have something to eat. You haven’t eaten much, and it’s not good for you”  
“Shay...”  
“Shay’s taking a nap, man. Keith’s right. Have some blood, take a load off. We’ve got dinner covered”

Lance raised an eyebrow over how blasé Hunk was being   
“See, our chef agrees. Do you want blood or shake? It’s probably better if you have a shake”  
“Can we not discuss this? Like... like this”  
Lance waved his hand, not okay with things. Keith didn’t see that much of an issue. Hunk knew and accepted it. Maybe he’d been feeling too much love to think about how Lance would react   
“Dude, it’s fine. Why don’t you have some wine and relax?”  
“See. Hunk’s totally okay with it”  
“It’s still weird. Fine, I’ll have some blood. But not in a shake. That soup looks really good”

Keith’s mind went to how Lance had sucked his thumb. If they had half an hour...   
“You know, I don’t mind...”  
Lance cut him off, a tinge of pink in his cheeks  
“Don’t even think about finishing that sentence”  
“Okay! That’s enough. Save it for tonight. Lance go drink some blood already. Keith... I’m disappointed in you man”  
Keith shrugged Matt’s loud tone off  
“If you don’t like it, then don’t listen”  
“Oh, I would if I could. Fuck having super hearing”  
“Consider it payback for all the times we had to listen to you”  
Matt groaned at him  
“You’re killing me, man. What happened to the Keith that didn’t used to talk all that much?”  
“He started dating Lance. That’s enough guys. Lance, you really should eat”  
Now Shiro was joining in... Too much concern and the secret would be blown. Lance casting them a glance that told them all to shut up  
“You all suck. Let me eat in peace... weirdos. The lot of you are weirdos. Remind me; Why do I put up with this again?”  
“Because you love us?”  
“Touché. If anyone wants me, me and my wine bottle will be near the fire”

Lance grabbed a bottle of blood from the fridge, stalking away with it. Hunk calling out as he left  
“Don’t eat too much. You need space for dessert. Shiro helped me make Keith’s cake, and I made macaroons seeing you’ve been talking with Keith about them so much”  
Keith let his head drop. Hunk was simply too pure for this world. Shiro chuckling a tad too hard, leaving Hunk looking confused  
“Oh, he’s got his mind on macaroons alright and how many he can fit in his stomach”  
Had they been closer, Keith would have definitely tried to punch him in the balls  
“That’s fine. I made a whole batch up. There’s something like 24 in the container”  
That only served to make Shiro laugh more. His brother was going to a special place in hell, and if he kept this up, Keith was going to put him there himself.


	116. Chapter 116

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These two couldn’t be more in love if possible

116

Keith felt he’d been pretty patient waiting to have Lance alone again. He’d had his cake, and macaroons, Lance eating two before deciding he already had enough macaroons in his stomach. Hunk insisting his stomach had extra space for more, as Lance looked like his soul had yeeted itself out his body and he wished he’d gone with it. With Matt and Rieva off on their run, and everyone in the main cabin turning if for the night, he had his boyfriend all to himself and he wasn’t going to blow it by being a horny idiot... At least not until Lance made him lose all reason by being too fucking adorable for his own good.

Dropping himself down on their bed, his boyfriend smiled up at him. His hand on his belly as he sat propped up   
“What’cha looking at?”  
“You”  
His boyfriend groaned at him, letting himself flop back completely   
“Why?”  
“Because”  
“You’re an idiot. Did you enjoy your birthday?”  
“I did... apart from when you decided sleeping on the shower floor was a great idea”  
“That’s totally not my fault... I was trying to get warm”  
“And how did that work out for you?”  
“Great, apparently it leads to naps in prime napping locations”  
“Is that so?”  
“Mhmm... now are you coming to bed, or just going to stand there staring?”  
“Actually... I’m thinking that there’s a few things I want to do now that we’re alone”  
“Is that so?”

Sitting up, Lance reached for him, Keith snorting to himself as he moved closer so Lance could wrap his arms around his hips  
“Yep. But only if you’re up for it”  
“You’re already starting to get up for it... Did my sucking on your thumb really turn you on that much?”  
“You have no idea...”  
“Hmmm... maybe you’ll just have to show me?”  
“I don’t know. Have you been good?”  
Lance raised his head, staring up at him  
“I have been excellent. Plus, there’s no way I can sleep in so many layers”  
“Then maybe you should take them off and get more comfortable while I get a few things”  
“Am I going to like these things?”  
Now Keith was feeling kind of nervous. He hoped Lance would be okay with it... His boyfriend wasn’t great at being the only one feeling pleasure  
“I hope so. If you don’t, we’ll stop”  
“I can hardly say no to the birthday boy... I’ve never wanted Hunk’s cooking less than when he pulled those macaroons out”  
“Babe, do you really want to talk about Hunk right now?”  
“Nope. Okay, Mister Kogane, show me whatever you’ve got in mind”  
“Get comfortable first. I want to try something different tonight”

Grabbing his bag, Keith pulled out the small collection of toys he’d brought with him. Lance stripping down, before shyly sitting with his knees to his chest. Figuring it was fair if he at least shed some layers, Keith stripped down to his underwear, climbing on the bed with the bag of toys  
“Is that?”  
“Yep”  
“And you’re...”  
“Yep”  
“Oh...”  
His boyfriend was too cute. He didn’t want to push Lance into being uncomfortable for his sake  
“Anything you’re not up for trying, I want you to tell me the truth. I promise I’ll only be disappointed if you don’t tell me”  
“But...”  
“Babe. It might be my birthday, but I’m not going to enjoy it if you’re uncomfortable. We don’t even have to use any of this if you don’t want to”  
“I’m supposed to be the cool older one here”

Reaching over Lance’s knees, Keith cupped his boyfriend’s face  
“You can’t help that you’re smoking hot”  
Lance gaped at him, before snorting and shaking his head  
“Oh, babe. You’re really pent up, aren’t you?”  
Kissing Lance, Lance pulled away when Keith’s lip was accidentally cut. His boyfriend frowning in a way that wasn’t all that sexy  
“That’s right. I’m still mad at you for feeding me without permission. You know I don’t like it”  
“You were freezing... I knew you’d be mad, but I’ll take you being mad at me over you being cold and hungry”  
“Still...”  
“Nope. It’s my birthday”  
Lance sighed at him  
“How does that benefit me?”  
“Because it’s something I wanted to do... and I know you don’t like feeding from me, but I was kind of hoping you’d maybe suck my fingers”

Lance blinked at him  
“You... want me to...”  
Keith felt his face redden, somewhat flustered   
“Not this very minute, but it really was kind of hot... I think it’d actually be hot if you were awake for it this time”  
“You get one birthday wish. Consider it another present...”  
“But you don’t want to”  
“That’s... it’s... if you want me to suck your fingers, I will...”  
“But...”  
“But I’m not feeding. I’m not drinking down your blood, from anywhere other than your fingertips. That’s it. No kinky neck bites or shoulder bites”  
“Deal. I know I can’t make up for the years you didn’t believe it was okay to love, but I do love you. Even your stubborn parts”  
“It’s not being stubborn. It’s something I’m not that into”  
Now Lance was more defensive than flirtatious. He’d have to figure out when the time was right... because yeah, it still bothered him about a strangers blood feeding their baby  
“Okay. Now I’m going to kiss you and we’re going to work things out from there”  
“I feel like I’m not getting much sleep tonight”  
“That depends on how you feel once we start...”  
“And now I’m nervous. Can we just start with the kissing already?”  
“I think I can do that”

Making out always got heated fast. Keith couldn’t keep his hands off Lance, not when he was making such cute noises. Laid out on their bed, Keith pulled out the first two toys. Technically he didn’t know if they counted seeing they were cockrings. Lance swallowing hard at the sight of them  
“You don’t have to, if you don’t want to”  
“It seems pretty mean to deny a pregnant person an orgasm”  
“I’m not denying it... just delaying it. For both of us”  
“You too?”  
“Yep... it’s not fair if it’s only you”  
“Is that going to apply to the other things?”  
“Maybe...”  
“I feel like that’s not a very reassuring maybe”  
“I feel like I want to see you fall apart beneath me”  
Lance swallowed again, before nodding stiffly  
“Only if...”  
“Babe, trust me. You’re not the only one who’s going to be feeling good tonight”  
“That’s okay then... I like it better when we feel good together”  
“Me too. Do you need the bathroom before we start?”  
“Nah. I’m good... just nervous”  
“If it counts I’m nervous too”  
“We’re not great at this sexy toy thing, are we?”  
“We’re getting there. I’m going to put this on, then I’m going to prep you. I want to try using a vibe...”

Part of Keith still couldn’t believe their sex life had come as far as it had. Lance’s body had settled down when it came to heat flashes, seeing he was pregnant and all, but he still wanted Lance to feel the same amount of pleasure. The baby had really mixed up his feelings inside. He wanted to be intimate with Lance, but he also wanted to learn the new boundaries Lance had and wanted to respect him around them. He wanted Lance to feel safe and comfortable enough to try the things he’d denied himself for so long. He also kind of felt threatened. Like this happiness would be gone too fast. He desperately wanted to cling to it, until he was sure he could breathe again  
“Okay... but... let me adjust? I love having sex with you, because it’s you”  
“I’m going to take it slow...”  
“I’m still nervous. I trust you”  
“I know you do”

*  
Lance wasn’t sure what he’d gotten himself in for as Keith slowly fucked him with the vibrator. It was bigger than Keith, stretching him in different ways to what he was used to. Laying in his lover’s arms, Keith had his left leg loosely over his elbow, Lance trying not be embarrassed by the noise he was making between the sweet kisses Keith pressed to his lips. He felt bad about falling asleep, part of him wanted to make it up to Keith, while the bigger part of him was horny for his boyfriend. His dick leaking precum as his bliss built without release. Keith was hard, rutting lightly against him as he tugged on Lance’s ear with his teeth. His boyfriend not a werewolf, yet acting like he was a chew toy... not that Lance minded. Keith was driving him crazy and he knew it. His boyfriend had gone become the biggest pervert between the sheets, or on top of them on this case  
“Ready for me to turn it on?”

Nope. He was still getting over feeling flustered about using the toys as it was... but at this stage, he wanted to come. Between his legs squelched obscenely, his arse soaked with wetness and lube. When he didn’t answer, Keith pushed the toy deeper, Lance letting out a strangle squeak. He felt full when it was Keith inside him, now he felt stuffed to capacity   
“Babe?”  
“Mmngh...”  
“I’ll start on the lowest”

Lance was not prepared. Arching his back as he cried out, the vibrator was... fuck... for a moment he felt as if he’d gone limp, like all the arousal had snapped away with the click of Keith’s fingers... then... bam... Holy fucking fuck fuck. Even the lowest setting was an assault on the senses. They’d used a small vibe before, when he’d been in heat. It was not definitely not the same as this beast of thing that was determined to stir up all the parts of him he didn’t know he had. Holding the base of the vibe, Keith slowly started to fuck him with it again, Lance turning towards the bed, fingers clenching around the fabric of the bunched of sheets as he tried to do something that he wasn’t entirely sure of. Chuckling at him, Keith moved with him, nipping on his shoulder as he pressed his body against him   
“Feeling good?”  
He didn’t know what he was feeling... his body trembling, hips moving on their own... Fuck...   
“Maybe we should try setting number two?”  
“Argh!”

Keith had the remote in his hand, no longer having to worry about supporting his leg now Lance was pretty much face down and arse... going up and down... fuck... clicking the second setting, Lance stiffened, eyes nearly rolling back as his release smashed into him. His body jerking, coming without releasing the building pressure of his straining dick, shit... it was some kind of sweet torture. His fangs and nails extending, ego over the moon that their lover was getting off watching them  
“K-Keith... too... much...”  
Instantly the setting lowered back to the first setting. Jolt after jolt of pleasure took his mind and slapped it senseless. It wasn’t hard to find the prostate, but this thing was fucking molesting it... he was drooling, shamelessly moving to match Keith’s movements, unashamed of the wet spot beneath his body  
“Shit, babe... you look wrecked. Turn over so I can see your face”

He didn’t want to roll over and have Keith see his face. Keith didn’t care. Pulling him onto his back, the vibrator slipping in the change of position, stretching his arse with the thicker few centimetres above the base. Fuck... he really fucking loved it when Keith played just there... His body so in tune with his lover’s that his back was arching, feet slipping as he tried to push his knees together. Leaving the vibe, Keith’s hand went to his leaking dick, jerking and toying with the tip   
“Fuck, babe... do you want to come? God... you look so fucking wrecked and we haven’t even gotten to the best bit”  
“Keith”  
Moaning his boyfriend’s name, Keith pushed his lips to his, not caring about his fangs, Lance trying to relieve the need to come as he fucked Keith’s fist, moving the vibe as he did.

Continuing to kiss him, Keith climbed between his legs. Lance wrapping them around him because all of his instincts knew he was safe with Keith, even if he was past the point of rational thought. Stirred up and crazy with lust, he sucked at his boyfriend’s bleeding lips, his own only having escaped his teeth by the way Keith kissed him. Rutting between his legs, the sounds of wet skin against wet skin drove him mad. He wanted his boyfriend already  
“I can feel the vibrations... fuck... you feel so good beneath me, babe. I don’t deserve you”  
That was nice and all... but he was about ready to snap the cockring, pin Keith down, and ride him like it was going out of fashion  
“Keith... please... please, I want... I want you...”  
“Mmm... fuck... soon, baby... soon, I’ve got another toy for you... but I want to try something first”

Lance’s arse missed the girth of the vibe as Keith slid it free, slick with lube, his boyfriend groaning as he slipped it between them. The sensation completely different now. More and less aggressive at the same time  
“Shit... fuck... hold on...”  
Sitting back up, Keith laid the vibe on the bed, pulling Lance up nearly in his lap as his hand went to a different toy. He didn’t get to see what it was, he couldn’t focus at it was. Keith had the vibe so they were both feeling the effects from beneath them. Lance’s legs quivering, body still bouncing back from how hard the dry orgasm had been. Feeling something smaller at his arse, he raised it in the hopes of Keith taking him  
“Hang on, babe... take it slowly... I’m going to use it and fuck you at the same time”

The small slim line wand was beaded, the beads not as comfortable as they vibrated their way around the space left by Keith’s dick. He finally giving him what he wanted, though they both still had the stupid cockrings on. After having his arse stretched to unnatural limits, Keith was hitting all the right places that he loved. He couldn’t stop kissing him, despite the blood and the risk of inflicting the bite. Sensible Lance had switched off. Toying with his nipples, Keith made him gasp, the buds already tender from the way Keith had sucked on them before biting. Riding Keith was starting to frustrate him. He wanted the rings off and to come. He wanted Keith to come. He wanted his boyfriend to feel even better than he did now. Slack mouthed, Keith smirked, Lance’s eyes hooded from his blissed out pleasure. Feeling something firm against his teeth, his instincts as a vampire took over, biting into the soft warm skin. Blood... fuck... he couldn’t stop himself as he sucked Keith’s finger. Keith’s blood already on his tongue, but this was offered blood, Keith’s one birthday wish. His restraint finally snapping.

Keeping Keith’s fingers in his mouth, he shoved his boyfriend backwards, the ridiculous rings snapped in a heart beat. Wand pulled out despite the sensation it sent through the pair of them. Placing his hands on Keith’s chest, he finally had Keith how he wanted him, drooling down his fingers as he rode his boyfriend. He hated this body, but he and Keith were so compatible that sometimes he secretly believed soulmates might just be a real thing   
“Shit... I’m going to come... fuck, baby... fuck... agnhgh... f-fuuuuuckl  
Lance smirked, rubbing his tongue against Keith’s finger tips as his hand moved Keith’s chest to jerk himself off, the pressure of the built up need for release sent his vision red, Keith’s fingers slipping from his mouth as he came in thick ribbons across his boyfriend’s chest. Lance wasn’t sure if it was normal, or thanks to his senses as he felt Keith coming inside of him. Breathlessly he slumped forward, Keith wrapping his arm around him to hold him close as his body trembled violently. Fuck... just... fuck...

Almost asleep, he came back to his senses. Keith playing with his hair, half hard and still inside of him. The buzzing in the background somewhat annoying, but it was drowned out by the strong, and racing, beats of Keith’s heart. He prayed to god that Keith’s warmth would never be robbed of him. Keith alive and living was his everything. Nuzzling Keith’s chest, his boyfriend leaned up to kiss his hair before dropping back. He had the sweetest lover. His friends filled in the rough parts of his wounded soul the best they could, but Keith was... he was the salve at the end of the day that had him getting out of bed to face the next one. There was no rational scientific explanation for love, maybe that’s why so many people chased it. Keith didn’t. He hadn’t known how. And now they had something so much deeper.

“Babe, are you okay?”  
Lance hummed happily, it sounded something like a content purr  
“Yeah... sorry I lost it towards the end”  
“Nah... it was hot as fuck”  
Lance snorted  
“Of course you’d say that. Are you okay? Did I drink too much?”  
“I think I came hard enough to see heaven. Either that or an angels come to Earth”  
Lance snorted again  
“I don’t think I’m an angel”  
“Are you sure? You’re so damn beautiful sometimes I forget how to breathe”  
Lance shivered as his body started to cool rapidly  
“I’ll clean you up, then we should sleep”  
“I should...”  
“I’m doing this because I love you and I want to. Consider this my birthday wish”  
“That’s wish number two”  
“I seem to remember you putting my fingers in your mouth”  
He couldn’t deny that... he also couldn’t really move. One dry orgasm and another whatever the hell that was left him simply wanting snuggles. Keith leaned up to kiss his hair again  
“Let’s get you cleaned up”  
“Mmm...”

*  
The following morning was crisp and clear. Lance having too much energy as he nearly broke the tap trying to brush his teeth after throwing up basically nothing. Hearing Keith shuffling about, Lance smiled at his rinsed his mouth out, the moving to hop up on the bathroom vanity. Walking like the precoffee zombie he was, his boyfriend didn’t care as he made his way to the toilet to pee in front of him. Sleepy Keith was cute. Hair sticking up in every direction. Underwear pulled down on the left side, yawns every few moments.

Flushing the toilet, Keith kept up his shuffle, washing his hands, before Lance opened his arms, his boyfriend grunting lightly as he moved into his hold, arms coming around him  
“Mmnhmm...”  
Keith speak for “good morning”. Dropping a kiss on his boyfriend’s head, Keith nuzzled into him. Serious. He was to damn cute  
“Good morning, babe”  
“Mbnsmn?”  
Lance took that to mean Keith was pointing out that he wasn’t in bed when he woke up  
“I was brushing my teeth. I’m all good”  
“Mmm...”  
Raising his head, his boyfriend had a serious case of morning breath and “vampire lips. The scratching leaving a few small scabs. Kissing Keith’s lips, he wished he knew how to heal him. He loved kissing Keith. Even the smallest of kisses made him melt. Lost in his boyfriend’s eyes, he felt himself getting all teary over how much he loved the walking zombie in front of him  
“Bbbbas...?”  
“I’m okay. Sorry, I was just thinking how lucky I am to be the one who wakes up with you”  
Keith hid his face back against Lance’s chest. Lance moving to start detangling his boyfriend’s hair. Keith slept with his hair pulled up into a bun with how long it’d gotten. That didn’t mean it stayed in place. The soft locks tangled around the hair band  
“Mbhh...”  
“Alright. I’ll leave it alone for now. You need coffee”

Domestic bliss wasn’t always about doing the do in the mornings. This gave him as much happiness as being intimate because this was a whole other kind of intimate.

Getting dressed for the day ahead, birds were chirping outside, a good indication that day was going to be everything he’d hoped for weather wise. Still, he work two shirts and the thickest jacket he owned, jeans, and forced himself to stuff his feet back into his toe eating boots. Keith struggled with his shirt, too cute for words as Lance went to his aid happily, then maybe not as happily as he noticed the few bite and nip marks he’d gifted Keith last night while making out. His teeth were annoying as fuck. Keith liked the marks, but Lance always felt kind of unsettled by them, knowing any deeper and he’d would have drawn too much blood. Finding his hands stopping, his eyes caught the tiny scar on Keith’s neck, watching the artery pulse softly beneath his boyfriend’s skin. Keith didn’t notice, drawing him back by pushing his face into Lance’s stomach, Lance shaken as he realised he’d been looking at Keith like a starved wolf, made worse when his stomach gave a loud grumble, causing Keith to chuckle at him. His iron clad never ever ever feed on humans wavered when Keith tried to feed him. That part of his ego was hard to smoosh down, his true nature would feed on Keith in a heartbeat, but himself loved Keith too much too.

Lance knew he was acting off about it, holding Keith’s hand they walked towards the cabin. The sun fiercely warm, as if the snow had never happened. He had his sun glasses somewhere, but the previous day had been so over cast he hadn’t needed them. Reaching the cabin steps, the scent of blood made him stagger, knees giving out as his body yelled at him for being hungry. He shouldn’t be this hungry. Though intense in its own way, fooling around with Keith the previous night hadn’t been that long in reality. Half an hour to an hour at the very least including Keith prepping him, and the very nice make out session before then. 

Matt must have heard them coming, Curtis coming out to meet them as Keith tried to drag Lance back up to his feet, grunting for an explanation from the man as Curtis moved without prompting to take Lance by the arm and he found himself standing again  
“Hunk accidentally dropped a bottle of blood getting the eggs out for breakfast. It’s been cleaned up. Rieva sent me out to let you know”  
A bottle... he’d brought extra, way extra compared to what he’d normally go through in three days, but Keith had him eating more with using blood in the shakes. Fuck. It was lucky they were heading back tomorrow morning  
“Lance?”  
Blinking at Curtis, he shook himself, trying to snap out the hunger trance   
“Is he okay?”  
“Yeah. A bit shaken up from seeing so much blood on the floor. Shiro distracted Shay”  
God. They should just tell Shay. It wasn’t fair to keep her on the outside. Secrets sucked and lies hurt. Curtis giving him a concerned look  
“Are you okay?”  
“I wasn’t expecting to smell blood...”  
“Ah. You’re probably hungry. Hunk made smoothies for everyone to go with the scrambled eggs and tomatoes. Let’s get you guys inside. Matt and Rieva have some news”  
He didn’t want a smoothie. His stomach noping at the thought of it. His teeth ached with the thought of all that blood, nausea creeping up at the thought of the sight of it.

Heading into the kitchen area, blood filled the air strongly enough for his stomach to roll. He already had nothing left to throw up, having been in the bathroom longer than Keith needed to know. In the sink was the remains of the broke bottle, drowned in lemon scented detergent that’d helped hid the evidence of its true contents   
“Hey, guys! You’re in time. Keith, your coffees on the edge of the counter, I made berry smoothies for breakfast”  
Hunk was trying a little too hard. He could see the self blame on his face. Keith left his side for the coffee, Lance stepping forward to his hug his friend. Accidents happened  
“It’s all good, man. Thanks for breakfast”  
Hunk patted his back  
“I didn’t...”  
“It’s fine. I’m not going to starve. Though I am famished”  
Hunk chuckled at him  
“That’s good, I made extra. Help yourselves”

Human food didn’t want to quite sit right, but when he started eating, he kind of pigged out, nearly matching Rieva in breakfast size. Matt ate more than her, generally on a one to one and half ratio, but with their high metabolisms you’d never know it. Shay laughing how unfair it was that Rieva could eat so much and stay so pretty. Hunk tripping over his words as he tried to tell Shay how perfect she was the way she was. He missed breakfasts in his kitchen at home like this, and having his friends over for dinner. He felt like he needed to cling to Keith’s, and had done ever since he’d found out, yet he didn’t want to give up his freedom, nor did he want Keith doing the commute daily with his weird hours. If Coran told him he had to stay in Platt longer, he’d do as he was told for the sake of the baby, but otherwise it looked like it’d be going back to short day trips and the occasional overnight stay. A depressing reality really. If Keith tried living with him once the baby came, his daily commute would be so much longer... but the apartment wasn’t big enough for him and a baby... plus, he owned his house. They’d be able to mount things to wall and decorate how they pleased. They’d have to convert Curtis’s room into the nursery, but maybe it’d be safer to use Matt’s and Rieva’s room, especially with the stairs. If they were anything like their daddy they were going to be a handful and a half.

Speaking of Keith, his boyfriend was hovering. His coffee cup too close to Lance’s nose. Other than the disgraceful scene he’d shown last night, he felt he really should be praised by how hard he’d been working not to throw up around his coffee loving friends. The stuff stank worse than rotten beans left in the bottom of a cup with milk for a month... actually, that was pretty close to what it smelt like to him. He had to work harder at eating more so he didn’t randomly fall asleep in the shower and make Keith worry about him and the baby. Subtly pushing Keith’s coffee cup away, his boyfriend noticed, despite the fact definitely wasn’t supposed to. Turning to him, morning breath was now replaced with coffee breath, Lance feeling like he was going to throw up as Keith asked softly  
“No coffee?”  
Idiot. There were other people there. Namely two werewolves that hear far more than they should  
“I prefer tea. If we’re going exploring today, I should go get your camera”

Pidge over heard them, proving all his friends were idiots at keeping things on the down-low  
“That’s right. Matt and Rieva said there was a pond not too far from here”  
Shay nodding around her mouthful of eggs   
“They mentioned something about that earlier”  
“Yep. Rieva and I took a walk earlier. It’s not that far, but you should probably keep Kosmo on his lead”  
Kosmo seemed to be having the greatest time out of all of them. It must be nice to be a dog, and a very well loved treat spoiled dog at that  
“Okay, I think I’ll need to get fresh batteries, so Lance and I’ll go get the cameras sorted...”  
Couldn’t a pregnant man have like 5 minutes to himself?  
“I’ll get the camera stuff. You’re on dish duty”  
Keith sighed at him  
“Nope. None of that, mister. Hunk and Shay have been keeping us all fed. The least you can do is help with the dishes”  
“I didn’t say anything”  
Nope. He wasn’t going to let Keith off  
“You sighed. Make sure you guys put him to work”  
Hunk laughed  
“Okay. He and Shiro can do the dishes”  
Curtis asking  
“What about me?”  
“Dude, you and kitchens don’t get along. You can help with the snacks. Is it worth taking snacks?”  
Rieva shrugged, at least she knew better than to let Matt potentially slip up   
“The water was pretty cold but it hadn’t frozen over completely. It’s a nice spot, especially for napping”  
Lance moved his chair back, Keith forced to let him go or risk spilling his coffee  
“Then it’s settled. I’ll be back soon”

Making it back to the cabin, Lance was disappointed that he’d all but rushed back and into the bathroom to throw breakfast back up. He’d chew the side of his mouth without thinking, trying to ignore the blood that seemed to linger in the air despite the other scents. He really had wanted to try keep everything down as long as possible. Not eating that much yesterday made everything he ate today more important. He didn’t know how being a vampire would affect the baby, and if it did, it’d take a long time to be okay with it. Finding himself trapped by the toilet, he was exhausted by the time his stomach finally gave him a rest. The lack of strength bringing him to tears as he flushed the mess away then went about brushing his teeth.

Shiro made him jump. He hadn’t heard him come in, not over the sound of throwing his guts up. Having known Keith for as long as he had, he was working on swapping on the batteries in Keith’s camera, Lance trying not to feel so old and backwards about such things  
“Hey, I heard you. Everything okay?”  
“Yeah. The usual and then some”  
“Macaroons?”  
So Keith had filled him in on that, he’d kind of expected that he had  
“Yeah... everything okay in the main cabin?”  
“Yep. Matt and Pidge got into a fight over the snacks, so Hunk put them on drying up”  
“That sounds about right...”  
Why was he suddenly feeling so self conscious? No... it was kind of like when Matt had been in their cabin, like their space had been disturbed. He was going to have to ask Coran about this. He’d never been territorial before and he didn’t want to start now  
“You sure you’re okay?”  
“Mhmm. Just... vampire stuff”  
“Ah. Are you okay after Keith fed you?”

Lance flinched at the question, Shiro’s face softening  
“I didn’t mean it how it sounded. I know you’re not about to attack him”  
“Sorry. Yeah. I... just, yeah. I feel like my head is all over the place and all the energy I woke up with seems to have decided it needed to go away”  
“If you need...”  
“Don’t. Okay. Don’t. Sorry... but Keith offering is enough to deal with. He’d having a bit of a crisis over thinking I don’t like his blood and stuff”  
The “stuff” heavily implied what secret he was referring to  
“I’m sure you’ll work that out”  
Lance missed the change in Shiro’s tone  
“It’d be easier if we didn’t have a whole bunch of other stuff to work out... I know hasn’t signed a non-disclosure and I don’t want to drag her into our world, but it’s... I hate lying to her”  
“It’s hard lying to people you care about...”  
But he didn’t miss the change the second time. Ego feeling challenged. Yeah it fucking sucked lying to Curtis too. Stupidly he snapped back at Shiro, tears welling up at his own words, his tone far too cold  
“Forget it. I shouldn’t have said anything. I’ll let you finish up with the camera in peace”  
“Lance...”

Nope he already out the cabin. The others already heading out the main cabin, Keith brightening as he looked at him. Shit. He didn’t want to drive a wedge between Keith and Shiro. Letting go of Kosmo’s leash, Kosmo came bounding over to him, Lance scooping him up like the baby he’d always be... the significantly bigger baby then he used to be. He had to get his head in the game. 12 more hours and they’d be leaving. Today was about exploring and having fun. Not about him. Or his ridiculous exhaustion... and apparent moodiness. Jogging over to him, Keith smiled  
“Sorry, I couldn’t resist”  
Hiking Kosmo up, his body wagged with his tail, trying to lick any part of Lance he could  
“He’s fine. He’s the biggest baby of them all. Everyone ready?”  
“Just waiting on Shiro”  
“Yeah. He’s better with cameras than I am”

The thing about Keith was that he knew when Lance was faking it. He couldn’t smile things off and pretend he was perfectly fine. The fake smile that’d seen him through so much was useless against his boyfriend   
“You okay?”  
“Yeah. Yeah. Just overthinking”  
“Stop it”  
Lance snorted. He wished he could  
“I wish it worked like that. Nah. It’s all... ugh, but the fresh air feels great”  
“Do we...”  
“Later...”  
Keith’s brain was working better than his  
“Here, put the baby down, I want to show you something”  
“I don’t know if he wants to be put down, I think he just wants all the cuddles he can have”  
“That’s because he’s best boy. Just put him down for now so I can show you”

Mildly curious, Lance set Kosmo down who immediately pawed at his legs for pats. Pulling his phone out, Keith tapped on the screen, before handing it over to Lance   
“If you want to talk, you can type in here. No one can hear what’s on here”  
His heart lifted at his boyfriend’s gesture. Keith must have been going near mad trying to think of how to talk without being heard swapping Kosmo’s lead for Keith’s phone, he erased Keith’s message, typing back   
“I’m okay. I snapped at Shiro and I didn’t mean to. He didn’t do anything wrong. I just feel bad about keeping things from Shay and Curtis”  
Handing the phone back, Keith nodded. His boyfriend more ambidextrous than him as he kept a hold on Kosmo’s lead and typed his reply  
“I know what you mean. Shiro gets it too. It really sucks, but it’s better than her thinking we’re going to kill her. I love you, babe. It’s going to be okay”  
Moving to Keith’s side, Lance read the screen, making it seem more like Keith was showing him something. Kissing Keith’s cheek, his boyfriend turned the screen off, slipping his phone back into his jacket   
“If you want to watch that again, let me know?”  
“Mmm. I will. It’s a good idea”  
“I know. I wish I thought of it sooner”  
“It’s okay. You ready to head out?”  
“Yep. You all good too?”  
“Breakfast has already come and gone”  
Keith seemed disappointed he wasn’t there to witness Lance throwing up. Lance hoping Keith wasn’t developing some weird kind about how far he can fit into the toilet bowl  
“I...”  
“You don’t need to. Years of experience there”  
Lance kissed Keith’s cheek again. Fresh air and some sun was the perfect combination to help him get over himself.


	117. Chapter 117

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I stan Hunk’s purity. And double update tonight!!

117

Lance was slowly dying inside, thanks to his dramatic flare for extremes. How he was sweating up a storm he didn’t know. He’d shed his jacket, now tied around Keith waist, as Kosmo tugged him onwards. It was hot. He’d gone from one extreme to another and questioned if he really was a tropical vampire. It was unusual for him to get this warm, his stomach gurgling as he followed his friends through the woods to where Matt and Rieva had been the previous night. He didn’t doubt their directional skills, able to pick up where Matt had marked trees along the way. The trees Kosmo seemed to really want to pee on matching Matt’s scent.

Ahead of him, Keith had his camera out, stopping whenever anything took his fancy. Pidge had been a total poser, roping Curtis and Hunk into helping her onto fallen trees for the perfect shot. It really was only him who was slowing the group down, thankfully able to blame it on Kosmo, mentally promising extra belly rubs and treats for him later. Nature was nice. Garrison had a couple of wooded areas but nothing like this... the only problem was the humidity. He was not a “humid vampire”. Rieva checking on him from time to time, making him paranoid that she knew. It didn’t help that he kept moving his hand to stomach without thinking. Feeling Kosmo tug on his lead a little too hard, Lance lurched with him, world spinning as smacked into the closest tree. “Not far” in werewolf speak seemed very fucking far as he rubbed his shoulder.

Having seen what happened, Matt laughed at him  
“Dude, you’re asleep on your feet”  
“Fuck off, Kosmo has to pee every two minutes”  
“Let me take him”  
Nooooo. He’d lose his excuse for lagging  
“I’ve got him. I’m not letting you corrupt my fur son”  
“Don’t come crying to me when you...”  
Matt’s words becoming a predication as he tripped over his own feet, glasses going flying as Kosmo jumped on him, yipping as he did  
“... trip. Damn... Keith, your boyfriend’s klutz is in overdrive”  
Jogging back to him, Keith pulled Kosmo back  
“Give us a moment, we’ll...”  
Being viciously attacked by a tree, followed by tripping, Lance sighed as he flopped sideways, sprawling out against the cool ground  
“Babe!”

“Here, give him some water. It’s pretty hot in here”  
Shay offered her water bottle, Keith pulling out his own to offer Lance   
“Guys, we’re going to take a break here. You guys go ahead”  
“If he’s not feeling well, shouldn’t we turn back”  
Fucking... fuck. Just... fuck. Someone shoot him. Shoot him and bury him here  
“I’m fine. Just hot. Gimme a moment I’ll be good to go”  
“You haven’t been well since we got here...”  
“I’m fine, Shay. My body likes to either torture me with freezing my arse off or making me like I’ve landed on the surface of the sun”  
“Are you sure? You look very pale”  
“I’m fine. Sorry, Guys. Chocolate and hiking doesn’t seem to suit me. I don’t think I’m made for the wild outdoors”  
Lance sent a mental apology to Hunk over Shay being so considerate, Hunk clearing his throat   
“I can stay with you... if you want?”  
“Nah, man. Shay’s totally loving this wild and manly adventurer look on you. We’ll catch up in a few”

None of his friends were sure about leaving. Pidge and Hunk thinking of him too humanly. Shiro awkwardly holding Curtis’s hand, the lie probably weighing heavily on him. Matt and Rieva were sympathetic, but knew he always threw up when he ate. Begging Matt with his eyes, Matt sighed at him  
“If you two losers aren’t there in the next five minutes, I’m coming back to kick your arses”  
“Sounds good. Seriously guys, don’t hike and snack”

Leaving them behind, Keith took him by the arm and pulled him away from the middle of the track. Sitting him down at the base of a tree, Lance was grateful Kosmo and Matt hadn’t peed against it  
“You look hot. Do you have a fever?”  
“Nah. Too much human food and heat. You could have gone with them”  
“I’m not leaving you behind. I didn’t think you felt so sick”  
“I don’t really. A bit dizzy but I’m okay”  
Keith unclipped the handle part of Kosmo’s lead, extending it as far it went then clipping into place around his ankle so Kosmo wouldn’t wander off  
“Water?”  
“Please”  
Sure. It’d come up. But he needed something to cool him back down.

Drinking carefully from Keith’s water bottle, he passed it back. The others were fussing over him. Shay especially  
“Babe... do you think we should tell Shay?”  
Keith hummed  
“I don’t know. She’ll probably freak”  
“She’s already worried. I hate it...”  
“I know. The others will look after her”  
“Hunk and Pidge are worried too. I’m not usually like this camping”  
“You’re worrying too much. Hunk asked me if this was normal when I was doing the dishes. I told him it’s because you have no self control when he’s cooking”  
“That’s true... He’s such an amazing cook. I really want him to open his own place up. I don’t think I’d stop eating if he did”  
“I think we’d all be fat if we lived off his cooking. He’s better than most chefs at the places in Rome”  
“I’m not surprised... Babe, I’m okay. I was hot before, but I’m cooling down”  
“You flopped on the ground”  
“Because it’s nice and cool. Woodlands and forests have their own micro-climates... I don’t think I do humidity well”  
“Better than snow?”  
“Everything’s better than snow. You didn’t have to wait back with me”  
“I told you it’s fine, and it is. How do your feet feel?”

Lance tapped his heels together three times, finding himself still trapped in the toe eating boots  
“Not too bad. Not as bad as my stomach, I’m like hungry again”  
“Did you want to eat?”  
“I didn’t bring... oh. No. No. I’ll be okay”  
“Babe, that’s not what I’m asking”  
“I know what you’re asking. The smell was super strong in the cabin, it’s like stuck in my nose or something”  
“If you want...”  
“We talked about this”  
Keith sighed heavily. Yeah. He didn’t like Lance saying no   
“I know, but you’ve been slowing down and you walked into a tree”  
“I didn’t walk, I was pulled into by Kosmo. Matt scented the area last night and he’s trying to scent over it all”  
“I still think if you’re hungry...”  
“I’ll be fine. Just the change in weather or something. To think I was wrapped up and baking in front of the fire yesterday and here we are today”  
“It is pretty extreme. I know it’s late to ask, but do you know where the others are?”

Lance suppressed rolling his eyes at Keith   
“Yeah. I can hear them and I can smell them. They haven’t reached this mythical pond yet”  
“I thought it was going to be closer to camp”  
“Apparently werewolves like to overestimate things”  
Keith snorted, getting the joke that at one time would gone right over his head  
“Matt’s not going to like that”  
“Then he shouldn’t have lied about the length”

Waiting, Lance shook his head when he heard a clear “Fuck you!” from Matt  
“He didn’t like the joke”  
“He heard?”  
Seriously. How could a hunter...? How were the Blades still around?  
“Babe, werewolf. And it’s not like we’re being quiet. I don’t need to feed, I’ve cooled down now and Kosmo seems to be trying to pull your leg off. Let’s go meet the others”  
“You’ll tell me if you feel weaker or faint, won’t you?”  
“Yes, mum. You’re fussing too much”  
“Or am I fussing just enough?”  
God. He loved this man. Keith was a special kind of idiot that owner his heart and soul.

*  
The pond found by Matt and Rieva was nice and all, but Keith wasn’t sure it was that nice. At least not work the trek to the middle of fucking nowhere just to see a pond that didn’t have all that much appeal. The underground lake had been awesome. The pond a solid “eh”. Duckweed clung around edges, the reeds kind of making it nice to photograph. Pidge wasn’t thrilled their walking had ended with a pond that didn’t look safe to swim in. Finding a stray branch, she poked at the duckweed at the side of the pond  
“Reckon it’s safe?”  
Matt chuckled at his sister  
“It was last night”  
“Yeah, before you go to it. Man, you could have said it was basically a swamp”

Standing up, Pidge threw her branch into the water  
“You’re just not seeing it’s potential”  
“And I’m telling mum”  
Matt gaped at Pidge. Keith sucking his lips in, trying not to laugh at the look on Matt’s face. With one gape he looked thoroughly betrayed  
“That’s enough. We’re here now, we might as well make the most of it”  
Shiro tried to restore calm with his “Dad” voice. Hunk nervously looking around them  
“We’re not going to be killed here, are we? I feel like we could be killed here”  
“Guys, you’re over reacting. It’s a nice spot”  
Matt was trying too hard to make the sale no one buying  
“Maybe if you’re a dog... Kosmo! Ack...”

Keith hadn’t noticed he was standing in mud, Kosmo had. Shaking himself off, mud went flying, Kosmo’s tongue lolling as he looked up at them proudly. Pidge wiping flecks off mud from her face with an unimpressed grimace  
“He’s a menace...”  
Great now Matt looked like he wanted to wolf out and join Kosmo in the mud  
“He’s just being a dog. You wouldn’t understand”  
“No, I’ll leave that to you and him. Right, if you need me, I’ll be on my tablet”

Hunk set up the snacks he’d brought at what he deemed a safe distance from the pond. Matt showing he didn’t care by wading out into the cold water, trying to coax Kosmo in for swim. Even Kosmo was smarter than to follow that idiot. Sitting next to Lance, his boyfriend had his head resting against Keith’s shoulder  
“Hey babe, can you show me that thing on your phone again?”  
He didn’t think Lance would ask in front of everyone. Pulling his phone out, he unlocked it then handed it over, Lance taking the device carefully, before starting to tap on the screen. It only took him a few moments to type his message out   
“The pond sucks, but you’re beautiful”  
Keith tried to ignore how happy the silly message made him, typing at the end of the Lance’s message with one finger that made things infinitely harder  
“Can I be handsome?”  
Lance nodding as he typed back  
“Don’t forget rugged and grizzly”

Keith ducked his head, embarrassed over the praise, Lance adding  
“I really love you”  
Which only made his heart do that stupid thing it did. After 6 months, he thought the butterflies and weird heart beats would stop, yet Lance always seemed to make it happen far too often. Taking his phone back, he added to the message  
“I love you too babe. Sorry about the pond”  
Lance shook his head, it seemed the conversation had ended naturally. A moment or two passing before Lance took his phone back  
“I’m sleepy. Matt was right about this being a good nap place... apart from the smell”  
Yeah. It stunk to him and he was human. Damn dogs and their attraction to smell dead things   
“Wanna talk a walk?”  
Lance moved his head up to smile at him  
“Okay... but not too far”  
“Nah. I want to get some photos”  
And spend some alone time with Lance again.

Picking a path around the pond, it was larger than reeds and duckweed made it seem. Lance holding his hand as they walked, Keith found he didn’t actually know what to say. Walking like this was nice. Maybe it was okay for things to be quiet? It didn’t feel uncomfortable until he realised they’d walked quite a way from the others. Pidge could still be heard yelling, some laughter in the otherwise still air... Then Lance went and sighed. He wished he knew what his boyfriend was thinking. And why he’d snapped at Shiro. Shiro seemed okay, and Lance would apologise again, even though he probably didn’t need to  
“Babe?”  
“I’m okay...”  
“You sighed”  
Lance sighed at him again, Keith rolling his eyes before pulling Lance in for a hug, Lance protesting lightly   
“I’m fine”  
“You still sighed”  
“You weren’t saying anything...”

Keith couldn’t help but chuckle  
“I was thinking the same thing... it’s nice not being surrounded by noise”  
“Speak for yourself”  
Keith kissed Lance’s forehead as he slid his hands down to his boyfriend’s arse. Lance squeaking as he groped him lightly  
“What was that for?!”  
“Because I could. Want to take a break?”  
“Actually, yeah... You haven’t been taking any photos”  
“That’s because I was too busy holding your hand. Want to try to taking a photo with me?”  
“Haven’t you got enough of me?”  
Keith chuckled again. He’d meant of the lake, and he knew he was biased and all, but he couldn’t have enough photos of Lance  
“Nope. Here, I want to show you something”

Sliding around Lance, so he was now standing behind him, Keith popped the cap off the camera lens and flicked the knob to on. The camera chiming as it booted up  
“Okay. Now, we’re going to take a photo”  
“I know how to take a photo”  
“Mmmm... but you said you weren’t sure about it and I want to share this with you”  
In Rome he’d been shit scared everyone would find out and laugh at him over his hobby. Sometimes it was hard to have his camera out in front of their friends, but with Lance it was easier. His boyfriend never judged, even before they were dating   
“It’s just duckweed”  
Keith moved the camera to the right  
“See how the light filters through the trees, and almost cuts the photo in half on the diagonal? If we zoom in, what do you see?”  
On the screen he showed Lance the different. The way the one section caught the light, almost shimmering in the specs of water between the weedy growth   
“That’s cool”  
“Yeah... hold on”  
Clicking the capture button, the image appeared on the screen for a few seconds before returning to viewfinder. Zooming out slowly, Lance perked up   
“I like that one”  
Keith bit down his snort. Lance must have assumed he’d already capture the image. His boyfriend reading his body language   
“Not like that. It’s half and half properly now”  
Keith clicked capture again, he personally would have moved the camera a little to the left to get the light balance two thirds instead of the half   
“It is. But if we move it like this, tell me which looks better”  
Adjusting his view, Lance hummed at him  
“I get it... and it’d be a totally different picture again if you changed the angle”  
“Yep...”

Letting his head loll back on Keith’s shoulder, Lance smiled at him  
“I don’t think I’ll ever be a star photographer, but it suits you”  
“I could teach you properly”  
“You offered before. Honestly, I really like watching you. The way your eyes light up when you’ve got a shot you like”  
“Am I really that transparent?”  
“A little. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone with eyes as honest as yours”  
“Then you really do need glasses”  
They would have forgotten Lance’s glasses earlier if Kosmo hadn’t pawed at them when they were getting ready to meet up with the other  
“And you need to accept the compliment”  
“You’re the one who compliments me too much”  
“Then you shouldn’t be so kind to me”  
Keith groaned. What was he supposed to do with that?  
“Shut up”  
Lance laughed at him. Keith dropping his left hand to rub his boyfriend’s stomach, Lance immediately letting out a soft moan that was far too cute  
“Stoooooop”  
“Why?”  
“Because we’re got company that can hear me moaning and all you’re doing is messing with me”  
“I’m not messing with you. Does it feel okay?”  
“Honestly human food came up so hard in the cabin that I don’t want to eat”  
“You kept the water down”  
“I went and dealt with that while Hunk was finding the perfect picnic spot”  
“You should have...”  
“Babe. You know things came out one way or the other... Kind of comes with the whole being dead thing. I love that you care, but you’ve also got to remember I’ve been dealing with this for years and I’m used to dealing with it alone”  
“Doesn’t mean you have to now”  
“Fine, the next time I have to shit my guts out...”  
Keith wrinkled his nose   
“Okay. Okay. I’m overthinking. As long as you’re okay”

It was then that Lance’s stomach let out a loud gurgle. His boyfriend closing his eyes as he groaned  
“I’m sick of it. It’s been doing that nonstop”  
“Are you hungry?”  
“A little...”  
“You should eat”  
“I didn’t pack anything. I thought “short walk” would be like a “human short walk””  
“You need to eat. It’s not good...”  
“I’ll be fine”  
“Babe...”  
“Keith, I’ll be fine”  
Lance needed to be eating more. More of everything if you asked Keith. He didn’t like Lance having to throw up, but he and their baby needed the calories   
“Then take...”  
“No”  
“You... look. You can feed off my fingers again. Just enough to make the hunger go away”  
“Why do you keep offering?”

How did Lance not know? Other than the jealousy, which he was trying to work through, he didn’t have a problem. Lance wasn’t going to turn him from a feed. So why couldn’t his boyfriend see it was because of how he felt about him  
“Because I love you. If we were in opposite positions, you’d be forcing it on me”  
“I’m not that forceful”  
“Right. And I’m not secretly half alien here hiding from the master race”  
Lance laughed, face scrunched up as he did  
“You know, you’d make a good half alien. I’d still love you just as much”  
“You’re such a damn sap”  
“And you’re twice as bad. Can we sit for a bit? I don’t feel like going back just yet”  
“We’re not walking around the entire pond?”  
Lance shrugged, opening his eyes   
“I was following you”  
Keith played along   
“But I was following you”  
His boyfriend shrugged again  
“I guess we’re lost forever then”  
“I think I’m okay with that”

*  
Lance’s knees gave out on the way back to the others. Disguising it as tripping, he wasn’t sure why they’d suddenly given out. Not until he saw his hands. His nails long, dug into the ground. He could feel his fangs against his lip, edges pressing down against the toughened skin. Raising his head to look at Keith, Keith swore softly, his boyfriend pushing him aside as he drew out his hand gun. Lance not even getting the chance to be shocked as Keith shot him.

Shooting up from where he’d fallen asleep against Hunk, he realised everyone was staring at him. Right. They were in the main cabin now. He, Hunk, and Pidge had been sitting on the sofa. The three of them with their feet on the coffee table as they compared blisters and Curtis tended to their feet  
“Ugh, bud? You okay there?”  
Dropping back down beside Hunk, Hunk wrapped his arms around him. Keith was in the bathroom washing Kosmo with Shiro, so he couldn’t have been asleep for very long  
“Yeah. Ugh ... I think I fell asleep”  
“You did... I’ve been wondering how to wake you up so I could start dinner”  
“How long was I out?”  
“Half an hour. Keith’s still trying to get Kosmo clean...”

Lance could feel the dirt beneath his nails. His body wouldn’t stop shaking at the thought of Keith putting a bullet in his brain... Whining the name of his best friend softly, he needed the comfort Hunk provided   
“Hunk...”  
“Why don’t you help me with dinner? It’s been a while since we cooked together”  
Lance kind of felt disappointed. He wanted to cuddle with his best friend, but Hunk liked to be moving when he had a lot to think about  
“Okay... What’s for dinner?”  
“Pasta, made fresh”  
“Alright...”

Lance washed his hands, the scent of blood from the morning had finally started to disappear. As Hunk grabbed the eggs out the fridge, he watched his friend. Pidge was watching from them from the sofa... probably worrying. He made everyone worry and it was so damn draining  
“Right. Can you grab the flour out?”  
“Ah... sure”  
Lance should have picked up on the signs Hunk was trying to distract him. Grabbing the flour out the pantry, Hunk smiled softly as he moved to the kitchen bench, Lance joining him  
“Bud, I know somethings up. You can tell me”  
“It’s...”  
He wanted to. He wanted to so badly... That nightmare had shaken him. He didn’t think he was strong enough to keep his secret  
“I... Hunk...”  
As he sniffled Hunk pulled him into a hug  
“Whatever happens, Bud, you can rely on me”  
“I know... I know... it’s just not... I... I don’t want you to hate me”  
“I won’t... Do you need a bit to think it out?”  
“Yeah... I had a nightmare Keith shot me in the head and... I’ve been lying again... and I hate it...”  
“It’s alright. I mean, I know you’ve got a few secrets... you’d have to. Here, pour out the flour for me... and I’ll get the pasta machine out”

Lance poured the flour on the bench, sniffling as he did. He didn’t know where everyone one was, but he did know he couldn’t mentally keep his secret any longer. He’d wanted to wait. To be more confident and sure of the pregnancy. Flattening out the flour, Hunk bumped into him gently   
“It’s just flour, Bud. No need for the tears”  
Fuck... He needed his best friend. Having a boyfriend was a different kind of friendship...  
“I... I’m...”  
“Lance, it’s okay, Bud. You don’t have to rush right away”  
“It’s not that... you can’t tell”  
“Now you’re making me worried”  
“Just... hang on”

Keith put the idea in his head, Lance spelling out his secret in the flour. Those simple letters with so much more meaning   
“Don’t tell anyone yet...”  
He spelt it out, waiting for Hunk to catch on, his bestie humming when he did, Lance brushing the flour back into place  
“... Matt and Rieva hear everything”  
Hunk nodded quickly, before drawing a smiley face in the flour  
“I’m pregnant”  
This two words had Hunk sweeping him into the tightest hug of his life as Lance messed the flour up to hide the evidence   
“I... I wondered... are you...?”  
Lance nodded as his nerves went weird. Hunk hugging him hadn’t been... well it’d been a dream  
“Oh, man... it makes sense now... but... nope, I’ll ask later...”  
“Thank you... I’m so sorry”  
“Shhh... Keith, uh, he kind of put the idea in my head and I guess maybe he wanted me to work it out”  
“Keith is very attached to “macaroon”... just don’t use the word too much”

Hunk immediately let him go, hands going to Lance’s shoulders as he hung his head  
“I thought you just wanted macaroons...”  
“It’s okay, Hunk. But now Pidge is watching, she’s about ready to demand to know what’s going on”  
“Oh, right. Be cool... be cool... do you need anything? Should you be resting?”  
Great. Someone else to over worry about him...  
“I’m okay. It’s not that different just more puking. Anyway, we should start dinner”  
“Yeah, man. I’m making garlic knots. This is a special occasion”  
“You’re not grossed out”  
“I’m shocked, not quite sure how it works, or if I really want to ask, but as long as...”  
Lance threw his arms around Hunk. Nearly sobbing in relief of the weight lifted off his shoulders, and, kind of more importantly, that his best bro wasn’t about to reject him.

“Okay, you two are acting weird. What’s going on here? And why am I not part of it?”  
Lance peered at Pidge over his best friends shoulder  
“Hunk promised to teach me the secret ingredient in his mama’s spaghetti bolognese!”  
Pidge’s eyes went wide  
“That’s a top secret family recipe!”  
“That’s why I’m excited... I’ve been after it for years!”  
He already had the recipe, but there was something different about how Hunk’s mother made it taste. Being taught to be useful he’d offered to help Hunk’s mother, memorising things by watching her. She kind of loved him, not that he was bragging  
“Sorry, guys. I can teach Lance the recipe but we’ll have to talk about it when we get home. I don’t have everything here”

Lance pulled away, wiping at his eyes. The conversation may have gone differently if Keith hadn’t already planted that thought in Hunk’s brain  
“Dude... I’m totally betrayed here. It’s a good thing the pastas going to be delicious”  
“I wouldn’t say that...”  
“Hunk, you are a kitchen god descended before us mostly human beings. Even Keith agrees. We’d all be fat with how good your cooking is, buddy”  
Hunk shuffled nervously under the praise   
“I don’t know. You and Miriam know so many great recipes too”  
“Which I’ll totally teach you. Let’s get the pasta started”  
“Sure thing, man”  
Watching the exchange, Pidge grumbled  
“Boys are so freaking weird. I’m going to go hang with Shay, at least she’s interesting”  
“Let her nap. She’s making the most of getting some sleep in before she goes back to work”

Lance realised he hadn’t thought to ask about Shay... Pidge made a show of climbing off the sofa, walking away from them with his feet turned slightly out to avoid pulling weight on the blisters on her big toes. Lance waited until she was gone before whispering  
“Hunk, I want to ask you something and I want you to be honest. Do you think I should I tell her the truth? Like about me? I don’t want you having to lie to her, it sucked so damn hard having to lie to you, and I don’t want to rob you of your happiness with her”  
“I don’t know, man... I don’t want to freak her out... I don’t want her freaking out at me for hiding it...”  
“I know. I know and I’m sorry... I hated lying to you, but once you know about the scary things you can’t take it all back”

Realising they were born whispering at the same time, the moves away from each other. Lance moving to start welling the flour, Hunk going on the search for his pasta rolling machine   
“Let me think about it? I’m still... processing... I mean... you and Keith are dudes... you’re... a guy... and I’m not saying this right, man. I’m like super happy for you... but I still have like a hundred questions of how this even happens”

They didn’t have time for the hundred questions. Lance still a hundred questions over how it’s happened and how he was going to get Hunk alone to fill him in on everything so far  
“I’m a different type of vampire from drinking Keith’s blood. That still sounds really gross and wrong... I’m really gross when you think about it. I only did it to save his life and my body started changing thanks to it. I really love Keith, but I don’t... the thought of feeding from someone warm and living, makes me feel gross”  
“I kind of don’t think about it. I mean, I do, but I mean like you’re our best friend. Me and Pidge are starting to get it”  
“You shouldn’t have to though...”  
“It’s weird, but when you think about it, blood is used in a lot of different dishes around the world. Mongolian tribes have this dish made of horse blood and milk, and then there’s things like blood sausages... I mean, no one gets hurt right? To get the blood?”  
“It’s donated. People get compensated... Coran makes sure they’re not mistreated or anything like that... It’s... um... easier to eat when you don’t know where it’s from”  
“Like it’s easier to eat devilled ham spread when you don’t know they use pig eyeballs and eye lashes in it”

Lance shook his head, he didn’t want to feel so reassured that it was okay to be drinking human blood in front of his human friends  
“You’re being too calm”  
“Lance, have you ever wanted to feed off of me, or off of Pidge”  
Lance took instant offence   
“No! Ew... no. I love you guys, how could you even think that’s okay!”  
“You just answered how we’re okay with this. You wouldn’t. Not unless there was absolutely no other option. You’ve got another option, but if you didn’t, neither of us want to see you suffer. We’re friends and friends work things out together”

Oh. 

Deserting his role with the flour, Lance wrapped his arms around Hunk again  
“I’m sorry I lost it... I shouldn’t have snapped...”  
Hunk chuckled, always up for a hug  
“It’s fine, man. Sometimes you get caught up in your head too much”  
“I’ve never had... you know... human friends who knew about me. You guys... I love you guys so much. I’d never feed on you... I can’t...”  
“I don’t know, Shay calls me her “tasty snack”...”  
“Yeah. No. She can snack on you. I’m sorry, I’m being all weird”  
“You’ve been weirder than normal for weeks now, but you’ve always been a little weird”  
“I’ve been weird for 7 weeks... Keith’s accident started it all”  
Hunk swatted at his arm  
“Dude. Too much information”  
“We we’re going to wait until the next time I saw Coran...”  
“It’s okay. I’m not about to tell... but you need to be taking better care of yourself”  
“I’m trying. God. At this rate dinner’s never going to be done”  
“Are you saying my hugs aren’t worth it?”  
“They’re totally worth it... you’re like, the coolest dude ever”  
“It’s my gift and my curse”

They both laughed. Out of everyone, he was so fucking relieved that Hunk knew. He just hoped Pidge would take the news as well as him.


	118. Chapter 118

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I also Stan the friendship of the Garrison three!

118

Everyone was sleepy as they made their trek back to the car park. Lance and Keith having some pretty nice cuddles before falling asleep, leaving sex for the night in favour of just snuggling up. It was nice. Keith all small spoon in his arms, not so nice was finding out he’d nipped Keith in his sleep. He didn’t taste blood, but it was a little scary to see his teeth marks on Keith’s shoulder. Lance rolling over, only for Keith to spoon around him before he could escape.

Nearing the car park, Lance just wanted to get home and unpacked without the drive in between. Matt and Pidge were squabbling the whole walk down, though that didn’t stop her getting Matt to piggyback her the last half the walk thanks to the blisters on her feet. With the car park in reach, Pidge’s mischievous nature came out. Tugging on Matt’s shoulder, Matt sighed at her, Pidge had been excitable on the walk, pointing out all sorts of things that lead to her and her brothers semi-serious play fighting   
“Put me down”  
“Gladly”  
Matt dumped Pidge down, Pidge scoffing as she dusted herself off as she picked herself up  
“Rude, much”  
“You said down”  
“I didn’t say throw me down. Anyway, last one to the car park has to pay for the snacks on the drive home!”

Pidge took off running, Lance impressed she’d risk her feet for the excuse not to buy snacks. Matt watching his sister as he dealt with his confusion over what happened   
“Huh! Wait! That’s cheating! Pidge!”  
Taking off running after his sister, Hunk shrugged as Matt bolted past them  
“I’m not paying for the snacks”  
In a better mood about how close their cars were, Hunk and Shay took off after the two siblings, Kosmo barking at the “game”. Keith letting go of his leash so the doggo could chase after them. Lance kind of wished he’d gotten this on camera. There was no way Pidge could out run Matt, but that hadn’t stopped the gremlin taking off like a rocket.

With the four “adults” of the group left, and Keith, they all mutually shook their heads. Running was better left to people with more energy. That was until they heard a scream, all of them bolting at the sound.

Reaching the car park, Pidge was sprawled out. Matt by her side, and blood in the air. Instantly he knew what had happened. Instead of walking down a little further to the opening for the trail, Pidge had tried to hurdle over the rope side, her boot must have caught, tripping her and sending her flying  
“Pidge!”  
Shiro brushed past him, Curtis hot on his trial. Lance wanted to move, but the smell of blood... He didn’t want to scare Pidge who was already crying harder than he’d seen her cry before  
“Babe?”  
Trust Keith to remain calm  
“There’s a first aid kit in the back of my car. She tripped on the rope”  
“Alright. I’ll get the kit, you let the others know”

Splitting up, Lance forced himself to Pidge’s side. He wasn’t about to vampire out on her, but when she looked him in the eyes, all he saw was her fear  
“No! Stay back!”  
Pressing herself against Matt, Matt held his sister close. Fuck. Both of them... both of them thought he’d... He’d seen Pidge bleed before. He’d helped her dress more than one skinned knee from an alcoholic mishap. Ashamed, he wrapped his arms around himself, mumbling   
“Keith’s getting the first aid kit...”  
Matt picked up on what his panic over his sister had done. He still held her protectively, but a hint of shame was in his tone  
“Thanks, Dude. She’s skinned her knees and her palms, and I think she’d twisted her ankle”  
“You don’t need me here... just make sure you disinfect things properly, and get her boot off, if there’s swelling it’ll affect the blood flow”  
His teeth stupidly ached. His stomach twisted in painful knots of shame. Everyone else wanted to help her, but he was the only one not allowed to... He loved her. He’d always love her. That’s why her fear cut him so deep.

Lance passed Keith as he went to his bronco. Opening the back, he threw his backpack into his car with too much effort then sat himself on the edge. Something had been left behind in his previous baby. The bronco smelt slightly mouldy, making him queasier. He felt diseased. Contagious. And very much in the wrong. How was he to know Pidge would send herself flying? What did they think he was going to do? Had his teeth been showing? Had he shown Pidge his scary face again? Hunk was the first of the group to come to him. Putting his backpack in the back, his best friend climbed up to sit beside him  
“It’s okay, man. Shiro and Keith have it under control”  
“Did... were my teeth showing?”  
“Nah, man. I think she scared herself when she tripped. You know Pidge wouldn’t normally scream like that”  
“It scared the fuck out of me”  
“Me too... I was still behind her... I thought she must have broken something”  
“Don’t say that... You should go with her. She’ll need to get checked at the hospital if her ankles busted. Have Shiro take you guys”  
“I think she wants to stay with Matt, besides, you’re my best bud. I’m not scared that you’re going to feed on me”  
“She was. She looked at me...”  
“Dude, she’s probably ashamed of making a scene as... Hey, Keith. How is she?”

Keith nodded as he walked over, Lance had been too busy not looking that way and trying to block everything out to notice Keith   
“Rolled ankle. She’s going to go with Matt, Shay, Curtis and Shiro... There’s another space if you want to go with them”  
“Nah, bro. It’s fine. I’ll stick with you guys”  
“You sure? Shiro’s thinking of just taking her to see Coran because it’ll probably be faster...”  
“Yeah. I think I want to be with Lance right now...”  
“Dude, you don’t have to...”  
“It’s fine. I can car swap when we stop for fuel...”  
That was true... he still didn’t want to split Hunk and Shay. Wait...  
“So Rieva said she’s coming with us?”  
Keith nodded again, he was standing just out of reach of Lance... which did nothing to make him feel better even if he knew his boyfriend was there to check that he was okay  
“Yeah. She thought Pidge would feel more comfortable with Shay and Hunk...”  
“I mean, it’s only for the drive. I’m hardly leaving Shay behind...”

Hunk was still so smitten with Shay that it was still adorable. Pidge was the only one not in a disgustingly sweet relationship... though she wasn’t looking for one, claiming it would impact her tech time  
“Bud, if you want to go with Shay, I’ll understand”  
“What kind of a best friend would I be leaving you alone when you’re upset?”  
Lance leaned into Hunk. He loved him. He loved him so damn much that it made him feel guilty for existing. If he was normal Pidge wouldn’t have freaked and this wouldn’t have happened... Pidge was probably going be mad that Hunk had chosen him over her. Keith was still standing there, reminding him of the horrible nightmare he’d had the previous afternoon. It’s taken Keith and Shiro nearly an hour to get Kosmo free of pond mud and then the bathroom cleaned up after them... He really should have been in there helping them.

Reaching out, Keith ruffled his hair. His boyfriend either jealous or finally unafraid enough to touch him  
“Pidge is okay, she’s already snapping at them for fussing. Why don’t you two go ahead and take your boots off, and get comfortable? We’re going to chuck ours in the sedan so they’re out the way”  
When had they decided this? It sucked when you got struck in the mood of every single thing feeling against you. He’d definitely be talking to Coran about this. He felt appalled by his behaviour from the moment they’d first arrived. Keith seemed pretty happy with thing, but he’d been so up and down he wasn’t sure his boyfriend had truly relaxed and enjoyed himself.

*  
The seating arrangement played out so Curtis, Shay, Pidge, Shiro, and Matt were in one car, with Keith, Lance, Hunk, Rieva, and Kosmo, in the second. They were going to stop for fuel halfway there, but Shiro was going to find somewhere to get ice for Pidge’s ankle, then meet them at the same service station as the one they’d stopped at on the way there... Sitting in the back of his Bronco, Hunk was cuddling Kosmo as Lance kept himself balled up. He’d tried to keep his feelings under control, but Pidge had hit him with a sad look that crumpled him internally. She was sorry, but she couldn’t say it in person. Getting her checked was the main priority. 

They were barely half an hour in when Lance’s stomach rebelled against to the point where he was definitely going to throw up. His scent must have changed, or Rieva thought they were far enough away from others to casually drop a truth bomb  
“Lance, is there something you’d perhaps like to tell us? Perhaps why you are crying? Matt and I have a fair feeling we know why your scent has changed, and we all know Pidge will be quite fine with attention”  
They weren’t even talking about him. They weren’t even really talking at all. Keith kept shooting him glances, Rieva was staring out the window, and Hunk was making things better by existing... He’d tried to be sneaky and quite, hard when you have a werewolf in the car.

Covering his mouth, he gagged, eyes wide as he looked to Hunk for help. Getting car sick as often as he did, Hunk was usually prepared for this kind of thing. Kosmo half pushed aside as Hunk leaned into the front of the car  
“Pull over!”  
Hunk yelled at a confused Keith, who pulled off the road a tad too fast, all of them jerking in their seatbelts, Lance unable to stop as he threw up on his hand and in his lap. This was the cherry topping his crappy morning. Bursting into tears, everything felt too much. Around him Keith was getting Rieva to take Kosmo, Hunk was trying to undo his belt. Lance was crying. Things weren’t fun  
“Hey, Bud. It’s okay...”  
Lance shook his head at Hunk. He wasn’t okay. He really truly wasn’t okay  
“I’m sorry!”  
Wailing it at his friend, Hunk didn’t care about the mess as he pulled him into a sideways hug   
“You couldn’t help it”  
“I... fucking hate this... we don’t even know if the baby’s okay and Pidge hates me as it is...! How am I... how am I supposed to fix... I... I didn’t want to scare her... I want to see Coran”

Hunk hushed him gently, he wasn’t making much sense, shocked and yet not shocked Rieva knew, and desperately scared she’d start yelling, which he didn’t need after everything   
“Lance, I’m sure the baby is fine... if you want to see Coran, we can totally see Coran on the way, man. You couldn’t help it. Do you think you’re going to be sick again?”  
Lance nodded, wishing he hadn’t as it caused him to gag. His jeans were soaked... now was he supposed to move without making a mess?  
“Hunk, let me take him. Can you grab some water and things out the back? Keith, can you find him something to change into. Lance, it’s okay. I only wanted to ask because I had the strong feeling Hunk knew, and you seem so sad. I am truly sorry if it upset you”

Sitting in the back on the bronco, Rieva helped Lance change his shirt into one of Keith’s and Keith’s sweats. Keith and Hunk were cleaning up the mess he’d made, Lance still feeling shaky as if about to throw up again  
“Lance, try some water. I’m sorry. I never should have pressed. I wanted to know, though I suspected before Matt with the accident and your behaviour over the weekend”  
“I can’t help but feel you picked the right moment so we’d be forced to talk about it”  
“Are you not happy? A baby is a wonderful thing. You and Keith will make excellent parents”  
“But I’m a vampire”  
“So? You love so freely, you will be a good and strong parent”  
“When did you work it out?”  
“When your scent remained sweet. It was of course only a suspicion. Then how sleepy you have been this weekend... though that is quite normal. I have seen it many times in werewolves. You have been resting, correct?”  
“Yeah... but I’m still tired”  
“It is normal. I know I haven’t much right to pry, but is there something wrong? You said mentioned the baby”  
“I’m just... with Pidge... I couldn’t go near her and everything just... got a bit much”  
“I did notice you crying, and I heard you and Hunk speaking. Pidge had a scare, but she is most fond of you. Will you tell her?”  
“I was planning on saying something after the next scan... I was going to...”  
Great, why was he getting teary?  
“Hush. I know you would have spoken. I should have perhaps picked a time when we were home alone...”  
“Matt’s bad habits are rubbing off on you”

Rieva laughed softly. She could be scary, but she also could be nice and comforting. He didn’t want to be scared of her, not when she was showing him such kindness... but her timing dick suck balls  
“You and he are both very sweet and very cute. I imagine this weekend was both fun and very hard for you. Our scents must effect you”  
“They do... but... like... it’s weird. I think I’m acting weird. I get... possessive of my space. I want to talk to Coran about how to work through it”  
“You have nothing on werewolves. Some of them could learn a lesson from you and your kindness. It may be weird to say, yet I had a good weekend. Thank you for organising this”  
“So... you guys... get territorial?”  
“We can. Some who cling to the old ways very much so. You will be okay”

Rieva kissed him on the forehead, smiling prettily as she did. Matt had found an amazing person in Rieva  
“I’m sorry if I’ve been rude to you guys”  
“Not at all. A baby is a wonderful thing Lance. I pray for yours and Keith’s happiness”  
Lance nodded, feeling like Rieva was getting her hopes up too much  
“Can you... maybe... not mention it until after the next scan? I don’t know how this one is going with me being like this”  
The female werewolf took his hands in hers, squeezing firmly  
“It will be strong and well, like you. But I respect your privacy. Please know you can ask me. I do have some experience with wolf pregnancy”  
“I don’t think we’re quite the same...”  
“Still. Now, you should drink. Would you prefer to ride in the front with Keith?”  
“Nah... it’s okay. I think maybe Hunk should. He and Keith both get car sick”  
“I didn’t consider that. Alright. If you do not mind my company”  
“I don’t mind your company... and I’m sorry I threw up”  
“Nonsense. You could not help it. Oh, dear. Keith is hovering. Should I let him close? I can growl if you need some time to compose”  
“Please don’t growl at the boyfriend. I’ll be okay, Rieva. Thanks for helping me”  
“I would gladly help you at any moment. You’re not bad for a vampire”  
“And you’re not bad for a werewolf”

Seeing they’d taken so long, Shiro caught up to them, pulling up behind them. Leaving the others in the car, Shiro jogged over to them, Lance leaning heavily against Keith, thanks to throwing up the water almost as soon as he’d had a little to drink  
“You guys okay?”  
Hunk called out, answering for them and trying to be a good friend. He didn’t know Shiro knew because it wasn’t like they could talk about “macaroon” in front of everyone   
“Yeah. I get car sick, so we pulled over. Lance had to change. How’s Pidge?”  
“Murderous. She threatened to stick the ice we bought where the sun doesn’t shine”  
Keith laughed, Lance more timid about it all as he asked   
“Will she be okay?”  
“Yeah, kiddo. She’s calmed down a lot, she says it feels twisted and not broken. We’ll know more when we get home”  
At least Shiro wasn’t mad at him...  
“Thank god... I can still hear her scream”  
Shiro chuckled  
“I wouldn’t mention that. Matt’s been teasing her. She threatened to stab him in his sleep”  
Oh... he shouldn’t have mentioned it. Keith rubbing his arm as he sensed Lance’s distress. His boyfriend taking over talking   
“We’re okay. You guys want to take lead? We’ll be ready in a few minutes”  
“Sure. Just stopping to make sure you didn’t have a flat or anything”  
Lance felt like the “anything” somehow meant Shiro was checking he hadn’t flipped out and attacked Keith. Nuzzling into Keith’s side, his boyfriend dropped a kiss on his hair   
“Nope, we’ve got this. We’ll see you soon”  
Shiro started back towards his sedan, calling back over his shoulder  
“Call us if you need us!”  
“I won’t!

The others waves as Shiro pulled away from the side of the road, Lance giving a small wave and hoping they wouldn’t be talking about him  
“Babe, you ready to go?”  
“Yeah. Sorry I threw up”  
“Are you in any pain? Do you need some blood?”  
“I’ll be okay... you’re fussing”  
“You blew chunks in the car, I’m allowed to fuss”  
“I couldn’t help it”  
“I know. Let me know if I need pull over again”  
“Probably. I don’t feel that well”

Admitting it to Keith was hard. He’d told his boyfriend he was okay, and now he was sending out mixed signals  
“Maybe you should nap?”  
“Yeah. Probably... I just want to get home now”  
“I know you do. You still had fun, didn’t you?”  
“Yeah, right up until Pidge looked at me like I was freak”  
“Babe”  
“Sorry... It really hurt to see her hurt and not be able to help. I’ve cleaned her up before, but I guess she’s still working on trusting me”  
“I think she was more worried that you were uncomfortable seeing her blood, not that you were going to feed on her”  
“I don’t... but yeah, I feel so sick that I’m sulking”  
“Can I help?”  
“Nah... pregnancy stuff and all that. We should get going. Shiro seemed pretty worried”  
“Shiro’s fine. I’ll talk to him later. You sure you’re not in pain or anything?”  
“No more than usual. Your macaroon is fine”  
“I’m still more concerned about you. Try and get some sleep...”  
“Yeah”

*  
When they reached the service station they’d stopped twice so he could throw up. Lance now too tired to even contemplate finding something to eat or drink. Pidge pulled his out of his total flunk, climbing into the bronco and filling the back seat with her short little legs as she sat sideways. Leaning back against him, she dropped her head back to look up at him  
“How do you look so shit when I’m the one who hurt myself?”  
“I don’t know. How are you sitting in here with me?”  
“Car swap time. Shiro’s going to drive the others back to Platt. Matt’s coming with you, me, and Keith”  
“Are you sure you want to?”

Pidge sighed at him, she really couldn’t be comfortable leaning on him  
“I didn’t mean to freak like that... like I know you’re not about to vampire out, but I was embarrassed”  
“You didn’t mean to trip”  
“Nope, but I fucked my ankle and my wrist hurts. I didn’t... like want to make you feel awkward with the blood”  
“Pidge, I would never ever feed on you”  
“I know that’s what making me feel so bad. You’re my brother from another mother. I’m so angry that I didn’t stick the landing”  
“At least no one was filming”  
“The evidence would be gone by now if they were. Oh, Shay totally thinks you’re scared of blood now”

Lance sighed deeply. He was too tired for this, and to do the think. He was also tired of people not giving him a straight and clear answer of Shay  
“I want to tell her”  
“Hmmm... maybe. I mean, it’s hard not to. She’s so fucking hilarious. She’d have jokes for days over this”  
“I mean... I want to tell her for Hunk’s sake”  
“Don’t worry about them, dude. What’s going on with you? You’re all pale and dead looking”  
Another unclear answer. Fuck it. He was going to ask Coran, all his friends sucked  
“The perks of being a vampire”  
“You’re not very funny. I know you think you are, but you suck”  
“Only on blood bags”  
Pidge groaned at him, poking him in the eye as she tried to poke him in the cheek  
“Fiiiiiiiiiiiine, keep your secrets... you filthy hobbitses”  
“I promise it’s nothing bad, I just haven’t been feeling well since the accident. I’ll be fine though. I miss my bed”  
“I’m going to tell Blue you haven’t missed her”  
He did. He missed Blue. He was going to be in so much trouble for her lack of tinned food. He’d be lucky if she was talking to him  
“Blue is perfect princess. How could I not?”  
“Nope, you didn’t say it. It doesn’t count if you don’t say it”  
“In that case I’m sorry for freaking you out”  
“You’re really depressing for a dead guy. I’m fine... I’m going to lord this over Matt”  
“I thought you were embarrassed”  
“Doesn’t mean I can’t milk the sympathy. Mum’s all like “you have to protect her” and “blah, blah, blah””  
“From me?”  
“Nah. I mean. They were pretty shocked that I didn’t know my best friend was a vampire”  
“I still don’t know how they knew?”  
“You smiled and showed your teeth. Dad doesn’t care. He’s met vampires before... he said he didn’t like them, but you’re okay because you’re not like them”  
“I feel like you’re leaving out half the conversation”  
“Mum yelled. Dad yelled. Bae-Bae barked. I keep wanting to bring Bae to meet Kosmo but I forget”  
“Kosmo would want to play and poor Bae would be like “let me sleep””  
“Probably. Dude, have you ever drunk animal blood?”

That was kind of a weird question   
“Are you asking if I’ve fed on Blue and Kosmo?”  
“Nah, I’m asking because I’m bored of being serious”  
“If I say yes, are you going to want the details?”  
“Nope”  
“Yes”  
“What?! When?! What does it taste like?”  
Lance sighed  
“It tastes like you said you wouldn’t ask”  
“But I didn’t promise”  
Lance groaned at Pidge. He didn’t want to think about that part of his life  
“It was out of desperation. And only absolutely fucking necessary. It didn’t do much and I didn’t hurt them much... and I hate myself for doing it”  
“So why did you?”  
“Because drinking human blood is weird...”  
“It could be worse. I mean, you could have to eat shit or something”  
“Yeah. No. Blood is bad enough”  
“Is there a supernatural creature that loves tequila? I think I could do that”  
“Gremlins are particularly fond of alcohol”

Pidge’s eyes went wide, Lance saying it as seriously as he could  
“Gremlins are real?!”  
Pinching Pidge lightly, she shoved her hand across Lance’s face  
“You’re an arsehole!”  
“To be fair, you’d do the same thing to me”  
“Merp”  
“I’ll Merp you. Now get your hand out of my face. You’re smelly”  
“I am not smelly”  
“You are. You smell like pretzels and disinfectant”  
Pidge huffed, removing her hand in order to cross her arms  
“I didn’t even get any pretzels. Matt ate them all”  
“Matt eats everything”  
“I know. He sucks! I hope you heard that Matthew Holt!”  
“I’m sure he did. I’m going to take a nap, don’t get into too much trouble”  
“You suck too. Fine, I’ll have to be content with teasing Keith”  
“Don’t tease my boyfriend, that’s my job”  
“You snooze, you lose”  
“You’ll be snoozing. You’re cruisin’ for a bruisin’”  
“Puh-lease. I’m a sweet innocent human”  
“Maybe in your delusions”  
“Here I was, trying to make you feel better...”  
“Ah, my cute little Pidgeon. I do feel better. I’m alright, I was stressing over you”  
“That’s because you’re old enough to be my dad”  
“I take it all back, you’re not cute at all... but seriously, I need a nap... and like a weeks vacation to recover from hiking”  
“Amen, brother. Take my home to my technology!”

Climbing into the bronco, Keith eyed Pidge with caution   
“I was told you can only have your slushie if you agree not to complain about the cold compress again”  
“I agree”  
Keith started to hand over the slushie   
“Wait. She hasn’t promised. She’s agreed, but she didn’t settle a time limit for the agreement”  
Pidge elbowed him in the ribs  
“You were supposed to be napping!”  
“I’m dozing. Or I was until Keith came back... now, promise the nice man you’ll be good and use the ice, or the slushie goes out the window”  
Pidge elbowed him again, Lance groaning as she hit his belly. It wasn’t hard but was enough to remind him hurt enough to throw up at any moment  
“Babe?!”  
Keith was alarmed, Lance’s ego wounded that his boyfriend would think Pidge could hit him hard enough to hurt the baby  
“Give the woman the slushie. I’m going to shut up before she beats me up again”  
Keith handed over the slushie, Pidge settling down happily to slurp on the blueberry treat  
“Maybe you should ride in the front? I’m sure Matt will be fine with Pidge in the back”  
“I’m fine... Pidge, no more bashing my stomach. I’ve already thrown up and I’m not afraid to aim for you”  
“Ewwww. Fine. Truce. I’ve got my slushie and I make no promises”  
“That’s my girl”

Leading Kosmo back from his bathroom break, Matt hefted the dog into the car, Pidge hissing as Kosmo dumped himself in her lap  
“I thought he was going with the others!”  
“Kosmo is best boy, and stays with me”  
“Then you can hold him!”  
Chuckling, Matt moved the front seat back into place on his side  
“You guys give into her demands too easily. I called mum. She’ll meet us there. Called Coran too. He promises that “Young Miss Katie shall receive the best care he can provide””  
Pidge hissed at the name “Katie”, shoving Kosmo until he climbed into Lance’s lap. Keith didn’t seem pleased  
“I’m fine, Kosmo is fine. We’re all here, let’s get Pidge to VOLTRON. I’m sure Coran can find an extra large needle to probe her with”  
“Keep this up and I’ll ask him to neuter you when he does Matt”  
“Leave my testicles out of this. I got you your slushie and paid for the snack. You’re welcome”

Throwing the snacks over, Lance copped a bag of pretzels to the face  
“Can everyone stop bashing the vampire? I want to sleep”  
Matt chuckled, slamming the car door behind him hard enough for Lance to flinch in worry for his poor baby  
“If we’re not bashing the vampire, who are we going to bash then?”  
“I nominate the werewolf. For a starters he’ll be healed by the time we get home, and for a second, he doesn’t throw up when he eats”  
“Yeah, I’m going to side with Lance on this. Sorry, Matt. You’re the designated bashee”  
“You guys suck. Keith, help a bro out here”  
“Pidge is scary and Lance is my boyfriend. I think there’s space in the boot of Shiro’s sedan if you’d rather ride in there”  
“The bunch of you are traitors. I’ll remember this Pidgeon. When you least expect I’m going to pee in your shoes”  
“And when you least expect it I’m going to shave your head”  
“You have to catch me first”  
“That can be arranged. I’m not afraid to tell mum”  
“And I’ll tell her about how little vegetables you eat”  
“She knows, but she’ll never take me alive”  
Lance sighed at the pair of them... How many times did he have to say he was tired?  
“Can you please let the vampire sleep now? I’m tired. I feel sick. And I want to get back to Platt in one piece. Keith’s in charge of the music... Babe, feel free not to crash my car into a tree, no matter how tempting it is”  
“I won’t do that to your baby. I’ve got some water if you want it”  
“Nope. I want to sleep... if you guys wake me before Platt, I will shave both your heads and glue your hands together. Keith’s the exception”  
“Dude... you’re so mean...”  
“Yeah, Lance, take a nap already”

He wouldn’t win this battle and he knew it. He could only hope he managed not to throw up on the way home and avoid stray paws and wild Pidges.


	119. Chapter 119

119

Lance was sleeping in the car as Keith parked in front of the bookshop where Colleen was waiting with Coran, who’d brought a wheelchair up. Keith was glad the drive back was over. Matt and Pidge were exhausting. Snacks were scattered through Lance’s bronco, despite him scolding them to stop throwing food at each other. Matt helped Pidge out and into the wheelchair, Kosmo inviting himself to follow them out  
“You guys go ahead, I’m going to wake Lance up”  
Coran nodded, preoccupied with Kosmo. Colleen taking control of the wheelchair, Pidge calling out “remember me how I used to be” as she was wheeled towards the bookshop. Folding his seat down, Keith didn’t want to disturb Lance. His boyfriend deserved his sleep, buuuuut, the vomiting had him worried and he wanted Coran to check Lance out as soon as possible.

Climbing into the backseat, he undid Lance’s belt, Lance stirring at the belt sliding back into its holder  
“Hey, you”  
Smiling at him sleepily, Lance still didn’t look well  
“Hey yourself, Mullet. We there?”  
“Yeah, babe. Here in one piece”  
“Mmm, good job, babe”  
“You okay?”  
“Just tired... I’ll be okay”  
Keith wanted to believe him. Having seen Lance throw up more than once did nothing to give him confidence. He’d nearly lost it at Pidge when she’d elbowed Lance  
“We’re heading down to Coran’s office. Let’s get you out the car”  
“I’m sorry... I really don’t want to move”  
“I know but you wanted to see Coran. Let’s get you checked out then I’ll take you home”  
“Alright... I’m too exhausted to even argue back”

Keith kept his arm around his stumbling boyfriend. Lance kept yawning, his head against Keith’s shoulder. Keith had no idea if this was normal or if Lance was lacking in blood. He was surely dehydrated, Keith worried that’d affect their baby, not just his precious boyfriend. The holiday had been relaxing, a little up and down, but very much needed and appreciated. He still had to question how Hunk had found out, but that was a job for later. Lance seemed happier for Hunk knowing, Keith a tad jealous that Lance had sought comfort from Hunk than him, yet extremely grateful Hunk had accepted their news without making Lance feel too insecure to talk to him.

Pidge was up on Coran’s examination bed when they got there, hovering in the doorway. Colleen scolding her daughter, while Pidge’s face burnt with embarrassment. She looked ready to turn on them, Coran trying his best to calm everyone down, though he seemed slightly scared of Colleen. Keith was ashamed to admit that he wished Coran would assign someone else to Pidge so Lance could be checked over. He loved Pidge, but she wasn’t carrying his baby  
“Boys, if you want to take a seat, I’ll be with you shortly. Colleen, perhaps you’d like to hold Pidge’s hand. Pidge, you’ll be right as rain in tickety-boo”

“Shortly” was too long. He was a horrible friend. What he actually wanted was two Coran’s, or a magical time machine that’d speed up hearing Pidge was going to be okay. Her knee and ankle were both swollen, having done a pretty good job sending herself flying. Coran must have been told off for calling her “Katie”. The poor man couldn’t catch a break. It was best they head out and Lance got some rest before someone snapped   
“Actually, Coran, can we grab a blood bag? And borrow a conference room? Lance is a little dehydrated from sleeping in the sun”  
“Good heavens, of course you can. Lance, what have I told you about keeping up your fluids”  
Lance sighed at the pair of them   
“Sorry, Coran. Keith’s doing that thing where he worries too much”  
“Because you’ve barely eaten today!”  
“Because I was too tired!”  
“You still should have eaten!”  
“And you’re worrying too much!”

“Boys! Please. Matt, why don’t you grab Lance a blood bag out the fridge. Keith, you may use the main conference room. The Blades are out at the moment. Lotor fancied shopping, they’re providing an escort for him and Allura”  
Keith hoped Allura wasn’t mad at not being able to come on the trip. It would have been nice to have her, yet another secret to try and keep over her slightly inhuman features. Matt rolled across the room on the examination stool, grabbing a blood bag out the fridge and rolling backwards over to them  
“Save yourselves. Mum’s mad Pidge fell over...”  
Colleen fixed Matt with a “mother” glare that sent a shiver down Keith’s spine   
“That’s enough Matthew”  
“Don’t be mad at them. They weren’t there when Pidge decided to show the world why she never made the Olympics”  
“No, but you were. Honestly, when will the pair of you act your age?”  
“Whelp. It was nice knowing you guys...”

Keith tugged Lance back with him, Matt closing the door, Collen’s voice cut off as she started yelling at him  
“She scares me”  
Lance nodded  
“Yep. You didn’t have to dob me in”  
“I’m allowed to be worried”  
“I’m fine... seriously, find me a corner and let me sleep”  
“Not until you’ve eaten”  
Lance sighed, Keith knowing it was a sigh of defeat  
“Then I can go back to sleep?”  
“I promise”  
“Lead the way...”

*  
Lance made good on napping the moment he could. Keith found himself in the Blade’s main room from muscle memory, it seemed too much effort to find another room when this one empty. Draining the blood bag, Lance fell asleep too fast after eating. First he didn’t even want to eat, then he did, then he was asleep. In that order, with very little time between each step. With Lance sleeping, Keith had nothing to do but look at the pile of papers that’d seemed to accumulate while he’d been gone. There contained schematics of a building with no street address, and that was about the most interesting thing in the paper work.

About an hour later their peace was disturbed. Pidge wheeling herself in, foot in a moon boot, as Matt held the door open  
“Hey, losers! Look what I’ve got!”  
Keith regretted everything thought he’d had about Coran needing to prioritise Lance when he say that boot. What kind of friend was he?!  
“Pidge...”  
“Relax, it’s a bad sprain. Coran put her in it because it’s the only way to keep the gremlin down”  
Their talking roused Lance, sleepily he looked to Pidge, eyes widening  
“Pidge?”  
Coran chuckled, ruffling Pidge’s hair. Pidge looking murderous about it  
“She’ll be just fine. Tippity-Top in no time!”  
“She’ll be staying at home until she’s given clearance to be up and walking around again”  
Pidge whined at her mother   
“Muuuuuum. I’m fine. I’ve got these hell cool wheels to test out”  
“That’s enough. You’re very lucky Coran was able to see you on short notice”  
“My door is always open to friends. I feel like I’ve know our young Pidge for years”  
“I would prefer she not get herself into these kinds of accidents to begin with”  
“Mum, it was an accident! I didn’t exactly plan on face-planting!”  
“I’m really sorry she was hurt...”

What was Lance apologising for? Right, because he was Lance. Colleen pinched the bridge of her nose like Shiro would have   
“This one is all on her. I’m relieved it wasn’t worse”  
“You guys are fussing too much”  
Matt chuckled at his sister  
“That’s because we love our little Pidgeon. We’re going to split. I’ll let the others know Pidge is under house arrest”  
“Shoot me already”  
Pidge was going to be okay. Accidents happened. It wasn’t serious. A bad sprain wasn’t going to kill her... Keith took a deep breath. His heart racing at the sight of his friend like that, but he tried to be okay knowing she’d be okay   
“Maybe we should find that ankle monitor you gave me for my birthday?”  
Pidge gaped at him, before pouting  
“I’m not the one who needs it...”  
Lance snorted with laughter   
“I don’t know. We all know you can’t keep a good gremlin down”  
Pidge wheeled herself slightly backwards   
“Well, I’m out of here! Later losers. Thanks for the weekend!”  
“I’ll talk to you guys later. You right to get back to Garrison?”  
“Yeah. I’ve got my car. See you later, guys. Nice to see you again, Colleen”  
“You to, Lance, Keith”

Coran let out a long breath once the trio had departed, before lightly slapping his palms against his cheeks  
“I would not like to be Pidge. Colleen is a most formidable woman”  
Lance yawned softly, nodding as he did  
“She scares me. You probably get along with her better because you sub-contract out to her”  
“We’ve met very rarely. I never would have placed her as Pidge’s mother. Now, my boy, I do believe you wanted me to a little looksie at you?”  
Keith butted in before Lance could downplay his exhaustion   
“He’s been tired all weekend. His body temperature dropped on the Saturday and he needed hours in front of the fireplace to bring it back up. He’s also been throwing up more and having trouble with scents”  
Coran hummed, fingers going to play with the top of his moustache   
“Fatigue and exhaustion are exceptionally common during the first trimester. As is feeling moody, and, or, hormonal. Let’s head to my office and I’ll do your blood work”

Lance went to get up, only to trip, and hit his head against the table. Keith rushing to his side as his boyfriend groaned  
“Babe!”  
“I’m okay... my legs are still asleep like the rest of me”  
His head wasn’t bleeding, but the egg was already swelling up  
“That’s it, I’m carrying you”  
“I’m...”  
“You’re not fine. You had a whole bag of blood but you’re still tired as hell”  
Lance sheepishly amended what he was going to say  
“I’m going to be carried?”  
“Yes. Now hold onto me”

Hefting Lance up, his boyfriend was blushing, hand rubbing at the egg forming on his forehead  
“Stop rubbing it”  
“It hurts”  
“All the more reason to leave it alone”  
Coran laughed at the pair of them  
“I can see you had a long weekend. I’ll try to be as quick as possible to you may go home and rest. I’d love to hear about all your adventures, if you’ve got time to fill this old fae in”  
“Keith can tell you. I slept a lot and we went for a walk around a smell pond...”  
“He overheated on the walk”  
“You’ve got a big mouth for a man without a knife”  
“And you said you wanted to talk to Coran, which means talking honestly”  
Coran adding to conversation  
“And I think perhaps this isn’t the place”

Carrying Lance to Coran’s office, things were still slightly messy from the fae treating Pidge. It was the messiest he’d ever seen Coran’s office. Laying Lance on the bed, Lance immediately sighed as he sank back against the bed both of them knew wasn’t all that comfortable   
“Right. Sleeve up, shirt up, let’s see what’s happening... oooh, I’ve been dying to see this little one again”  
“You’re going to do an ultrasound?”  
Keith hadn’t thought about Coran doing an ultrasound, he just wanted Lance to feel better and stuff...  
“I will. I’m afraid I’ll be going in internally... I guess pants off too would be best”  
“I’ll help him while you clean up”  
“Do I get a say in this?”  
An ultrasound did sound like a good idea. How were they supposed to know if everything was okay if they couldn’t see the baby?  
“No. We have to make sure everything is okay with you and the baby”  
“I hate it when my arse has to suffer for logic”  
“I love you and your arse. You’ll be okay...”  
Lance huffed at him  
“It’s not your arse being probed at”  
“No, but if you’re good I’ll buy you whatever you want to eat on the way home”  
“Can I choose sleep instead?”  
Lance would eat, then nap. He wasn’t getting out of it. Whatever his boyfriend wanted, he’d pay for, provided Lance gave him directions of where to go  
“Nope. You have to eat”  
“You’re so mean to me. Coran, can I at least keep my legs covered? I’m too tired to do much of anything”  
“Sure, my boy. I’ll get you a blanket for privacy. You’ll need to tuck your knee up to your chest for me. Please try to bare with it”

Lance’s face made the same expression as when Kosmo had his first anal thermometer. There was no happiness in his eyes, which reminded him his precious puppy was missing  
“Where’s Kosmo?”  
“I put him in Allura’s office. Oh, dear. I forgot he was in there...”  
How could Coran forget Kosmo? How could he forget Kosmo?   
“Babe, you can go get him...”  
Now he was torn. Lance was finally in Coran’s hands, but Coran was going to start the ultrasound and he didn’t want to miss it... Buuuuut Kosmo was probably destroying Allura’s office. Was it too much to push the responsibility onto Coran seeing he locked Kosmo in there?  
“I’ll get him after your scan...”  
“I don’t mind if you want to go now”  
“Are you saying I should?”  
“Nope... I want you stay, but my butt isn’t enjoying this”  
“It’s a nice butt”  
“It’s be nicer without this huge arse wand up it”

Both of them shut up when the image of their baby came up on the screen. Keith staring at the black blob, semi confused by the greyish line...  
“Oh my...”  
That didn’t sound good  
“What’s wrong?”  
“Nothing is wrong, per say, but you’ll have twice the preparation to carry out”  
“What?”  
The question sounded dull, Keith not sure what Coran meant  
“Yes, you can clearly see two sacks...”  
“But there was only one before”  
“It is possible to miss...”  
Lance blinked half a dozen times  
“Coran. You better not be fucking around. There was one. One. What do you mean there’s two”  
“That’s how twins work... oh, my. Let me just...”  
Keith went wobbly. Two... how were there two? There was one last time. One macaroon to worry about... what... how was there two?!  
“Are you sure it’s not something he ate?”  
Lance glared at him, Coran chuckling, Keith not appreciating either reaction  
“My dear boys, there is indeed two in there and this should confirm it”

A strange noise filled the room, like two racing beats... Lance asking  
“Is that...?”  
“You’re far along enough now detect both heartbeats. Oh... two babies! You’re going to have your hands quite full! One was a stroke of luck it was! It shows how deeply connected you are...”  
“But you said...”  
“It is possible one was behind the other, but they’re making themselves known now. Growing one baby is hard enough, two... I can certainly see why you’re exhausted my boy!”  
Lance sighed  
“I really am... is... are they both okay? I mean... we thought it was one?”  
“Both little ones have a good strong beat... I’ll take some fresh photos and measurements. We’ll increase your blood intake to match. It’s very important you...”  
Everything swam. The room spinning. Keith out of it before he hit the floor, his last thought before fainting was once again “how are there two?!”.

*  
Lance couldn’t react as Keith crumpled to the ground. He was in shock. Shock that... no way. He’d barely wrapped his head around one. Why was there two? He was getting his mind around one... why... no, how?  
“Keith!”  
The vampires face burned in embarrassment as Coran left the wand inside of him, to move around the examination table to Keith. Keith groaning as Coran looped his arm around him and moved the hunter to sit in the chair beside his desk  
“Whaaa...”  
“Just a little fainting spell. I imagine the news of twins was completely unexpected. Lance did have high hormone levels, I suspected it was thanks to his unique physiology...”

Keith looked completely ashen. Lance’s eyes filling with guilty tears. How were there possibly two in there?! His boyfriend was scared when there was only one... two would surely mean he was worrying twice as much. Wasn’t he at the age where his fertility shouldn’t this good? Or did have super potent baby making sperm? And shouldn’t the testosterone in his system help prevent pregnancy? Was that why his ego was sending him crazy? Did the vampire in him already know he was carrying two? Making him twice the moody bitch he was? Twice the amount of blood he usually drank was a lot of blood. Like... way too much. He’d been careful for so many years to split a bag into three... Would keith be turned off by him drinking more human blood when he was still fighting to settle himself over Lance feeding on strangers? This had to be a joke... despite the evidence right of him. Evidence that screamed this was no joke. He’d heart their heartbeats before the wand slipped. Two racing rhythms of two balls of cells that’d be human someday in the not so distant future  
“Place your head between your legs, and take deep breaths”

What was going on in Keith’s head? Keith was only child. He’d never had a brother until he was already an adult. He’d missed out on all the fights that came with having siblings, and what was Shiro going to say about there being two? Would he be allowed to keep them both? Or would he be labelled as a threat and forced to run? Where would he run? He couldn’t leave Mami. She was old. She only had so much time in this world. He’d never leave her behind to spend it alone. He couldn’t choose between her and Keith. He wanted both of them. He needed both of them... soft sobs escaped his lips. Coran said these symptoms were normal, yet all Lance had done lately was sleep and cry. He wasn’t normal. He’d kept his emotions reined in so tightly that the metaphoric straps bit into his hands. Would it be selfish to want both? Two little Keith’s... with Keith’s big purple eyes and messy black hair...   
“Oh, babe...”

Keith ignored Coran’s instructions, pushing himself over to grip Lance’s hands  
“Babe... Hey, look at me. Whatever you’re thinking, I still love you”  
Him... He loved Keith. He’d never found love in anyone like he did with Keith. Keith was the oxygen to his lungs... he might be dead but the blood in his system still needed oxygen... sure, he could hold his breath far longer than a human and sometimes he questioned his need to breathe. But without Keith his lungs didn’t work. The space seemed deprived and cold, like being sucked into the vacuum of space  
“I want to go home”  
“We will. We’ll go home. Coran’s going to clean you up and then we’ll get Kosmo and we’ll go home”  
They both needed to think. He couldn’t tell Keith he wanted to go home in an attempt to run away until his thoughts made sense again   
“Garrison...”  
“We can go back to Garrison. We can... we... we’ll work this out...”  
“But... we...”  
“Rieva knows. Matt’s in Platt... we’ll kick everyone out, if that’s what you need”  
Lance let out a louder sob  
“I don’t deserve you”  
Leaning down, Keith nuzzled into his hair affectionately. He was showing Keith all the uncool sides of him again  
“I love you. I love all of you... we’ll work it out...”  
“How...?”  
“I don’t know, babe. But you’re not alone...”  
“I didn’t...”  
“Shhh... we didn’t know. We didn’t know...”  
“I don’t deserve you being kind to me”  
“I’m not going to run from this... I need to think, but you’re not... I’m not walking away from you. No matter what you think”  
“I just want you to be happy”  
“And we will be, together. Coran, can you please clean him. We’re not staying here”

Coran came to the head of the bed, placing his hand on Lance’s shoulder as he softly answered   
“Of course, my boys. We’ll keep the scan appointment for in a few days. I’m prescribing lots of rest, and keep your food and blood intake up. You’re going to be emotional, and your fatigue is most likely increased by your emotions. I want you to rest. I’ll extend you leave until the next scan, Keith. If anything happens, you are to bring him here immediately”  
“Will anything happen?”  
“I’m not sure. Both heartbeats are good and solid. I would ask you to stay longer, yet neither of you seem particularly keen on that. You are both shocked, and this situation is unique... sexual intercourse is fine provided Lance is getting enough nutrients and energy. Have you been giving him his injections?”  
“I’ve been... I forgot to yesterday... and I don’t remember if we...”  
Nope. Keith was asleep on his feet again and Lance had spent the morning throwing up as his zombie boyfriend tried to human before coffee  
“Not this morning... we were packing”  
“These injections are important. The demands on your body will be higher with multiples. You may not like it, but each injection will be given with fresh blood. I trust you, Keith, to organise this. Lance, it may not be what you want to hear, but this is what your body needs. Aggression can be a sign you are not getting enough energy from the amount of blood you currently consume. I know you have your own beliefs on this, yet what is important now is keeping your energy levels high to compensate for their energy lost. Keith, make sure you don’t allow him to sleep for days at a time. If he becomes lethargic to the point he won’t wake, you must give him blood immediately and bring him in. Lance, we will get you through this pregnancy, but I am out of my depths with multiple births. I will not allow anything to go wrong under my watch”

Things sounded somehow worse than ever. Did it not count that he was trying? That he was forcing himself and making the effort despite knowing it’d come back up?! Apparently he was an unfit father already... He’d wanted to sit and explain things to Coran. He wanted to understand why he was acting like he’d never acted before. He didn’t expect this. That a lack of blood could cause anger, well, he knew that, but he was already drinking more than ever. He should be stronger than this! He was 45, not 8... and he was a goddamn vampire. His ego was so on edge that his nails felt tender, ready to extend if Coran kept going on as he was  
“See, babe. Coran’s going to make sure you’re okay, and that you’ll be okay...”  
“I feel like the most immature person in the room... what happened to my awkward boyfriend?”  
Keith kissed his hair again  
“He fell hopelessly in love”  
“You really a kind of hopeless. But, like, a little bit hopeless”  
“Nah, I’m completely fucking whipped. Now, what do you want to eat?”

He didn’t want to think about food, but Keith was trying to distract him from Coran   
“I think... maybe strawberries?”  
“And what else?”  
“Italian?”  
“Done. You’ll have to give me directions”  
“Okay, but I’m paying”  
“Nope. Let me be all manly”  
“You’re very manly”  
“I do try my hardest”  
“You’re very trying too...”  
Keith pouted at him, Lance adding  
“But that’s something I really like about you”  
His boyfriend brightened a little, not enough to make Lance feel better about his failed joke  
“I really love you, Keith”  
“I know. I love you, too”


	120. Chapter 120

120

There were moments in life Lance sorely wished he could go back and change. There were moments he wished would last longer, and moment when he wished time would speed the hell up. A five way fussing was one of those moments. Rieva, Hunk, Curtis, Shiro and Keith. The four biggest worriers known to man kind, were now stressing him out to the point he was he was glad to be exhausted. Rieva fussed the moment they got home. Curtis fussed because he was Curtis. And Hunk fussed over the fact they needed to go food shopping thanks to the lack of fresh food in his fridge. A trip he wasn’t allowed on, left to watch as Keith was dragged away, trying to argue that he should stay with Lance. In a way, he didn’t want Keith to go, and in another way he hoped Hunk would be able to comfort his boyfriend.

Forced to sit on his sofa, he was snobbed by Blue, Blue instead meowing her discontent to Kosmo, who insisted she was something he needed to groom. The moment he was free of two worriers, Rieva was there putting his legs up and asking if she could get him anything. Curtis had kept his worry limited to worried looks directed at him. Lance still trying to process there was two “macaroons” in his stomach. Shiro seemed on edge, Keith may have slightly cried over the twins on the way home, assuring him he was “relieved” and “processing” and “not mad”. Kind of like a person would when they were the opposite of those things. Rieva fetching him a blanket and insisting he rested pit Curtis on guard. Lance not very good at keeping secrets as it seemed, snapping at his friend to “leave him because he was pregnant and not dying”. At least he didn’t spring it on them all it was twins.

Yeah. He’d put his foot in it. Curtis went into “Full Curtis Mode”, a blood bag brought to him, as well as going about checking he didn’t have a fever and that the blisters on his feet were indeed healed... By the time Keith and Hunk came back, Lance was buried under a pile of blankets on the sofa, trying to “nap out” his friends, unsuccessfully he might have due Curtis asking him what felt like a million questions over his “condition”. Of all the times he’d turned into a bat, now would have been the time to channel that feeling, only when he tried Curtis seemed to think he was in pain.

Things didn’t improve when Shiro went back to Platt. Keith lost the support and distraction of his brother, while Lance lost the will to go against them all. Fucking Keith had told them all how Lance needed fresh blood, then forced his hand into Lance’s mouth mid yawn. He was officially on a feeding schedule, Keith setting alarms on both his damn phones. Coran had said to rest, but how was he supposed to rest when the others were shoving love down his throat every waking moment? When the day of his next scan rolled around, his friends decided that they needed to head to Platt to be with them and support them. He hadn’t even had a moments peace to tell Mami it was twins. He’d called her, then got distracted filling her in on Keith’s birthday weekend. Mami wanting to hear from the birthday boy himself, leading to them having this whole other conversation with Keith hanging up on the end of it. His boyfriend seemed determined to be okay with it being twins, while Lance just wanted to wallow peacefully in his undeath.

And then Krolia happened. He done gone fucked up with that one.

Annoyed over all the fuss and feeling crowded when all he wanted to do was experience the scan with Keith, Krolia had word that they were there. Not bothering with knocking, the woman blinked when coming face to face with 6 pairs of blinking eyes. Lance so annoyed, exhausted, and desperate to pee, he kind of maybe blurred out “I’m fucking pregnant. Either you’re staying for the scan or you’re getting out”. Whelp. She stayed, before disappearing off with Keith, Curtis, and Shiro. Rieva would have stayed with him, if he hadn’t told her to go call Matt and Pidge. Everyone might as well bloody know. He had the major crank, and Coran was the only one who didn’t seem affected by it. No. He chuckled over Lance’s mood, and Lance had finally enough. Storming off to the bathroom, he was still there when Coran came to fetch him.

Sitting in the end toilet stall, Lance found himself crying again. Hearing the heartbeats made it all so real. He’d already gone through half a roll of toilet paper when Coran knocked lightly on the stall door. Sniffling loudly seemed enough of a “welcome” for Coran to let himself in, despite Lance being quite sure he’d locked the door  
“Oh, my dear boy. There’s nothing to cry about”  
“I can’t fucking stop”  
Which he couldn’t. He’d gone and got fiercely attached to those two little lives inside of him  
“Oh. Oh, my boy. Hey, everything will be okay”

Coran hugged him tightly. Lance not bothering with the fact he was still sitting on the toilet as he hugged Coran just as tightly in return. He had his pants on, that was the main thing  
“I feel like I’m going insane”  
“Nonsense. You’re nothing of the sort. You’re adjusting, and that’s okay. You’re okay”  
“But I’m not. Coran... I don’t think I’m okay”  
“Lance, you will be. Why don’t you and me have a talk of our own? Hey? Just the two of us, like we used to?”  
Lance snotted on Coran’s jacket, nodding as he ugly cried against the man who’d pretty much been the family he’d always wanted   
“Please? I wanted to talk last time... but... it’s hard finding any time I’m left alone”  
“You’re not one for feeling smothered. I’ll make us a nice spot of tea. Here, we’ll go downstairs and find somewhere nice for a long talk”  
“Keith...”  
“Never mind Keith. You leave him to me”  
“He worries too much”  
“He’s in love. And you’re both going through a lot. One baby is one thing, two is another, but we’ll talk about it somewhere nicer”  
Lance nodded again, letting himself be drawn up by Coran   
“You’re okay, my sweet boy. You’re okay. One foot after the other and we’ll be there in no time”

It wasn’t like Lance forgot there were therapy rooms at VOLTRON. It simply wasn’t something he thought about seeing it’d been a long time since he’d been down there for counselling. With an agency as important as the one Coran ran, all sorts of people came to him for help on a regular basis. Everything from hunter to werewolves were safe inside his walls. Coran settled them down in a small office like the office they’d met in when he was younger. They hadn’t always been so close to Platt, but Coran had always been there when they’d needed help working out how to have a vampire in the family. 

Curling up in the corner of the sofa, Lance watched as Coran went about making tea. The fae humming some kind of tune to himself as self consciousness set in. He shouldn’t have snapped at Krolia. Krolia was there to see her son. How could she possibly have known what she was walking in on? He’d just felt so smothered and like his personal preferences weren’t being respected. Yeah. People knew babies usually came from sex, but that was something he liked keeping private. Being pregnant kind of felt like screaming that he was “doing the do” to everyone in the space.

Bring the tray of tea over, Coran dropped himself down next to him. Close enough to be felt, but far away enough that Lance felt he could breathe   
“Are you feeling better?”  
Lance wiped at his eyes, sighing more to himself over his behaviour than Coran questions   
“A bit. I know the others care but... I haven’t been... doing that great mentally and their care has been too much to cope with right now. I feel so lost and un-me. I don’t even remember what I used to feel like”  
“Would you like to tell me more?”  
Lance nodded, the tension that’d left him highly strung finally felt like it was disappearing   
“I love Keith. I love him and I want the best for him... but he didn’t sign up for twins. Curtis won’t stop fussing. Rieva is too enthused and insists on taking care of me. Hunk accepted it too easily. I wanted Keith to talk to Krolia in private and be able to tell her himself, in his own words and in his own way. I’m not supposed to be here. Pidge is still in the moon boot. I spent Keith’s birthday weekend bouncing from one extreme to another and I feel like I’ve hurt everyone in my life by existing. Plus, I’ve hardly been acting my age. It’s like since I met Keith I’ve turned into an idiot. I’m doing and saying things I’ve never done or felt. I feel territorial and my ego gets so mad over the smallest things. I wanted to work on myself and grow my relationship with Keith, and I was really looking forward to feeling useful getting back into work, especially when we both know what this time of year can be like. I don’t want to drink fresh blood. It makes me feel so fucking ashamed for needing it like I’ve never needed it before, then everyone cops my cocky ego until I fall asleep because I don’t feel rested thanks to everyone trying to manage my life around me instead of asking me how or what they can do to actually be there. I love them all so much. I know their hearts are in the right place, and all of them are important to me, but I can’t help feel they’re all stuck in a war their not supposed to know about. Plus if they’re not trying to figure out how to help Curtis, Rieva is researching Lotor with Matt. She’s so shaken by him that I feel like I put her in danger by having her near me. I don’t know how to be a dad. I don’t know how to have a baby. I don’t know how to have two and when I look at Keith, I want to throw everything out the window and all I want to do is feel better so he can breath easier... and now I’m talking too much about me and I’m just being really selfish and stupid right now. I should know better. I used to know better... I just want everything to stop so I can finally catch up”

Coran pulled him into an uncomfortable hug. Mostly because he was trying to look Lance in the eye but his body didn’t really bend that way with the angle of the hug  
“You’ve always over thought everything in life. I remember the little boy who cried for the people who gave blood because you thought they must have been hurt for their to be so much blood. I know this is a very difficult time for you. I let you down by not prioritising working on stabilising your body and developing a contraceptive sooner. In the last six months you’ve have your brother attempt to have your life taken, then finally learned how good it feels to be accepted by more than those who knew your secret and loved you anyway. I care for a lot of vampires, werewolves, and humans, but you my boy will always be special in my heart”

God... if Coran didn’t have all the right words no one did. He loved this man, despite his weirdness and extremes, and his lack of personal boundaries  
“I know you’ve been struggling with your mental health, and issues you had in the past accepting yourself, and I know you let it get to the point where you exhaust yourself and need a dirt nap. I remember the first time you had a test in college. You called me up to ask for my advice. I felt so proud you’d come to me... I was so very proud to see you following your own path. But I also saw how your heart hardened when you finally realised you had to leave your friends behind. I saw how guarded you became. How scared of society you felt. That fear that Nyma and Rolo were out there. All of these things cut you deeply. More deeply than any quintessence manipulation could heal. But even when you hit these lows, and trust me, this is a blip in comparison for your first lot of final exams, you always pulled yourself back and gripped that ego of yours. You sheltered yourself away. You’ve lived without letting yourself truly live and experience because no matter how much we adore you, you feel you have no right to exist. But you have every single right”

Lance sniffled loudly, before mumbling softly  
“I’m scared of me”  
“I know you are. I wish I could tear that fear from you”  
“I don’t think I like being able to turn into a bat. Or drinking fresh blood... or releasing pheromones. I lasted so long and I was okay with everything, but... I couldn’t let Keith die. He’s a human”  
“You did a very brave and silly thing, but also a very you thing. How many vampires do you think would save the hunter their to kill them?”  
“Some would...”  
“Perhaps. Or perhaps they’d feed then let them die. You showed Keith a great kindness”  
“He’s honestly amazing. He used to be so timid. He didn’t feel wanted or loved. He felt suffocated too... sometimes his love scares me. It scares me that he could burn out before his time... He’s so fucking smart... then he gets upset because he didn’t graduate high school and doesn’t have a lot of money. I would give him the world if I could, but I don’t want him to feel like... like I’m trying to buy his love with gifts. I want him to be truly happy, because I’m happy when I’m with him but I’ve been bringing him down by not being well”

Coran rubbed his arm, Lance closing his eyes. He almost felt lulled, akin to the way Mami would rock him after he’d wake up screaming. She’d hold him tight. Her scent and warm skin against his cool body. Softly she’d rock him as she sung to him, reassuring him was loved   
“It isn’t uncommon at all for the partner to feel guilt while watching their pregnant partner adjust. Keith would take it all on himself if he could”  
“He’s still working out how to be accept that I’m not going to die, again. I just want him to accept he can’t fix this in any other way than existing”  
“He carries a great number of wounds to his soul. He’s been left behind by the ones he loved. Perhaps counselling will help?”

Keith had to be ready. He’d come so far with being able to socialise that Lance was beyond proud. He loved when Keith talked in their group chat, or he’d make Lance wait a moment because he was replying to Pidge or Hunk.

“I think he’s ready to reconnect with Krolia, or make that really big step. I disrespected his feeling by telling Krolia... I’m tired of being fussed over. I barely feel rested because I drift off suddenly only to be woken up again, or I can’t switch my head off enough to sleep properly. I know you weren’t trying to hurt me on Monday, but I’ve been trying. I swear I’ve been trying to eat more and keep it down”  
“I’m sorry. I was very much alarmed that you’d be dehydrated, and so ill. That and I was perhaps being a tad overbearing because you mean so much to me”  
“I don’t know what to do. Keith and I are having twins, and I still feel like I need to work on me. I was struggling with my mental health a lot. Having a boyfriend is amazing, but the anxiety... I want to work out that balance between everything. I had it clear before. Mami. Pidge. Hunk. Blue. You and Allura. Work. Keeping Pidge and Hunk safe. Everything was defined”  
“Everything was defined, and I know you were happy, but life can’t always be easily defined. Should I see about getting you a room to rest in here?”

That sounded amazing. Guilt bloomed at how good that sounded. Fuck... He was smart dumb. If he’d set an IV line up he could have slept and ate at the same time   
“Everyone will worry”  
“I am asking what you would like?”  
“Keith would want to stay by my side”  
He would. He couldn’t make this decision alone. It wasn’t fair on any of their group if he was making decisions that seemed to disregard the thoughts and feelings of others   
“I think perhaps Keith also requires rest, and you two need to go have a hard talk. He will not be offended if you are honest with him”  
“I know. I also love isn’t telling your partner what you think will keep the mood and happiness between you stable. That’s not a real relationship. I know I can tell him anything, but I know I feel so mixed up right now that I want to understand myself before I do explain... but... I also want to tell him everything and have him help me figure it out too, because we make a good team when we’re working together... then I feel like it’s my ego, and that I’m being selfish for wanting to have an honest conversation with him when I know he’s going to work out the answers for me before I do”

He missed the before. Before he felt so sick. He knew the symptoms would abate, but that was further down, and it’s not like he could make up for the now  
“There’s nothing wrong with relying on Keith. He’d love to help you work through things. I’ve seen you both do so along the journey this relationship has taken, and I am confident you will get through this. I’ll have a bed readied. You may rest here as long as you need. I was going to ask if perhaps you and your friends would spend the night here for Halloween. For safety. I am not saying Sendak will make a move, but I felt perhaps they’d feel better knowing they’d have a safe place”  
“What about Lotor?”

That’s what it all came back too, wasn’t it?

Not according to Coran  
“Pish-Posh. He does not scare me. Not anymore, though I do worry for Allura. She’s making Lotor work on bettering himself. The incident with the opera was the last metaphoric straw. She’s bossed him into actively assisting the Blades, though he won’t hand over Sendak’s primary location. It is quite amusing to watch him humble himself before her”   
God. Allura was incredibly strong. He loved her wholly platonically as the sister he should have had  
“Allura is a queen. She’s amazing. Lotor should be grateful to kiss her boots”

Coran chuckled. Lance felt his words were accurate to smallest millimetre  
“She is my pride and joy. The pair of you are. I love you as if you were my own”  
“I love you too, Coran. I’m sorry I’m not... well, I’m not doing that good”  
“You don’t need to apologise. Recognising something is wrong is a major step in making things right. You’ve always been more accepting of others than yourself. Now, let’s enjoy our tea, then we’ll have a nice break before finding our Keith and sitting down with him”  
“Thanks for listening”  
“Any time my boy. My phone has been awfully lonely without your calls”  
“I know... I’m always getting caught up something or sleeping. It’s frustrating”  
“Better than three months making grave soil?”  
“I don’t know, at least I’d be able to sleep all I wanted”  
Coran chuckled again  
“You’ll be just fine, my boy”


	121. Chapter 121

121

“Lance is pregnant?”  
“Yep”  
“And he’s carrying twins?”  
“Yep”  
“And you’re going to be a father?”  
“Yep”  
“And you’ve known for weeks now?”  
“Nope. We only found out a few days it was twins”  
“And you didn’t tell me sooner?”  
“Yep?”  
“Keith... This a big thing? I know you don’t trust or rely on me, but I want to be here for both you and Lance”

Dragged off by Krolia, Keith had a firm gaze on his hands. He’d been hopelessly nervous over today’s scan, anxious to see if the changes in Lance’s daily routine coupled with the fresh blood hadn’t hurt their babies in any way, and kind of feeling displaced over their friends wanting to be there for the scan. He didn’t think he could feel more anxious until Krolia suddenly appeared as Coran was preparing to start the ultrasound. He’d expected more yelling from his mother. More “How could you be so irresponsible?”, and more “There’s no way you can be with him or have the twins”. His mother sounded disappointed. He hadn’t meant for her to find out like this, but Lance had snapped and now they were here.

“Gracious. You must be so scared right now. Your father was awash with fear when he found out. He worried so much for you from the moment he knew you existed... This is why you hugged me wasn’t it? You were still working through how to tell me as you feared the worst”  
His mother was leaning on the table with her left elbow, her right arm sitting against the table as if she wanted to reach out and take his hand  
“How could I not? Lance is a vampire. If the Vatican found out, he’d be dead or dragged off to be experimented on”  
Sure they were going to tell their friends, but having Krolia know... she was in a position where she really should be reporting this back to Blade Headquarters. He couldn’t quite place her tone, she sounded worried, but her being their for the scan had really thrown him for a loop. Mami held Lance’s hand for their six week scan, whereas Krolia stood further back... kind of like she was trying to give them a bit of privacy despite how impossible that’d been  
“Oh, Keith. No. There’s no way I’d let that happened to him. Not when your happiness and his would be destroyed by people who know nothing”

Raising his head to meet his mother’s eyes, Krolia gave him perhaps the softest smile he’d ever seen her give. It felt... too easy. To accepting  
“Why aren’t you mad? He’s a vampire”  
Krolia finally drew back in her chair, crossing her arms lightly while making gestures with her left hand as if to wave off his worry  
“He’s also a good man. He is kind and conscious of his condition. He poses no threat as he is. If anything he’s a little too human. I feel no threat from him. How are you both doing? I was so shocked when I found out I was carrying you. We don’t have the easiest life, but I wanted you so very badly”

And Keith so very badly wanted to know Lance was okay... but he couldn’t run from the things he’d been slowly working out, nor the things he wanted to tell his mother  
“I... spent a long time hating you. I hated you for leaving me behind and I didn’t understand why you would if you loved me. Finding out Lance was pregnant, it’s like... like I finally get it. I’m scared for him... and I’m scared for our kids... We thought we were only having the one. We were adjusting to that thought, and now there’s two, and Lance hasn’t been very well... Coran has all these guesses but their just that, guesses. He can’t say anything for sure...”  
Krolia nodded  
“I had the most horrendous morning sickness all through my pregnancy with you. I remember you dad tried to be romantic and make dinner but the moment he opened the can of sardines I threw up on the sofa...”  
That didn’t sound fun or pleasant   
“Did... did you regret it? Keeping me?”  
Krolia shook her head  
“Not for a moment. The second I laid eyes on you, all I felt was so in love that I can’t even describe the feeling. Having you was my proudest moment of my life. Then reality set back in. The fear you wouldn’t be safe... I’d already made a bit of a name for myself by then, the days I spent with you and your father... They were truly the best. Leaving you never got any easier. I hurt you deeply and I’m never going to be able to undo that, but you are my precious son. Even if I have to make an enemy of the Vatican, I will do all I can to protect and help you and Lance”

Krolia lived and breathed her work. That she’d go that far shocked him. He seriously thought she’d be against this. Against him and Lance continuing with the pregnancy... Keith didn’t know what to say  
“I don’t... how can you...”  
“Because things aren’t as simple as they teach you as a Blade. Lance isn’t the first vampire I’ve met who wants to be as human as possible. I’ve lied in my reports to protect the very people we’re supposed to kill. I’ve been stung for it before, but at the end of the day, everyone is trying their hardest to make sense of things. Good and Evil aren’t cut down the middle in a straight line. As long as Lance lives the way he has been, I see no danger in continuing to let him live. Besides, you love him. A vampire wouldn’t have been my first choice for you, but your happiness is what matters. You said Lance hasn’t been well, is something wrong?”

Keith hoped their wasn’t. His boyfriend had been pretty cranky since they went back to Garrison. Keith hadn’t been all that happy either. He wanted to be the one to take care of Lance, but Lance always had someone else in the household fussing over him. It’d been hard to hold his temper as he was made to feel redundant  
“He’s been really tired and emotional. And really angry today... Coran said anger could be a sign he’s not getting enough blood. He burns through everything so fast... and he throws up a lot”  
“It sounds to me like this could be the best place for him right now”  
The comment rubbed Keith the wrong way  
“Are you trying to say because dad died I can’t take care of Lance?”  
“No. I’m saying if something is wrong, Coran is the person Lance needs. He needs you too. This is a whirlwind time for both of you. You want to prioritise him, but he may need Coran’s guidance a little more given he’s dealt with so many supernatural beings. He seems to have a lot of experience and a rather level head”

Riiiiiiiight. He’ll remember that the next time Coran went off talking about his sexscapeds, or got too excited over him dating Lance  
“Sometimes he’s a complete nutter”  
“Faes are normally trickster demons. He must be very old and very wise to run this place the way he does. Lance trusts him. He’s probably a mess trying to work out his headspace. Have you talked?”  
“A bit. He’s been so up and down that I’m worried about him”  
“That’s natural”  
“But to be this up and down... I don’t know how to help him... I hate it”

Lance seemed so down. So withdrawn. That morning he hadn’t even protested the others joining them for the scan. He’d barely said much of anything when Keith thought about it. He knew his boyfriend didn’t like fresh blood, but if that was the only thing then he kind of felt they’d maybe have talked about it. Krolia   
“I’m envious of Lance. I see you with him. You’re not afraid to be open and honest with him. I can’t help but feel jealous of your closeness. You have a good partner, but you need to remember to keep talking. Your father copped more than one of my moods, we had a huge fight that lasted for a week once, because we both thought we were doing the right thing by not pressuring each into talking. What we needed was to talk. I’ve wanted to talk with you for so long... did you get my call? I didn’t know if you got the message I left for your birthday”  
Keith shook his head. He hadn’t had a notification that he knew of. He only kept his phone close because Lance’s alarms were on it  
“We had no service out there. I don’t know what I would have done, but I think I would have listened to your message if I’d seen it”  
“Ah... I was worried I’d upset you. I know I should have knocked this morning, but with no word from you, I wanted to see you were okay. Especially as Pidge came back with a busted ankle”

Hold up. His mum was talking with Pidge? When did this happen? How did that happen?  
“You saw her?”  
“She came by yesterday with Colleen. I caught her trying to take a look at the briefing room again”  
Keith groaned, Shiro biting down a snort. That was so very Pidge that it wasn’t funny, also very stupid on her behalf   
“She does that. Lance spent years always going ahead and checking out the places she was interested in so she wouldn’t be hurt”  
“Seeing him with them... it’s nice to know you’re friends have spirit with someone there to shelter them. He could be a major asset in the war ahead, yet knowing he’s pregnant, I can’t quash the feeling he should be placed in protective custody”

And Keith was back on guard again. Lance wouldn’t appreciate being made to feel useless, nor did he want to be away from his house. If Lance was put into custody then it was hugely likely that he wouldn’t be able to see his boyfriend until all this was over   
“You mean you want to lock him away”  
“I’d lock all of you away if I could. Things will only get harder. Lotor has offer his assistance with the pushing of Allura. Though he is useless until he delivers Sendak to us, the one thing he refuses to do”  
Oh...   
“I don’t want Lance around Lotor. Lotor isn’t good for him. Lance is sure Lotor knows he’s pregnant”  
“I would be guarding that secret carefully. Sendak is no joke, nor is the intent in Honerva. Honerva is very smart. That’s why it is so hard to pin something on her and Zarkon. Even if we apprehended Sendak I don’t think we can proceed against Honerva without physical proof of her involvement”

This felt like the longest conversation they’d ever had. There were moments and pauses, yet Krolia wasn’t hiding behind her Blade position. She kind of felt... a bit how Mami made him feel. A little reassured and a lot hoping he was saying the right things. Shiro cleared his throat   
“Yes, well, Lotor is another issue. We also have Curtis’s curse to think of too”  
Keith felt bad for Curtis. His brother being dumb with his words about his boyfriend   
“I wish we had some way to severe the demon from your soul. You were a valuable hunter, though I am relieved that you found a place here with Coran. Many think him too kind hearted given the amount of resources used to keep this place running. There are some in the Blade that think he should be stripped of this post. If anything we should be grateful to him”  
Hold up. His mum was complimenting Coran now? Where was the Krolia who’d crush anyone deemed incompetent?!

“My curse is inconvenient. Compelled to the truth... for one mission going wrong. Having monitored Lance I feel his issues with his mental health are the main worry for the moment. If he cannot stabilise his emotions, I fear for him”  
At least Curtis had waited this long to contribute to the conversation. Keith still felt Shiro could have said things better. If Curtis remained in Garrison and working remotely it would be safer as Lotor wouldn’t be able force him to confess anything... but Curtis wasn’t someone or something to keep locked away  
“Lance trusts Curtis. He really likes you. You should be nicer to your boyfriend”  
“I’m not trying to be awkward, yet we do need to consider what will come next. I imagine you’ll want to retire closer to the due date”

Keith hadn’t really thought about that far ahead. He and Lance both wanted the current situation to hurry up and draw to a close. He’d tried to research what he could on pregnancy, but all it did was make him worry more for Lance as he read about the things that could go wrong with his boyfriend and with their babies. Movies made being pregnant look easy... very few had things going wrong. He didn’t know why people had babies when it could kill them... Lance was already dead, but he had blood in his veins. He could haemorrhage. He could suffered a stroke or clot. The drama didn’t even end when the baby was popped out. Being a parent seemed crazy idea. He wanted things to go well. He and Lance deserved things going well. There were so many things to arrange before Lance gave birth on top of working. He didn’t know if he was ready to retire, but he did know he didn’t want to bring work back home with him.

“I think you’ve broken him. Sets save that talk for another day”  
Curtis was kind of right. Did he want to retire and if he retired how many people would die because of it?  
“Yes. Ooooh, have you Lance started picking names?”  
Nope. Not even a name for when they thought they were only having one baby  
“Careful, Krolia. Your grandma side is showing”  
“Let me be happy for them. I assume Lance is going to find a place in Platt? If you’d like to buy a place, I would love to be able to contribute...”  
Hang on...   
“I think Lance would rather remain in Garrison. He owns his house”  
Krolia agreed with Shiro   
“He is at that age. Perhaps it’s time for me to see where my future grand-babies will call home?”  
“Lance has a nice house. It has a warm feel to it, and he’s got a bit of land around it”  
“I wonder if Miriam would like to make a day trip with me?”  
Now his mother was pushing things. Sure, anyone with access to Lance’s file could get his address, but showing up unannounced or with very little notice left Lance jittery   
“You can’t invite yourself over. That’s Lance’s safe space”  
“Relax. I don’t mean right away, and not without asking him. When his pregnancy is more settled I thought it might nice. Are you two planning on having a baby shower?”

Could babies shower? Didn’t people use a baby bath? He nearly asked before remembering what a baby shower was  
“I don’t think so. Lance is pretty uncomfortable about conceiving given all the changes he’s been going through since he drank my blood...”  
“I think a baby shower would be a splendid idea. We can plan for closer to his due date. When’s he due?”  
Curtis loved being social. He loved helping others, and he’d given up trying to give them sex toys. If they did have a baby shower Keith feared he’d be a nervous wreck and only cause more trouble for those organising it, which would be Hunk, Rieva, and Curtis...  
“He’s due in the second week of June... provided he doesn’t have another major bleed or lose the twins... and provided his pregnancy progresses like a human pregnancy and his body doesn’t give out with all the energy going to the twins”

Shiro softly reassured him, his words didn’t feel very comforting ashis brother could foresee the future. Apparently Allura couldn’t have foreseen this either   
“Keith, whatever happens, we’ll be here for you”  
Keith huffed. He was hearing too much about him and not enough about Lance  
“It’s Lance you should be here for”  
“We’re here for the four of you. We’re going to get Sendak and close this case up. You’ll see”  
Krolia hummed to herself before nodding like she was answering her own question   
“You two will be on the same team for Halloween. Though I think Shiro will be scoping from a seperate point. Would you like me to see if I can rearrange things?”

God, yes. Halloween was a horrible time of the year. People only cared about wearing the sluttiest costumes the could find, then ending up drunk in the gutter. Now he had friends to worry about. Hopefully Pidge would still be in her moon boot so she didn’t get herself into trouble   
“It’ll be fine. It’s only scoping, if we have to move in, we’ll converge before making the apprehension”  
Tranq ’em, bag ’em, then bring’ em in for Coran to process unless the target needed to be dealt with on scene. Yay. He was tired as it was. He couldn’t nap when Lance napped because he’d get worked up about the possibility of Lance waking up disorientated, having a nightmare, or he couldn’t quite take his eyes off him because he was too cute when he slept. Mostly because Lance was cute and liked to nuzzle into him like a big cat.

Krolia smiled at him. She really had seemed to soften since coming to Platt. He’d softened since coming to Platt, even when it came to work he felt like a metric ton of weight had come off his shoulders  
“I really am proud of you, Keith. And I will be there to help in any way I can. You deserve this happiness you’ve found with Lance”  
No normal hunter would say this, but Krolia was hardly normal. He finally kind of felt like maybe he was reassured by her words  
“Thanks, mum. Um... I should head back and check on Lance”  
“Ditched for the boyfriend, I see how it is, too cool to hang out with your old mum”  
Krolia faked a sniffle. Yeah. She was definitely a weirdo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Krolia. I know this story is from Keith’s and Lance’s POV, but I love Krolia


	122. Chapter 122

122

Lance made himself comfortable in the infirmary room he’d be using for the next few days. Coran had gone to fetch Keith after hooking him up with an IV line. Keith would freak, but they’d deal with that when he came. Pulling the blankets up to his shoulders, Lance rolled to face the door, left arm extended so he didn’t hurt himself with cannula, and a bucket had been found up in case he felt nauseous. He wanted Coran to hurry up and bring Keith down so they could talk, and so he’d have his boyfriend’s scent instead of disinfectant and cleanliness... He also wanted Keith to arrive before he fell asleep again, which he was in danger of doing with the extra blankets Coran had brought him.

When Keith finally did arrive, Lance was fighting to stay awake. His boyfriend freezing in the doorframe, Lance knowing his anger loaf was leaping to bad conclusions  
“I’m okay, come over here”  
“What are you... Coran, you said he was resting...”  
“Ah, yes, well. I did think it best to Lance explain things after our little talk. I’ll leave you boys be”  
Keith continued hovering near the door as Coran left  
“Babe, come over here. I can’t talk to you when you’re so far away”  
“You’ve got an IV in... Did...”  
Lance found the strength to answer firmly yet softly  
“Nothing happened. I want to talk to you, and... It’s not bad. Please will you just get over here and hug me already?”

Keith finally moved. Coming over to him, his boyfriend took his hand, Lance interlacing their fingers so he couldn’t escape being close to him  
“Why?”  
That was a good question. One he didn’t blame Keith for. He’d be flipping out if their roles were reversed   
“I’m going to stay here for a couple of days”  
Keith’s face crumpled with guilt  
“I...”  
“No. Nope. Nooo. You are not to blame. I... I’m having a little bit of trouble with my mental health and I asked Coran if I could stay”  
“Because I didn’t do...”  
“Keith. I know you’re blaming yourself. You take such good care of me, but... Today really was the last straw. I lived alone for a long time. You know that. And I love all you guys, but I’ve been feeling... feeling suffocated. Today I wanted to have the scan with just us there, but I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings with how considerate of me you’re all trying to be. You aren’t to blame. You love me and you’ve been trying your hardest to show it and I love you for it. I love you. But I need... I need a little space from having someone always shadowing me. Rieva and Curtis... even Shiro, I was feeling so tired that I started directing all that inside me because instead of asking for what I wanted, everyone was trying to tell me what they think I needed. We both have issues, babe, and that’s okay, but mine are a bit big at the moment so I need to slow down... Coran was supposed to tell you I was okay, but I guess he really did think we needed to talk to this out together”

Bringing Keith’s hand up, Lance kissed the back of it. He knew the importance of making sure Keith understood that he hadn’t been to blame for Lance’s mental issues  
“You are amazing. I love you. I’m not here because of you. I’m here because I need a bit of a break... but not from you”  
Keith still looked downcast. Maybe he needed a tiny break from Keith worrying but not from his boyfriend   
“I noticed... that you’ve been pulling away”  
“That’s because I feel so many things and my head is going round and round trying to work it all out”  
“I just want to be there...”

Keith had the softest heart. It hurt to talk, but things left unsaid would only fester  
“And you are. You’re my precious boyfriend. It took me my whole undead life to find you. I’m not unsure about us. I’m just tired of being fussed over non-stop like I’m not trying or not listening to my body. The IV line is there so I rest and I eat. I know it doesn’t work like a human, but I do get nutrients from the blood bag. I really need to get my head around what’s happening with my body and work out how to move forward again with you to make a life for our babies”  
Twins weren’t planned. Their first baby wasn’t planned. Two really threw him for a loop  
“I don’t want to lose you”

God. Keith was so cute. So very sweet. How anyone could have hurt him was beyond Lance’s comprehension. Once things had settled down and if they were still together, he was totally putting a ring on Keith’s finger when the time was finally right. He’d finally settled with his feelings over being so much older than his boyfriend. Keith was so young with so much life. He might not age on the outside but they’d mature further together.

“You’re not going to. I’m not going to wake up and let you go. Everyone knows this pregnancy is a little different and everyone is worrying for both of us. I just need a break from their worry for a little bit to calm down. I could see it too, you know, how you worried over them worrying about me. I’m so tired all of the time that waking up to eat sometimes leaves me exhausted... but then I think about this and us, and I love you and them even more. So instead of sleeping at home, I’ll be sleeping here and it only until after Halloween”

Keith’s bottom lip quivered, his boyfriend finally moving to hug him  
“I hate seeing you in here”  
“I know. But you’re the love of my life, Keith Kogane. I’m going to talk to Coran some more. I don’t think I’ve told you how much he helped after turning. I’ve had problems off and on since... and I know I’ve told you that. I’m having problems with how emotional I’m feeling, but... I want to talk to you about it. And I want you to talk to me. Or to Coran if you want. You’ve got a lot of things brought back up by this pregnancy. People are too quick to pretend the traumas of growing up suddenly disappear. We’re going to be dads and both of us kind had very different childhoods. We’ve just gotta work out what to do next together, after I’ve had some sleep and can think straight”  
“Mum... mum said she’d support us”

Right. Krolia had left with Keith and the others to talk. He was shocked, and kind of not, that she’d want to be part of all of this. She deeply regretted leaving Keith with everything he went through growing up. What happened with Krolia was still left to Keith to decide. Keith had to keep working through those feelings  
“Yeah?”  
“Yeah... it felt weird... but she said she wanted to be there for us... I don’t know I can let her in...”  
“Babe. I’m not going to tell you want to do or feel. Yours and Krolia’s relationship is something you’re working on at your own pace. I know you planned to tell her yourself, but honestly I was so ill tempered by the time we got here I wanted everyone to fuck off and leave us alone”

Keith snorted into his shoulder  
“I kind of felt that way too, then I felt bad for feeling like that”  
“That’s what I’ve been feeling lately. That I’m too tired to keep my ego from being a dick. Honesty, sometimes I want to punch myself in the dick when I think about my behaviour”  
“You’re going through a lot”  
“So are you. Everyone keeps focusing on me and I’m like what about you. What are you thinking and feeling? But it’s kind of hard to have a private conversation when the others keep butting in with their worry. It’s strange. I didn’t think I needed more than I had but now I have more I don’t want to give it all up. I want to have these babies. I want to be a better man and a good dad to them. I want to sit down with you and decide everything together. You’re their father. No one else, babe. Your feelings are so important to me. I know we didn’t plan on me falling pregnant so fast, or so early, but I can’t help but want that whole big future with you”  
“They asked if we had names... and if I was quitting work and I didn’t know what to say or do”

Lance assumed “they” were Keith’s family. Krolia was probably going to be someone he was going to have to sit down and talk with one on one in the future. No ordinary hunter would allow a pregnant vampire to live. Not with the risk of spreading the curse through Lance’s blood  
“We have time to work that all out. I’m not ever going to tell you to quit your job. You have my full support in every single way I can help. I’ve seen how much better being at VOLTRON has been for your mental health. I’ve seen you finally start believing in yourself like I believe in you. I know you’re scared because you lost your dad. I know you think you can’t do it, but I feel that way sometimes too. Not that you can’t, but that I’ll be a bad father... or that someone will swoop in and steal you away from me, seeing I’m so much older”  
“No... I don’t want anyone else”  
“I know, but think of the times you’ve been really low, when the smallest thing feels like a personal attack. That’s how my moods have felt lately. So think of this like a vampire day spa. I stay a few days, rest up, get plenty of blood and settle down a bit... I’m going to be okay, and we’re okay”

Keith took a shaky breath as he sat up to look Lance in the eyes  
“I’m... I really don’t know what to do. You’ve been so sick... and I can’t... I can’t take that away from you. I feel like I can’t make you smile...”  
“Idiot. You always make me smile. Before you came I was thinking about how much I wanted you to hurry up and be here already”  
“I got you pregnant...”  
“And I pretty much enjoyed like every moment of that... the after shock is still... shocking. But if it was going to be anyone in the world, it was going to be the man who makes me feel like the biggest, dopiest, love struck idiot around. You’re smarter and so, so, much more amazing that you let yourself believe. You’re like a total bad arse...”

Keith flushed with a soft blush   
“I don’t feel very bad arse”  
“That’s because depression and anxiety are horrible sluts that dance around with no underwear making you pay attention to them”  
Keith wrinkled his nose at him, but finally he was getting close to a smile  
“That’s... I don’t want to think about that”  
“Exactly. It’s not something you want to think about but they don’t care. I know I should have talked to you like this sooner, but it’s hard to find privacy when you have a werewolf living in your house”  
“I liked it better when it was just us”

Lance did too. Some days. Some days he wanted to throw everyone out like he’d tried to do with Keith. He was so grateful his anger loaf hadn’t left   
“Baaaabe. You can’t just kick friends out. No matter how annoying they make you feel. You’re like stuck with us and all our annoying parts. Like Pidge can be super annoying but I fucking love that about her. Don’t tell Curtis, but the smell of his feet has actually become kind of comforting. They absolutely reek, but they say that he’s alive and he’s around, and I love that. And out of everything, I love your scent the most. Your scent makes me feel safe. Like I’m wrapped up in Mami’s lap, hugged until the world no longer matters”  
“I don’t know if I know how that feels... to be that loved like that”  
“It feels like what I have with you. We’re not always happy and we’re not always happy at each other, but together we have a happiness that’s more than I ever thought possible. We’ve got a lot to work out, and right now I’m fighting not to fall back to sleep”  
“You should rest...”  
“I’m going to, but I needed to make sure you understood I chose to be here for the sake of us and our babies. Have you got time for a nap?”  
“I should... probably go pick Kosmo up. And let the others know you’re okay”  
“Alright. I’m proud of you babe”

Keith leaned in to kiss him softly, Lance melting into the affection in the kiss, sad when it finally broke  
“Is there anything you want from home?”  
“Blankets... and maybe my laptop”  
“You’re supposed to be resting”  
“But if we have my laptop I can watch movies with you”  
Keith huffed  
“You don’t get to look that cute and make demands”  
“You’re the one who asked. Maybe a change of clothes too? I’ll let you decide”  
“I don’t know if I can”  
“You can. I know you can. Just bring whatever you think I need”  
“I don’t think I can bring your house”  
Lance smiled at his idiot boyfriend  
“Maybe not. Okay, you better go. Then I can go to sleep and sleep through missing you”  
Keith kissed him again, his kisses really were the best  
“I’ll be back as soon as I can”  
“I know. But no speeding and make sure you wear your seatbelt”  
“Yeah, yeah”  
“Keith...”  
“I won’t. Not when I have you waiting for me to come back”  
“That’s right. We’re waiting for you. Be safe, samurai”  
“You too, sharpshooter”

Lance groaned at the nickname. You shoot one target in the one spot and they never let you forget it. He felt bad for sending Keith off, yet Keith needed a little reminder that it was okay to be independent. He could only hope Keith would remember he’d driven Rieva and Curtis up to Platt and that they’d need a lift home. Spending time alone with the others was good for Keith... and it’s not like it was forever. He wanted to rest. He didn’t want to ask Coran to have to bar Keith from visiting, so after Keith came back, they were going to have to have another conversation.


	123. Chapter 123

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drama ahead!!! And for like the next 20 chapters

123

Sleep was nice. Sleep was so damn nice that Lance enjoyed every moment of it that he could. Sure, it made for him being lousy company, but he was finally starting to feel rested. Coran was running tests, trying to determine how much blood he needed to get him up and active again, while resting at VOLTRON meant a break from the real world. He’d slept a lot. Friday was completely lost on him as he burrowed under the blankets and let himself sleep. Seeing he didn’t have to wake for blood every few hours, he only had morning sickness and the usual vomiting to deal with... Morning sickness could kiss his arse at this stage, Keith really good about letting him have some independence when it came to throwing up and cleaning up after he did. He felt less of a burden. Less of a burden to himself too. Pidge had come to visit, his gremlin pretty mad she was the last to find out he was pregnant. It’d been one hell of a conversation, anxiety setting in as soon as he’d explained in chat that he was staying at VOLTRON for a few days and that Coran wanted them all to stay there for Halloween. Keith stayed the Thursday night, working Friday night seeing it was Halloween eve and a lot of places were having pre-Halloween things on. His boyfriend coming in as dawn was breaking, crawling into bed and passing out until Lance found himself throwing up.

Needing to pick up Sam from work then drop him home and collect their gremlin, Shiro, Curtis, Matt and Rieva had left to go on a pre-movie night food run. Keith sitting by Lance’s beside as he double checked he had everything. His boyfriend shouldn’t look so cute, but every blade on his belt was handed with such care, including the hunting knife he’d given Keith for his birthday. He’d only brought it because it was both pretty and practical, and Keith was pretty practical. Hunk had ventured to the Chinese restaurant next to the bookshop in a search for prawn crackers. Lance wasn’t sure why he felt like something savoury, only that he was tired of eating the same thing, or Keith bringing him takeout as if he didn’t trust Coran to keep him fed. Hearing footsteps, he expected Hunk to be back with the prawn crackers, not a distressed looking Coran who was unnaturally pale   
“Keith, can I have a word with you?”  
Keith frowned, Lance right there with him  
“What’s wrong? Has something happened?”  
“I... yes, can we please step outside?”  
It must be bad if Coran was asking to talk to Keith alone. Lance’s stomach dropped. Goosebumps erupted over his skin as he shivered  
“Coran, whatever it is, spit it out”  
“Yes, I...”  
“Coran!”

Yelling at Coran, Keith kind of spoke for both of them. Sometimes in life Coran needed to spit things out. If he was going to come rushing in worried, he should have expected he’d be telling both of them what was happening   
“There’s been an incident... at... the college where Sam Holt is employed... Rieva’s been shot. Shiro called it in”  
Lance started scrambling out of bed. He couldn’t believe something like that would happen  
“Where is she?!”  
“Lance...”  
“Where is she? How badly is she hurt? What happened?”  
“We don’t know. Shiro called it in... It happened close to the college where Sam works”  
Lance span around looking for his shoes. Why the fuck was he embracing being shoeless and foot free?! Keith asking as he rushed around the bed to grab him by the arm  
“What are you doing?”  
“I’m coming with you?”  
“Babe...”  
“Lance, Keith is right... You’re in no condition...”  
Oh not this shit again. Rieva was bleeding, they were wasting time  
“I’m fine. You’ve got a bleeding werewolf, a wolf with a hurt mate, and three humans. If Rieva’s hurt, you don’t stand a chance at getting close to her”  
“Babe the last time Matt really wolfed out he ripped you to shreds. There’s no way you can go there, not when you’re pregnant!”  
“Then how are going to get close?! You’re a human Keith! He could tear your throat out!”  
“And Shiro would have fallen back to let Coran know!”  
“Shiro could be hurt!”

Keith’s expression grew more panicked. Lance kind of kicking himself for adding to his boyfriend’s worry  
“I have to come with you”  
He might not stand a chance of getting close, but he could stop Keith from getting hurt. He expected Keith to get it, but his boyfriend shook his head as he let out a long breath  
“No. You need to stay here”  
“What?!”  
Now he was kind of furious and not sure if he’d heard correctly   
“You need to stay here. If Matt’s hurt Shiro... I don’t know what I’ll do, but if he hurts you... I can’t... I can’t bring you knowing you could lose our twins. Matt wouldn’t recover from that. None of them would... Coran is right. You need to stay here”  
“You can’t be serious! They’re our friends!”  
“And you’re my boyfriend! Okay! Just... I’m trained for this kind of thing in the field... what if there’s blood? What if something happens? What if...”  
What if his blood got into an open wound... Not only was Keith panicked over their twins, he was panicked that if Shiro was hurt, he could turn... a werewolf had a much easier life than a vampire... It fucking hurt and it fucking sucked...  
“Then take Coran. Coran can stop Matt. He’s done it before...”  
Keith stared at him like he’d grown a second head  
“What about you?”  
He... he couldn’t go to them, but he could help get things organised on this end  
“I’ll find Allura. Hunk will be back soon, and I need to call Pidge... When you see them, make sure you stay back, but tell Matt it’s both of you and you’re not going to harm him or Rieva. Matt will barely be able to control himself, and Rieva may lash out in pain depending on where she was shot... Curtis might not turn from a bite, not with the demon attached to his soul. He’s also stronger than Shiro. I’m not saying don’t help Curtis, but if they’re both hurt, prioritise first aid on Shiro, or Sam. Coran, you’ll also need to notify Kolivan and Krolia. This makes no sense. Pull the Blade members back, and put the werewolves on scent duty after Rieva and Matt have been removed... If Krolia can’t attend the scene, then Kolivan. No one else. Keith, call me once you know what’s going on. I’ll have Pidge come with Colleen, and Allura can coordinate the medical staff”

Lance wasn’t sure how he felt about sounding like the most level headed person in the room right about now when he was freaking the fuck out. Grabbing Keith, he pulled him in, kissing him hard and fast because he knew what Shiro meant to Keith. Shiro was Keith’s “Mami”. His rock and his family  
“Babe...”  
“Take Coran and go before I change my mind about staying”  
Keith kissed him quickly, moving towards the door and out of his hold  
“Stay safe. Find Allura and stick with her”  
Lance nodded  
“I will. Coran, you stay safe too. I want everyone coming back to me”  
Coran nodded at him, the fae seemed to have pulled himself more together now they had a kind of plan  
“We’ll let you know as soon as we do. Come on, number two... you’ll have to drive”

Keith made it to the door before jogging back to him, Lance pulled into a tight hug. He wasn’t sure if it was more his sake or his boyfriend’s but it was needed  
“I’ll be back with everyone as soon as I can...”  
“I know”  
He’d kick Keith’s arse into hell and back again if he didn’t. His boyfriend kissing just in front of his ear before whispering   
“That’s... you... you sounded really cool and mature. I love you”  
“I love you, too. Now get going”

Lance’s bravado faded as Keith left with Coran. He felt woozy, but wouldn’t let that show. Rieva being shot was like everything Coran was afraid of happening, but it wasn’t even sun down. They should have been safe. Shaking his head, he had no time for this. He needed to find Allura and get her to help him boss people around. He might be well known here, but he wasn’t VOLTRON’s beloved princess. Everyone loved Allura, and she loved them, and she also had the advantage of not currently being a “patient”... 

Skipping finding his shoes, Lance stumbled slightly in his hurry. The woozy feeling hadn’t left, tiredness causing the headache feeling behind his left eye. He felt drained from the panic, then angry at feeling drained when his friend was seriously hurt. He scared the crap out of Allura by pretty much slamming his hands on her office door, all but pounding until she answered, hair half up in rollers and she seemed to be getting ready to go out  
“Lance?!”  
“Rieva’s been shot. Coran’s gone with Keith to find out what’s going on. We need to get things ready here for when they come back”  
Allura’s eyes widen, taking Lance by the hand, as she closed the door behind her   
“Oh my! When did this happen?”  
“We’re not sure. They were going to pick Pidge’s dad up from work. Shiro called it in. We don’t know if the others are okay or if they’re hurt too...”

Swaying slightly, Allura moved as if she thought he was about to fall. Releasing his hand and looping her arm around his waist  
“Lance!”  
“I’m okay... I’m okay. Adrenaline and all that. Coran’s relying on us to get things organised. I need to... fuck, I left my phone in the room. Right. Hunk is coming back, and Pidge needs to be called. Her and Colleen need to come in. Matt’s going to have trouble trouble holding back his instincts and we don’t know how badly Rieva is hurt”  
“Okay. We’ll head to Coran’s office. I’ll get you to call Pidge from there...”  
It made more sense to Lance to let Allura call the infirmary first. Pidge would be shaken, he’d need longer to calm her down and reassure her that everything was being done on scene  
“No. You call down to the staff first. Put them on high alert. I told Keith I would stay with you, but I need to make sure Hunk is safe”  
“Lance...”  
“He’s next door. I asked him to get some crackers...”

Allura had popped by. She was annoyed to have been out of the loop. She’d known, but was waiting to be told, scolding him for making her wait so long. Lance may have kind of forgot to tell her about things... Working on the assumption that she knew and she hadn’t been... basically he didn’t want to be fussed over by her too. He felt bad for not talking to her, yet he also knew he’d put her in an awkward situation when she’d only recently got Lotor to behave himself   
“Lance, take a breath. You’re shaking”  
“I’m... I know. Kind of internally panicking big time here”  
“Coran will handle the scene. Keith will be fine. I’m more concerned about you. You look deathly pale”  
“You do remember I’m already dead”

Allure gave him an intentionally blank stare of disapproval, before it turned to a frown  
“You call Pidge and I’ll check on Hunk”  
“But...”  
Hunk was his bestie. He had to see for himself that his sunshine cookie was okay   
“I’ll have reception call down. Coran must have been flustered not to put preparations in order”  
Lance was going to admit that he’d forgotten reception was a thing... In his defence, he’d take ten kilometres of sleep and a good dose of knowing his friends were okay before his mind settled back down  
“I think we’re all too panicked to know which way is up”  
“I feel that too. You have some very good friends. I’m certain no matter what that Rieva will be okay”

Did Allura have the same kind of sinking feeling like Sendak had made his move? It was that just him? Had she seen something? He’d never truly understand how being a fae worked   
“Is that...?”  
“No. It’s not like that. It’s faith and hope in our friends. Your energy is so low... I really must get you to Coran’s office and resting”  
He’d sit and rest for a moment once he’d hugged Hunk, and once Pidge was safe. Thank god no one outside of those super close to him knew where his Mami was  
“I’ll...”  
“You’ll be sitting down and taking a moment. You’ll lock the door behind me, then let me back in when I return with Hunk. I don’t like how this feels”  
“I don’t like how it feels either... I feel like Sendak’s finally ready to show himself and now we’re all running around like headless chickens”  
“I was preparing for a night out with Lotor... This was the last thing on my mind”  
“Should I ask how that’s going?”  
“He infuriates me, then he charms me. Then he tells me that he’s sorry he can’t cross Sendak”  
“But you like him?”  
“I do, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to accept him how he is. No. He either needs to man up, or leave. I’m quite tired of his generals too... it’s most hard to relax when you feel you are under observation”  
Lance couldn’t help but snort with Kay  
“Oh, just wait until your pregnant. Zero modest. Zero dignity. Everyone sees your butt and then you have to have an internal exam. Like, I don’t care how much Coran has seen, these are my bits and pieces and I’m not okay with showing the world”

Allura giggled at him, before sobering  
“Oh, I’m sure it’s not that bad. I’m... I’m sorry I haven’t been by your side more. I may like Lotor, but I love you as a friend”  
“We were going to have a movie night tonight. Not that that’s happening now, but I’d be nice if you came and waited with us. You’ll probably be able to explain things about werewolves that’ll help calm Pidge and that...”  
“I don’t want to intrude”  
“You won’t. If anything you’ll distract them from the the pregnant man in the room”  
“If Coran doesn’t require my assistance, I’ll be there with you. I’m most upset that this has happened. No one has the right to injure a friend like this”  
“I wanted to go... but Coran and Keith both said no”  
“Is it selfish I’m glad they did? I feel much better with you here”  
“I’m pregnant, not dying”  
“I’m well aware that you’re both dead and pregnant. I mean, it’s awful to wait alone. I don’t feel so alone with you here to help me keep a level head”

Lance had no words for that. He was kind of happy that he had Allura too... and that she was safe. He hadn’t thought to think about her safety seeing they were at VOLTRON. Now he knew he wouldn’t feel settled until he saw everyone in one place. He didn’t even care if they crowded him as he threw his guts up, as long as they were together again... fuck...  
“Allura, I made Keith promise to call me but I don’t have my phone. If I don’t pick up, then he’s going to worry”  
Crap. He knew there was another reason he needed his phone   
“Oh, dear! Alright. I’ll collect it once I’ve collected Hunk. It’s in your room, right?”  
“Yeah. On the bedside table”  
“Don’t worry, I’m sure they’re still driving, it won’t take very long at all”  
“Thanks, Allura... It really is nice to have someone with you...”  
“Any time”

*  
Keith was shaking. He was shaking and Shiro wasn’t answering his phone. Slumped against his brother’s sedan, Rieva had a makeshift bandage around her leg made from her own shirt. She hadn’t wolfed out, but she wasn’t conscious either. The doors to Shiro’s car were open, the interior didn’t look touched... so where was his brother? Where was Matt? Matt wouldn’t leave Rieva. If something happened, they would have fallen back. Matt would have carried Rieva. He would have dragged her if he couldn’t carry her. He wouldn’t have left her behind.

He’d tried all their numbers. No one answering. Coran tending to Rieva as Keith jogged around the outside perimeter of the car park, but there was nothing. No big neon sign pointing to Shiro. No tiny clues either. Called back by Coran, he didn’t like this at all. If Shiro could see them, why hadn’t he approached? If Matt had wolfed out, why wasn’t there blood? Why wasn’t there something?  
“Keith, we need to bring her in. The shot itself doesn’t appear too serious, through and through, but without examination I won’t know more until I’ve got her back”  
“We can’t abandon the scene”  
More like he couldn’t abandon the others. They needed the scene secure for evidence   
“We’re not. While you were securing, I called Kolivan. He bypassed Allura’s order to return to Headquarters and is coming straight here. I’m sure the others fell back. Rieva herself probably asked them to”  
“Matt would never leave her behind. She’s his mate”  
“Until we know what’s going on, I need to prioritise Rieva. Once she’s awake, she’ll be able to give us information. I need you to come with me so I can focus on keeping her alive”

That’s not how the Blades worked. The scene and the mission came first and you made do until someone came or you were forced to leave. Keith felt almost callous that’d waste a moment longer arguing to stay at the scene when Rieva was bleeding. Swallowing hard, he didn’t like this. He didn’t like this feeling at all. Something had happened to the others and he knew it. But he had to trust in Shiro. If something had happened, Shiro would be able to keep a level head and figure things out. Placing his faith in his brother and their friends, he couldn’t get rid of the feeling like he was abandoning his brother as he nodded. Coran would know how to access the surveillance for the area, or Krolia. They might already be working on it back at VOLTRON  
“Get her in the back. I’ll take photos of the scene and be there in a minute”  
“I doubt we’ll find the bullet, but if you do, ignore the chains of evidence. I’ll take the heat, but for now we need to know if it was a normal bullet”  
“Okay. Will you alright with her?”  
“I’ve got her. You take your photos, but do it quickly, my boy”

When Coran moved Rieva, the car slumped on the rear passenger side. The hole in the tire evident now she was moved. Taking photos of absolutely everything, Keith felt self conscious of his scent tainting any potential scents James and the others would use to track down Shiro. Not caring about quality he took as many of the scene as he could before running back to the car. The training in him screaming at him not to leave the scene, but Rieva had to come first. He had no idea how he was going to tell Pidge, or what to say to say to Lance. Hell. He wasn’t even sure he’d had one continuous chain of thought since arriving on the scene. All the could do was work the evidence and hope Shiro had managed to get the others to safety.


	124. Chapter 124

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp

124

Keith couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t breathe and he couldn’t stand. He didn’t understand this. He didn’t understand it all. First Shiro, Sam, Curtis and Matt... now Lance. The four of them. The four of them were missing. He’d left Lance behind. He’d left him behind and believed he’d be safe. Coran had rushed off with Rieva and the waiting medical team. Allura, Krolia, Pidge, Colleen, and Hunk, had all been waiting in the reception when they’d gotten back. He’d thought... he thought they were all worried because of Rieva... until Pidge threw herself into his arms sobbing. Allura as downtrodden as she softly explained Lance had gone missing. He’d said he was going to call Keith, but hadn’t come back. Keith hadn’t gotten any call. He’d been so busy trying to call Shiro that he’d... that he hadn’t tried to call until they were nearly back at VOLTRON. He’d run a red light trying to call his beloved boyfriend... fear gripping him tightly as he choked on his own panic.

He’d lost it. He’d lost it at Allura... then Hunk... then finally crumpled in Pidge’s hold. He didn’t understand. Lance wouldn’t simply go off on his own. None of them understood. None of them cared. He’d yelled it in anger and felt none the better for doing so. Allura was supposed to protect Lance. She was supposed to stay by his side. Lance hadn’t been confident, yet he’d taken control of the situation. He’d stepped up forced himself to step back. He shouldn’t have made Lance stay. This was his fault. Lance... Lance who’d barely been awake the last few days. Who loved cuddles over violence and knew he was panicked over Shiro. He’d stayed to stay safe.

“Keith, we have work to do. The four of them going missing at once is no coincidence. We need to get started as soon as possible on their trail. I know it’s hard, but we’re going to get them back. You can’t lose hope before the search begins. Allura, we’ll make use of the Blades main briefing room. We need access to VOLTRON’s security feed. Pidge... Lance says you’re some kind of technical whiz, until our agents arrive, I need your help. Keith, did you take photos of the scene?”  
Keith stared up at his mother, galaxy eyes filled with tears as he nodded  
“Good. Hunk can help you with those. Whatever happened, we’ll work this out. Colleen, I’ll need your help too. I’m unfamiliar with the college and car park layout”

His mum sounded painfully like Lance. Lance knew how to brain when it really mattered. Not like him. He always lost his head when it came to Shiro. Extending both her hands, she pulled he and Pidge off the floor at the same time. Pidge already pulling herself together   
“I should be able to get a location on their phones, but I need access to a laptop”  
“Lance’s laptop’s in his room”  
“Allura and I will go. You guys get started working out what we know. I’m going to kick Matt’s arse if he’s okay”  
Keith didn’t want to break it to Pidge that Matt wouldn’t have willingly left Rieva. She already knew it, but it was one of those things best left unsaid out loud.

*  
Setting up in the briefing room, Allura wheeled in another white board so they could work off that. Krolia was on the phone now, James and the rest of the werewolves on route the scene that Kolivan was now at. Keith didn’t know what to do with himself once Hunk helped him get the photos off his phone and onto Lance’s laptop, which Allura had Pidge print. Colleen had written a timeline on the whiteboard, filling in when Lance had called Pidge, roughly what time Allura had returned with Hunk, and what time Lance had gone missing. She’d also filled in when she’d last heard from Matt and from her husband. 

Keith hadn’t thought about how she must feel. Her son’s girlfriend was in surgery. Her son and her husband were missing. He knew the relationships were very different, yet he couldn’t stop thinking about how his boyfriend had disappeared from VOLTRON. Lance was so stupid as to wander off... but surely they must have searched for him. He wanted to search himself, in case Lance had collapsed somewhere close and needed their help but couldn’t call for help. He’d been doing a lot better, other than the exhaustion. They’d talked a little about the future. About making plans once the case with Sendak was over. It hardly seemed like a week since they were up at the cabin for his birthday. 

“Alright. I’ve got the surveillance up from outside the bookstore...”  
Pidge pulled it up, playing it over the projector for all of them see. Keith couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Lance alone. His phone in his hands, and his shoulders hunched as if he was trying to look smaller. Out of nowhere his boyfriend slumped to the ground, phone sliding across the pavement as a large car pulled up. In less the ten seconds Lance was in the car and it was gone. Two large figures dressed in layers to disguise their shape and size had picked Lance up like he was nothing, all but throwing him into the back of the car, then pulling away as if nothing happened.

“What the fuck?!”  
Pidge’s exclamation overlapped Hunk’s worried “Oh man, oh man, oh man”. Keith shaken that they’d not only taken Lance, but Lance had gone out the front on his own  
“I’m going to see if his phone’s still there...”  
Allura shut her down. The last thing needed was something happening to Pidge   
“I’ll go. You see if you can find the footage from the hallway. He left from Coran’s office”  
“Why would he leave?”  
Keith’s question wasn’t really directed at anyone. He couldn’t make sense of what he’d seen. Allura already on the move to check the front of the store. He and Coran came through the front door. He hadn’t even looked. He’d been too preoccupied opening the door so Coran could carry Rieva in  
“Hunk, did Lance say anything? Was he acting strange?”

Hunk jumped slightly at Krolia’s question  
“No. He was worried about Rieva... and Keith. He said he was going to call Keith because they should have reached Rieva by now”  
If he’d just fucking called. If he’d called Lance...  
“Keith. Don’t do that. Those thoughts won’t help”  
It was Keith’s turn to jump at Krolia suddenly talking to him  
“I should have called... I was so busy trying to find Shiro...”  
“Stop. Now. Why would Lance head out the front when he knew there was danger?”  
“I don’t know!”  
“Getting angry isn’t going to help anyone”  
“Excuse me?!...”  
His mother was pushing all the wrong buttons   
“... He’s sick and he’s fucking pregnant, if you haven’t forgotten!”  
“I am well aware of Lance’s condition. What I need is to know why he’d walk into danger”  
“He’s only do that if... if he thought we were in danger... or Keith... What about his mum?”

Pidge brought up a point none of them thought about. Miriam  
“Does he have any other family in town?”  
Krolia knew a little of Lance’s family dynamic, Keith supposed he knew actually knew the most  
“His brother Luis. Luis’s wife Lisa... and I think maybe his brother Marco. I don’t know where Veronica and Rachel are. Lance isn’t contact with his siblings”  
Pidge raised an eyebrow  
“He has more than one brother? I think he mentioned it at some point... but there’s more of them?”  
“He... doesn’t get along with his family, other his Mami... Luis... ah... it’s complicated. I don’t think they’d be involved in this”  
“I’m going to have to grill him for not telling us”

Pidge was trying to lighten the mood, instead she flinched as Keith glared without thinking, words falling out cold as ice  
“There’s a reason he doesn’t talk about them. They fucking kicked him to the curb. It’s not like you and Matt. They never got over their fear. That’s part of the reason he was so scared to tell everyone what he was”  
Pidge visibly gulped, Krolia scolding him  
“That’s not how we talk to friends. Are you sure his brothers aren’t involved?”  
“Luis wouldn’t do that again. We should pick Miriam up. She’s Lance’s mother”  
“I’ll go. I know her, and I’ll be able to protect her if anything happens”  
That Krolia would volunteer was weird. He was still adjusting to his mother being an actual human and not a hunter... Before she’d come here it’d been pretty much inconceivable that she’d be this involved with his life. Now his mother was rushing out, knowing there was danger on their doorstep. He was scared that her leaving would result in her not returning... like everyone else...  
“Keith, I’ll be okay. In the mean time, you guys keep working. They’ve pissed off the wrong people. We’re going to get them back and we’re going to crush those who took them”  
Okay. There was his mother. Absolutely ruthless. Keith couldn’t help but voice his fear   
“You... will come back, right?”  
“I will. I’m not going to give up until their all back... and I’ve shot them all at least twice for being kidnapped”  
“Please don’t shoot my boyfriend again”  
“Fine, but only because he’s carrying my grandbabies...”

Colleen waited until Krolia had left before turning to them with her hands on her hips  
“I think all of you better explain what’s going on with Lance. And just what you’ve all gotten yourselves into”  
Pidge groaned at her mother  
“Mum, not now. We have to find them first”  
“Don’t you take that tone with me, Katie. Don’t think I won’t put you under house arrest”  
“Yes, yes. But kind of busy looking for whoever took Matt and Dad right now”  
“We should call the police”  
The police would kick it back to them if they knew the people involved  
“What are the police going to do against werewolves and vampires? I feel like that’s not part of their training”  
“Don’t take that tone with me... Your father and brother are missing”  
Pidge snapped back at her mother  
“And I’m doing what I do best!”

Colleen scared him at the best of times... but she was still only human. She might know about things other people didn’t, but she didn’t know what Keith knew  
“Mrs Holt... Recently there’s been a lot movement in the vampire community. A war of sorts... one of the vampires involved is named Sendak and he’s really bad news. VOLTRON has been harbouring the son of a very powerful vampire couple, which hasn’t gone over well. Sendak was sent to retrieve him, yet he refuses to leave. I don’t know what you know about vampires but Lance is a rare kind of vampire. He’s valuable to the vampire community. Lance told me that he thinks that this vampire’s family may have had something to do with the death of Rieva’s biological parents. Rieva isn’t fond of him at all, and he’s both lied and manipulated us on multiple occasions. That’s part of the reason Coran wanted us all here for Halloween, due to the unrest this vampire’s caused. We’ve been hunting Sendak for months now. That he’d move now wasn’t expected... but it was to... only that he’d... I didn’t think he’d target people working directly for VOLTRON seeing we had Lotor”

If this was a hostage exchange, Keith would personally tie a bow around Lotor’s neck before handing him over with a gift tag and a strict “no backsies” policy. Did Sendak know Lance’s worth? Was his boyfriend taken to ensure they’d take the deal? And where was Loturd? He wasn’t one to miss being able to inject himself into any situation where he might have his ego inflated...  
Colleen’s voice wavered slightly as she asked  
“S-so they took my husband and son... because of Lance?”  
How the fuck was this Lance’s fault. Keith nearly blew a fuse, Colleen saved by Allura rushing in  
“I’ve got his phone!”  
Pidge shooting to her feet and holding her hand out  
“Quick, hand it over”

With Lance’s phone in her hand, privacy didn’t matter as Pidge tapped away on the screen  
“The last message is from Shiro. It says Matt wolfed out and they’ve stolen a car... This doesn’t sound like Shiro”  
Keith snatched Lance’s phone out Pidge’s hand. Reading the message he shook his head  
“This isn’t Shiro. What’s the red bar at the top mean?”  
Pidge took it back  
“It means Lance isn’t the idiot he claims to be! He’s got it on voice recorder, he did have, I mean. Okay, everyone be quite”

Pidge played the short recording. It was mostly background noise until the thud, then small snippets of conversation   
“That him?”  
“Careful they want him in one piece”  
“The half demon confirmed the pregnancy”  
“Why do we have to touch something like this”  
The voices were faint. Lance’s phone picking them up despite the distance. There was the sound of moving, then the car leaving... ending with Allura letting out a kind of excited squeal at finding the phone. Keith nearly dropped Lance’s phone listening. It clicked. They’d caused the disturbance away from VOLTRON with the hopes of Lance being unguarded. The message had too little grammar to be from Shiro. His brother relied on autocorrect... In a panicked situation it was a normal response to think Shiro didn’t care for grammar, but these days it was easier to rely on the phone than typing short handed messages  
“Allura, where’s Lotor?”  
“In his quarters...”  
“Find him and bring him up here. I don’t care what you have to tell him to get him to cooperate”  
“Wait... you can’t think...”  
“They knew about the pregnancy. We didn’t tell hardly anyone about it. Lance suspected Lotor knew before we did. He has some explaining to do”

Allura’s face feel before her expression became down right scary  
“I’m going to rip his heart from his chest if he’s involved with this! Wait... where’s Krolia?”  
“Collecting Miriam. We’ll have her wait in your office. She doesn’t need to know Lance was purposely taken”  
Keith surprised himself with his own words. Krolia would decide what to tell Miriam, but Keith hoped it wasn’t the full truth, not that his mother knew Lance had been intentionally take, Allura soft yet objecting  
“She’s his mother...”  
“That’s why. Lance has nearly lost her twice, he really did think he would when she had pneumonia. Mami might be strong, but knowing everything will only upset her. When Coran returns, he’ll know what to say. For now we have to work the evidence because that’s all we have to go on until Rieva wakes up and tell us what happened. We need to add his abduction to the time line, and do you have any idea what would make him collapse like that?”  
Allura shook her head  
“No. I don’t. It concerns me...”  
Pidge asked, always so damn curious, though it was another point of investigation   
“Can you tranquillise a vampire?”  
“You can, but you need a very very high dosage, or something to weaken them immensely, alternatively you mix it with blood, which a vampire would know”  
“Lotor might know...”  
Fuck... asking Lotor for information... he didn’t know if he could keep his temper and whatever this weird composure that’d set in. Allura nodding quickly   
“I’ll go get him. Stay together until I return”

*  
Lotor looked thoroughly unamused. Unamused and unimpressed. Keith wasn’t sure he even cared about their missing friends as he sat back in his chair and rewatched Lance being taken away. Hunk definitely felt uncomfortable, alternating between sitting and staring at the evidence board. Pidge had seemed shocked, though Keith could see she was working hard to contain all the questions inside of her. She only knew “Lance’s Standard” when it came to being a vampire, not “Lotor’s Standard” with his flashy suit and stupid ego.

“So what exactly is it that you’re asking me to do?”  
Keith could murder him. He really could. Up and over the briefing table and behead the bastard. Gritting his teeth together, he left talking to Lotor up to Allura   
“We were looking for an explanation as to why Lance would collapse like that, and your opinion as to whether it was related to the dramas occurring in the vampire clans”  
With his arms crossed, Lotor moved his hand as he shrugged  
“I really couldn’t say. News on his status has obviously been leaked. Perhaps he caught someone’s eye when out”  
Or perhaps Lotor was a lying snake protecting Sendak seeing Sendak was Zarkon’s lapdog  
“Surely you have some opinion. You heard the recording Lance made. Do you think it’s possible Sendak and Honerva know about Lance’s status?”

Lotor scoffed  
“Come now, Allura. You and I both know that Lance is valuable. Not only is he pregnant, he is a young vampire turned at a young age. He can do many things most of us cannot, and he can bare full blooded vampire children if he truly desired, or at least sire a superior bloodline. That on top of his skills to transform shape. He’d make an excellent source of data when comparing what makes him genetically different to other vampires”  
“Get out!”

Every held their breaths as Allura yelled at Lotor   
“Allura...”  
“Lance is not a valuable specimen! He’s our friend! You have no right to reduce him to bare facts!”  
“You asked if I knew why he’d been abducted...”  
“I was asking you to help us! This is ridiculous! A hundred years hasn’t changed you, neither will a hundred more. I’m revoking your right to stay here a moment longer!”  
“Come now Allura. I was merely stating facts”  
“Your facts don’t help when you refuse to treat him with respect! I know he broke through your ego! I swear if you are involved in this, I will make your life unbearable”  
“Allura, there’s no use for theatrics. All of you aren’t thinking about this objectively. Objectively Lance is valuable. His pregnancy is valuable. If you’d done your jobs as his protectors then this could have been avoided. I don’t believe they will harm for fear of accidentally terminating the pregnan-...”

Striding over to Lotor, for the first time in his life Keith felt a minute amount of sympathy at the loud sound of Allura slapping Lotor across the face   
“That’s Keith’s mate you are talking about! His children! Lance isn’t an experiment! He’s far more of a man that you”  
“I have been nothing but on your side. Taking your fear out on me is a human emotion, far below you”  
“I’d rather be afraid then be soulless! Think very carefully before you say your next words...”  
Lotor pulled himself up. Straightening his suit jacket as he did  
“I’m in no way involved in what has happened. Nor will I tolerate the moods of a spoilt child. I can only hope your actions will not bring a second more permanent death upon Lance’s head. You have clearly been betrayed. Perhaps you should look closer at those you surround yourself with. I, for one, would not tolerate mice in my castle, let alone rats”

Lotor swept from the room, slamming the door behind him so hard that it buckled inwards. Whelp. That was overly dramatic. Kicking Lotor’s chair over, Allura then scrubbed at her face, before shaking her head and pulling herself back together  
“I’m sorry. I know I acted unseemly, but I cannot tolerate the way he looks down on Lance”  
Keith could have kissed Allura. She’d been totally bad arse, sticking up for Lance like that couldn’t have been easy for her, but fuck if he didn’t appreciate it.

Letting out a long sigh, Pidge was staring at Allura, Allura noticing  
“I’m sorry if I upset you, Pidge”  
“No... not at all. I actually kind of want to hug you right now”  
Allura was first taken back, then smiled softly   
“Lance is important to me. He really is hopelessly human, but he’s always been so very proud of you. He always talked about how smart and talented you and Hunk are. I know you didn’t ask to be involved, and I am truly sorry you had to see that, but I have more faith in you, and all us, than I do in Lotor when it comes to locating Lance. I hope you’ll let me continue to remain here”  
Pidge sucked in a shaky breath  
“Lance really does talk about us a lot, doesn’t he?”  
“He does. He’s met many humans, but none of them have ever been as close as you three, four including Keith. He’d do anything for any of you”  
“He’s an idiot...”  
“He is, but he’s a good idiot. Keith, I’m sorry Lotor...”

Keith cut Allura off  
“It’s not your fault. Honestly, when you slapped him... It was far better than what I wanted to do”  
“Oh no! Did I prevent a famous “dick punch”?”  
Allura had spent too much time around him and Lance... Lance would have snorted with laughter   
“I didn’t particularly feel being that gentle about it”  
Lotor rubbed him the wrong, but if he was right, then they wouldn’t simply kill Lance off once and for all. Though being captured wasn’t necessarily better, it did mean his boyfriend would remain alive... and that was all he could ask for. Allura smiled sincerely at him  
“I will not rest until we’ve located him, and the others. I promise you all this”


	125. Chapter 125

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do not keep your vampire captive. And Shiro isn’t as funny as he believes, but we let him have it anyway

125

A nice big bed. Plenty of soft blankets. A few bags of A+ blood. Lance held plenty of fake hope as he was marched along, well aware that’d he’d gone and got himself kidnapped. There’s been stairs, now things smelt damp, this was definitely a secret lair of some sort and he already hated it. People these days had no respect at all for pregnant people. You accidentally vomit on someone and suddenly your missing half your teeth. He was so stupid as to be intentionally uncooperative. He wasn’t that stupid... well, maybe he was. He’d gotten his arse kidnapped thanks to what was now obviously not a message from Shiro.

Marched along, he kept his mouth shut, playing docile. The fabulous hospitality he’d been shown ending with him literally kicked into some kind of dirty cell, before the grating of clearly metal bars. Fucking idiots. He was a vampire. You know. Stronger than the average human. What were bars supposed to do?! Hissing as his knees scraped on the stone floor, they could have at least taken the stupid bag off his head and untied his hands  
“I’m leaving you the worst YELP! review ever! 1 star and a stern warning about your manners!”

The stupid bag was dosed with orange scented... surface spray if he had to hazard a guess. All scents wiped out thanks to “dumb” and “dumber”. Hearing someone moving, he automatically tensed, preparing to lose his head, yet instead, all he lost was the obnoxious bag. Matt, Sam, and Curtis sat together in the corner of the dark room, craning his head up, he tried not to smile at Shiro  
“Hey, guys. If you were going to throw a party, you could have invited me the normal way”  
Shiro chuckled humourlessly. Lance felt that to his soul. He was going to be in sooooooooo much shit when they got out of here  
“We didn’t think we’d be seeing you here. Let me get those restraints off your hands”  
“Thanks. They’re really not comfortable, and probably not my colour either”

Crouching down behind him, Shiro started working at the biting restraints. Lance trying not to hiss as the pins and needles sensation in his hands burned  
“Does Keith know you’re here?”  
“Nope. He went with Coran to pick Rieva up”  
“She’s okay?!”  
Lance nodded slowly. Matt’s eyes were glowing yellow and he really didn’t want to be turned into Lance paste. He really didn’t appreciate the lingering scent of orange at all. He might just risk scurvy because it’d be along time before he went near an orange again  
“Yeah. Everyone’s pretty much like joined up. Pidge is safe, so’s Colleen, and Hunk and Allura”  
“Thank fuck for that...”  
There was a burning need to question how this had happened, instead that hiss finally escaped as Shiro pulled the restraints of his hands  
“Sorry. Matt chewed through ours...”  
“Yeah. I feel like Sendak is scraping the barrel with his new hires. No brain cells there at all”

Moving around him, Shiro offered his hand, Lance letting himself be pulled to his feet before half collapsing again Shiro from dizziness and relief. Shiro wrapping his arms around him as if he thought this was an intentional hug  
“Did they hurt you?”  
“Knocked a few teeth out. Zero respect for the pregnant”  
“And they didn’t...”  
His face was their punching bag, which he’d be more grateful for if he didn’t have to feel his teeth growing back   
“Nope. I’m sorry, but I’m pretty much sure you guys were used to distract everyone so they could kidnap my dumb arse”  
Shiro asking   
“How did they even get to you?”  
“Used your phone. I stupidly went out the front. Douche canoes got me with a tranquilliser or something...”  
One moment he’d been up, the next the ground was rushing to say hello  
“You should sit, here, take my jacket too...”

Even in a situation like this Shiro was a worrier  
“You need it more than I do”  
“You’re still in Keith’s sweats. You might not be cold now, but we need to keep your warmth up”  
Right. That. This wasn’t exactly a tropical beach... and why were they still in the cell?  
“Why haven’t you guys busted out?”  
Matt bitterly spat  
“Lead and mercy on the bars. Plus they shock you when you touch them”  
“Did you try covering your hands?”  
“Nah, I thought what’s a little more fucking burn”  
Okay. Matt’s ego was dented and his mate hurt. It wasn’t time for Lance’s ego to keep cracking wise arse remarks to hide the fact he was secretly panicking. He could feel he’d let go of it too much. Feel his fear and annoyance feeding its cockiness  
“Sorry. Sorry, I’ll just... yeah...”  
Shut up is what he needed to do. So he would. He was dumb for thinking they hadn’t already tried to break out.

Shiro sat him a little farther away from the others than he would have liked. Matt’s anger stank so bad that he could taste it instead of smell it. Covering his shoulders with Shiro’s jacket, he pulled his knees up to his chest, burying his face between them. This sucked. This sucked so hard. He’d felt like something was wrong with Shiro’s message but he’d run off instead of calling Keith who hadn’t called him even though he said he would. Lance already knew they wanted him. They’d talked about how he was a valuable sample now the pregnancy was confirmed. Curtis wouldn’t have wanted to talk, but his friend couldn’t help if and it wasn’t fair at all. He wanted to feel angry over it, but they’d definitely said Curtis confirmed he was pregnant. Not told them outright like it was fresh information. He was a goddamn vampire. A sleepy, cranky, ready to blow his lid, vampire... Who didn’t love dark and scary spaces unless he was exploring with his friends.

“Are you okay?”  
No. He wasn’t. He was tired and hungry and couldn’t imagine what Keith was going through. Softly he mumbled, trying to deny Shiro sitting next to him made him feel a tiny bit better seeing the man surely had years of experience under his belt and would come up with some amazing plan   
“I’m fine... you should go sit with Curtis. I’ll be okay”  
“Lance... Keith would...”  
Keith would want him to rely on Shiro. To rest and gather as much information on his surrounds, but hearing his boyfriend’s name was too much. He really fucking missed and it’d only been a short time   
“Keith was a wreck. He left me at VOLTRON so I’d be safe. Instead I fucked up...”  
“Oh, boo hoo. It’s not like he was shot right in front of you”

“Matthew! That’s enough”  
Lance whined softly. He deserved that. He only knew what it felt like to be scared shitless in front of someone holding a gun on Keith. Not to see it happen... Sam scolded his son, another whine slipping out as Shiro settled next to him, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him up against him   
“We’re obviously going to be here for a while. You should rest”  
AKA he should shut up and stop with the pity party. No one wanted to hear it. Not when Matt was worried about Rieva and his father. Mutely he nodded, wondering if the smell of orange was blocking out traces of Keith’s scent on Shiro. Sendak had to have some fucking master plan... Lance kind of wanted to skip punching him in the dick for ripping off his testicles. He was old and he was tired. The bastard ruining his plans... but he also never wanted to set eyes on Sendak again. He’d rather be locked down here with Lotor for the next decade of his life than stand before Sendak and be made to feel all those messaged up things again.

*  
Dozing off without meaning to, Lance kept his eyes closed as he listened to the others. Shiro had moved from beside him. Sam and Matt talking technical stuff while Curtis and Shiro fretted about having Lance in the cold and how it couldn’t be good for his mental health... that and how Lance was going to need blood. He could have kept up the charade if he hadn’t been suddenly made aware of why he was awake, throwing up violently beside himself. Fuck. Pregnant. Right. His twins didn’t care they were making his father throw his guts up at random times.

Hacking and coughing, Shiro came over to him  
“Lance, you okay?”  
“Morning sickness... sucks”  
“It’s alright, buddy. Let’s get you away from the mess”  
“Not much point when I’m...”  
Yep. There he went, gasping like a fish out of water before throwing up again. The cold had crept in. Holding his ego down was hard. Those bars looking pretty tempting despite their construction.

Shiro sat patiently by him until he was done. Letting himself be moved by Shiro did nothing for his ego. His nails extending as the hunter sat him down closer to the group  
“You just had to throw up, didn’t you?”  
“Fuck off, Fido”  
Growling at him, Matt pushed the wrong buttons. Lance snarling back in his friends face with his fangs extended, Shiro looping his arms around Lance’s waist as if he was trying to hold Lance back   
“Enough! Matt. Your ego is out of control. Rieva is with Coran. He’s the best person to help her. Lance... can you try to bring your ego back under control. You’re making your scary face”  
“He can’t fucking help it. He won’t settle until he sees his mate. And I can’t stop my fucking morning sickness. Fuck this”

Unexpectedly Sam chuckled  
“I never thought I’d ever hear you swear quite as many times as you have. Somehow it’s quite relieving”  
Ugh. He had been swearing a lot. And thanks to Keith “Fuck” had slipped more and more into his vocabulary. No one really used it swear any more as it was. It was just a convenient word for summing up all sorts of feelings in different situations  
“That’s because my Mami taught me to have manners. I’m not usually this angry”  
“Usually he’s pathetic”  
Lance nearly snarled at Matt again. He would have if Shiro hadn’t sighed, changing topics  
“Okay. Lance, we started discussing exit strategies on the way out. Naturally we assume everything we’re saying can be heard”  
Lance nodded because it did make sense  
“Sendak would hear it. If not him, he’ll have someone listening out”  
Technically he didn’t know if it was Sendak. He was simply the assumption seeing Lotor was at VOLTRON and they were here. Lotor also knew he was pregnant and probably that he hadn’t been well. Maybe if he could have turned into a bat, he could have gotten them all out by now. Half talking to himself he said his inner thoughts out loud   
“If we can overload the bars then we should be able to bend them”  
Either he had to grab them or Matt did. He obviously couldn’t because of the twins. Matt had been through enough as it was. Maybe...   
“If we put something against them will the current shock it? Like... maybe we could start an electrical fire and trigger a fault?”  
“Or we could start a fire and die in it”

That was too close to Keith’s nightmare for comfort and way too close to how he’d lost his father. He wouldn’t do that to Keith. Sam pretended it was a good idea  
“We’ll keep that in mind. Matt, can you check if you can see any kind of cabling or switches?”  
“Why? We’re on the wrong side of the bars to do anything”  
Ugh. Even Lance got that they needed as much information about the environment they were being kept in, and he was falling back to sleep  
“Your eyesight is better than ours. It’s so dark in here I can barely see a thing”

Matt got up, walking over to the bars, he stood there for a good moment and a half   
“I don’t see anything. I’d say we’re in a basement, but other than a few scraps against the wall, there’s no switches”  
“Nothing on the roof?”  
“No”  
“How thick is the outer wall?”  
Oops he was asking questions again... Matt sighing at him. Matt really wasn’t great at this “captivity thing”. He expected more “Let me out!” And “I’m going to piss on your leg!” from him  
“How is that supposed to help us?”  
“I don’t know, we’ve got a vampire, a slightly cursed human and a werewolf. If we can’t go through the wall we can always go through the roof”  
“And what do you know about construction?”  
“I know enough. I renovated my house inside out, plus dust and mould don’t really affect vampires like it does with humans”  
“Dude, you’re so weak I doubt you’d make any impact if you tried. Why don’t you just go back to sleep?”

Lance had had enough of Matt’s attitude. He was trying... even if he was failing, he was still trying... Matt might be able keep his hunger under control, but a few days and Lance would either go completely crazy or collapse unconscious and be no help at all  
“Matt’s right. You need your rest”  
Now Shiro was agreeing with Matt?! Maybe he wasn’t the best “prisoner” but it hurt to be dismissed. Whatever. He was going to keep his temper and hopefully his mouth in check.

*  
Lance had hit cranky. By his estimate it’d been something around 12 hours since he’d been rudely stolen. They were resting in shifts. Shiro urging Sam and Curtis to rest. Lance trying not to feel any kind of jealous over the pair of them at least being kidnapped together. He missed his boyfriend and hunger was setting in. He was cold. Cold. Tired. Hungry. Lonely... and mostly cranky. There should be kind of clause to this morning sickness where you only threw up when there was something there to actually throw up. Rubbing his stomach in soft yet agitated circles, he couldn’t bed himself down like the others, instead getting up to pace.

“Lance?”  
Shiro sounded sleepy. He’d known the hunter was still awake, but had wondered if maybe Shiro was really simply sleeping with his eyes open  
“I’m fine”  
“I didn’t say you weren’t... but I would understand if you’re lying to me right now”  
“I’m fine, Shiro. You should sleep”  
“Nah... I’m good”

Well this was awkward. Why was Shiro trying to talk to him if he didn’t have anything to say? Walking over to the door into the cell, Lance stared down the lock. It was keeping him from his Keith and he didn’t like it  
“Don’t touch it”  
“I wasn’t going to”  
“I know it’s hard but the best thing we can do at the moment is wait it out”  
“There’s lots of other things we could be doing”  
Whoops. He was letting his crankiness show. Seriously though. He didn’t get how a little bit of electricity was keeping everyone so obedient. Covering your hands would protect you from the lead and mercury. A hard blow against the gate would probably work to knock the damn thing unlocked. His hunger was definitely affecting his thought process.

Climbing up from where he’d been sitting, Shiro walked over to him  
“Matt got shocked when he tried touching the bars”  
“I figured that much out already”  
“I know you’re anxious and you want to see Keith...”  
“Sorry, Shiro, but don’t even go there right now. I know he’s your brother, but to me... He’s the love of my life and the father of my twins. Like Matt can’t keep his temper worried about Rieva, I can’t keep my temper right now”  
“Then what do you need?”  
“Other than out of this ridiculous cage? Oh, I don’t know. My boyfriend. My bed. Blood. A good nights sleep. Honestly, pick one”  
“If you need blood...”  
“Don’t. I’m a ticking time bomb and you all know it. Starve me and I’ll lose control. Don’t tempt me with your blood”  
Shiro sighed at him as he pinched the bridge of his nose  
“Lance... You can’t help what you are”  
“I’m not about to fucking feed on you. I have some self respect left under everything”  
“It’s not about self respect. Look. We don’t know how long we’ll be in here”  
“Well maybe if we fucking thought of an actual plan, we could break out”  
“And what’s on the other side of the door? How many vampires are between us and getting out?”  
“And how long until Matt wolfs out? How long before I lose control. I’ve fucking had it! You’re all here because I’m pregnant. Keith’s going to be fucking blaming himself. We have no clue what’s going to happen. I swear I’ll take my own fucking life before I let them hurt Keith’s children”  
“We need to wait. Patience yields focus”  
“I’m fucking focused enough. We don’t even have to start a big fire to short the bars out. We could collapse the fucking ceiling between me and Matt. Yet we’re sitting here like good little children. They hurt Keith and I’m not going to hold back when I see them”  
“Keith’s fine. He was with Coran”  
Physically fine meant nothing when Keith would overthinking absolutely everything  
“That’s not what I meant and you know it. You didn’t see the look on his face at the news you guys were missing. I did. He’s going to be tearing himself apart. Blaming himself for everything. He’s been through more than enough”  
“And if you get hurt? Then what? He wouldn’t want you hurt”  
“At least he’d know I tried my hardest to get back to him”

Shiro wrapped his arms around him   
“We’ll get back to him. You’ll see. He’ll be fussing over you and the twins in no time”  
“I... just want to see him again”  
“I know. We will. For now all we can do is wait”  
Lance sniffled, returning Shiro’s hug  
“I hate what this is doing to him”  
“I know. I also know whatever he’s doing, he’ll have Krolia, and Coran, and Allura. He’s not going to be alone”  
“Not until he snaps and pushes them away, or takes off on his own thinking he knows best”  
Shiro chuckled  
“They’re not going to let that happen. He’ll be cranky, and probably won’t let you out of his sight, but he’s not going to care about anything once he sees you again”  
“You too... it was like the worst feeling hearing Rieva was shot and you guys were missing... I felt so useless”  
“At least you’ve got hilarious friends to keep you preoccupied”  
“I don’t see anyone hilarious in here”  
Shiro chuckled again Lance’s weak humour  
“Alright, come sit back down, kiddo. When the moments right, we’ll all get out of this together”


	126. Chapter 126

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sooooo ready for summer to be over! Work without aircon is torture

126

Lance knew he’d taken a turn for the worst as he shuddered on the cold stone floor. He’d thrown up so much that he knew he was definitely dehydrated and on the wrong side of hunger. His body felt lighter. Too light. And something in the darkness felt physically heavy to the point of suffocation. Groaning to himself, his eyes went wide as it came out as a squeak. His body moving as he found himself not as he should be. Tiny little legs and flapping wings were tangled in his shirt. He’d turned into a bat again... He’d let everyone down. He knew he’d been exhausted. He knew he’d had a fever. He knew Shiro was worried after their talk... and now he was showing how useless he was as he wasn’t even able to maintain his human form from how weak he felt.

Untangling himself from his shirt, a new realisation hit him as he surveyed how tiny he was compared to the space he was in. He was tiny. A quick check down showed he a chubby little belly... Right. This couldn’t be good for the twins. This shouldn’t even be possible unless... unless something had happened to them! He was starving. Their tiny masses of cells were foreign bodies... with foreign DNA in his system. Flapping his wings, he squeaked loudly. Spinning himself in a circle due to his lack of coordination. Why wasn’t anyone helping him? Was he losing Keith’s twins? He needed to switch back. Blinking at the darkness, he found himself alone in the cell. No Shiro. No Matt. No Curtis or Sam. Alone... They’d left him behind? When did they have the chance!? He didn’t want to be left behind! He wanted to go home to Keith and cuddle! He didn’t want to lose the twins! He didn’t! He’d been so careful. So careful that this wasn’t fair! He wanted his Mami and his boyfriend and cuddles... not... not Keith hating him for how weak he was!

*  
Shooting up from his nightmare, Lance groaned as his body protested the sudden sitting upness. Thank fuck. Thank fuck he wasn’t a bat   
“Lance?”  
Taking a moment, Lance realised he was sitting with his back to Curtis now...   
“Wha...”  
“You fell asleep, so I moved you so your head was resting on my leg. You seemed to be having a nightmare”  
Ugh. That was one way to put it. Stupid vivid dreams that had to stick in his head   
“Yeah... it was... fucking awful. Don’t let me turn into a bat”  
“That bad? Here, lay back. You feel slightly feverish”  
“I thought I was... never mind... How long was I asleep?”

Even dreaming about losing the twins had shaken him up too much. Saying out loud would panic Shiro... Curtis was probably worrying too... He didn’t want to sink back against him, but Curtis needed the comfort   
“A couple of hours. You haven’t missed anything happening other than Matt farting in his sleep”  
“I’m glad I missed that. I swear there’s something dead in his intestinal tract”  
“It was rather pungent. Much like being at home”  
From their breathing Shiro, Matt, and Sam were sleeping. Curtis must be on guard shift. That was good. He preferred not seeming stupid in front of Sam, and not upsetting Matt  
“I know this probably a silly thing to ask, but how are you doing?”

Settling himself to sit next to Curtis, Lance covered what he could of them with shiro’s jacket  
“I’m not happy to be here”  
“Yeah. Their hospitality sucks. I won’t be recommending this place to all my friends”  
“I’m ashamed more than anything. They used a gas canister to take us out. Shiro tried to get us to the car, after Rieva was hit. He called Coran straight away, while I did nothing”  
“Hey. You don’t need to be ashamed. At least you didn’t get kidnapped in front of VOLTRON”  
“Yes. Well. I had hoped you’d be safe. Evidently not”  
“I did try to make a recording... I opened up the app so I could record whatever Shiro said when you guys turned up... you know, as evidence or whatever. I don’t even know what happened to my phone”  
“I’m sure Pidge would find it”  
“Unless they’ve got it and turned it off. They could have even disposed of it on the way to throw the others off”

Being stuck here was thoroughly depressing. What a stupid notion. A vampire who didn’t want to lurk in the dark damps of an underground basement  
“We can only hope the others work things out. You had some interesting ideas”  
“My ideas only upset Matt. I know he’s worried about Rieva and can’t control himself right now, but like... I thought if we could combine forces we could bust out”  
“The only problem with that is what’s waiting on the other side of those bars”  
“Yeah, Shiro said that too. I’m worried about you guys, but I’m more worried about what this is doing to Keith... I feel like a bad friend”  
“Keith is your soulmate. You have been through a lot together”  
“And just when we think we’ve go a break, this goes and happens... I’m sorry. That nightmare fucked me right up”  
“Want to tell me?”  
“I was a bat. But like, I was panicking because I was a bat and I thought I was losing the twins... if I was a bat, I could get through the bars, then disable the power”  
“We both know you’re not that coordinated”

Lance lightly jabbed Curtis in the side with his elbow  
“I’ve had my moments of extreme coordination. Plus, I’m more coordinated without my glasses on”  
“Barely. You’ll need blood soon”  
“Don’t remind me. I never want to eat again as it is. It’s tiresome throwing up”  
“The smell isn’t too pleasant”  
“There’s that too. I almost miss the bag from over my head”  
“I could get it...”  
“Nope. I said almost. Do you really think they’ll leave us down here until I starve and vampire out?”  
“I don’t think so. You’re a prime specimen. Having you out of control does them no favours”  
“Unless they want to see how far they can push a breeder before having to feed them”  
“Let’s not think about that. How are you feeling? Have your teeth grown back?”  
“Yeah. My fangs grow back in pretty fast, not that the rest of them don’t”  
“If you get hungry, let me or Shiro know... I don’t know what my blood will be like, but Shiro’s should be okay as he’s human”

He didn’t want to feed from Shiro. Nor did he want to feed from Sam. He didn’t know if feeding off Curtis was a smart idea, and Matt was out the question. Even when Keith force fed him, he didn’t want an audience to what he was... and with Keith, it was only because Keith was his boyfriend. It kind of felt like cheating if he fed off anyone else. Curtis didn’t want to hear that  
“I’ll think about it. You should get some sleep. I doubt they’ll come for us anytime soon”  
“I slept enough. It’s you who should be resting. We need you with as much energy as possible for whatever comes”  
“If something does happen, promise you’ll get Sam and Shiro out. Matt... he’s a wolf, and I’m a vampire... but them... I can’t ask Shiro”  
“We’ll all get out of this. You’ll see. We’re not leaving you behind”

*  
“Keith! You’ve got to come now!”  
Bursting into the briefing room, Allura startled Keith out of his self loathing flunk that not even the countless amount of coffee was helping. 24 hours with nothing. Rieva couldn’t help. They’d been gassed, all she really remembered was Shiro yelling and being shot, and had some very choice words to say about it all. It took everything had not to start screaming at her for the answers she didn’t have. Raising his aching head, Keith stared at Allura. She was too damn perky...   
“What?”  
“Shiro is back”

Pushing his chair back to fast it fell backwards, Keith was on his feet, a little too fast as he head throbbed. Everyone trying to talk at once   
“Is dad...?”  
“What about Lance?”  
“Is Matt there? And Curtis?”  
Allura shook her head  
“Shiro, Sam, and Matt. They were left outside the bookshop unconscious”  
What the hell? Where was Lance? Why was Lance not with Shiro? What the fuck did this mean? He’d felt so... he didn’t actually know the word for the relief at hearing Shiro was back, but now he felt weak at the knees seeing Lance wasn’t...  
Allura turned from the room, all of them following after her, Keith the first. Shiro was back and it was finally time to find out what was going on.

Led down to VOLTRON’s infirmary, Coran had the three unconscious men laid out. Nursing staff busy around him  
“Shiro!”  
Going to rush to his brother’s side, Coran intercepted him  
“I’m sorry, Keith. I need you to wait outside with the others”  
“That’s my brother!”  
“And at the moment we’re collecting their clothes and analysing what’s in their system. I know you want to be here, but we need space to work”  
Shiro was right there. Right in front of him... now he was being sent away...  
“Keith... It’s not like we don’t want to see Sam and Matt. Coran, thank you. We’ll wait outside”

Colleen agreeing with Coran meant Keith had no choice but to head outside with the others. She’d worked as hard as everyone else to understand what was happening, even with no leads to go on. Lotor had left, taking his generals. Allura doubting if she’d made the right call seeing he’d actually gone. With so many people in the room, Keith had found himself withdrawing more and more. He didn’t feel he had anything valuable to add. He’d watched everything at least a dozen times, only no magical leads had materialise and he’d burnt the image of Lance collapsing into his brain. Krolia had been a bigger help than he knew what to do with. She’d gone and picked up Kosmo, and now remained personally stationed with Rieva on the off chance something was to happen. If he wasn’t so hung up on Shiro finally returning, he might have thought to go tell Rieva that her boyfriend was back... Instead Pidge thought of that, her, Hunk, and Allura leaving him with Colleen to go let Rieva know.

Leaning against the wall for support, Keith kept his arms crossed and his head down as he waited for Coran to let him see Shiro. Curtis wasn’t with the others, Keith didn’t want to think the worst of his brother’s boyfriend, yet the fact he wasn’t with the others led to that little voice inside his head wondering if Curtis was the traitor. The guys who took Lance had said that Curtis confirmed the pregnant. He didn’t think Curtis had it in him to lie them, yet if they’d offered him a cure for his curse... He didn’t want to think that way, but why hadn’t he been returned with the others? Was it because he’d fused with a demon? He was the only person Keith had ever heard of to be cursed. If Curtis wasn’t the traitor then... then he and Lance could both be being tortured right now... Shiro could have been tortured. Just because he didn’t see obvious bruising didn’t mean there wasn’t any.

It’d pushed half an hour before Coran came out, the others assuming similar positions to his, only Pidge had her arms wrapped around her mother. Krolia hadn’t left her post. Kolivan had come up empty at the scene, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t spent most of the night scouring the area for clues. James and the wolf pack had nothing. Shiro had to be okay, or Keith might just lose it.

Letting himself relax, Coran smiled at the group of them  
“You may go in now. They’ll be asleep for a few hours, but I know you’re desperate to see them. I’ll take the evidence we’ve collected for processing. Hopefully we’ll gain some clues as to where they’ve been held and if Lance was held with them. Before you panic, we’ve restrained Matt purely as a cautionary measure. He may... uh, as you would say, “wolf out”. Hit the red button on the wall when he wakes. I expect he won’t be under as long as Sam and Shiro”  
Hunk wiped his hands on his shirt, marks left from the sweat. Almost timidly he asked Coran   
“And... they’re okay? They...”  
“They’ve been sedated. I would say gas was used as there is no sign of puncture marks. I’ll know more when I’ve examined their blood work. The three of them were dehydrated, I’ve set up IV fluids. I failed to find signs of bite marks, both Shiro and Sam are still human from the feeling of their quintessence and body temperature. Though, had they been changed the change would be obvious. For three men held by vampires, they’ve been exceptionally well looked after considering Matt is a werewolf and Shiro’s identity as a hunter. Right. Well, head on in. I’ll be expecting all of you to get some rest. This has been a very tiring 24 hours and until we learn more, you’re best of resting and recovering your strength”

Keith noticed the way Coran said nothing about Lance. No reassurances that because their three friends had been returned mostly safely that Lance would be found with the evidence on them or that they could expect him to be returned in the same condition. Heading into the room, he found himself stumbling the last few steps to Shiro’s side, grasping his bothers hand as he shook. Shiro was warm. He was warm and alive. He hadn’t expected him to be so warm when his brother was normally such a loud sleeper. Letting himself all but collapse against his brother, he laid his head on Shiro’s chest, listening to the strong sound of his beating heart. He’d come back to him. He’d come back to him when Keith feared he’d never see him again. But how was he back? Had even been taken by the same people who took Lance? Why would they return a hunter? What had they done to him? Was this sleep really drug induced? Or had there been some kind of incident where they’d tried escaping and Shiro had been hurt? He felt terrible for not caring for Matt and Sam as much as he did his brother. He did care about them. He did. He swore he did. He just... felt abandoned all over again. Like Shiro would never be home, or he’d come back but be like Adam. Half crazed and begging for his death.

Coming up behind Keith, Hunk wrapped an arm around his shoulder  
“He’s going to be okay, man”  
What did normal well adjust social people say to that?  
“Thanks”  
That didn’t sound quite right. Hunk sniffled   
“I’m so glad they’re back”  
The angry over caffeinated region of his brain wanted to slap Hunk away and yell at him because Lance wasn’t with them. The more tired part of him making impossible to get those words out  
“Yeah”  
It didn’t sound enthused. He should be more enthused. He was just too emotionally and physically drained  
“You should get some rest. We’re going to stay until they all wake up, and no offence, man, but you look dead on your feet”  
“I’m fine... I’m not leaving Shiro”  
“Then at least take a nap next to him... or I can go find a chair?”  
“Won’t that be weird?”  
“Nah, man. He’s your brother. I’d be climbing into my brother’s bed too if he’d just come home from being kidnapped”

He wouldn’t sleep. He’d nap. Or better yet, he’d doze. That way he’d be semi awake when Matt woke up, seeing he really was the most likely to wake first.


	127. Chapter 127

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Noooow I never actually said he was the bad guy...

127

Sitting on Shiro’s bed beside his brother, Keith felt devastated all over again. Yes, Shiro could confirm that he had been held with Lance, and that Lance was doing relatively okayish all things considered, but that was it. He couldn’t explain why they’d been returned in one piece, or how. No one had any of the goddamn answers he needed, and now Shiro was as helpless as him given both their boyfriends were missing.

Describing the cell they’d been held in, Shiro remembered a fair deal, even able to sketch out the rough details of the room on the iPad Coran have given him. He’d said Lance hadn’t given up wanting to get out and get back to him. His idiot boyfriend more concerned about what Keith was going through than his own situation. It was so Lance that his chest ached. Hearing that Shiro and the others had been used as a distraction, made Keith feel utterly stupid for not taking Lance with him. He felt so fucking useless he couldn’t bring himself to contribute to the conversation. Seeing Rieva and Matt reunite stung. The couple nuzzling into each other as they peppered kissed between assuring each other they were okay. That Rieva would be shot when the others came back without a scratch made no sense in any sane world. At least he wasn’t Sam. Colleen had ripped the older man a new one for making her worry, Sam sheepishly apologising, though he wasn’t in any way to blame.

On Shiro’s other side sat Krolia, a down little towards Shiro’s knee, rather than up at his side like Keith was. Shiro hadn’t let go of his hand since his grey eyes had fluttered open. Keith knew his brother needed the physical contact as much as he did. The trace evidence had been processed and passed onto Kolivan and the other Blades for processing. Meaning he was once again useless. This feeling fucking sucked. Before Lance he’d never known love the way he did now. His heart all broken, barely held together by the lingering thoughts of his beloved boyfriend... His brother, the ever workaholic, wanted to watch Lance’s abduction video for himself. Keith didn’t think he was strong enough to watch it again. 

Knowing Lance was out there trying to get back to him only drove him to want to start working everything over from the top again, despite knowing there wasn’t some magical clue to find. He hated to admit it, but maybe this time Lance would have to save himself. Maybe this time all those promises would be broken and he’d never see Lance again... Maybe if he hadn’t been so goddamn stupid he wouldn’t have lost the love of his life, and be left almost all alone again with his family... but this was different now. He’d let down everyone in the room by losing Lance... like... like he’d let down his father by not being there in his final moments.

“Keith, you need to calm your breathing down, kiddo”  
He was working himself up too much. He needed to sleep but just couldn’t   
“Sorry...”  
“We’re going to figure this out”  
“How!? He’s still missing! Curtis is still missing!”  
A sleepy Keith could be a very cranky Keith  
“And we’ll work this out. You’re not going through this alone. We’re all here and we’re a team, kiddo”  
He knew that. He just... he wanted to hear them blame him. To acknowledge this was all his fault. He didn’t want pity. He didn’t want them to blame the people who took Lance and Curtis without blaming him for letting it happen. Coran had expected something... they... they should have gone together as a group. They should have left earlier. He shouldn’t have spent the last time he had with Lance oiling and maintaining his blades. Miriam was now confined to resting there at VOLTRON because he’d let this happen. He couldn’t forgive himself. Not until he had Lance back in his arms and even then...

*  
Lance eyed his new cell mates in suspicion. An invisible barrier between them and him and Curtis. Lotor had shown up and now he was here, and Lance didn’t know what to make of it. Matt, Shiro, and Sam had been taken away. Gas pouring down from the ceiling, knocking everyone except for him out. Then Lotor had been brought down. Acxa, Zethrid, and Ezor unconscious and traded for his three unconscious friends, Lance torn between rushing their captors and not placing the others in danger, and being confused as hell over why Lotor was being imprisoned when he was like a prince to the vampire community. Despite his usual bragging mouth, Lotor remained tight lipped. The scent of human blood clung to him, though the vampire didn’t seem to care. Then again, he wasn’t starving like Lance. Lance could see the way Lotor was shaking. Fists and jaw both clenched tightly. Whatever Lotor’s plan had been, things hadn’t gone the vampire’s way and Lotor was seething with fury. The questions Lance had for him couldn’t be voiced. He feared Lotor would snap, or his ego would make his head go fuzzy again. So instead, they watched each other like the two caged predators they were as their friends slept by their sides, Lance could only wait for the others to be returned, then they might finally have the numbers to turn the tide on this captivity thing.

Hours passed, Lance worn out from being on edge. This was the longest Lotor had kept his smart comments to himself. Lance wondering if the vampire was planning his escape, or simply not talking because he was sulking. It wasn’t until Curtis started stirring that he felt he could finally breathe easily. Rousing slowly, Curtis blinked up at him. Lance uncomfortable sitting in one spot so long that he’d moved Curtis to rest with his head in Lance’s lap. Sleeping gas was more effective on Curtis than Lance had thought it’d be. Curtis drooling enough that Lance was concerned he’d been going to drown on his own saliva. Groaning, Curtis went to sit up, Lance holding him down by the shoulder  
“It’s okay. You’re okay. Take it easy”  
“What... happened?”  
“They gassed you guys... and took the others away. I’m sorry”  
He should have fought their captors... or generally done something. Their friends still hadn’t been returned. Lance feared that they were doing horrible things to them... horrible things that they had planned for them. Curtis groaned again. Lance imagined he most probably had a headache from the gas  
“How... long?”

“A few hours”  
Lotor finally spoke. Lance jumping as he wondered if Lotor had been mad at him and that’s why he hadn’t spoken   
“Lotor?”  
“Your friends are gone. Thinking of them won’t change the situation”  
“What do you mean they’re gone?!”  
Lotor knew the whole time and was only saying this now?  
“I mean they were traded as they were unnecessary objects”  
His friends weren’t fucking objects! He... he was relying on them to come back. He didn’t know how to protect anyone! He wasn’t a master strategist! He was just a simple vampire who was near on starving. Growing at Lotor, his ego slipped, hand tightening on Curtis’s shoulder  
“If that’s all you’ve got to say for yourself you can shut the hell up”  
“I’m merely stating the obvious. Or did you perhaps think they’d return to save you?”  
“What are you even doing here? Did you betray Allura?!”

Curtis groaned. Lance realising his nails had started piercing his friends skin. Quickly he released Curtis in shame  
“I’m sorry. Are you okay?”  
“No... my head hurts... what do you mean Shiro’s gone?”  
“I traded myself and my generals for your friends”  
Lance scoffed  
“Right. That’s why all of you are here. Sure”  
“That little conniving bitch Narti sold me out for the promise of a pardon upon return. We’re being held until passage can be secured. It seems my mother is quite eager to set eyes on you”

A shudder ran down Lance’s spine. Honerva may want to see him, but he had zero rush to lay eyes on her. And what was this about Narti? She was silent, moody, sullen and judgemental. But she was supposed to be Lotor’s faithful little witch. His witches were under VOLTRON’s protection because they were with Lotor. Whatever she’d been offered had to be more than just a pardon... If anyone was going to betray Lotor, Lance would have had his money on Acxa ditching him first. She always seemed somewhat annoyed watching him... It went to show you never knew what people were really thinking... It also explained Lotor being in such a foul mood. He always got what he wanted. Lance expected him to be tucked away from all of this after all his preaching about Sendak being too dangerous. His pompous arse probably thought he could simply waltz in and demand their release or something equally egotistical.

So. Then what happened now? Lance knew where the gas release was, but that wouldn’t be any use against the vampires who’d brought Lotor down... Maybe Lotor had gone against Sendak? But then... then that would mean Shiro, Sam and Matt hadn’t been released. If Lance was in Sendak’s position, he wouldn’t have released a hunter. Shiro could have been a future bargaining chip. Then again, Sendak probably saw humans like cattle. So weak and insignificant that there was no point wasting resources on keeping them alive. Trying to objectify his friends left him mixed up inside. He didn’t want to think of them like that. The lives of his friends weren’t worthless. There was safety in numbers and now that number had been cut by three dependable people. Lance knew Zethrid and Ezor had helped Keith, but what would they make of the betrayal of their friend? 

“Do not look so alarmed. If you obey, things will go much easier for you”  
“Fuck you. Of course I’m going to worry about my friends”  
“Really? I think you should be more concerned with yourself. You’re letting your true nature show. Have they not fed you?”  
“No. They don’t feel us”  
“Ah, then we are lucky we have humans here. You must be starved”  
“Not so starved that I’d stoop to your level. And don’t act like you understand when you stink of human blood”  
Lotor moved his hands, appearing to be examining them  
“I had a small rat problem to deal with. That particular piece of vermin won’t be causing any more trouble. It had the nerve to betray me. The nerve to set us both us. It had this coming”

So Narti was dead. Dead and her blood was what clung to Lotor. How could he sit there so calmly? Did he really feel no remorse for taking Narti’s life? Once again, if he was Sendak, he would have imprisoned her. Tried to draw as much information from her as possible about VOLTRON. Did Lotor kill her to protect that information? Or did Lotor kill her to spare her what was to come? Why was he trying to justify death? There were other things he needed to know  
“Does anyone know you’re here?”  
“I was asked to leave by Allura. I had grown rather fond of not being under the thumb of my father... but she wouldn’t listen objectively. She had no desire for me to stay any longer, and since you make for the most interesting of specimens, I decided I may as well be where the action is”  
“Are you saying you did this for me?”

Lotor shrugged, a moment passing so long that Lance knew he wasn’t going to get an answer to that question. Like, if Lotor was trying to do a good thing, he could have at least said as much in his own way  
“Then do you have some kind of plan?”  
“Not to die. Though, I may face some backlash. Sendak was quite taken back to learn the true paternity of that child in your belly”  
Lance opened his mouth to immediately deny what Lotor said, until it hit him and he promptly shut his mouth. Lotor had said “child” not “children”. Had Narti informed Sendak it was twins, the lie would have been found out the moment they examined him. They could test for paternity, but that would take time. If Sendak contacted Honerva and informed her, she may want evidence. She may also be more inclined to not hurt the baby if she thought it her grandchild. The thought of being held by Lotor sickened him. As did denying Keith was the father of their twins. He was proud to be Keith’s boyfriend. Lying bought time, but he wasn’t comfortable with at all. If Lotor was going to lie like that, he’d preferred the man said Matt, like their baby would some kind of vampire cross werewolf. Fucking Lotor.

Lotor raised his voice, confirming what they’d thought suspected over being monitored  
“For now we should rest. I doubt my mother would be happy to hear of your treatment. You could lose the child without blood, and she would lose the chance to study you. I doubt anyone would wish to stand before Zarkon and have that conversation”  
“You know I only drink from blood bags”  
If they were listening, Lance wanted to make that very clear  
“Because you’re weakling without the stomach for fresh blood. You’d be unstoppable if you fed on fresh blood”

Hopefully their little “talk” had reached someone who’d bring him blood. Poor Curtis had to put up with two vampires now, and he didn’t want to vamp out on his friend. He’d sit and behave, then fuck Lotor, he was going to find a way to get him and Curtis free of this. He and the twins were getting back to Keith. He was going back to his boyfriend, no matter what it took to get back there.


	128. Chapter 128

128

Lance had snapped. Being tired and hungry did that to a man. He’d hit the point of exhaustion where he’d gone over and lost the plot... Lotor held him down as Ezor stuck her arm in his mouth. Her blood tasted gross, forced down his throat until he had the strength to get free... Then had kind of lost it over everything. He’d tried to rip the door off its hinges, hands burnt because of it. His temper tantrum stopped by Lotor, but the damage was done and he was moved from the others. With his ego beyond his ability to rein it back in, it’d taken five vampires to hurl him away from his friends, earning him a black eye and a broken nose... yet a nicer room, despite the fact he promised to behave himself if they just put him back with the others. He hadn’t even seen Curtis as friend once the blood started flowing into his mouth. Everyone had just been a source of food, with his ego being okay with that.

Dragged through what Lance now knew to be a house and not some kind of warehouse, he chained to a bed by his feet and his wrists, a collar around his neck with chain linking to the chain between his wrists. The bars of the bed groaning with his strength, yet refused to yield under his force. Hit by the full realisation of what he’d done, he’d curled up the best he could around his chains, crying himself to sleep over how violent he’d been. 

He’d been in the bedroom for a few days now. Away from the others they brought him food. Human food that did nothing for his blood cravings, and blood capsules that he’d forced himself to swallow down so his body was at least getting some form of blood. The other vampires seemed wary of him now. Despite being able to take him in his weakened state, they came in a group of five. Two would guard the door, one would throw his food on the bed, one was armed with a cattle prod and another with what Lance could only call a dog catching pole. The steel comprising the loop was no joke. It’d been wrapped with razor wire that he was sure would decapitate him if they felt he was misbehaving. 

Next to the bed was a bucket, Lance barely had enough chain to roll over to use it, resulting in him messing up his clothes and the bed, not that his captors cared. He was permitted one 5 minute bathroom break a day, where the was observed for the whole thing and Mr Cattle-Prod would stand right up near him with the device hovering near his back. He’d make the mistake of moving too fast to grab toilet paper and had been dropped by the device so fast he’d smacked his head on the toilet. Still, Lance hoped for all his mistreatment that they hadn’t laid a hand on Curtis. Zethrid, Acxa, and Ezor all fell under Lotor’s protection. Curtis had no one now. He bitterly cursed his outburst and attempt to escape when they’d come to subdue him. Had he kept his head level, he wouldn’t have been taken from his friend. 

This waiting thing sucked. All sorts of thoughts coming to mind. Their captors were careful. He hadn’t caught a whiff of Sendak’s scent, nor was his name mentioned. Nothing important was mentioned at all... so all he had time for was his own thoughts. Like if he’d ever see Keith again, or if he was destined to die... or if Lotor had been lying and in on it all, with this whole thing being a charade or an attempt to extract information from him. He didn’t know how to feel. He really missed Keith, but he missed his Mami in a whole other way. Coran would be taking care of her, yet Coran had nothing to say that could reassure her. Lotor had left VOLTRON instead of doing all he could to help there, where his help would have been more appreciated and they could have all been out of here by now. Sleeping was the only time he could relax... forced to deal with the cuts and scraped around his ankles and wrists if he moved too much.

He was never going to complain about Keith hogging all the blankets again. Nor was he going to complain about his boyfriend’s inability to human before coffee, not that it really sucked. Keith was too unbelievably cute as he stumbled around seeking cuddles and guidance. Lance was as scared as he was tired, and frustrated that he wasn’t strong enough to withstand this forced captivity. Keith would be strong. He’d be quiet, brooding, until he worked out how get himself free. He wouldn’t go around having tantrums. He would have figured out how to get the cuffs off by now. Lance had tried to channel Keith and pick the locks with his nails. All that’d happened was he’d chipped them. Biting them broke his teeth. He was quite certain his captures thought him insane. He was acting insane.

There was only so much he could do chained down to a bed. Thanks to his little outburst he didn’t even know the way back down to the basement, so if he did break out, he’d be caught without being able to do anything for the others. Fuck. He’d even take being locked up with Lotor for the company over his own thoughts... yeah, he really was going insane... but... if Lotor actually helped him... No. Nope. No. It’d been days locked up in the room with nothing. He didn’t even bother trying to initiate conversation knowing he’d be abused if he did. Had Lotor planned something then surely things would have been in place and his arse would have been rescued by now.

*  
Keith was not above torture. He wasn’t the saint Lance made him out to be... but his friends were literally the only thing he had left now that he’d been sent down to the VOLTRON staff quarters. Isolated for his own good. What a load of shit. Shiro was still in the briefing room, where he should be... not sent to rest like a little kid when he could sleep perfectly fine in a chair beside Shiro

Hearing a knock on the door to his room, Keith very nearly called out to tell them to fuck off, before remembering the rooms were sound proof and he’d actually have to face whoever was on the other side of the day. He was supposed to be resting. How could when Lance had been gone six days now and Shiro had been working his arse off for the last 4? Dragging his body off the bed, he rubbed at his tired eyes. Sleep hadn’t been his friend. He’d slept when Shiro slept because he’d believed Shiro was okay and he thought maybe with his brother back in action they would have located Lance by now.

Hearing the soft knock again, it irritated him. Striding over he flung the door open to find Miriam standing on the other side. Shit. Yeah. He hadn’t been the best person around, and he definitely wasn’t winning any awards when it came to checking up on Mami. With her standing in front of him, he didn’t know what to say. Both of them staring at each other before Mami gave him a sad smile  
“Oh, my poor boy”

Shuffling forward, Keith tensed as Mami wrapped her arms around him. The last person to hug him had been his brother. Mami was tiny in comparison. Her head coming up to his chest  
“M-Mami?”  
“I’m glad you remember who I am. I’d be very sad if you forgot me”  
Way to make him feel even shittier about himself   
“What are you doing here?”  
“Call it an old woman’s hunch. I thought you could use some company”  
No. He really couldn’t... but he couldn’t say no to Miriam. Mami squeezed him tight before moving her hands to grip Keith’s arms lightly   
“Ah... I can hear your thoughts my boy. Don’t you worry, this old bird came bearing gifts”

Keith didn’t know when Mami had the chance to cook, only that she’d brought food down to him. The bag left by the doorway when she’d shuffled in for a hug. Opening the bag, everything smelt delicious, until he caught sight of a certain bottle  
“Mami!”  
Mami chuckled. He supposed he sounded how Lance did when he was scolding her. The bottle of vodka wasn’t full. Mami was definitely some kind of grandma rebel   
“That’s to share. I know you haven’t been taking care of yourself. Lance would have kicked you into the shower by now. My nose might just fall off”

Okay. Maybe he hadn’t showered in a little while...   
“My mind’s been elsewhere”  
“On our Lance. I heard about what happened with our Shiro and the others. He wouldn’t want you letting yourself go like this. Now, there’s some soap in the bag, I want you take a nice warm shower, and I’ll get dinner organised”

How was Miriam so composed? Her youngest was missing. Possibly being tortured and she... was there. With dinner, alcohol and an ungodly amount of patience. Keith found himself questioning her good intentions. He’d let her son be stolen away. Lance wasn’t back and he was... being useless. He wanted to scream. He wanted to drag in as many vampires as he could and force them to tell him where Lance was. He was acting like the Keith he’d used to be. The Keith who had nothing to lose.

“Why? Why are you here?”  
“Because my boy, it breaks my heart to see you suffering”  
She had to be suffering too... He had no right to  
“But Lance is your son...”  
“And he’s your boyfriend. Our Lance is strong. He’d be broken hearted to see the man he loved in so much pain. I have faith that our boy will come back to us. Now off to the shower with you. I had to pull many strings to sneak away from Krolia. Woman was giving me more grey hairs with her worrying than I know what to do with”  
Lance probably thought he’d given up on him. He wouldn’t rest if their roles were reversed. How could he look his boyfriend in the eye?  
“Do you... do think Lance will still love me?”  
Miriam chuckled at him, Keith feeling self conscious knowing she was laughing at him  
“My boy. That son of mine is absolutely crazy for you. Always talks my ear off about you. He says your very stubborn, but very sensitive. He’s always at me not to tease you because he doesn’t want you be sad. He adores you. Gracious, you’re as bad as my boys, you need to take a shower, mister. I can’t let Lance be seeing you like this. He’d scold me for not taking care of you”

Heading to shower, the warm water hid his tears. Keith letting everything go as he cried out how much he missed his boyfriend. He missed his whole existence. The sleepy smiles as they lay cuddled up in bed together. The way he knew Keith needed his morning coffee and let him hang off him until he was caffeinated. The way he was the dorkiest and clumsiest vampire in existence. He felt like his soul had been cut in half and he didn’t know how to exist on his own after finding love with Lance. Trying to stay strong was exhausting. Nothing was going right and no one would give him his boyfriend back. He had Lance’s clothes but he feared if he handled them too much they stop smelling like him... and then he’d have nothing anymore. Keith already felt like he was forgetting what it felt like to hold him. To hear his voice. 

Cried out and much cleaner, Keith climbed out the shower slowly. The warm water left him in a state ready to pass out in bed. Without a change of clothes he put on what he’d been wearing before, having to admit that he’d definitely been past due for a shower. Lance really would be kicking his arse for how he was acting. He was 27. He needed to be an adult... no matter how much everything hurt right now. Shiro would... Shiro would work this out... and Lance and Curtis would come home. Lance would tell him off for being a wreck, but Keith wouldn’t care because his boyfriend would be back and those who took him would have paid for it... slowly. Torturously slowly.

Heading back into the bedroom area, Mami had dinner all organised. She’d even had someone smuggle in two small glasses for the vodka. Drinking would change nothing. It’d only serve to make him more depressed, but one drink wouldn’t hurt, it might even take the edge off enough to finally rest  
“You smell fresh as a daisy. Dig in, you need your strength”  
He smelt like Mami. The soap that Lance always went to such trouble to buy because he knew she loved it. He wanted more times like that. More times of watching Lance fuss over Miriam with love in his eyes. The way Mami was looking at him... like... like she loved him, hurt   
“Uh... thanks. I... know I’ve been a terrible partner to Lance... and I’ve neglected you...”  
“Hush yourself. Lance is going to be found. I’ve seen enough airport security television to know he’s not getting through a cargo detector with those racing heartbeats of my grandbabies”

Keith hadn’t thought of things like that. The image of an irate Lance stuffed in a suitcase came to mind. His boyfriend would be so fucking pissed. Still, there were other avenues open if someone really wanted out of the country. Miriam seemed almost naive to think Sendak would waltz into a public airport and fly away to Zarkon’s territory. nearly half a moment later he realised that was the lie Mami was telling herself to keep going on strong. She had to believe Lance would come back, because the only other option was her son was dead... again. Keith wouldn’t believe that until he saw Lance for himself. 

“Now, let’s have a good meal and a few drinks, then you’ll get yourself some much needed sleep”  
Krolia had tried to be there for him... but she was better off being where she could be useful and not chained to his side. He was lashing out. Moody. Desperate for any kind of news and angry the Blades hadn’t found something despite all their work  
“Thanks, Mami. I... don’t know how you can be so kind to me. It’s my fault he’s missing”  
“Don’t you say that. Those people who took him are to blame. You’re not the one who abducted him. And if you are, I’m very cross at you”  
“I wish I was... then we’d know where he is”  
“I suspect he wouldn’t think of it as an abduction if it was you. He’d probably skip away merrily with a smile on his face”  
“Probably. He’s kind of hopeless”  
“He’s also lived a long time. He’ll be back home sooner rather than later. Now, eat your dinner. You can tell me everything you know while we eat. Lance often says I give good advice”

Keith resisted rolling his sore eyes at Miriam. She was so fierce and gentle... Lance would probably be the same with their twins. Fierce, gentle, and paranoid about dropping the baby... As for the whole “advice thing”, Miriam really did give good advice. He really should be going into detail, but this was Lance’s mother. She looked at things completely different to him and everyone else around them. She had a unique kind of “inside outside” view of the situation... There wasn’t much to be lost if he talked to her... he’d just have to leave out the scarier bits  
“Yes, Mami”

He and Mami shouldn’t have been left unsupervised with the vodka. One more glass turned to two more. Keith’s tongue getting away from him as he spilled too much about how all of this was making him feel. With his defences down, he could have talked to Mami all night. She held his hand, rubbing her thumb over the back of his hand like Lance would. She filled in so many parts of Lance’s life as “their little secret”. The parts of his childhood that were happy felt every bit the distant memories they were. Lance learning to drive had to be his new favourite story. His boyfriend overcompensating for his sense, driving so slow Mami smacked him until he crashed into a stop sign... then freaked out. Noticing she’d gone missing, Krolia came to find her. Eyeing the glasses on the desk, his mother raised an eyebrow, Keith feeling ashamed for actually finally relaxing and talking to someone about what he was feeling. Things were different now. He knew Krolia cared for him, but trauma didn’t disappear and he felt weak for relying on Mami when she had enough on her plate.

“Do I need to seperate you two? Or ask who was leading who astray here?”  
Miriam laughed softly at Krolia, maybe his mum wasn’t as cranky as he was mentally making her out to be  
“Don’t blame, Mami”  
“So she’s the culprit. Leading my son astray, whatever shall I do with you?”  
Mami smiled at Krolia   
“You could sit and have a drink with us?”  
“I only came to make sure you two hadn’t snuck out. Pidge tried to. Matt’s decided she needed rest and has sent to her to sleep”  
Mami nodded, abandoning her glass in favour of placing her other hand over Keith’s   
“Ah, perhaps it’s that time. Keith, you should rest too, my mijo”  
He still felt self conscious... and kind of didn’t want Mami to leave. Hearing about Lance was nice. The kid that loved soccer and dancing...  
“What about you?”  
“When you get to my age, you can just about sleep anywhere”  
That wasn’t what he meant. He kind of felt Mami shouldn’t be alone either  
“Do... you want to stay?”  
“I’m flattered by the offer, but can you imagine how jealous Lance would be? If I was 30 years younger I’d eat you up”

Krolia covered her mouth as she snorted at Miriam, before composing herself into “mum mode”. Keith hoped he hadn’t offended her by asking Mami to stay instead of her. He’d just... Krolia had her son and knew where he was. Mami didn’t. She was old and... He didn’t know what he’d tell Lance if anything happened to her. He hated Luis with a burning passion, but he wanted someone with Mami. He wanted someone there to take care of her and make sure she wasn’t pushing herself  
“Miriam’s right. You need to sleep, we can all see it. We’ll wake you if we learn anything, and I won’t be making a move without consulting you first. It’s hard to have hope, but all we can do is trust in Lance and Curtis to do what they have to do until we can bring them home. Matt’s heading down to Garrison tomorrow to collect a few things for Rieva and pick up Blue. Maybe you could go with him? Or make a list of things that Lance would like to come back to? Oh... I’ve got this back too... I know it’s customary to keep evidence, but I felt like you should have it”

Krolia tossed something into Keith’s lap. Keith realising it was Lance’s phone. He hadn’t been allowed to keep it. Lance’s laptop was bagged as evidence when Pidge’s was retrieved from her parents... so he’d really thought he wouldn’t be allowed his boyfriend’s phone. Hitting the power button, the screen lit up. He was Lance’s background. Fast asleep with Kosmo curled up in his arms. Keith hated the photo because it was him, Lance loved it for that reason... his doggo no longer that tiny now he was 8 months old. Feeling himself growing teary. He really fucking missed Lance... Miriam squeezed his hand  
“We’ll bring him home. You’ll see. Krolia, can I tempt you into a nightcap?”  
Krolia groaned playfully, before nodding  
“Ooooh, you’ve twisted my arm. One when we get back to your room. You’re a terrible influence on me”  
Mami cackled. Maybe Krolia could be the one who stayed by mami’s side. They got on so well, and Mami would have a protector by her side  
“As I’ve been told. Keith, you get a good night rest. I’ll see you tomorrow. Remind me to tell you about the first time Lance tried to make dinner on his own when he was four. I’m sure that’s a story he’d never want repeated seeing he was naked”

Mami tapped the side of her nose mischievously. Keith kind of wanted to know that story, but he kind of really wanted to find some kind of video of he and Lance to watch on repeat until he fell asleep. He knew Lance had a habit of filming things... even when they didn’t turn out right and people were left headless in the frame   
“Thanks, Mami... and thanks for coming to see me”  
“You’re welcome, my sweet boy. Don’t forget you can talk to me about anything”  
“I know... I just... yeah. I’ll see you tomorrow?”  
“That you will. Not too bright and early though, need to put my makeup on and my teeth in... You never know when you’re going to need to bite someone”  
Mami sounded like Pidge, but Pidge wished she’d grow up to be as badarse   
“Right, that’s enough you two. Keith, don’t stay up too late. I’ll know if you are and take that phone back”

Krolia could try. She wouldn’t get very far. He had Lance’s phone and that was the closest thing he had to his boyfriend right now. He wasn’t going to invade Lance’s privacy. He trusted his boyfriend and his emails and messages were his private business. His photos though... those were fair game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mami gives no shits that Keith is a terrible drunk for she is menace


	129. Chapter 129

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not one to ever fall for a side character. I’m not... but sign me up for Krolia. Seriously. She’s... *chef kiss*
> 
> In other news... I don’t know how three hours of work 5 days a week has thrown my schedule out the window. I’m only up to chapter 156 and I think 154 on tumblr...

129

Gearing up, Keith’s body shook as he strapped his gun into place. They had a lead. They finally had a lead worth chasing. Coran had been working hard behind the scenes, trying to match the trace elements found on the clothing Matt, Sam, and Shiro had, but it was a pissed off vampire that’d given them their lead. The fucking opera was a set up. An auction held for the rights to hand over Lance and Lotor to Sendak. Attending the opera had provided the evidence that Lotor was cooperating with VOLTRON, a move seen as going against Zarkon. The winning bid had the rights to present Lance and Curtis to Sendak, with the promise of some kind of riches from Zarkon over the return of his son to his side and the breeder for experimentation. Lotor had no clue there was a joint bounty on his head. His stupid ego probably thought no one would dare turn against him or sell him out. Lance’s existence had become the source of rumours in the vampire community. Keith felt sick at the way they spoke of his boyfriend like he was some kind of trophy.

Betrayed by the continual fail of payment, then removal and death of half their group, they couldn’t confirm the location where Lance would be being held, they’d given the address of the vampires they’d been betrayed by. They had no evidence Lance was alive, or what had happened to him since they’d been double crossed before they could personally make the apprehension. All they had were their damaged egos... and their heads seeing Keith hadn’t set eyes upon them personally. With confirmation of the intention of removing Lance and Lotor on private jet. 

Pidge was a gremlin channeling her scary talents into tracking down the lead with such determination Keith felt compelled to find something. He couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t start hunting on his own if this didn’t pan out. He’d tried so hard to be the man Lance would want him to be. But it was harder by the day. 10 fucking days was too long.

Placing her hand on his shoulder, Krolia gripped it hard  
“Keep your head in the game. If you mess up, I will drop you”  
Like he’d mess this up. Their first real lead. Lance’s health and safety, alone with Curtis’s, took priority  
“I know”  
“If he’s there, we’re getting him out”  
“I know”  
“And if he’s not, you need to be prepared for it”  
“I know!”  
He knew all too well. The information was out of date and provided by angry vampires that could simply be looking to take advantage of the situation  
“Good. You’ll be with me. Shiro will be leading the wolf squad”

Why were they being separated? Shiro was an exemplary agent, not... oh. Ohhh... They thought both of them too emotionally compromised to complete the mission without going off script. The wolves would stop Shiro, with Krolia stopping him if she felt he was acting out. Yeah. Keith might not be able to stop himself if the moment presented itself... but he and Shiro had earned the right to be there when their boyfriends were found  
“Am I understood?”  
“Yes, ma’am”  
““Mum” is fine. I want him back too. I won’t fail you, Keith. If you think about it, he’s my son too. My family, too. That’s why you’re coming with me”

So his mother was saying if he interferes with her getting Lance out, he’d be expected to provide cover for the both of them. It wasn’t that she thought him inept. It was that she lost the love of her life and didn’t want him going through it too...   
“I... mum... what do if he isn’t there?”  
“Then we follow the evidence, even if we have to go it alone. I’m sick of this game. I’m sick of knowing you’re going through hell. I’m going to do whatever I can to bring him back to all of us. Him and Curtis... thank god these rooms are sound proof”  
Keith found himself chuckling, almost immediately feeling guilty for the sound, sobering sadly  
“I didn’t think I’d see the day you’d sideline the mission”  
“I didn’t think I’d see the day when I did either. I think I spent too many years as a hunter and not nearly enough as a mum”  
“To be fair, I wasn’t ready to let you in”  
“And to be fair, I tried too hard. I love you, Keith. I won’t let you down”

Krolia was surprised as Keith threw his arms around his mother. Keith also kind of surprised. He could feel his mother’s warmth. Feel the way her body tensed, then instantly relaxed. She’d worked so hard. The bags beneath her eyes were next level. Not only was she working, she’d been there for everyone in their group. She’d even been out running errands for Miriam, then providing a buffer when Luis came to scream at Coran over his mother being apprehended. A lot of things had happened over the last ten days, but it was finally coming to an end. All those times he’d sworn to get Lance back were finally going to become reality.

As he was getting ready to leave, Pidge came rushing into the room, throwing her arms around his waist. Hunk hovering, but when Keith extended his arm, the big teddy bear came in for a group hug   
“Be safe out there. I can’t lose another brother”  
“I will be”  
“Don’t be reckless. And don’t get hurt... and ...”  
“Pidge, I can’t rescue Lance if I’m too reckless”  
“I know... I wish I was coming with you. I want to see these bastards pay for what they did to us”  
Hunk nodded  
“Be careful, bud. We don’t want to lose you”

Hugs were such a strange thing. Keith felt almost invincible, or at least a hundred times more ready to face what was coming with a simple hug from his two friends. He’d been such an arsehole worrying about Lance. He’d barely been able to contribute. Pidge was a tech wizard, bullying her way into getting access to everything. Hunk was just as bad as her. Put the two of them together with Sam and all things tech related were at their mercy. Breaking the hug, Pidge pulled something out her pocket  
“I have this. I know we can’t come, but if you need support you can reach us on this one. It’s the same as what the blades us, but I’ve keyed in a seperate channel for just us. It’ll also tell me your location...”  
Just in case something happened. He got it. This time he was the one wrapping arms around Pidge. She was brilliant. Completely and utterly brilliant   
“We’re going to get answers and we’re going to get him back...”  
“And then I’m going to punch him in the dick for being kidnapped”  
Keith snorted  
“Not before I do. Okay. You guys should head back. It might be a while before you hear anything and Mami is going to need your support”  
“We’ve got this handled. Take care of yourself”  
“I will...”

*  
Lance had seen enough movies to know when something was up. Lotor had been moved into the same room as him. Chained on the other side of the bed. Acxa, Zethrid and Ezor were chained together, with Curtis in seperate chains. Curtis had the most mobility of them, he could “waddle” around, waddling from where he’d been thrown into the room across to sit beside Lance. There were bruises across Curtis’s face. His horn seemed longer too, but his friend still smiled at him. Out of everyone, Lance was most relieved to see Curtis was okay. Tangling their chains together they clung to each other. After being silent for so long, Lance couldn’t find the words to tell Curtis how relieved he was. That and both he and Lotor had been gagged. The ball gag in his mouth was made from some kind of spiked metal. His lips taped over, with extra tape over the side straps of the muzzle device they’d forced him to put on. Curtis couldn’t get the tape off properly, the pain leaving Lance in tears... then again, he’d already been crying with happiness over seeing Curtis again.

Lotor’s gag was worse than his, as were his chains. Metal spikes dug into the vampires face leaving weeping wounds. His chains must have had a higher concentration of lead or mercury as the wounds around his wrists were no joke. Lance had had a lot of time to really break things down, he now believed beyond a doubt that Lotor had tried to trade himself to Sendak in order to secure their release, only to be betrayed by Narti and her own ambition. Him getting Shiro, Matt, and Sam out was the best he could do... and maybe he thought like Lance did that together they’d be stronger than what they turned out to be. He still didn’t like Lotor as a person. His ego made him want to smack the fellow vampires head into the closest wall until he learned humility.

When they finally came for them, Zethrid nearly had Lance laughing. He maybe, definitely, kind of liked her. She seemed kind of freer to be herself when Lotor was gagged. She had a joke for every occasion, including being led off into the unknown. Thanking the room for being “drab”, “filled with terrible company”, and “an experience she wouldn’t recommend”, she actually waved as she was led away. Lotor had seemed bored of her commentary, but Lance hadn’t been. She’d laughed a lot. Compared him to Keith with both of them being helpless and cute, and needing them to show up and rescue them. She’d made Ezor jealous as she complained about Lance not turning into a cute little bat. Ezor promised Zethrid could have a hundred pet bats if she just stopped wanting Lance for a pet. Zethrid pointing out that those bars didn’t have a cute human form that looked cuddly. Lance really was glad she hadn’t been gagged, though Keith would have pissed enough to gag her himself.

Between the three witches being taken and returning for them, hours must have passed in the matter of minutes. When they undid his chains from the bed, Lance held onto Curtis so fiercely that the vampire on chain duty couldn’t pry him off his friend, even with the threat of the cattle-prod. Spitting in his face, the two of them were let together, snarky remarks made about him being a “slut of a breeder and a mistake”, thrown around like leaves in a breeze. This was their final chance to escape, but now he’d gone and bonded with the others, he wasn’t okay with leaving anyone behind. Captive bonds and all that aside, it was true that Zethrid and Ezor had helped Keith at the shipping yard on his birthday. He at least owed them for that. Acxa didn’t say much, though Zethrid did tease her a hell of a lot about her possibly liking Keith. Alas for Acxa, Keith was his and he’d never willingly give him up, though Acxa did say that it more like kinship that love... Yeah. No. She’d not be left alone with his boyfriend when he finally got back to Keith.

Not moving fast enough, Lance was smacked over the head with the handle of the cattle prod, stumbling and nearly taking Curtis down with him. Both of them were already leaning against each other in an attempt to remain upright. How Curtis could stand being so close to him when he was a mess Lance wasn’t sure. He’d been too docile. He should have been louder. He should have screamed the house down and made things harder for his captors. Meeting Curtis’s eyes, Curtis smiled softly at him. It seemed as if he’d already accepted they wouldn’t be getting out of this. Well fuck that. If he had the chance he’d be taking it.

Seeing they were being moved, Lance got a good look at the place they were being held. Another set of stairs confirmed there were two stories underground, practically purpose built for housing vampires. The hallways dimly lit, wallpaper peeling in places. He tried to absolutely memorise everything down to the smallest detail. Depending on the outcome he wanted to have enough information to provide an airtight statement that couldn’t be rebuked by even the best lawyer. So everything was memorised. The size. The layout. The mould in the air. The creek of the floorboards. This place didn’t have much love poured into it. Not like his house. He always had sunlight streaming into every room. Warmth and love filled his home. He wanted to avoid the sensation of being trapped underground and everything stereotypical vampire trope.

Led through to a darkened living area. Lance’s knees went weak. Standing before them, in all his unholiness was Sendak. Disgusted by his surrounds, blood was splattered across the floor. Death hanging in the air. Narti’s body hadn’t been moved. The witch’s features still held the same almost surprised look, despite the decay of her body. The stench was as shocking as the senseless waste of life. As Lance’s body broke out in goosebumps, Sendak strode across the room, cloak billowing as if there was some kind of supernatural wind behind him. Taking Curtis by the horn, his friend was cast aside, Lance’s nails scraping his arms as he tried his hardest to ignore the urge to submit to the vampire in front of him. Taking him by the chin, Sendak’s eyes met Lance’s. Lance paralysed by the feeling of terror coursing through every fibre of him. Sendak’s ego was every bad thing that lurked in the night. Every bad thing in every depiction of hell. His touch felt scolding, as if a red hot poker had been driven through up his chin and into the core of his brain. This was a true vampire. An old vampire. A vampire that’d been reborn by the monster inside. No humanity remained in those eyes as black as charred flesh.

Tilting his chin, Sendak examined him. Lance knew very well he didn’t look presentable. Even in the days he’d let himself go with depression over his cursed state, he’d never let himself fall this far. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had some kind of facial hair messing up his handsome face  
“So this is it? This is the thing all the fuss is over. Remove these chains. He’s hardly fit for much more than lying on his back, and that’s already been seen to. A full belly of human filth”  
Keith was not filth. Their children were not filth. His body was screaming to submit, but he knew he could push past an ego now. He’d done it to Lotor. Lotor had tried to make his mind go all dreamy, but he’d fought it. He needed to fight past Sendak’s ego. He couldn’t even spit in the man’s face. The best he could do was sloppily take a swing when his chains were being removed. Sendak catching his fist and twisting his arm as he turned him, pushing up so hard something snapped and Lance screamed around his gag. How fucking dare Sendak touch him?!  
“Do not think you can fight me. You’re valuable, even without those things inside of you. Accidents do happen. Load them up. I want them out within the half hour”

When Sendak released him, Lance dropped, cradling his very broken arm to his chest as he dragged himself over to Curtis. Curtis was awake, semi-dazed, and his horn ripped clean in half. The half showing a sick dark red, almost crystalline mess. He tried to say Curtis’s name, but all that came out was whimper in pain. Curtis was tough but this was cruel. Cruel like burning ants with a magnifying glass. He was only human. Letting go of his arm, he took Curtis by the hand, squeezing to let him know he wasn’t alone. Grunting in pain, the hunter returned the gesture. Curtis knew full well that Lance couldn’t go against Sendak. He knew all the shameful feelings being in the vampire’s presence brought up. If Curtis could have, Lance knew he would have tried to protect him from him. He couldn’t even lie and fake a smile. He couldn’t pretend he wasn’t exhausted to the bone or that he didn’t have a glaringly obvious compound fracture. He wanted to. He wanted so badly to crack a joke and show Curtis he was trying. If he could just get his mouth free... He could get his mouth free. His hands were free. He was the freest he’d been in days. If he could... if Curtis could give him some blood... he might... he might be able to finally be useful.


	130. Chapter 130

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One order of Bad Arse Lance coming right up!

130

Screeching to a stop in front of the house, Keith had inherited Krolia’s lead foot. His mother was slightly crazy behind the wheel. They were the third to arrive, and Keith instantly felt something was off. Shiro was hanging back with James and the wolves. They were too late. He could read it in their body language. The way Nadia and Ina were laying, indicating they’d caught a scent by the front curb  
“We’re too late”  
Krolia nodded, before knocking her car back into drive  
“Mum?”  
“Hold on”

Krolia pulled around the Blade cars, Keith grabbing the door handle as his body jerked. If Lance thought he had a lead foot, his boyfriend had never seen Krolia. Hell. He didn’t know she had it in her  
“What are you doing?! Shiro...”  
“Look. We didn’t pass them. Meaning they couldn’t have come the way we did. They’ve got the scene shut down, now we’re chasing them. Get onto Pidge, I want the closest air space to this location”  
She wanted what now?! No. Lance could maybe be there still? The scent could be from them being brought there... There could be clear evidence and here she was kidnapping him! Snappily he pointed out   
“We don’t even know they’re headed there!”  
Krolia weaved past an oncoming car, not caring that the driver beeped at her reckless driving  
“And we don’t know they’re not. We know they have at least one black SUV. They’ll need something big to move them all...”  
“There could be evidence at the scene”  
“And they could be getting away right now. If they take off, we’ll lose them”

Keith practically screeched as Krolia cut the corner. She was the one who was going to drop him if he acted reckless and now she was acting like she had fire under her arse  
“Are you always like this?!”  
“This is why I prefer to work alone. Look. I can’t explain it. I’ve been doing this job longer than you’ve been alive. If Sendak leaves with Lance... then we’ll never see him again. Sendak has no mercy. No humanity. All he has is his desire for power beyond human limits”  
“I already know that”  
“What you don’t know is that he’s been organising to move against Zarkon. I suspect he was sent to retrieve Lotor to prove his loyalty. The Vatican has already tried to move against Zarkon in the past. Long ago. They were nearly crushed for it. Now they tolerate his existence under the guise of letting vampires kill each other and do our job for us. Personally, I hoped our happy days could continue and we’d never have to cross paths with him. I was almost relieved Lotor refused to cooperate...”  
“Careful, mum. You’re skirting a fine line there. I thought you were close with Kolivan”  
“I am. I was. But I am your mother. Watching you and Lance... I wanted to protect that happiness. Now will you stop being uncooperative an...”

“Keith!”  
Screaming in his ear, Keith flinched at Pidge’s voice   
“Pi...”  
How did Pidge know Krolia wanted him to call her?  
“There’s an erratic driver... I’m trying to get into the traffic cameras... They’re not that far in front of you. Police...”  
“Slow down. What are you even on about?”  
“You left me on. Look. We’ve been listening to you and Krolia have your feels fest. Tell her take the next right”  
Keith opened his mouth, Pidge yelling because he wasn’t fast enough. Damn. He was hopeless with these ear pieces. He’d put it in because he’d feared breaking it with how much he’d fiddled with as Krolia drove... they needed to take his ear piece privileges away  
“Take the right!”  
“Pidge says go right!”

They were going to die if Krolia kept this up. In his pocket, his work phone started ringing. He already had Pidge to keep up with... pulling the device out, he fumbled it, hitting his head on the glovebox as he grabbed it off the floor  
“Go straight!”  
What... Shiro... shit. His brain short circuited as he yelled back at Pidge, sliding his thumb to answer Shiro’s call at the same time   
“I’m gay!”  
“Good for you! Just... hurry up...”  
Krolia was snickering, Keith wished he had another hand to smack her  
“Pidge says go straight!”  
Putting his phone to his free ear, he had Shiro yelling at him now  
“What’s going on?! Where are you and Krolia?!”  
“Pidge is giving us directions!”  
Pidge piping up with   
“Who are you talking to?”  
Keith answering   
“Shiro?”  
His brother confused, answering  
“I’m here”  
God. He didn’t have the brain power for this  
“Look I’m trying to talk to Pidge and to you at the same time! Stop being confusing!”  
“Ignore Shiro and listen to me”  
“What’s Pidge saying?”  
Their words overlapped  
“Shiro, I can’t talk right now. We’re on our way to the airport. Pidge, which way?!”  
“Straight!  
“Hold on... we’re breaching the house. Do we need to come to you?”  
Again, their words overlapped, Krolia yelling at him  
“Give me the phone!”

Lance would have a heart attack if he saw Krolia on the phone while driving like a maniac. Smartly she put Shiro on speaker than threw the phone on the dash  
“Shiro, it’s Krolia. Pidge has a suspected lead on a reckless driver. Bring the wolves. We need to get to the airport before that plane takes off”  
Keith’s heart was racing. Too much adrenaline and no way to direct it  
“What’s Krolia saying?!”  
“She’s talking to Shiro. She’s got him heading to the airport...”  
“Good! Coran’s trying to get through there but no one’s answering. It’s a private field with no scheduled outgoing flights!”  
Wasn’t that a thing though!? Logging flight plans and getting approval  
“Are you sure you’re sending us to the right place?!”  
“Their hours say someone should be there! Left, then right!”  
“Left!”  
Krolia’s sedan screeched, Keith yelling   
“Right!”  
Krolia yelling  
“Make up your mind!”  
There was a lot of yelling. He preferred yelling at Lance, because that usually meant they were stupidly working something out   
“Okay, cut through the parking lot on the right, you’ll end up right near them!”  
“Pidge says through the parking lot”

They got air, Keith’s stomach left somewhere on the curb, his heart didn’t seem like it could beat any faster until he saw a flash of black. Thank god Pidge knew Platt!  
“Keith?!”  
“Shut up! Give us a minute!”

*  
Lance knew he was acting crazy. He’d worked the tape from his face covertly. He and Curtis were forced into a wooden cargo crate of all things. The tackiest possible thing he could have been loaded into, well, second. Thankfully it wasn’t a coffin... unless they fucking died in there. Curtis forced in there with him. Barely enough space with them face to face. Curtis couldn’t get his right hand to the tape. Where Lance could only use his left. Working the tape free, then the gag out, Lance sucked in a deep breath of precious air. Curtis needed air. There was only so much in a space not meant for two full sized adult males  
“Lance?”  
Unlike him, Curtis couldn’t see the inside of the lining. No gaps and no holes for air to get in... He needed blood... Curtis needed air. Curtis came first.

Punching the wooden lid, the chains rattled, but it didn’t give. Punching the wood again, his hand hurt, the angle too awkward  
“Lance!”  
“I’m sorry, Curtis...”  
His voice was rough. Words hurt. His mouth was a mess and he couldn’t close his jaw properly. Twisting, Lance whimpered at moving his arm  
“Stop! You’re hurting yourself!”  
He didn’t care. Fighting through the pain, he got his leg over Curtis’s. Kicking the side, he got more power than using his beyond slowly healing arm  
“Lance! Stop it! Please! I can’t take it!”  
“Hold... on!”

His foot hurt by the time he finally got his toes through the wood and padding. He could feel slightly cool air from whatever they were being moved in. Thank god for that... thank god... coughing, he forced his explanation out   
“Air...”  
“You’re hurting yourself...”  
“I’ll... be okay... air... need air...”  
“You... wait. Roll back...”

With the bottom of their “coffin” kicked out, the structural integrity was weakened. Curtis kicking out what he could around the chain. Breaking enough wood, the chain slid sideways as Curtis shimmied down, now his legs were mostly out. All man handling and knees in places they shouldn’t be forgiven. They barely had the space. Maybe... 3 foot wide at the very most... so... like a single bed width. If he’d been alone he’d have had enough room to break out properly  
“I think I get out...”  
“Do it...”  
“Lance...”  
“Do it!”  
He would have yelled if he could have. Words felt too damn weird. He needed Curtis to man up for both of them, even if he was dented around the edges.

With a hand in the place a hand shouldn’t be, then a face in a place where it shouldn’t be, Curtis had to roll away from him and bash against the side of the crate to get enough space to sit up  
“We’re in the back of a delivery truck”  
“Move...”  
Unlike Curtis, he couldn’t move himself properly. Blood capsules were barely food. He couldn’t keep his ego under control and his fangs were showing. He was starving and dangerous. They needed to get out of the truck or at least stop it...  
“Wait... I can...”

Curtis disappeared out of the dark space, chains scraping as he moved them. The lid rattled as Curtis tried to lift it, but now he wasn’t trapped beside him, Lance had more space. Biting into his lip, he cried out in pain as he shuffled himself onto his back. Fuck Sendak. He’d never been closer to freedom. He was getting his fucking freedom. Keith better be ready for some serious therapy and cuddles. Belly rubs, snuggles, and sleep. He wanted his Mami. He wanted everyone he cared for. He wanted to see Rieva again. She’d have healed by now, but he wanted to see her. And Matt. And Shiro. And Sam... He wanted Hunk’s cookies... and Coran’s tea. He was going back to them and no one was stopping him again.

Curtis helped him out the ruins of the box. He was right. They were inside the back of some kind of delivery van. The racking had been stripped, but the door between them and the driver was still in place. He let it go. He let his ego slip. Snarling as they were thrown by a sharp corner turn, Curtis grabbed him to keep him upright   
“We need to immobilise your arm”  
“Leave it”  
Curtis’s eyes widened as he snapped  
“Lance...”  
“Get low. I’ll stop them”  
Curtis backed away from him. Lance wearing his scary face. He wanted his human back, and these people were trying to seperate them permanently.

Charging the door, he tore it’s housing, handle snapping under his clawed hand. His busted arm annoying, pulling on the painful limb, something popped, feeling worse for his messing but he didn’t care. Swerving at the door behind pulled, the driver started yelling, the man beside him armed with the cattle prod as if that was going to help. Grabbing the pole, he pulled it free, throwing it into the back before forcing himself forward into the absolutely tiny space in the cab. The one driving was a vampire... but the one with him... he was human... and terrified. A human wasn’t part of his plan. Lance punching him in the face, knocking him clean out as the driver swerved across the road, horns sounding  
“Pull the fuck over! Or I’ll hurt you”

The vampire didn’t listen, calling the situation through. He’d never... he’d never killed anyone, but everything was so... extreme. He was acting extreme. Past done. Grabbing the vampire’s arms, he swerved harder, the truck nearly smashing head on to a poor motorist. Lance didn’t care. He didn’t and he did. That part of him who thought he’d let his ego go completely was wrong. He was so fucking desperate to get back to Keith, but Keith couldn’t love him if he killed someone innocent  
“I said, pull the truck over!”  
“Filthy fucking trash! Sendak will gut you alive”  
“Really? I don’t see him”

Slicing into the vampires arm with his nails, the vampire screamed as blood suddenly seemed everywhere. Trying to drive and protect himself, the unnamed vampire couldn’t do both. Lance going for his throat with his nails, snapping the vampire’s neck too easily. Without human interference, the truck started to accelerate, veering towards into oncoming traffic again, the bastards foot still on the accelerator. He’d come back from a simple snapped neck. He didn’t deserve to come back. Lance grabbing the wheel with his busted hand, yanking back too hard  
“Lance!”  
Falling backwards into the back of the van, something hit the side. There was the sound of screeching metal, tires screaming, then they were sideways. This wasn’t good. He and Curtis clutching each other until the truck came to a stop.

*  
“Mum! Muuuuum! I don’t like this idea!”  
Coming onto the crash scene, a normal person might slowdown to a stop... Gripping the “Oh Jesus bar”, Keith didn’t like this plan at all! Krolia apparently didn’t think twice as she rammed her red sedan straight into the front passengers side of the black car parked closest to the overturned truck  
“Shiiiiiiiiiit!”  
Screaming, the impact drove the breath out of him. Airbags deploying as both cars spun. Hitting his head on something, Keith had a face full of air bag, blood trickling down from the head wound as Krolia lay slumped on her side  
“Mum?”  
Shaking Krolia’s shoulder, his mother flopped herself back. Thank fuck. She was alive... fucking dumb mothers and fucking idiotic ideas... and they called him the reckless one.

“Keith!”  
Keith groaned at the loudness of Pidge’s voice  
“Pidge... ambulance... car... crash”  
“Shit! Hold on! Hold on, Coran has people on their way! Stay still!”  
“Lance... ugh...”  
Pulling the ear piece out his ear, Keith threw it out the smashed window. The door had buckled, Krolia hitting bonnet to bonnet, the dash mostly intact. Ugh... fuck... Lance... Lance! She could have slowed down further... fuck... 

Fumbling out his seatbelt, Keith basically collapsed as he pushed his way out of Krolia’s car. There were already sirens. This needed to be over as soon as possible... he just hoped his mother hadn’t randomly smashed into some poor persons car  
“Get the fuck off of me! I’m going home!”

Lance... it was... unless...  
“Lance!”  
“Get... Keith! Keith!”  
Picking himself up, Keith slipped his gun out it’s holster, flicking the safety off  
“Babe! I’m coming!”  
Staggering slightly, Keith moved towards the back of the van. The remnants of a random pile of wood scattered through the back. He could see someone in there, but they weren’t Lance. The could wait. Continuing around the corner, a rather pissed looking vampire was holding Lance around his waist, Lance not making it easy  
“Lance!”  
Lance’s head snapped up, his boyfriend had totally vampired out. He’d never seen Lance look as mad as he did, until their eyes met. Lance’s big blue eyes filling with tears instantly. 

Moving the gun to aim at the head of the vampire holding Lance, Keith pulled the trigger without thinking. Lance’s eyes widening as he was suddenly freed  
“Keith!”  
Screaming his name, he’d been careless. Yeah, he knew there had to be other vampires there. The truck obviously had a driver. Some kind of muscle to keep Lance in line... and then there was the car... Thrown against the side of the truck, Keith hit his head hard, gun going off before he found himself in Lance’s arms.

*  
Dragged out the back of the truck, Lance screamed and fought as hard as he could. A black car pulling up behind them, three large vampires and Sendak himself coming for him. His hands were shredded, Curtis losing consciousness, unable to help. Scared of losing his twins, he’d let himself be pulled out in the end. Truly and completely devastated. He’d blown things. He’d blown things and... and then some kind of miracle happened.

Someone hit Sendak’s car. The vampire letting out an enraged howl. In the dimming light, it would have night by the time they reached wherever they were going... Sendak had to be livid... and... whoever it was... He was going to hurt them, all because Lance had been stupid. He as sick of being stupid! He was sick of all his thinking getting him nowhere! He just wanted a simple life... 

“Get the fuck off of me! I’m going home!”

He’d never get back home now.

“Lance!”

No. No way. No... Even if it was some kind of hallucination... Keith... He wanted him so badly... He had to get back to him  
“Get... Keith! Keith!”

Struggling against the vampire holding him, Sendak was moving. The bastard hampered by the sun. He wasn’t going to let... to let Keith be hurt. He had to see him again. Calling out again, Keith had him shaking in anger and emotion. He was so fucking close  
“Babe! I’m coming!”

Fighting like a hydrophobic cat, Lance clawed and scratched at any part of the vampire he could get to. He had to get to Keith. His human was so close that he could smell him. He could smell his boyfriend. His ego reacting. Strength coming from the knowledge Keith was still alive and breathing.

“Lance!”  
Lance’s head shot up. Keith was right there. Keith was right there and he’d never been so fucking happy. He was there... and he was bleeding, but he was right there. The vampire’s eyes flooding with tears instantly. His boyfriend hadn’t given up on him. 

Moving the gun to aim at the head of the vampire holding him, Keith pulled the trigger. The grip around his chest loosening, Lance falling slightly forward before he lunged for his boyfriend as he cried his name  
“Keith!”

Throwing Keith against the side of the van, Sendak snarled at Keith as Keith’s gun went off. His boyfriend sliding limply away from the stronger vampire. Catching Keith, he cradled him against him. So beyond broken. Keith had come for him. He’d come. He’d been right there and he was... Tapping Keith’s face, Lance’s tears dripped on his boyfriend’s cheek. Keith was still breathing. He could feel him still breathing... Nudging him with his foot, Lance had thought he’d reached all his ego and anger limits... that was a Nope. Enraged didn’t come close. His mind was clear, but his ego... it oozed from his thickly. Voice cold as he locked eyes with Sendak   
“Get the fuck away from him”  
“I don’t have time for your antics. Get in the car. He’s as good as dead because of you”

If Sendak noticed the change in him, he didn’t let it show, instead he had the nerve to kick Keith. That piece of filth touched his Keith. Laying Keith down, Lance kissed his forehead, silently apologising as he then lapped at the blood on Keith’s forehead. He’d have to apologise, but he needed the strength and his thirst was no joke. Raising himself, Lance took Keith’s gun in his hand, Sendak chuckling at the gesture. Behind him, a bleeding Krolia shot at the lingering vampires, Lance didn’t spare her a second glance, neither did Sendak  
“I’m not going to tell you again”  
“No”  
Sendak raised an eyebrow, Lance felt the push of the man’s ego, straightening himself in the brunt of it. Now he could see Sendak was off kilter   
“Submit!”

The weight of the word fell heavily on his shoulders, Lance’s shoulders hunching slightly before he grinned a wicked grinned. From his back grew his wings. Dark and dangerous  
“No”  
“SUBMIT!”  
Sendak spat the word so viciously he sounded somewhat hysterical. Raising Keith’s gun, Lance fired as he moved. The first shot grazing Sendak’s cheek, Sendak grabbing him by the throat as Lance fired twice, wings wrapping around them to hide them prying eyes. Bringing Keith’s gun up, he fired twice, up under Sendak’s chin and through the soft palate of his mouth. Surprised, but not killed, Sendak stumbled back, Lance moving faster. Before Sendak’s hand had cleared his throat, Lance was tearing Sendak’s out with his fangs. Everything the man had put him through... All the pain. All the fear. Taking him from Keith. Hurting Curtis. Threatening their twins. Sendak tried to push him off, Lance firmly latched on, flesh catching in his fangs as blood ran down his chin. Sendak tasted like warm garbage. Rotten. Completely and thoroughly rotten. 

When the blood spilling into his mouth didn’t feel as fast flowing as it had, Lance reached up to grab Sendak by the top of his head, twisting hard. Strain by strain, muscle and sinew audibly tearing. Reaching the end of his strength, Lance screamed it out. Screaming out all the fucking pain. As he crumpled, Sendak went down with him. He’d failed Keith. He was sure he hadn’t killed Sendak but his precious boyfriend was still hurt. It all hurt so much. He shouldn’t have called out. He just... wanted Keith... he always wanted Keith... His Keith...


	131. Chapter 131

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I updated it a little from the draft on tumblr... not much and not majorly but it should read a bit better now

131

Keith was quiet as he entered Lance’s room. He and Lance had been separated again, this time for the duration of his checkup with Coran. He’d been uselessly knocked out by Sendak, when his boyfriend needed him. Lance losing control of his ego, no one able to get close to either of them until Lance had cried himself into sleep. He’d heard about it from James, Shiro’s team having been diverted by Coran. Honestly he didn’t care what had happened when Lance did what he had needed to do to survive, only that Lance was finally back with him physically.

Mentally was something else they were working on. When Keith had seen all the wires, tubes, bandages, and machines strapped to his vampire boyfriend, he’d thought he’d lost him forever. He didn’t understand why he’d only been allowed to observe him through thick glass in what was a whole other part of the infirmary. He’d all but laughed off the idea of lance hurting any of them. Not until Lance had started getting agitated in his sleep. He wanted to rush to his side and promise him the nightmare was over. Instead room a wreck in a matter of moments, Lance screaming as he curled up on the bed, his fingers in his hair, desperate for comfort. Yeah. Keith ignored the fear that seeing Lance so violent had caused. His boyfriend calming when he wrapped his arms around him, asleep against him within minutes. His wings remaining until the following afternoon when Lance’s beautiful blue eyes finally opened for him.

Coran filled him on what he’d seen when Lance was brought it as he tried to convince Keith he needed to be checked over again instead of holding Lance’s hand. His boyfriend refused to let him go. Both of them wrapped in his thick black wings as he clutched at Keith so tightly Coran had to manipulate Lance’s quintessence to get him to let go in order to administer medical aid. Lance had completely lost control of himself. He’d killed Sendak. He’d tried to go anyone who got close to them, lapping at Keith’s bleeding head wound as an animal would lick a wound of it’s own. They’d feared Keith would be turned, Lance drenched in Sendak’s blood after all and out control... he was lucky not to have been... James had said Lance had pretty much cleared the scene of enemy combatants, mauling the vampire that had... that nearly cost Krolia her life. The werewolf actually sounded impressed... until Keith punched him for thinking this was some kind of triumphant act for Lance. It wasn’t. Lance would need a long time to heal from the pain of this and while it might be a huge brag in the Blade’s, it was pretty much the opposite for his gentle and loving idiot crumpet.

Climbing into bed beside his boyfriend, Lance hadn’t said much since waking. The instant Keith was deemed as settled, his boyfriend was curling into him, head resting on Keith’s chest as he clutched his shirt. Lance gathering close because he’d missed was a hell of lot nicer than Lance clinging to him when he had to leave him, thinking Keith wouldn’t be back. Lance would panic, Keith finding himself also anxious and panicked over leaving. Lance couldn’t seem to rest properly if Keith wasn’t beside him. Seeing it was after 10pm Mami was sleeping, she’d come by again the following morning. Lance managed only a few words with him and her, even less with Coran. Their twins were alright, once Lance had learned that he’d cried himself to sleep against Keith, who was equally teary and expecting the worst. 

Things could only move forward painfully slowly for all of the right now. Lance would need a lot of constant care to get him back where he was health wise, but he wasn’t so far gone that there was no hope. With Lance unable to explain anything, too mentally shaken to express his words completely, they’d gotten no answers initially until Curtis woke up. Lotor had been detained, kept safe and sound inside Sendak’s car by the partition and child safety locks, that Keith felt were nothing but a convenient excuse to cover his cowardice in the face of battle. Unsure if Lotor really was innocent, he’d been locked away after receiving some kind of treatment for medical shit Keith couldn’t care less about. Allura had been spending a lot of time with him. 

Pidge and Hunk had come to see Lance, Lance hugging both of them as he’d cried, but it’d been before Lance was managing words again. All he could do was express his relief with touches and nuzzles. Coran politely and gently explained Lance had been like this as a child, and that it was purely psychological as he processed. Their two friends had taken Blue back to Garrison, promising to get the house ready for when they finally came home. Keith could see through their brave smiles that they had no idea how to help their friend. Once things were less fresh, Lance would open up again. He’d found those words to tell Keith that much, and how much he’d just wanted to come back home to him.

*  
Kissing Lance’s hair. Keith wished he hadn’t seen photos of Lance taken as evidence when he’d been brought in. He’d been cleaned up by the time Keith woke up later that same day, the photos left him physically sick and deeply shaken. Shiro wanted to talk, Keith didn’t. His brother had his hands filled with Curtis, he didn’t need him adding his mental issues into the mix  
“Coran said he’s going to bring down something to eat soon. Do you want to try sitting up for me?”

Lance sniffled as he nosed at Keith’s neck, Keith kissing his hair again. For all his trauma, his boyfriend had been very physical with his touches and trying to show his love for Keith. He’d been good about eating. Coran had kept him hooked up to a constant blood drip for the first 3 days, Lance had torn it out every time he seemed to sense Keith further than a couple of metres away from him. Now he was coherent, he was doing what he was told. Keith missed the spark in Lance’s eyes, yet respected that trauma didn’t magic itself away. Lance needed plenty of rest and to organise his thoughts. When he started over thinking, he’d tug on Keith’s shirt, to signal be needed distracting, so adorably that Keith wanted to lock him away from the world forever. 

Sitting up beside him enough for Keith to use the bed remote to sit them up properly, Lance nuzzled into his shirt as he shimmied down a little closer to Keith’s heart  
“I’m sorry”  
God. Lance was breaking his heart. He knew his boyfriend blamed himself too much for what happened   
“Babe...”  
“I’m so fucking sorry I fucked up”  
He’d heard that too many times  
“You didn’t. Do you want to do anything? Maybe go for a walk?”  
Lance nodded, Keith surprised. Lance hadn’t been doing much but trying to fight the demons in his head for the last few days. Showering was an effort, as was staying awake for extended periods of time  
“They kept us underground...”

Oh. It was a lightbulb moment. VOLTRON was pretty much all underground. His boyfriend lived for fresh air and freedom. He hadn’t been above ground since he’d come back... No wonder Lance wanted to sleep. He wanted to dream of being somewhere that wasn’t underground and didn’t feel like he’d gone from one form of imprisonment to another  
“Okay. We’ll take a blanket though. It’ll be cold”  
Lance nodded. Keith supposed Coran wouldn’t be too happy about Lance being out in the cold November air, but Keith just wanted to do something to ease what Lance was going through. It was painful to watch his boyfriend’s morning sickness. Painful to watch him throwing up so hard his body trembled. Painful to hear Lance cry out in his sleep. He’d give everything he could to ease that pain, even face a verbal shake down over a bandaid method of treatment like going outside 

Still. Keith wouldn’t turn away. He and Lance had made their twins together and they were still alive by some absolute miracle. As often as he could he’d hold Lance through it. His boyfriend relaxing as Keith would rub his tense belly, when he was allowed to touch him. Lance wanted him close but sometimes an unexpected move or moving to fast would make him flinch and whimper away. Guilt would cloud Lance’s handsome face. He hated it. He had no remorse for death of Sendak, other than that he hadn’t been the one to deliver the final blow.

Lance was weakened, though his blood levels were good, and his body had physically healed back to “tip top shape”. Keith had been through the same thing with the death of Adam. The emotional drainage that didn’t care if you were doing “everything you were supposed to be doing”. Wrapping a blanket around his shoulders, then helping him into his sneakers, Keith looped his arm around his boyfriend and held him tight. Coran would wonder what had happened. Lance was supposed to eat again, but he needed this more right now. Heading out, Lance leaned into him, head against his shoulder with his eyes closed. Bright lights had been a problem when Lance woke. His senses overloaded from being fed properly for the first time in too long. Kissing Lance’s hair, his boyfriend hummed. One of the happiest sounds he’d heard in the past few days. He should have realised all of this sooner. Maybe even taken Lance back to the apartment to heal instead of being here?

*  
Heading out, Keith didn’t want to go too far from VOLTRON. They wound up sitting on a bus bench the next block up. Lance sighing as they settled down and Keith wrapped the blanket around the pair of them. For a November night, it was amazingly clear. A sideways glance at Lance told him his boyfriend was staring up at the stars   
“Babe?”  
“Thank you”  
Now he was confused. Thank you for bringing him out on a cold night and risking being scolded by everyone for sneaking out?  
“For what?”  
Lance gave him a sad smile, voice trembling   
“Existing... If I didn’t have you to come home to, I don’t think... I know I’m overreacting and it wasn’t that horrible until the last day... but... I was so fucking mad and scared...”

Keith took Lance’s hand in his, interlacing their fingers together... Emotions were flooding through him. So much he’d held in. So much he’d held in since Lance came back. He loved this man so much that it didn’t feel possible he’d only known since April  
“I couldn’t find you. Nothing was working out. We had no leads... I wanted to find you but I kept letting you down...”  
“I prayed I’d see you again. I make up my mind a hundred times that I was going to get out and get back to you... I just wanted... I just wanted to come home to you”  
Lance shook as he started to cry, Keith using his free hand to pull his boyfriend close, tears rolling down his own face  
“I was scared that they’d take you were I’d never find you again... that you’d die... and... and I’d...”  
“I was so scared... I just want to be with you but I did something so bad... when he hurt you nothing else mattered and I lost it... I can still feel his blood running on me... I keep seeing his face...”

Their words overlapped. Lance letting out a screaming sob, Keith forced to let go of his hand in order to hold him even tighter to him as his boyfriend finally let his walls drop   
“I hate him! I hate that he took me! I didn’t hurt him! I didn’t do anything to him! But he wanted to cut me up and kill our twins! I hate him! I hate that I killed him!”  
Keith nuzzled into Lance’s neck. He should have done more. Thought more. Instead he’d been reckless  
“I hate him too. If I hadn’t been so useless...”  
“You weren’t... I... I was only fighting because... because I thought someone might be hurt seeing they’d crashed into Sendak’s car... and then... then it was you and I didn’t even know if it was real... but I don’t know if I could have... could have fought him without you... even for Curtis”

Keith heard the details of Lance trying to stop the truck. How Curtis thought he’d finally lost it as he’d kicked through the wood of the container they’d been forced into. The chains had been no joke. Coran said they were enchanted against magical interference. Apparently they were useless against a very determined Lance and that made him prouder than words. He’d had to leave for some of Curtis’s statement. Especially when things started getting graphic. Shiro called him back in to listen to the end of it.

“Babe, it was a horrible situation. You... I know you’re struggling so hard to be okay with doing what you did, but the fact you kept yourself alive and sane is a miracle. You waited. You took your moment at the absolute best time you could. I would have tried to do the same”  
This was the most Lance had spoken since before he’d been taken. Keith wondered if part of him was still subconsciously scared to talk underground for fear of either punishment or being overheard. Lance shook his head at him   
“You would have been better... you would have been stronger. I tried... I tried to come up with a way to get out... but I was too stupid... I didn’t help... You would have made... made the difference but I... I’m so glad it wasn’t you there”

Kissing Lance’s neck, Keith tried to sound slightly clever and funny   
“We both know we’re useless idiots that would have traded places with each other in an instant”  
It worked well enough for Lance to snort loudly and wetly. He’d take the win  
“I wish we weren’t quite so useless. I still can’t believe Krolia rammed Sendak’s car”  
“Don’t remind me. She was talking on the phone. Driving dangerously. Speeding... I kept thinking of all the ways you’d disapprove. I told her I didn’t like her plan but she didn’t listen”  
“She is your mum... it runs in the family”  
“Maybe. I think I got my lead foot from her”  
“And your social awkwardness”  
“Pfft. No. I blame our friends for that”

Lance chuckled dryly, pulling away from him to wiped his face on the outside of the blanket. His boyfriend had needed this so badly. His expression adorable, despite the fact it really shouldn’t have been, as he wiped his snotty face in the blanket with clear annoyance   
“What comes next?”  
“What do you mean?”  
“I killed Sendak. Zarkon’s lap dog. He’s not going to be happy and he’s probably going to kill Lotor for betraying him...”  
“You’re worried about Lotor?”  
The little voice of jealous kidnapped his mouth, sounding far too accusing   
“Yes and no... He... he traded himself and his generals for Matt, Shiro, and Sam... and he... he tried to protect me by contradicting the things Curtis was forced to say. Curtis can only speak the truth as he knows... So... Lotor... tried to bring me under protection... but he... he never hurt me... and... I like his generals... Acxa doesn’t say much, but Zethrid... she’s got the same kind of humour as Matt... I just... I feel like I’ve brought a doom hammer down on all of us. Honerva was already trying to move into this territory and now she has a reason to really go after us”

Yeah. That was true... There was going to be some kind of major fall out, plans already being made in the background by Coran and the Blades  
“I... actually have a bit of a confession. I’ve been keeping mum away from you so you couldn’t ask... because I... I haven’t wanted to know either... I wasn’t a very good man when you were gone... I was rude and abrasive and angry... and... honestly I can’t cope with all that right now. I know it’s being idealistic and simple, but everything I have, I want to be focused on you. I didn’t even think about what being underground would feel like”  
Lance nodded at him, for some reason his lips were up at the edges kind of like he was trying to smile   
“I know you’re worried. I know you would have been completely horrific... but I also know that all our friends would have understood... I know it’s stupid to be scared of being underground at VOLTRON, but I miss real sunlight and air. The house was so gross... and there was... it was like there was no air...”  
There was certainly enough air out here. The cold nipped at Keith’s ears and nose   
“Does this feel better?”

That smile crept up, soft, kind of wobbly, but there and just for him. Lance feeling so much closer than he had when they’d been curled up in bed together recovering   
“So much better. I don’t know how tell anyone else what I’m feeling. I’m sick of being... being so tired and wondering what they really think of me... and if they’re laughing at me behind my back for being so stupid. Or seeing the pity in their eyes... it’s all so messed up...”  
The pressure of feeling you’d let everyone down sucked. He felt that way... but Lance... Lance had been so fucking strong. He was trying to come back to them, he just needed time  
“Babe, no one pities you. And if you think they do, I’ll start dick punching”  
God. The smile he gave him. Keith’s heart was all funny at the warmth at it and the sparkle in Lance’s still damn eyes   
“My big bad hunter...”  
“I think you mean “your anger loaf””  
Lance snorted, his boyfriend moving to rest back against him with his hand in his   
“Both? Can we stay for a little while?”  
The question was soft as if he feared being yelled at for asking, Keith’s tone soft and reassuring   
“Yeah. We’re not that far from VOLTRON. If they really want to find us they’ve got Matt”  
“Did you just reduce Matt down to sniffer dog?”  
Keith shook his head, before letting his head rest against Lance’s  
“Nah. Matt wishes he was that skilled”  
“Mmm... he has skills in his own way...”  
Keith huffed. Jealous Keith wanted more of Lance’s attention  
“What about me? Do I have skills?”  
“Oh, babe. You’ve got no idea”  
“Do you want to tell me?”  
“Do you want me to tell you?”  
“I mean, if you’re offering out free praise...”

Lance laughed softly at him, but the kind of laugh that was filled with love   
“You, Keith Kogane, are the biggest reckless idiot I know... and I love that... mostly. You’re kind and your handsome. You’re smart, even though you don’t let yourself believe it. You’re funny. You could do absolutely anything if you put your mind to it. You’re cute, and warm, and soft, and your dick game is on point...”

Keith shoulder bumped Lance lightly   
“That’s what it all comes down to, isn’t? My amazing sexual prowess?”  
“Oh, yeah. Totally. I mean, I couldn’t possibly we with you because I adore you above everything else? That’d be all homo and no bromo”  
“I think I’m okay with that... I’m happy to be all homo up in your bromo”  
That didn’t even make sense. He was definitely out of touch with today’s generation... though not nearly as badly as Lance was  
“Babe, that was terrible. But seriously... I missed everyone. I wanted Mami, I wanted Curtis to get help. I wanted to see Blue and Kosmo... but... I couldn’t stop thinking about you. How much it must be hurting you. How much I hated them for hurting you. I don’t know how to come back from killing someone and I’m really fucking scared that Coran’s going to turn around say the twins aren’t fine, or there’s something wrong because I got Sendak’s blood in my mouth... but... if I’m not with you, then I’m no good. I can’t sleep without you. I get scared when our friends come. Mami sneezed yesterday and I nearly bolted clear to the other side of the room. It makes no sense... they didn’t... get really violent until they wanted to move us...”

VOLTRON wasn’t good for Lance’s mental health. He needed his space and his stuff and to be above ground. There was so much Keith still didn’t know about how his beloved boyfriend had been treated, that he didn’t think Lance would be up for telling them while everyone was still in fussing mode. Even now, his boyfriend had to be pushing himself to tell him  
“Babe, serious question. Would you feel safer being at the apartment or being at VOLTRON”  
Lance tensed, the hold on Keith’s hand a little painful   
“We can’t go home... in case they find you...”  
“I’m not asking that. I’m asking if you’d feel better being home with me and Kosmo for a couple of days”  
“Coran...”  
“I’m not asking him. I’m asking you”  
“But...”  
“Babe. You’re not going to be in trouble for telling me the honest truth about what you want. The apartment isn’t so far that we can’t walk to VOLTRON, and sleep there at night...”

Lance took a deep breath, before slowly releasing it, repeating the action twice before calming himself himself back down  
“I want to feel the sun... and... I want to see Kosmo and Blue... and I don’t want to be underground anymore... I don’t want to...”  
“Okay. I think my keys are in my locker, or Coran’s got them somewhere. If you’re up for it, we can pick them up now and head there tonight?”  
“What about Mami?”  
“She can come too?”  
Lance shook his head, breathing hitching. Keith didn’t think he’d ever be used to a breathing vampire that didn’t really need to breath as much as he did... and that sounded wrong   
“No... that’s... I’m...”  
“Okay. We can go tomorrow? Or tomorrow night? Or in the morning? Whenever you’re ready”  
“You’re being too kind”  
“Nah. Secretly I want to spend as much time with you away from everyone as I can. I want to keep you with me, where no one can take you and hurt you”

Keith made it sound like a joke, despite that being how he felt. Visitors and friends were nice and all, but he and Lance needed each other in a way they didn’t understand   
“Don’t say it like that... it’s too tempting. Everyone expects me to be there...”  
“Fuck everyone and their expectations. We’re doing what’s right for both us and our twins”  
Lance flinched, Keith kicking himself at the anger in his voice, quick to reassure Lance   
“I’m not mad at you, babe. I’m not. I just want you to be able to have what you feel you want and need”  
“Can we stay here a bit longer then have a shower when we go back? I want to shower... and cut my hair a bit...”  
The lose curls in Lance’s hair were cute. All of Lance was cute. He was so damn smitten  
“Sure. Mami gave me some of her soap”  
“I know... Coran thinks I need help in the bathroom so I’m still not allowed a real shower”

That wasn’t strictly true. Coran feared Lance would lose control in the bathroom and hurt himself, even if he didn’t intend to. Keith kind of had the same fear, but knew Lance also needed independence after having it taken away  
“I promise we’ll take a proper shower. As long as you want. Unlimited hair washes and cuddles”  
“Can I have belly rubs?”  
There was finally the smallest of tiny solid bumps that was barely noticeable but definitely there and Keith loved it  
“Babe, I don’t know... I mean, if I rub your belly any more I might have to get jealous”  
Lance shoulder bumped him back, a small spark in his eyes of who Lance had been before his abduction   
“You’ve got nothing to be jealous of. As long as I have you, that’s everything I need. These little ones, are going to be so damn loved, but you’ll always be my soul”

What did he say to that? Everyone called them soul mates... soul mates didn’t even make sense to him, but Lance... Yeah. With Lance, he could believe that maybe it was really so  
“You too, babe. You too”


	132. Chapter 132

132

Lance had fallen asleep at the bus stop. Keith carrying him back to VOLTRON where Coran and Shiro were waiting in the bookstore looking less than amused. Lance was safely cuddled up in his arms, face buried against his neck. Shiro pinching the bridge of his nose, his tone unimpressed   
“Should we be asking why you felt the need to leave in the middle of the night, and where you’ve been?”  
“We went for a walk”  
“In the middle of the night? When it’s cold... without telling anyone”  
“Lance wanted to... I asked him”  
“And you didn’t tell anyone”  
“We only went down to the bus stop...”

Shiro sigh deeply. Thank god Coran was more understanding   
“What number one means is, is Lance okay? He’s been very withdrawn since his return”  
Keith moved his knee to support Lance’s arse as he hiked him up in his hold  
“He needed it... He’s... they kept him underground. He’s scared of being underground. I know I didn’t tell you, but he needed this... He was talking. Properly talking”  
Coran’s face softened, Keith sounding almost pleading as he was tried to make both of them understand  
“I must admit I didn’t think of that. Come now, let’s get him settled back in bed. He must be exhausted and frozen solid, it is a rather chilly night”  
“I promised him we could take a shower...”  
“That will have to wait. We need to have a little talk, I think”

Yeah. They really did. Lance was scared of putting them all in danger and Keith was scared staying underground any longer was really going to fuck his boyfriend up. Tomorrow they’d see Mami, have a meeting with their friends, then Keith was taking Lance back to the apartment to recover where he could keep him safe and sound.

*  
“Lance?”  
Dropping the glass of water he’d pouring in the sink, Lance flinched at the sudden sound of Shiro’s voice. Between morning sickness that’d kept him up all night and Coran’s words, he didn’t think about Shiro coming back to the apartment... reaching in to retrieve the glass, he sliced his fingers, hissing as he did  
“Lance!”

Shit. He’d fucked up. He didn’t deserve to be this skittish. Shiro and Curtis had been so good about letting him and Keith use the apartment. He just... had so much to think about. Coran had suggested protective custody. Lotor was willing to take the fall for Sendak’s death, seeing Zarkon may be more forgiving... He’d been pretty placid at the group meeting to discuss that they’d had. Lance letting the meeting wash over him, too nervous to talk. He really hated how his anxiety went sky high when they were together. It was like he couldn’t relax, he wanted them all where he could see them... but didn’t want them looking at him.

Coming into the kitchen, Shiro pulled the tea towel off the front of the oven, before taking Lance by the wrist to wrap his hand  
“I didn’t mean to startle you. I thought you’d be sleeping”  
Yeah. If the twins would give him a moments peace. He’d sent Keith back to bed, staying on the floor with Kosmo. Keith was trying his hardest to work around him basically feeling like a nutter  
“Morning sickness”  
Shiro winced in sympathy   
“Still going?”  
“12 weeks and they haven’t got the message... I’m... sorry I broke the glass”  
Shiro turned the tap off for him  
“It’s just a glass. I came back to grab a change of clothes”

Ugh. He felt bad that Curtis and Shiro were giving them space. Everyone was giving them space. He needed space, but evicting Shiro from his own apartment wasn’t his idea of a fun time  
“I’m sorry... I’m not allowed to go back to Garrison...”  
Shiro sighed at him, Lance finding himself being led away from the kitchen. He had to keep a low profile. He was the vampire who’d killed Sendak... making him a threat to his friends and probably a threat to the vampires who’d fallen under Sendak’s command  
“I’m not blaming you. I know it’s not easy coming back from something like this. It’s going take some time for things to return to normal”

Krolia was in the shit for acting recklessly. Keith told him Kolivan was livid for her reckless actions. Apparently the Blades had some trouble in Rome. All of it too big of a mess to put into real words. Finding himself led to Keith’s room, Shiro gave him an awkward hug  
“You get some rest, you look like you need it. If Keith’s giving you trouble, let me know and I’ll talk to him”  
“Keith’s... Keith’s been more than good to me”

He really had. He hovered and he worried, he’d barely let him out of his sight, but he was letting Lance do things for himself and Lance was grateful for that. He knew Keith wanted to coddle him, but there was only so much Lance could take right now. His boyfriend got that he needed to do things after having the privilege taken away from him, despite it only being for a short period of time  
“We’re all here, when you’re ready. Curtis misses watching his shows with you”  
Shows were the least of his worries. He had all the time he could want, and none of the drive to do anything but in Keith’s arms  
“I miss... I miss him too. I’m just... not there yet”  
“That’s okay. You don’t have to be. Just go back to Keith, he was a total mess without you”  
“I missed him so much”  
“I know, kiddo. Things will get easier”

Crawling into bed beside Keith, Keith pulled him up against him, slipping his leg over Lance’s hip as he let out a soft sigh. His boyfriend’s hand going straight to his stomach, fingers slaying across the forming bump. Keith loved the little bump. Lance still felt like he didn’t really look pregnant, simply really well fed, but Keith couldn’t stop with the belly rubs. It was different to when he nearly lost their twins. He didn’t feel so touched starved, because Keith was always touching his belly. He wasn’t shying away, though Lance had been hurt. He’d taken a while to wake up and come to his senses, his body feeling like he was in shell of a stranger after being ill fed. All his senses had gone into overdrive. Lights being the biggest issue. He’d gotten so used to darkness and near darkness that the fluorescent lights of VOLTRON had been blinding.

“Mmm... you ‘kay?”  
Nosing into his neck, Keith was comfortably warm around his cold body. Kosmo was like a portable heater, he’d lay against Lance’s side, flipping his tail lazily as he huffed or snored up at him. Keith’s scent helped so much. It was his safety blanket that he couldn’t do without   
“Macaroons”  
“Baaaabe...”  
Too cute. The huffy, sleepy way Keith tried to ask if they needed to see Coran about his continued morning sickness was something only Keith could fit into the way he said “babe”. His boyfriend was too cute. He’d tried hard to keep Lance on the outside of things while keeping him looped in. Lance felt as if he was betraying him seriously considering Coran’s offer. Not forever, but for a while, he might need to not be in Platt for everyone’s sake   
“I’m okay”  
“Mnmm... ‘ love you”  
“I love you, too”

Sleeping late with no place to be, Lance tugged Keith into the shower with him. Sometimes he wondered if his boyfriend would remember to shower if he left him alone. Quickly washing the evidence of where he’d cut his hand in the guise of checking the water temperature, he jumped as Keith looped his arm around him, hand going to his belly   
“Baby...”  
“There’s two in there. And there’s about to be a big one in the shower”  
Keith grunted at him, Lance pulling him under the running water. He’d never take private showers for granted again. It’d felt like he’d never showered so much in his life, even after his three month stint making death soil, but every time he felt like he could feel Sendak on him again, he found himself in there. Keith would come for him, pull his hands away from where he he’d scrubbed his skin almost raw and fill his sense with him instead.

Washing Keith’s hair, his boyfriend knelt before him. Resting his forehead against Lance’s stomach, his boyfriend was seriously being too cute. It’d become their thing. Their thing during their morning shower. Keith had been so excited to see the little swell. Lance hadn’t even noticed it during captivity, but it had been two weeks since that day. Digging his chin in lightly, Keith tilted his head back so Lance could rinse his hair out, humming as Lance played with the black locks. He loved and hated how perfectly Keith’s hair was with no special treatments  
“Feel good?”

Keith hummed, that was a yes. They hadn’t tried to be sexually intimate since he’d come back, and Lance was honestly okay with that. He missed being comfortable enough to have sex with the man he loved. Keith had been so sure he’d been touched, Lance strongly shaking his head. They’d never stopped so low  
“Want me to wash your back now? Your knees have to be getting sore from the tiles”  
Keith pouted at him before kissing Lance’s stomach, Lance snorting at him fondly  
“They’re still going to be in there. Come up here and let me wash you”

Washing Keith was easier than letting Keith wash him. When Keith would touch his lower back, he’d feel the phantom memory of the cattle prod against him. The front was fine, where he could see Keith. A ridiculous new fear to have. Kissing him more than washing him down, the shower puff fell to floor as Lance slung his arms over his boyfriend’s shoulders. They couldn’t help but react to each other, Keith getting flustered, breaking the kiss with a groan. Too cute... and too horny... Maybe he’d kept Keith waiting too long? Maybe he should talk to him about if he wanted to try?  
“I think that means it’s coffee time”  
“Mmm... kisses”  
“You’ll get more kisses soon. Come on, Samurai, time for coffee and cuddles”

*  
Making breakfast meant actually having to make actual breakfast, they were living on food from the freezer, still there from the last time he’d stocked up his boyfriend’s fridge. Keith was human now, human and sexy in his black boxer briefs and black shirt.

“Lance, what happened here?”  
Lance forgot about breaking the glass the previous night. That the evidence was in the sink, he’d thought Shiro would clean it up. He should have cleaned it up. Why hadn’t he gotten up before Keith and cleaned it up?  
“I broke a glass... I’m sorry... Shiro came home this morning and I dropped it”  
“Shiro’s supposed to let me know if he’s coming home”  
Why couldn’t Keith have found the glass before he was awake and caffeinated?Drawing his knee up, Lance fidgeted with the mug of blood in front of him. Pidge, Hunk, Shiro and Krolia all donated blood to him while he’d been unconscious. The blood in his mug was freshish. Keith couldn’t keep giving him blood, but Coran had taken some from him, the bag in the fridge for breakfast. He didn’t have much choice and he didn’t want to go hungry again.

“Babe?”  
Looking over to Keith, Keith smiled at him, opening his arms. Lance up and moving over into the hug. His boyfriend wasn’t mad. No one was going to show up with a cattle prod and gag  
“Hey, it’s okay if you’re okay. It’s just a glass. Did you hurt yourself?”  
“I cut my hand but it’s healed”  
“Babe. You need to be careful. I’ll tell Shiro to make sure...”  
“You don’t have to. It’s his home too... he probably thought we’d both be sleeping”  
“That’s...”  
“It’s not beside the point. It’s his home too”  
“He said...”  
Lance didn’t want him fighting with Shiro. He just wanted to enjoy the day with his boyfriend   
“It’s okay. I’m okay. I was too tired to not jump”  
There really needed to be a limit to this vomiting thing. And this thinking thing   
“Did you get much sleep at all?”  
“Enough. I passed out when you cuddled me”  
“We could go back to bed”

It was tempting, but Lance’s head was already far ahead of Keith in the thought chain. Coran putting him in protective custody would mean he felt unable to protect him, meaning that the Blades would be pulling out. If they were going back, Krolia would probably go back too. Curtis possibly with Shiro to testify over Lotor and Sendak... and if Shiro was going, Keith should go too. He’d be safer if he did. It wouldn’t be forever...  
“Can we go for a drive today?”  
They weren’t supposed to really be going out, but if they took shiro’s sedan it’d blend in with the rest of the white sedans in Platt  
“Babe...”  
“I know. I just want to get some air. We don’t even have to get out of the car”  
He was being pushy. He’d tried hard not to be. He’d gone with the flow as much as possible  
“I’ll have to check with Coran, is that okay?”  
“Yeah. We don’t have to leave city limits... or the car...”  
“I’ll tell him. Do you want to get dressed, and find me some pants? Unless you’re fine with driving around in your boxers and shirt?”

And his robe. He’d be fine not getting dressed any further if it meant he and Keith could go out. Matt had brought a heap of his stuff from home when Coran said he wouldn’t be going back to Garrison just yet. Pidge and Hunk were bummed out, they wanted to see him. Lance wanted his head on straight before the million questions and worried looks. If things had been safer he’d have asked to go see Mami. Mami was with Luis and Lisa for now, Luis didn’t know his house was being monitored. His brother was being a dick about phone calls, if he was lucky he’d manage to get Lisa who’d put Mami on for him. On the unlucky occasions Keith usually tried to get to the phone to grouch at Luis. Lance loved how much Keith loved Mami and that they’d been there for each other. 

Kissing Keith on the cheek, Lance nodded as he asked  
“Sweats?”  
Sweats were comfy... sweats didn’t irritate his belly when he’d been throwing up  
“Jeans. I have to pretend I’m adult enough to be taking care of you”  
Fuck being an adult... Keith was a total bad arse hunter with amazingness oozing out of him   
“You’re plenty adult for me”  
Probably more of an adult that Lance had been being. Really. What kind of big bad vampire jumps at absolutely everything? He’d been so spacey he’d completely missed Shiro coming home  
“I’d hope so. You’re kind of stuck with me at this point”  
“Happily stuck with you. Don’t forget that”  
“Mmm, that makes two of us. Oh, you need to finish your breakfast too. We don’t we get lunch while we’re out?”  
They didn’t even know if they could go out... but Keith would figure a way to avoid cooking   
“Babe... you are the best boyfriend ever”


	133. Chapter 133

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith: We’re gonna do the thing
> 
> Shiro: No
> 
> Coran: Okay, kids. Off you go. Be safe. Take your phones.
> 
> Shiro: No one respects my authority!
> 
> Keith: Suck it bitch, we outie!
> 
> Lance: Safe outie... Outie which is safe
> 
> Keith: Why you gotta do me like that babe?

133

Shiro didn’t want them going out alone. Coran said it was okay as long as Keith took both his phones in case something happened. Shiro had been overbearing and the big fat worry wart he was. His brother telling him on the phone about startling Lance that morning. At least he hadn’t tried to keep a secret. Lance was right, this was Shiro’s home too, and he kind of missed his brother’s presence. But Lance wasn’t the only one still recovering mentally. He wasn’t up for much other than being with Lance and trying to work out what triggered him so they could work through it together.

Bringing Lance’s Bronco, his boyfriend’s face lit up. Shiro letting him know he’d parked it behind his sedan so Lance wouldn’t have to face the sidewalk, before walking the exceptionally long way back to VOLTRON, and that he “wanted” to be informed the moment they got back home again. More like demanded, Keith wasn’t falling for his smooth words. Shiro was cranky they were doing as they pleased. If Shiro was tracking their every move by GPS Keith wouldn’t be surprised. Watching his boyfriend hug his car, Keith missed his bike. He should have distracted himself working on it instead of being useless in the hunt for Lance. 

When Keith held up the keys, Lance’s whole face lit up. He didn’t want Lance driving, but that was him being too protective... again. He couldn’t stop himself. He wanted Lance to know he could what he wanted, how he wanted. He’d been forcing himself not to interfere with the housework and to let Lance do things alone. Keith hated leaving Lance to deal with his morning sickness, but his boyfriend needed space sometimes to adjust to his freedom, Keith having to swallow down his urges to overcompensate for his failures so Lance wouldn’t feel suffocated or judged by his actions.

Lance looked at peace as he drove them through the city. Kosmo a ball of energy in the backseat, barking at cyclists and other dogs on the drive, which paid him no mind at all. His doggo was a dope like that, tongue lolling out, pride on his face, the wind in his fur... yep he loved it. He loved that Lance seemed to be happier around Kosmo too, when he couldn’t talk to Keith, Lance still had Kosmo to confide in. 

As they drove, the hunter wished he’d brought his camera, all he had was his phone camera, which wasn’t as good but still better than nothing and somewhat better for covert photos of Lance. Gradually His boyfriend loosened up behind the wheel, he seemed to have made some kind of plan in his head, taking Keith past “historic” places and places he thought Keith would find interesting. Keith more interested in listening to Lance, though things were kind of cool, there was something in the way Lance came alive as he explained the history of Platt to him.

Picking lunch up at a drive through, another thing Keith had noticed was that Lance was eating more. He was happy, though he wasn’t happy about the reason. Lance had been too obedient and part of him missed the way he used to protest. Keith would take any version of Lance he could get, even a Lance that needed a lot of love and cuddles. He’d never not love Lance but he felt like his Lance wouldn’t be fully back to normal until he started kicking up a fuss again. Yep. He actually missed Lance’s old man ways and protesting over fussing.

With food in the car, Kosmo tried to be his best friend, then Lance’s best friend, then the enemy of public traffic as Keith tried to keep him off Lance. Lance deciding to find a park where they kind of broke the rules by letting Kosmo out for a run. His pup had plenty of energy to run off, being cooped up with his dog was like a horde of angry toddlers had descended. Thanks to everything that had happened, Kosmo still had his balls. It was on Keith’s to do list, but pretty far down. Unclipping his belt, Lance flinched when Keith undid his. They were going against a promise, Lance not to good at that at the moment. But what was the point of being outside if Lance couldn’t enjoy it  
“Babe, it’s okay”  
“We said we’d stay in the car”

The car park was empty. Only they’d be braving the park on an overcast day like this  
“No one’s around. I know what we said, but I also know you’re dying to be out there”  
Lance looked conflicted, Keith adding  
“Just while we eat lunch. Then back in the car again”  
“Won’t they mad?”  
Shiro was always mad, just in varying degrees  
“No. They’d be happy because you’re happy. We can totally stay in the car, but I’ve got to keep an eye on Kosmo”  
Yeah. He was playing that card. He could see how much Lance wanted fresh air. The balcony door at home was locked, but the windows all open. Lance had been doing so much better at the apartment than he had at VOLTRON  
“Okay... but... I don’t want to make them mad”

Keith had heard about the fucking cattle prod and he wished he could have used it on the vampire who’d used it on Lance  
“You won’t. You’re with me...”  
Lance took a deep breath, then released it slowly, fingers slowly releasing the steering wheel  
“Sorry. It’s so messed up”  
“A little, but you know I’m here to work through you with it”  
Lance smiled at him, a smile that didn’t erase the sorrow in his eyes  
“I’m very lucky you’re so patient with me. I really do want to walk Kosmo”  
“We’ll walk and eat. He missed his human”  
“You’re his human, I’m his other human. I feel like he got bigger while I was gone”  
“That’s because he’s a garbage guts. I’m pretty sure mum spoiled him with treats”  
“He’s best boy who deserves it”  
Keith couldn’t deny that. Kosmo was best boy. Best boy that was best gift   
“He really is. I’ll carry the food”

Kosmo was all over Lance. Racing across the grass, he’d sit for pats, then take off again. Lance was happy to fuss over Kosmo between eating fries. Finding a bench, Lance threw himself down with a sigh. Keith kind of felt it too. Relief. Relief at openness of their surrounds. Sitting beside his boyfriend, he wrapped his arms around Lance, careful not to pour his coke down his boyfriend’s side  
“Better?”  
“Much. I feel like a big baby”  
“You’re not. You’re doing so much better”  
“I feel like if I was stronger I’d be better already”  
“Careful, babe, you sound like me”  
Lance wrinkled his nose, the tiniest huff coming out   
“That’s not such a bad thing. We’ve done a lot of what I want lately...”

Ah. In Keith’s defence, he was happy too be one the same wave length as his boyfriend. Lance didn’t seem to get it, that when he put it like that Keith felt his boyfriend was failing to take into account the fact he always took Keith’s feelings and needs into account  
“It’s fine. I mean, I’m pretty sure you put that shark documentary on last night because you know I think they’re cool”  
Lance sighed deeply   
“Sharks don’t even have two dicks. It was disappointing. I feel lied to”  
“They have claspers”  
“Yeah... but it’s not two dicks”  
Close enough. Still, Lance had chosen it thinking of him and his interests   
“And before that we watched that series on Mothman”  
“Because you like cryptid things”  
“I’m hearing you’re taking my likes into mind”  
Lance rolled his eyes at him. His boyfriend silently sassing him  
“You know what I mean”  
“I know that we’re both healing. It’s okay to take it slow”  
“Yeah. Yeah. I’m being impatient. There’s just so much happening. Can Shiro come home? With Curtis?”

That sounded like Lance was rushing again... After agreeing he needed to be taking it slow. Though compared to Keith he was the absolute model patient. Someone straight out of the textbooks  
“Are you ready? He’s loud. And Curtis has stinky feet...”  
“I want to try socialising. Outside of having to check in at VOLTRON and without everyone around to look at me like I’m a freak when I panic”  
Lance had been at the apartment for roughly 6 days. He hadn’t been released immediately after they’d “snuck out” in the the middle of the night. Things needed organising and stuff like that. Lance was being too hard on himself  
“It’s okay to not be okay and to need a little longer”

Releasing his drink was dripping condensation, Keith moved so he was leaning against Lance instead of sitting with his arms round him. Flicking the plastic straw in his drink, Lance sighed at him, ignoring his own drink which sat next to his feet  
“I feel like if I wait any longer it’ll be too late. I want to get used to everyone’s scents again and being around noise. I want to feel comfortable with everyone before trying to go back to VOLTRON for longer than only the time it takes for my injections and blood transfusions to be over and down with. VOLTRON used to be this place I felt comfortable and I need to work towards that again for the future”

That was fair. Lance would be more comfortable at home. His house, that was. But he’d also been gone a while now. He might not even feel like the house was his. It wouldn’t be the first time. He needed something to show that they didn’t think of him as weak or a monster   
“Do you want to start slow? We could have a pizza night?”  
“I don’t want to disturb them if they’re working”

Fuck work. Sure, Shiro and Curtis were busy, and sure Curtis didn’t want to rest, but Keith was sure the pair of them were milking it when they needed just to play hooky from the paperwork. If they could manage that, they could manage pizza and a movie   
“You won’t be. It’s just stupid legal stuff coming from Rome”  
“Way to walk all over my profession”  
Keith refrained from pointing out that Lance hadn’t spent that much time really practicing law that year. He’d actually probably be handy to have on the team trying to cope with all the documents coming and going from VOLTRON to the Vatican at the moment. Lance would speed read and find every loop hole in the time it took Keith to read the opening page of the report  
“You’ve told me before there’s way too much paperwork”  
“That’s because there is. Will you get mad if I order too many pizzas?”  
“You get mad once and they never let you forget it... 

Lance flopped a little before shaking his head. A moment of panic. He’d panicked him, and Lance had calmed down in the same instant. That was progress. His tone wobbled a little, but it wasn’t full of fear  
“It’s fine. It’s in the past. You didn’t understand because I didn’t explain it”  
“I should have known you always have a plan when you do something”  
“I wish my plan to get out of that place hadn’t been so damn dramatic”  
“I don’t know. I seem to remember you’re pretty keen on the “ol’ razzle-dazzle””  
See, he could talk Lance. Lance loved his old timey references   
“Maybe not when it comes to causing a car accident and all that. I get so dumb smart sometimes”  
“You’re not dumb”

Lance groaned at himself, moving to rub at his eyes with the heels of his palms  
“I’m being a Debbie Downer. Let’s get Kosmo and head back. I want to make sure the apartment’s clean before Shiro comes back with Curtis”  
“Shiro isn’t going to care”  
As long as they didn’t burn the building down, Keith was certain Shiro wouldn’t give two shits about non-existent mess or practical rearranging   
“I want to make the place feel nice and clean. I want to show them I’m doing a bit better”  
Lance felt he had something to prove, Keith could relate to that on a painfully intimate level   
“Alright... but let me pay for dinner tonight. We can think of it like a celebration”  
“What are we celebrating?”  
“How awesome pizza is?”  
Lance snorted at him  
“I think I can get behind that”

*  
It felt good to see Curtis again. The apartment overly clean, Lance being anal about making sure the washing in the machine before he let Keith invite Shiro to come back home. He’d tamed his hair the best he could, his boyfriend definitely not a hairdresser, but he didn’t mind the ends being slightly uneven after Keith tried so hard for him. He kind of looked more normal in the mirror than he’d expected. Keith had driven them back, Lance making love to a disposable vomit bag which brought his mood right down after the freshness of the park and the cool wind. He started freaking slightly when Keith told him Shiro was on the way with Curtis. Trying to hold it in, he’d ended up throwing up in the sink with nerves. He didn’t want to keep feeling like this when he was surrounded by so many good people meaning well.

The movie was hardly paid attention to, once the pizza was gone. Keith roped into talking work with Shiro, Curtis happy enough to sit next to him, Lance’s hand finding it’s way into his. He envied that Curtis could be so strong. And his heart hurt knowing being cursed had to be so much more painful than what they’d been through. When the movie ended, Lance was going to offer that they stay, but Shiro politely excused them. Maybe he looked as tired as he felt. He tried to contribute when he could. Which wasn’t very much but he had to be kinder to himself. For Keith’s sake and for his own mental health... buuuuuuut mostly for Keith. He’d really had more productive thoughts than he’d known what to do with at the park. If Keith had to go to Rome, then he’d let Coran hide him. He’d take Mami down to Cuba so she could see her family and the place she grew up in, again.

Getting ready for bed, his stomach felt too settled but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He’d realised why he was scared of being intimate with Keith didn’t just come from the fear of reacting badly to a touch, it also came from feeling tainted over killed Sendak. He was struggling so hard, and he’d realised that Keith had to be feeling that same guilt from the vampires he’d killed as a hunter. Those wandering thoughts that lead back to questioning if he’d killed someone innocent or someone like him. Keith carried so much guilt and pain, him not helping acting the way he was, even if he was entitled to feel what he felt, was like spitting in the face of the Blades. Sendak was evil. He’d brought the drug to Platt where innocents were hurt and murdered. He’d caused so much unrest. He’d had to be stopped. Lance thought he could clearly remember stopping at the last moment... Seeing Keith hurt he could only chalk to having blocked out the logical in favour of letting his ego take revenge for Keith’s injuries.

It took a lot of courage as he climbed into bed with Keith. He wanted to touch him. He wanted to feel him. Feel he was alive and breathing. Have Keith drive everything from his brain until he swept away. As he moved to straddle Keith’s lap, Keith raised an eyebrow at him. Yeah... it was a complete 180 from the signals he’d been sending out   
“Babe?”  
Keith’s hands went to his hips, grip loose but there. Sliding his hand up Keith’s chest, his boyfriend sucked in a shaky breath as Lance wriggled forward a little to avoid being actively poked in the arse  
“Can we...”

Keith drew his brow. Lance trying not the be scared  
“You want to... to do the do?”  
Maybe. Maybe not all the way. Keith had touched pretty much every part of his body since he’d woken up again. But he wanted that touch. He wanted to feel secure enough to feel that connection with Keith   
“I... I think I want to. I don’t know how I’m going to react, but... I want to feel you. I want to erase him from my skin so all I think about is the man who loves me”  
“Babe, if you’re not ready, you don’t have to rush. Today was a big day... you did really good”

Keith wasn’t getting it. He had to explain this so he could, without sounding like he was trying to be manipulative. Maybe climbing into Keith’s lap had been too much too fast?  
“If you’re not ready, I don’t want you to feel forced. I’ve been thinking about so much and how much this all messed me up. I’m trying to figure out how to be okay. And I’m trying to figure out how be okay with me. I’m not forcing myself to do something I don’t actually want to do. I’m trying to not to be a coward and run away from this because it’d be easier in the short term. I love you so much, Keith. So damn much that I nearly lost my mind. Sendak told me you were as good as dead and I couldn’t function. I want to feel my boyfriend. I haven’t felt starved for attention, and you didn’t back away from holding me. You’ve given me and the twins so much love. I want to work out the things wrong with me, with you”

The pads of Keith’s thumbs drew circles on his hips bones, his boyfriend’s voice a little rough sounding  
“I’m not say no. I’m asking if you’re sure it’s okay”  
“It is. It’s like... do you remember how we felt, after your accident and everything was just so messed and we couldn’t keep our hands off each other because we needed to feel each other alive? I feel like if you don’t touch me right now I’m going to go crazy. I... it was like... like I feel like I lost you, but instead it was me I lost and it’s me who wants you. I realised I’m scared I’m tainting you. Like Sendak ripped my heart out and filled it evil. When I close my eyes I can see him hurt you. I can hear the cracking as you hit the side of the truck. I can remembered the way I caught you as fell. I can remember the way his blood tasted and felt running down my face. Then I open my eyes and you’re looking at me with so much love. Right now, I want to be with my boyfriend and have you kiss those broken bits away. I want to feel the alive and breathing you...”

Keith reached up with his left hand, brushing back some invisible strand of hair as he stared up at him  
“Babe, I’m okay and I’m not going anywhere”  
For now at least. And he wanted to feel Keith in the now  
“I know. I know... it sounds... wrong the way I said it. I don’t know how to. I guess... I guess I don’t want him to be between us being us”  
“He won’t. I’ll never let that happen. But, babe... Can you really tell me this is what you want? Honestly? I don’t think I can stop if it’s not... I’ve wanted you from the moment you opened your eyes. With that same feeling. I’ve backed off because I know you’re still getting there”  
He wanted Keith to make love to him. Mentally he was dying with embarrassment at that particular phrase  
“I want to. I mean... I want to try to have sex tonight. Not... not hard and fast... but... I want to remembered how you feel inside of me”  
“I don’t want to hurt you or push your recovery too fast”  
“I’m 6 days out. 11 days awake... I’ve... for all my thinking and my fancy degrees, you’d think I’d have the better words for this”  
“Babe...”  
“I want you to make love to me”

For all his romantic fantasies, he still mentally giggled at how childish the term sounded. It was ridiculous. He suppose people couldn’t be calling it “fucking” as that didn’t really sound as romantic as it did hot and dirty. “Doing the do” he’d grown up with. Adults “did the do”, and babies happened. Making love sounded like something a teenager would say as they princess carried away their lover. He just didn’t have the right words for slow and gentle sex where they got used to each other’s body while Keith totally wrecked his arse and he got to feel his very living and human boyfriend loving his body as he had before he’d gone mental.

Keith blushed, lips slightly parted as he still started up at him  
“That’s if you’re up for it. I don’t want you to feel pressured. I’d rather you say no if it makes you uncomfortable”  
“I... I know I shouldn’t be thinking with my dick, but... if it hurts or your scared...”  
“I’ll tell you”  
“And you want me to?”  
“Yeah”  
“And you’re sure?”  
“Surer now than ever”  
“Then come down here. Let me know if you want me to stop”  
“I will”


	134. Chapter 134

134

Keith took his time, Lance’s legs wrapped around his boyfriend as they took things slowly. Kisses eased away anxieties. Touches rewritten on his skin. It was slow, sometimes painfully slow, yet caged by Keith, Lance felt warm and safe. Soft words of love fell between pants and moans, falling to babble as they came. He loved hard, fast, and dirty sex with Keith, but his soul had needed this. All this love poured out between them with no need to rush. A few touches were bad, he’d panicked, but Keith would kiss the spots that’d make his heart stop with fear. Accepting that there broken bits that Lance really didn’t need to be afraid of because Keith didn’t see them as broke, just slightly dented around the edges.

They’d cuddled as they napped, waking once or twice, sleepily wanting more of each other. Being the drama queen he was, Lance cried from how happy and loved Keith made him feel. Keith getting teary too. It’d been nice until dawn, when his stomach rebelled.

*  
Keith had let him know Shiro was coming over, Lance planning to nap with Kosmo. What he didn’t expect was to overhear the conversation he’d been dreading quite so soon. From years of experience he knew legal proceedings could take months, and he’d selfishly kind of hoped it would. He felt good... ish. He could still feel Keith on his skin. Smell his boyfriend in the air and hear his voice in his ear as they’d reconnected physically. He didn’t want to interrupt but things sounded as if they were getting heated. Shiro demanding to know when he was going to talk to Lance about Rome, Keith saying he didn’t want to go.

Wrapping himself up in his favourite blanket of Keith’s, a soft red on that screamed his boyfriend’s name yet had been brought for him when he’d been preheat, Lance took a few breaths before letting himself and Kosmo out of Keith’s bedroom. Things weren’t good. Shiro and Keith stood at opposite ends of the living area. Shiro stuttered to a stop when he saw Lance, mid-explanation that Curtis was going to Rome, as was Krolia. Seeing him, Keith moved over to him  
“Babe? Are you okay? I thought you were resting”

He’d gone all out in Keith’s collar bone. Small hickeys and nip marks, with two very clear fang marks just above his boyfriend’s collar bone on the right. Biting more possessive than feeding. His ego wanted to show off that such an amazing man loved them. He was tired. He still battled with exhaustion, but seeing they had their own schedule around his injections, he’d been able to sleep as much as body seemed to need as a minimum to keep him up right  
“I was, but I think we need to have a talk”  
“It’s okay, Shiro...”  
“I know you’re going to Rome”  
Keith’s eyes widened as he shook his head, clearly sprung  
“That’s...”  
“I’ve been preparing myself for this. I think we should talk”  
Keith looked so sad. Lance wished he could kiss away his sadness like his boyfriend had done last night   
“I... but... you... need your rest. You’ve barely slept. All this vomiting isn’t good for you or the twins”  
“I’m okay, I think we should talk. I don’t want you and Shiro fighting”  
“We’re... it’s...”  
Lance opened up his self made cape, wrapping it around Keith. He wasn’t okay but Keith needed to decide what he was going to do   
“Come here, we’ll sit on the sofa and talk this out”  
“I don’t want to go”  
“I know, but we need to listen”

Keith wore a scowl on his face, Lance sitting between his legs with the blanket wrapped around the both of them. Beneath Keith was rubbing his stomach, the feeling calming. He secretly thought Keith was a big puppy, but belly rubs would make him more of a puppy than his boyfriend. Sitting on the coffee table, Shiro looked stressed. Lance wished he’d pushed for Shiro and Curtis to stay the night. Maybe then he’d have relaxed... or got laid. With neither brother seeming in a rush to talk now that he was in the middle of the two them, Lance supposed he was going to have to be the adult.

“Basically, you guys are headed back to Rome and you want Keith to come with you, but Keith wants to stay here. Is that right?”  
Keith huffed  
“I don’t see why I have to go when I’ve already submitted my report”  
Shiro groaning at his brother  
“You know that’s not always enough. They want a statement of that day”  
“Lotor’s supposed to be covering it up!”  
“We have conflicting reports. Lance needs to come in for recorded questioning. I know he gave a statement but we need to start again from the start. Kolivan will be questioning him”  
“He’s not ready!”  
“If I could avoid it, I would. Curtis is still shaken too. It’s not like I don’t understand”  
“Curtis isn’t pregnant!”

“Enough!”  
These two were likely to give him a headache. Both brothers shut up  
“Okay. Keith, I know about Rome. I already worked out this would happen. Coran’s offered me protective custody. I can’t go to Rome. I’m sorry, but I’m not ready for that. A pregnant vampire in the Vatican sound really kind of insulting to the faith there. Shiro, I’ll talk to Kolivan. I know what giving evidence is like... Babe, I know you want the very best for me, but... I think you need to go to Rome”

The effect was immediately. Keith climbing out from behind him over the back of the sofa  
“What’s that supposed to mean?!”  
“Babe...”  
“No. I’ve been trying to figure out how to stay and you want me to go?!”  
Lance flinched. Cranky Keith was scary. Keith made it sound like he was trying to throw aside his feelings, like last night seemed to mean nothing to Lance. His heart hurt.

Lance’s voice wobbled. It was easier to stare at the blanket fisted up in his hands than look at Shiro or Keith   
“It’s not that... I... I don’t trust a lot of people. With this... it’s more than me. I killed Sendak and I lost control. But what happens now? Do Honerva and Zarkon come after us? What happens with Lotor? And with his Generals? What happens with Curtis and his curse? Will Krolia be disciplined for her actions? I know James and them saw the scene. I overheard them talking about how I’d killed. They sounded... delighted. Lotor... he did try to protect me. Allura would have told us if he was like Sendak inside, but he... he’s never had friends. Just people he was told he was superior to his whole life... of course... of course I want you here... but it’s not safe... I think... I think I should let Coran hide me. While you’re gone... it... it can’t take more than few weeks to straighten everything up, right? And you... you’ll be home for Christmas? I... don’t... I don’t want this coming back. I don’t want to raise our twins with the constant need to look over our shoulders... I want this to be done. I want to know what... I want to know what’s happening”

“And I can stay here. Shiro can keep me informed”  
Shiro was great at long unexplained absences. No offence to Shiro, but he could keep a secret if he had to or he thought it best to protect Keith   
“Like how he kept you informed when he was gone for that month? You worried so much for him. You need answers. You need closure”  
“No. What I need is to be with you”  
Keith was making this so hard. Lance wanted to be the strong cool adult... and was failing miserably   
“Babe, please... please. I love you. But this is so big and scary that I’m afraid simply being in Platt will result in something happening. I’m not saying this because I don’t think you can protect me or because I love you any less. If the rumour gets out that I’m gone, then things in the city might start quieting down. Sendak’s goons won’t be hunting for me here if they know I’m gone. So it doesn’t have to be for long. It doesn’t even have to be for the full time of all this stuff happening in Rome. If you go, then you can find out what’s happening. You can explain it to me and I can understand. I think... you should talk with Krolia and Coran”  
“So just like that you’re going?”

Lance snapped. He felt shitty enough trying to appeal to Keith’s rational side. Standing up, he threw the blanket at his boyfriend   
“It’s not “Just like that!” None of this is “Just like that!” You keep acting like you think I want you gone! How could I ever want you gone?! I want him gone! I want Sendak out our fucking lives! I want to go home! I want my cow and my cat! I want my life back! I thought this was going to happen and I tried to tell myself we’d have more time! This isn’t fucking easy! I woke up feeling so good about last night, and now I feel like it meant nothing because you won’t listen! I know you don’t want to go. I know it, but I can’t! I’m selfish and cowardly. I’m klutzy and stupid and I couldn’t come up with a good idea to save us all that didn’t make me turn into a monster! My only thoughts were keeping Curtis safe and getting back to you! I want it over, Keith. I want to... I want to exist knowing there’s no one coming to kill me or our babies... I don’t want you to go... but I can’t go with you...”

Shiro gathered him up against him. Lance sinking into the hunter’s hold as he cried. He was pissed at Keith, but madder at himself for being too scared to go to Rome and support their friends. Coming around the sofa, Keith placed his hand on Lance’s shoulder, Lance pushing him away, Keith looking hurt as Lance sobbed out  
“Don’t! Don’t touch me if you think it’s that fucking easy to leave you alone”  
“I don’t want to leave you...”  
“I don’t want to live without answers about what comes next... I don’t want to keep falling harder in love with our twins if they take them from in the end”  
He didn’t care if he wasn’t making sense.

“Lance, nothing’s been decided. I can tell you right now none of us will let anything happen to you or to the twins. There would have been just as many consequences to us killing Sendak as you. Matt and Rieva are coming with us, but they’re going as character witnesses. This incident left us all shaken. And we’re not rushing to decisions. You’re right. We do need to talk to Coran and with Kolivan. This win came at a price and all we can do is weather things out. I know you’re frustrated and scared. You’re allowed to feel what you’re feeling. I’m sorry you heard us fighting”  
“I’m sorry... I just... hate fighting. I don’t want to lose anyone else”

Keith cuddled into him, his boyfriend resting his face against Lance’s hair  
“I’m sorry. After last night I thought maybe it was saying your goodbyes”  
“I don’t want to say goodbye...”  
“And I don’t want to leave you. I’ve only just got you back”  
“I know... I wanted more time too...”  
Lance went wobbly at the knees. Both brothers catching him. Shiro helping Keith lift him up, instead of being normal people and letting him sit back down on the sofa. The idiots fussing   
“Has he had much blood this morning?”  
“A bit. And some last night”  
“Do you want to bring him back to VOLTRON? He can have his shot and you guys can come back here and rest”  
“Yeah. I’m still worried he’s throwing up too much”

“He is awake you know”  
Lance grumped at the pair of them. Idiots. Great big idiots. He was simply tired and needed to go back to bed where it smelt of Keith. Keith was good about the injections. Normally he’d “distract” him with kisses before stabbing him. Coran preferred to do it himself so he could do that concerned uncle thing. He was kind of tired of it. He wondered if he could get Coran to give him an ultrasound so Keith would have fresh memories of seeing their twins before he left  
“I never said you weren’t, babe. Do you want to go now? Or do you want to go back to bed?”  
“Now. Then it’s out the way and we can relax for the rest of the day”  
“Mmm. That sounds good. I think there’s a special on Big Foot tonight. Maybe we could order some Italian and have a date night?”  
“I’d really like that”

He was becoming a lazy vampire. Sleeping, eating, cuddles... He felt like he was getting his way too much, but Keith had pointed out that he did try to be considerate of Keith when it came to what they watched. Horror movies were no go for now, but he’d also steered clear of romcoms. Every night kind of felt like date night when they were alone together. He wanted to make memories of Keith being okay and happy... now he’d have to try and make as many as he could before Keith left.


	135. Chapter 135

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tissues will be needed for chapters after this one

135

Standing at the terminal for the private airport, Keith was fighting the urges telling him to stay. Curtis was there. Shiro was there. Kosmo was there. Krolia, James, Ryan, Nadia, Ina, Matt, Rieva and Kolivan were all there... but the one person he wanted there the most wasn’t. Lance was with Mami at VOLTRON. His boyfriend opting to stay there for the next few days before he went into hiding with Mami. They were all going ahead. Allura would be coming with Lotor in a day or two with his generals that’d been barely saved in time by a team sent to the airfield, there just some things they needed to wrap up in Platt first. Leaving Lance hurt. Lance hadn’t been too well the night before. His boyfriend tried to reassure him at least a hundred times that they’d be able to talk over the phone and he’d answer all Keith’s calls once he had a second number. Coran would organise that, and Keith wasn’t allowed to know where Lance was going until he’d got there safely. He couldn’t tell the Vatican what he didn’t know.

Hearing a wolf whistle, Keith spun round. Pidge and Hunk coming towards him. Krolia seemed to expect this  
“Finally! I thought you two were going to miss the flight!”  
Pidge laughed at Krolia, though it was probably more the bewilderment on Keith’s face   
“What are you two doing here?!”  
“You didn’t think we’d miss this opportunity, did you?”  
“But... what?”  
“Lance told us to come. Because apparently you can’t tell your two best friends you’re off to Rome. Sheesh, you’re so rude”  
“But you were... weren’t you staying in Garrison?”  
“Pfft. We still are. We came to say goodbye to you, dummy”

As far as Keith knew the pair of them would be staying in Garrison. They were going to look after Lance’s house and his cow and Blue... and Lance. What about Lance? He’d thrown around the idea of asking them to go with Lance, but Lance didn’t want to interfere. Apparently this didn’t count as interference? He didn’t want to make a scene about leaving   
“What about...?”  
Pidge snickered at his failure to articulate the questions in his head  
“Chillax, dude. It’s all sorted. Blue’s back with Lance now, and we’re gonna check on his house for him”  
When did that happen? He hadn’t been able to see them much. Weren’t they mad about that?  
“But... why?”  
“Because we’re friends, doofus. Plus, have you met my brother? Leave him alone for too long and he gets all stupid in the head. Someone has to remind him he’s not as smart as he thinks he is”

From the group, Matt called out   
“Fuck you, Katie! I’m smarter than you!”  
“Go lick your balls!”  
James and the others snickered. Somehow they managed to get along with Matt rather well. James had been less of dick towards him too. Maybe the mutt was scared of Lance? Because accepting him seemed too far of a stretch. Reaching out, Hunk pulled him into a hug, Keith returning it, still slightly shocked that his friends had made the effort to come see him when he’d tried to sneak away  
“You stay safe, man. And let us know what’s going on”  
“Thanks. I will. I’ll be back as soon as I can be”  
“We know. We’ll take care of Lance the best we can until you come back... when he comes back... it feels like everyone’s leaving”  
“Lance said “This isn’t goodbye, it’s see you later””  
Pidge wrapped her arms around them both  
“He’s right. We’re coming to Rome to get you ourselves if you think you can skip out on us”  
“I wouldn’t have it any other way... I’m sorry... that we have to...”

Pidge stomped on his foot, scowling up at him when he looked down at her questioningly   
“Stop it. Look. We don’t blame you over what happened with Lance. We don’t blame Lance either. Sendak was a bad man. What we want is both our friends to be okay”  
Hunk backing Pidge up, though sounding super nervous   
“You are okay, aren’t you? You’re not in some kind of super trouble?”  
Maybe a little? For being distracted and letting Sendak get the drop on him...  
“Not that I know of. I’ve been trying to stay outside the loop for Lance’s sake. Lance can be pretty forceful when he has to be”  
Pidge nodded, dropping her head back down as she replied   
“He’ll be okay. He’s going with Mami and he’s got Blue now. Are you going to have the same number?”  
“I would pretend you didn’t already have my work number but I know you do”  
“And Shiro’s... and Curtis’s... and Krolia’s Don’t think I won’t blow up their phones if you stop answering us”  
“What do you expect? Daily reports?”  
“Exactly! Hunk’s getting his passport processed. I’ve got mine. Rome isn’t too far to go to kick your arse”  
He didn’t deserve his friends. He really fucking loved both of them.

Matt came over to them, lifting Pidge up off of him like she was rag doll, Pidge screeching at the sudden motion  
“You put me down, Matthew Holt!”  
“Where’s the fun in that?”  
“I’ll burn all your stuff while you’re gone if you don’t put me down right now!”  
Matt placed the angry gremlin down, ruffling her hair as she tried to straighten it up  
“Don’t be mad because mum said you couldn’t come with us”  
Pidge crossed her arms  
“I didn’t ask her”  
“We both know that’s a lie”  
Pidge raised an eyebrow, seeming smug that Matt was wrong   
“Actually I asked mum if I should go with Lance. She’s the one who said he needed a little time with his own mother instead of us”

Keith wished Pidge and Hunk were going with Lance. Lance only vaguely agreed if that Keith wasn’t going to be back for Christmas they could meet up with him. Keith was totally going to be back for Christmas. Three and a half weeks was plenty of time. He hoped it would go faster than it sounded out loud  
“She’d be right. He needs a vacation, not to be babysitting you”  
“He doesn’t babysit me”  
“Remind me, did he not used to go ahead and check out the places you wanted to go ahead of time to make sure you wouldn’t be hurt”  
“No one asked him too”  
“All I’m hearing is a grumbling gremlin”  
Pidge stomped on Matt’s foot. Rieva giggling at the pair of them. The werewolf seemed happier... and Loturd was to blame for it.

When they’d bumped into Matt and Rieva at VOLTRON, Lance had wound up ignoring his need for sleep in favour of having the pair over to the apartment. Where he went and fell asleep anyway after he and Rieva had made dinner for the four of them. Both Matt and Rieva were worried about Lance, Keith not wanting to talk about his boyfriend behind his back, but instead kind of sort of did, maybe a little jealously. Lance defending Lotor made his head hurt and his heart feel ugly with jealousy. Rieva having a hard time coming to grips with the fact that monster she’d heard so much about had seemed to soften into something almost human. She still hated him. Loathed his family. Wanted him to fuck off back to Europe and stay there with his family forever, all of which making Keith smile at her description. She liked him a tiny bit better now that he’d given her some answers about why her biological parents had to die. 

It turned out Lotor was looking into it in his own way.

He couldn’t very well approach his parents and demand a list of everyone they and their underlinings had personally killed. It was disgustingly and shamefully long, Lotor actually admitting that to Rieva, as he hung his head before her. Part of his niceness still seemed like an act. Rieva didn’t trust him. He acknowledged that she had no need to and no need to forgive her. Her parents murders were nearly a footnote in Lotor’s research. Simply murdered because they were the wrong friends of friends of friends who’d lost a child to Honerva’s crazed experiments. Zarkon wiping out the chain of evidence back to them. He’d found a photo, giving Rieva something tangible of her parents. She and Matt were coming with them long enough to give statements, again, then going on to spend some time with Rieva’s adoptive parents, with the plan being to return home for Christmas. Krolia had personally promised them her protection... then Kolivan turned around and did the same. His mum could be scary when she wanted to be. Keith wishing he could have seen her scolding Kolivan who’s facial expression never really seemed to change that much. 

Everything had changed since he’d last been standing here. It was only him and Shiro then. No Pidge. No Hunk. No Krolia he thought of as his mother now. No Lance as his boyfriend, just Lance that needed a bullet in his brain. No twins. No... friends... that he believed he’d never have because everyone left him in the end. No Kosmo or Blue. No good thoughts of vampires and werewolves. No Mami and her rebel antics. No apartment filled with memories to come back to. No house filled with love waiting a little further down the road for all this to be over and him to move there to be with his pregnant love. None of that. He was going to miss Lance so much. Pidge and Hunk too... but Lance... he missed him deeply already. 

“Sorry, kids. It’s time to go. Keith will let you know when we get there. Take care of yourselves until we’re back”  
Krolia hugged Pidge and Hunk, both of them hugging her back. They’d bonded. He used to believe as long as he had Shiro he had all he needed. The two of them. The two Paladins as Shiro would call them. Now there was 5 of them... Him, Lance, Shiro, Pidge and Hunk... and some kind of weird family bond between them all. Lance was right, as he usually was, it was past time putting this Sendak mess to bed. Keith knew at least two Blade agents were staying behind to deal with the spot fires left from Sendak. But Coran had that handled. For a weird old fae, he was kind of very special... He could be flaky, he could be slow, he could be frustrating, and his stories didn’t need to see the light of day again, but he did care. And fuck, he loved Lance so much. Everyone loved Lance so much... He hoped he was doing the right thing here. He hoped his boyfriend wasn’t crying his eyes out. He’d cried enough last night and into the morning. His morning sickness had seemed to almost double with stress. Keith didn’t want to spend their last night in the infirmary, but Lance had been so sick that he’d agreed maybe it was for the best. He and the twins were going to be okay... They were going to be okay and he was going to come back home to where he belonged.

Hugs did the rounds, Keith hugged by Matt who simply shrugged. Matt had the same kind of flare for dramatics as Lance. He loved love. Saying goodbye sucked, so it was “see you later”. Fresh determination in Keith’s steps as he led Kosmo over to the private jet. His doggo an idiot, trying to be part of the wolf pack... who were all in human form... He really was surrounded by idiots.

*  
Cuba was hot. Hot and just the right place to be to forget how badly he missed Keith. Cuba was the holiday Lance’d wanted to take Mami and Keith on, but coming back with Mami was worth it to hear the way she lit up at the prospect of an adventure.

He’d cried so hard the day Keith left. Regretting letting him go without him. Mami held his hand, confined to bed thanks to dehydration. Keith had worried so much about leaving that Lance wondered if he would. Coran helped him make a gift for Keith. A small album of ultrasound photos and tummy photos from his phone, and surveillance footage. They’d had to get creative or he’d have had three full blank weeks there. He had another two albums. One for him and one for Mami. Mami getting into this baby thing too much. The knitting needles coming out and him being told to mind his own business. Luis had nearly lost his shit when Coran came to pick her back up. Mami had a few choice words about her overbearing son and the banning of her occasional nightcap, and he didn’t take her to church.

Picking up their rental car, Coran had organised it all. Special clearances, careful of customs, a nice hotel room with ocean views for a month, giving Keith the chance to come down and experience this with them before heading back to America. The only way to get a Cuban passport was to be born there or to marry a Cuban. Mami had hers, Lance her American born grandson... funnily enough named Lance. Amazing. It was also really the only time he could take this holiday with Mami. He could still hide his belly. He was small. He’d googled and seen some of the sizes of normal bellies, worrying his was to small for their twins. Mami called him an idiot for it told him “before too long he’d be wishing he was small again”. Seeing Keith didn’t need all his clothes in Rome, Lance had borrowed some of his... and packed the same body wash his boyfriend used... and Keith’s stinkiest jacket to stench up his luggage so he wouldn’t lose his scent.

Checking in, the hotel was ridiculously nice. Clean. Lots of white and arches, the smell of the beach in the air. Mami pointing out everything that had changed since she’d been there, even trying to send them down roads that no longer existed on the way to the hotel. Thank god for inbuilt GPS. Setting up their room was put on hold. The first thing he did was set up his laptop, using the hotel wifi. He had the phone Coran told him to take which was an encrypted Blade phone, as well as the laptop which he’d personalised a little with pictures of Keith, Blue and Kosmo. His own laptop, normal, and work phones locked away at VOLTRON. None of that mattered. His first port of call was logging into his “what’s app” with his new account just for him and Keith. Rome was 6 hours ahead. Making it 3am. He’d told Keith he’d call him when he’d arrived, like Keith had called him when he’d arrived and was able to.

Keith had been waiting up for him. His boyfriend nursing a cup of coffee, Kosmo trying to butt in over his shoulder. His fur son missed him... being a bad father, Blue was staying at VOLTRON. He couldn’t bring her down to Cuba, and she deserved to run and play, and he was paranoid about leaving her with Pidge  
“Hey, babe. Hey, Kosmo!”  
Keith pushed Kosmo off him, huffing  
“How come he gets a happier hello?”  
“Because he is best boy, and you are sleepy boy”  
Keith sighed at him  
“You know I had to wait until you landed before I could sleep”  
“I know. Mami tried to get us lost”

Shooting a glance at his Mami, she was already making tea in the rooms kitchenette area  
“Is that Keith? Hello, my mijo!”  
Lance sighed, shooting Keith a look  
“Hey, Mami!”  
“Now who’s getting all the happy welcomes? How was today?”  
“Boring. Long. I miss you”  
“It’s only been a couple of days”  
“Too long. How are my twins?”  
Lance stood up, pulling his shirt up for Keith to see his belly  
“Still in there”  
“Hello, my little macaroons. Daddy loves you”  
Lance rolled his eyes as he pulled his shirt down and sat back down  
“They know. They have to hear it from me all the time”

Kosmo made another attempt at Keith’s laptop. Keith nearly spilling his coffee   
“He’s a menace. Everyone keeps giving him treats and he’s stopped listening to me”  
“That sounds about on par for him. Anyway, I only really called to let you know we got here safely”  
“I’m glad... I really miss seeing you”  
“You see me everyday”  
Yeah. He missed Keith. He missed him so fucking much that he had to keep from crying during their calls  
“You know it’s not the same”  
“Yeah. It really isn’t but it’s not for that long”  
“That’s true but it feels like forever”

“You’re not hanging up before I see my handsome son are you?”  
Keith snorted at Mami, Lance had to fight for private Keith time  
“I’m going to call him later”  
“I want to see him”  
“He’s still on the call!”  
Lance groaned. All he wanted to do is talk to Keith  
“Don’t hang up!”  
“I’m not hanging up...”  
“Good... Come make the tea so I can talk with Keith”  
“He’s my boyfriend”  
“Pish you”  
The perils of your mother loving your boyfriend  
“It’s okay, babe. Make the tea and come back”

Swapping place with his mother, Lance grabbed his suitcase of blood bags. Hopefully no one was going to be opening the hotel fridge... or that would be awkward. Coran had booked them a really, really nice suite. That Lance didn’t care about exploring until the following morning. The flight had been fine. Mami giving him a slight headache with her directions. They’d gotten in about 8pm. Perfect time for vampires to be flying. He had his box of grave soil. And he had his photos of Keith and his friends. Packing seemed like too much effort though. Especially with Keith right there on the laptop...

Bringing Mami’s tea over, he had his own blood bag in his teeth. Mami was filling Keith in on how nice the private plane was. She was gushing over how she’d be able to brag when they visited the family. Their holiday pretty much consisted of two weeks of being forced to “meet” everyone. Though he would be able to silently judge how they’d all aged. She was so excited. She’d been too excited really. Totally prepared for code names and assumed identities. She was going to be “Lola. The famous dancer with her younger, handsome, partner”. Coran dashed her hopes. They weren’t doing very many things other than seeing their family, so normal names were fine. 

“Anyway, when are you coming down to see us...”  
“Mami! We’re not allowed to tell Keith where we are!”  
Mami chuckled at him  
“You’re such a fuss pot”  
“And Keith isn’t allowed to know where we are for his safety too. Sorry, babe...”  
He’d love to tell Keith he was back in Cuba, waiting for him there. Coran would tell Keith when Keith was finally allowed to come see them   
“It’s alright. I’ll just add to all the secrets Mami and I share”  
Great. They were co-conspirators against him. If he wanted to be in danger, he’d still be in Platt  
“I can’t win. Mami, go drink your tea. Keith, I’m sorry”  
“It’s fine, babe. You look pretty tired...”  
“I’ve been sleeping. These two are still keeping me up, but it’s okay”  
Keith’s face softened. Lance wished he could reach through the screen and hug him  
“I wish I could be there... It’s all grumpy people here”  
“Grumpy people with dog treats”  
“Yeah. There’s that. Fuck... I have to be up at 6. It’s inhumane”  
Idiot. Keith was an idiot. He wasn’t going to be functional at all  
“Babe! Go to bed. Put the coffee down and get some sleep!”  
“I will now I know you’re okay. Oh, I’m supposed to say hi from the others”  
“Tell them hello from us and we’re okay and I’m safe... ish”  
His Mami smacked his arm  
“He’s perfectly fine. He’s been a big baby without you”  
Keith snorted. He was a traitor... a traitor Lance wished was waiting in the bed for him instead of in Rome   
“I’m sure that’s not the case. I’m going to go, but I love you, babe. Love you too, Mami, and I’ll try call later”  
“I love you too, give Kosmo extra hugs from me”  
“He doesn’t need them. He’s a total himbo”  
“He is best boy living his best life”  
“Right. I’ll remember that the next time he pees on the bed. Anyway, I’m happy you’re safe. I love you”  
“I love you, too. See you later”

Lance closed the chat with a sigh. He should have gone to Rome. He should have been there with Keith, and not with his boyfriend stealing mother  
“Keith seemed tired”  
“It’s 3am there, Mami”  
There was a time difference she was forgetting   
“What’s he doing awake then?”  
Lance sighed again. They were barely in Cuba and he wanted to go home  
“Because he wanted to know when landed safely. I know you’re excited, but we really can’t talk about Platt or about him”  
“I know. Relax, mijo. I know. Let me be happy to see our Keith”

Ugh. He wanted to be happy to see his Keith. He didn’t want to share... Allura, Lotor, Acxa, Zethrid and Ezor had left on an earlier flight. They thought he was going north to Canada, where he was just a border away from coming back home if he needed to. He hadn’t even told Hunk and Pidge, only that Mami was coming with him and they’d be home for Christmas  
“I know you know. I’m just being stupid. I’ll get unpacked and we can go to bed. I know Aunt Sarah’s supposed to see us tomorrow morning”  
“You worry too much, mijo. I’m a tough old bird, and I finally get to show off my handsome son again”  
“Grandson”  
Mami shot him a look. Okay. Let a man worry  
“Yes, yes. I know the story. Be a good boy and drink your blood up. We want those twins as health as they can be”  
“They’re fine. They’re not doing much but taking up space rent free now”  
“You’ve become much bossier. What happened to my sweet little boy?”  
“He went and got pregnant. If I leave you alone with my laptop, you’re not going to get into mischief are you?”  
“That’s for me to know. Now of you go. I’ll have my tea, then off to bed”

Great. What a great way to start a holiday. Would it really be too soon to call Coran and beg to come back? Why had he thought a family reunion was a great idea?


	136. Chapter 136

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter fucking killed me

136

It was getting harder and harder to talk to Keith. He didn’t hate or blame his boyfriend. Lance just missed him so much. Nothing felt the same. He should be happy. None of his family here knew he was a vampire, none of them knew he was the same Lance that left, only that they remembered “his father when he was a little boy....”. The family was loud. Loud and loving, and religious. His Mami spent so much time with them that he regretted them not coming back sooner.

With Mami busy, it should have been easy to find a moment alone to talk to Keith. His mum spent more time with the family than at hotel now, meaning he’d scored one or two private conversations. He’d scored some serious alone time too, for a very... graphic call. Then... then everything started going wrong again. Keith wouldn’t be home for Christmas. He wouldn’t be home for New Years. He wouldn’t be home for a while now and Lance’s heart broke on the spot. Keith was so apologetic. So sad to tell him. Lance had called him to show him the beach down from the hotel, where dozens of tourists had flocked during their vacations. He’d “splurged”. Got a nice umbrella, a really nice big red towel, a good book, and called up Keith. He couldn’t blame Keith. Zarkon was pissed at Lotor. Lotor dropped contact when he’d gone home to face his father. Keith roped into the mission to find out what was going on. He’d promised to call when he could, but it wasn’t the same. Keith was always so tired. They barely talked a handful of minutes at a time, then he had to go completely silent.

Lance had gone back to the hotel room and cried. He couldn’t do much else. He’d put on a brave wobbly smile for Keith, but Keith was supposed to be back the next week. The conversation playing on loop in his mind like a torturous reminder of how far apart they were and that they seemed to be drifting apart further by the day. He was supposed to come back then come down to Cuba. Now he didn’t know where the fuck his boyfriend was, or when he’d be home again. He’d cried and cried so much that Mami had to get a lift back to the hotel from one the cousins. Holding him against her, she kissed his hair and hushed him until he was calm enough to talk to her.

He really shouldn’t be saying Mami spent all her time with the family. Not more than what was expected, and they’d had a lot of fun playing tourists and doing all the things tourists did that Mami was up for. A few people tried to fleece them, thinking them dumb tourists until Mami put them in their places. No one messed with his Mami, not when she was Cuban born and bread. They’d gone dancing. Picked the most expensive place they could for dinner. Eaten ice cream by the beach, as she told him about the first time his Papi taught Luis to surf on a long board. She’d told him so much of the stories about her and his dad. They’d gone driving, Mami talking about the trouble they used to get up to, visiting the farms where Jorge had worked and the family farm that was still being run by cousins. He loved how happy she was. It was like 50 years had been knocked off her life. He’d heard too much... like his father being good in bed, but seeing all these places again after so much time was amazing. And that Mami would remember something from so long ago... He took back wanting Coran to take them back home.

Seeing Keith couldn’t come back in time, Lance decided against going back for Christmas. His Mami had told the family that he was expecting his first children, and boy did the aunts fuss. They wanted to know everything about “Lance’s son”. Lance didn’t know if he lived up to all the hype, but he did remember to bring flowers and accept kisses... and weird hugs where they couldn’t feel his extending belly. They were touched he’d followed his father into law, leading to him being too smart more than once. Lies about a sun allergy and a bunch of allergies covered up when he was feeling ill. Mami had forced enough home remedies for morning sickness down his throat he literally feared what she’d come up with next. He missed his boyfriend with all his heart. And every day away without proper word, or any word, weighed on him so heavily he wasn’t sure how he’d ever lived without Keith. But spending this time with Mami and no fear felt good. 

*  
Parking in front of Lance’s house, Keith eyes the lights on the living room with fear and excitement... and a whole lot of happiness to be home again. Two months he’d been away from Lance. Two fucking bullshit months. He hadn’t been able to get hold of Lance for the last few weeks, after breaking his boyfriend’s heart it felt strained every time they talked face to face. Lance knew he couldn’t answer his phone, so he’d expected a flurry of messages and missed calls, like normal, when he’d come back from the ridiculousness. There’d been nothing. Well, not nothing, his boyfriend had texted a couple of times to say he loved him, but overall, he’d kind of been out of full contact from the 28th of December. He tried Lance’s phone as soon as the shit storm finally settled. He’d tried messaging him. He’d tried Lance’s personal phone and work phone. He’d tried his home phone. Shiro and Curtis were coming back next week. His idiot brother went and broke his arm. Matt and Rieva had already come back earlier... but their car wasn’t in the drive. He knew he’d hurt Lance by not being there, but it felt like a kick to the gut that his boyfriend hadn’t tried to reach out at all. 

Taking an earlier, public, flight. He’d rented a car, then headed straight up to Garrison. He hadn’t even had a “Merry Christmas” in the slightest. Mami had to explain that Lance was resting, and not doing too well. His boyfriend barely got to talk to him the following day, pale and sleepy, while assuring him it was from mami’s latest idea on how to help with this morning sickness. He hated that he’d only been able to find 5 minutes of alone time to be with Lance.

Climbing out the car, Keith fixed his jacket up, hoping he didn’t look like he’d spent hours stuck on a place that had far too many people on it. He hoped Lance was there, and that nothing had gone wrong in his absence. Jogging up to the front door, Keith knocked. Hunk’s car was in the drive, but Lance’s wasn’t. He hoped that meant Lance’s car was being serviced. He was going crazy. He’d tried to think of what he’d said or done that could have driven Lance from him. He never wanted to be away that long. February had started just as he finally arrived back in Rome. He hadn’t seen Lance what felt like two years. No. Every day felt like two years. Matt delighted at teasing him over it. Fucking werewolves didn’t age like normal people. He wasn’t stupid. Two and half years human years was like one years worth of again for werewolves. It wasn’t fair.

Opening the door, Hunk stared at him. His friend looked like he’d seen better days too. He’d missed them. He hadn’t heard from them either in the last two weeks. Shuffling forward, Hunk wrapped his arms around Keith. It should have been a happy hug, yet Keith could feel there was more to it. Hugging Hunk back, he didn’t force him to tell him where Lance was. The sick feelings of fear and dread so damn heavy that he feared he’d throw up if he opened his mouth. Breaking the hug, Hunk let out a long breath  
“Oh, man. It’s so good to see you back. Does Lance know you’re back? Does this means he’ll be coming back again?”

Again? He was missing something...  
“Hun.-.. Holy Shit!”  
Pidge came running from the living room, Keith catching her as she launched herself at him for a hug  
“I can’t believe you’re back! When you missed the funeral I wasn’t sure you’d ever be coming back. Is Lance with you?”  
Funeral? What funeral? And where was Lance? His confusion showed. Hunk looking pained   
“You’d better come in, man. You’ve missed a lot”

A fine layer of dust covered most things in the house. There was evidence that Hunk and Pidge had tried to keep on top of the housework, but it was far cry from Lance’s standards. The house felt cold. Empty. Painfully abandoned as he followed Hunk into the kitchen. He had to know what was happening here. Lance’s house was warm and bright. Happy and safe. Not like this  
“What’s going on? And what’s this about a funeral?”  
Hunk sighed heavily as he went about getting the coffee pod into the machine. Pidge sitting herself on the kitchen counter, looking sad as she did  
“You didn’t hear?”  
Keith shook his head  
“I’ve been trying to reach Lance but he hasn’t replied. I thought he’d be back here by now”

Pidge bit her lip, eyes getting wet behind her glasses. Hunk turning to him  
“His mum died. They had the funeral three ago”  
Keith staggered because he didn’t see that coming. Hunk came to his aid, taking him by the arm and pulling out Lance’s usual seat to sit him in  
“What? When?”  
“I think I was the...”  
“On the sixth... Coran speed tracked things, helped get her home. He... went with him to the funeral. It was a nice service... His siblings tried to bar him from attending. We recorded it for him. We tried to go with him, but Coran took him away again. I guess because you guys still weren’t safe or something”

Did his mother know about Mami? She’d joined the mission at a different stage to him. Meeting with them when they were closer to Zarkon’s territory  
“H-how?”  
“In her sleep. Lance was with her, he still wouldn’t tell us where they went. They’d slept over, and she passed away in her sleep”  
He couldn’t process it at all. Mami was amazing. She always, always bounced back. Hunk hugged him   
“I know, man. I know you two were tight. I hoped Lance had gone to be with you, but I guess that wasn’t the case”  
“Do... do you know where he is?”  
Hunk shook his head  
“He apologised and said he had some things he needed to do. Didn’t you see Coran?”  
“Lance didn’t reply to my messages so I got the first flight back I could get on”

Pidge nodded at him  
“We asked Coran if we could talk to him, but Lance said he needed space. We didn’t know if you’d broken up or not because he was back and you weren’t. I didn’t think you wouldn’t know”  
“I... had no idea...”  
Did this mean it was over? That Lance no longer wanted to be with him? How could Mami have passed away nearly... how... he couldn’t process not knowing. He had to go back to Platt. Coran had to tell him what the fuck was going on. There hadn’t even been a message left at headquarters. He didn’t get it  
“We tried to figure out how to contact you, but my messages wouldn’t go through to your phone. I guess you must have been busy... Matt and Rieva came back home, but they went back up to Platt. I know Coran couldn’t tell us if Lance had left again, but I get the feeling he’s gone back where he’d been hiding out. He probably doesn’t know you’re back”

Keith pushed his chair back, Hunk stepped back  
“What are you doing?”  
“I’ll go talk to Coran. I’ll make him tell me where Lance is”  
Lance... Keith hoped Lance was waiting for him wherever he was. He hoped his boyfriend still believed he was coming back to him. He’d seen how hurt all the near misses Mami gave him left him. He couldn’t believed he’d missed this... He never should have gone to fucking Rome. He felt wrong about doing it before he left and worse after   
“Can we come?”  
“I don’t think I’ll be very good company. I can’t... Mami... it’s not fair”  
Pidge shook her head at him  
“I don’t care. I’m sick of not knowing what’s going on. Lance really needs you right now and Coran has to talk to us properly if you’re back, that has to mean it’s safe”

Driving back to Platt, Keith couldn’t stop thinking about Lance. He didn’t call ahead because he didn’t want Coran to fob him off, or even worse, tell him that Lance didn’t want to see him. His mind was firmly on Lance every single moment until the elevator doors were opening and he had his arms full of Coran   
“Oh, my boy. You are a sight for sore eyes”  
Yay. Good for him  
“Where the fuck is Lance?”  
Direct. To the point. His words summed up the only thing that mattered  
“Ah. Come with me”

Led to Coran’s office, Keith leaned against the door cutting off Coran’s means of escape. Coran sighing as he moved the papers on his desk away from Pidge and Hunk  
“Sorry, about that. Sensitive data...”  
“Coran!”  
Okay. He was being rude and bossy, Coran wincing at his name  
“Lance is Cuba”  
Cuba. Keith could have punched himself in the face for not picking it. Mami wanted to go Cuba again, Lance had been talking about going with her. It made so much sense. The sand and the beach. The feel of the hotel room. The different rooms in the background and voices. Why Mami looked so happy. She’d looked younger too. Like she was free of a great burden... If she was going to pass away anywhere, she did where she had so much of her family. But he just... he couldn’t get his head around it  
“What happened?”  
Coran sighed again, rubbing at his face as he did  
“I think it’s better if we discuss that alone...”

“Fuck off, he’s our best friend. He’s basically our family and you wouldn’t tell us anything”  
Pidge was right. The gremlin cranky as heck. Hunk bold enough to add  
“We barely got to see him at the funeral. We’ve tried talking to him but he hasn’t answered us”  
“Yeah. You said we couldn’t know until it was safer. Keith’s home now. Why can’t you tell us what’s happening?!”  
“Lance asked I talk to Keith when he came. He asked me to keep you both safe. I sincerely hated not being able to tell you Lance’s whereabouts. I can tell you he is safe. I did talk to him this morning. He decided to remain in Cuba until Keith returned”

Pidge crossed her arms  
“You could have let us see him after the funeral”  
“He was in no fit state. He was recovering. I did ask him stay, but he insisted that he needed to be in Cuba”  
“Wait. You said he was “recovering” did something happen?”  
“A small bleed. The loss of Miriam hit him hard. Stress and exhaustion coupled with the loss of his mother. He tried to brave it alone, but the poor boy wanted to go to Rome to be with you. I did try to contact you through the Blades, but was informed that you were currently on a mission and not accepting messages or calls”

Keith could murder. He could murder all day. He could murder all the people who thought he didn’t need to know this. Thank fuck he’d never set foot in there. He’d officially resigned. He’d only ever been back thanks to Lotor. He was officially retired from their registry and now out of the loop, outside of his mother, completely. Krolia understood. Then decided during all the shit happening that she had to go develop feelings for Kolivan which he’d never seen coming until he thought about how happier his mother had been in Platt, and wondered if she’d held everything inside of herself so “he wouldn’t have a reason to hate her”. Adults were complicated. His mum and Kolivan triply so. Okay. Maybe he liked his mother a whole lot more to the point where he was accepting he loved her. But Kolivan... he didn’t want to think about them... that... “doing the do”.

Sendak was dead, which was a good thing. The trouble was that they had different statements. Lance had admitted to killing Sendak, and asked for leniency towards Lotor as he was only trying to protect him. Mountains of briefings were had. Secret squirrel meetings behind closed door. Lotor left then they had to go find him...   
“I quit. Them... again. Permanently this time. They asked me to resume my duties in Rome and I declined. Petty wankers”  
“Yes, well. I was told about what eventuated. I can’t say I’m too happy over the method”

That was a conversation to have with Lance first. Then with Pidge and Hunk, if Matt and Rieva hadn’t first. Which reminded him  
“Where are Matt and Rieva?”  
“They wished to see Lance. As I couldn’t send them to see him, as per Lance’s request. I sent them down there on “holiday””  
Great. They could have him know  
“Did you tell him?”  
“No. In all honesty I believe he only stayed in Cuba because he wanted to wait in a safe place until your return. He has missed you very much. He did leave you a letter here”  
“When can I see him?”  
“I’m on relatively good terms with save. A wonderful vampire runs it as a safe haven for those down there...”  
Pidge held her hand up, telling Coran to stop  
“What the heck is “Save”?”  
“South American Vampire Enterprises”. We all know how the world perceives some countries, they look past this, and honestly the media is terrible at painting them in a bad light when they’re filled with such wonderful people. I’ve put them in contact with Lance. He’d been very cooperative and we talk each morning. I actually know her...”

Not another sex story. Keith couldn’t do it  
“That’s not what I asked about. I asked when I can see my boyfriend”  
“I was getting there. We used special permission with Miriam and Lance. There is only so much aid they can provide, however, I did inform her that you would be joining Lance once your work was completed. It may take a few hours to get things settled and permission. That’s why I was not able to send Matt and Rieva privately. I barely managed to get their tickets and visas processed. Your Blade status did allow access into most countries, but I went ahead with processing what I could of your visa when Matt and Rieva returned. I was most sad that you hadn’t contacted me”

He didn’t think about it. He was too busy trying to talk to Lance, and ignoring the fact he’d accidentally made friends with the werewolves. They still thought Lance was a bad arse killing machine fighting for good and some other bullshit like that. They hadn’t seen his damn nightmares   
“Coran, when I can see Lance?”  
“Tonight. I’ll make plans right away, tonight is the earliest I can do. Unfortunately for you, Pidge and Hunk, I can only send Keith as you two are not VOLTRON hunters. However, you are free to wait here until they return, though that will be up to Lance and Keith. Rieva and Matt will return next Monday”

Hunk looked to Pidge, Pidge then looked to Keith and nodded. Keith felt bad that they couldn’t come, Pidge seemed to read his mind   
“He really needs you more than he needs us right now. When you find him, you have to swear you’ll call us and let us know that he’s okay. And you have to tell him we miss him and want him to come home already”  
“I... I’m not going to rush him”  
“You don’t need to. We just want him to know where not mad and we miss him. If he gets hurt on your watch, we will kick your arse”  
“I feel like you guys should be there as much as I should”  
“We already got to see him since you did. He loves us, but he’s waiting for you”  
Keith looked to Coran, Coran smiling at him. Keith didn’t particularly feel this was a time to be smiling. He was still worried about this bleed, on top of if Matt and Rieva had helped Lance or simply upset him  
“I’ll get right onto it. Here, this is from Lance, perhaps you should read it before you see him? He took the loss of Miriam very hard. I’m sorry we couldn’t contact you sooner about it. We would have pulled you out of your mission if you’d been here. I’m sorry for your loss”

Being stuck waiting for permission, the trio went up to the bookshop. Keith had never sat down in the bookshop before. The three of them sitting near the front window, Lance’s letter in Keith’s hands. He wanted to know what Lance was thinking, but he also wanted to hear everything from his boyfriend himself. Was there some goodbye in the letter? Had Lance not thought he’d ever return? How many times had he checked his phone for news, only to find nothing. He wanted to call him, but with Lance not answering his calls... and only his calls it seemed. Matt and Rieva were there. That was good. They could have fucking contacted him though. They knew the mission was wrapping up. God. He hoped they’d told Lance he was okay.

“Keith?”  
Keith blinked, realising he was crying. Teardrops on the envelope of the letter  
“Sorry... I was thinking about what Lance must have been going through”  
Hunk nodded at him  
“He’s all we’ve been thinking about too. Do you want us to go so you can read the letter alone?”  
“No... I... should I read it?”  
“Lance wrote it for you. He must have had a lot to say”  
“I want to hear that from him. What if... what if he thought it was over?”  
“Even if he did, he still waited for you... Did... did you guys have a fight?”

A fight would have been easier. They could have made up if they had. He would have pestered Lance into talking to him...  
“No. It just got harder and harder to call... I’m sorry, I want to explain things to him first. So much happened that I don’t know where to begin... I haven’t... talked to him since the end of December... when I got back, he didn’t answer any of my calls or messages”  
“I’m sure he just needed time, Bud. I think you should read what Lance wrote”  
Pidge nodded her agreement  
“Even if it’s hard or something you don’t want to read, he still wrote whatever it was that he was feeling and thinking...”  
Keith looked at the envelope again  
“I think... I think I’m going to wait until I see him. He can tell me off then”  
“Are you sure? He did write it for you”  
“Yeah. I’m not going to believe it’s over until he tells me himself”  
“We’ve got hours by the seems of things, what do you want to now you’re back?”  
He wanted to get up and pace. Start yelling. Demand Coran hurry up. If he could have driven to Cuba he probably would have  
“Maybe you can fill me in on everything else I’ve missed?”  
Pidge snorted  
“Let’s go get coffee then. You’ve like, missed nothing”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have died in a puddle of my own tears


	137. Chapter 137

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I could not have them have a teary angst reunion

137

Standing on the beach, Lance watched the ocean waves lapping the shoreline. He’d gotten so big now. 20ish weeks and his toes were only visible under his stomach. His toes that were currently dug into the sand. He could only go out at night now, but he liked it better that way. The nightlife seemed so far away. Everyone seemed so far away. Keith was so far away. He’d given up. He’d given up and let Keith go... which meant he still shouldn’t be waiting for his boyfriend’s return. He’d heard from Rieva and Matt that Keith was back. He didn’t know if he cared or not. He was broken inside with a million prickly pieces choking his throat and lungs. Mami was gone. He’d tried calling Keith, crying and shaking so hard that his phone had crumbled in his hand before the call connected. He’d given up. So long out of contact, that had to mean Keith was no longer his. He’d tried to go to Rome, to wait for Keith there, but in his head he images of Keith being happy. Happy and relaxed. Joking around with everyone, accepted by James, who seemed his arch rival. The images so clear in his head that his boyfriend didn’t need him.

He didn’t know which way was up anymore. He’d run from Matt and Rieva. Locked himself in his hotel room and didn’t want to listen to anything they had to say. Keith had come back safely but he hadn’t come for him. He’d been so good. He’d waited. He’d come back and waited... when Coran wanted him to stay in Platt. What good was a Platt where Keith wasn’t? A Platt where Mami wasn’t waiting for him anymore. What good was he to anyone when he looked like this? His stomach had grown so much. No longer hidden under Keith’s shirts. Everything hurt so badly, but... he couldn’t... he didn’t know how to start again or return to where he was before. He wasn’t sure he even wanted to. Maybe it was better if Lance McClain disappeared from the world...

*  
Matt and Rieva picked Keith up at the airport. Hugs all round, despite having only seen each other the previous week. The drive to Varadero felt heavy. Keith was in the back of the small rental car, and Matt and Rieva weren’t really talking outside of the general greetings. Whatever it was, Keith felt like they weren’t telling him so didn’t explode in the back of the hatchback. Their friends were supposed to be checking on Lance. Supporting Lance. Keith was confused when Matt pulled into a car park, thinking they were going to a hotel. Rieva’s voice was soft and pained   
“Lance will be down there. He likes to go for walks at night along the shoreline. He ran away from us... we’ve talked to him a couple of times, but... he’s really hurting. He didn’t want to see us, but I... I’ve never seen him this bad. It’s not like when came back from Sendak. He feels as if he’s given up on you and lost his way. You should be prepared for that”  
“Thanks... I need to thank you for keeping an eye on him”  
“We didn’t do much. He did finally talk to us, but he... he’s different. Kind of distant. He’s gotten big too. He doesn’t go out during the day anymore, but he has been to church once, we followed him”  
“I still feel better that you guys came here. Thanks for picking me up. I’ll let you guys know how it goes”  
Matt added completely unnecessarily   
“You better not break his heart”  
“You know I love him more than anything. I want to be with him and I’m not about to let him push me away”  
“Good. Now go get your man”

Beach sand filled Keith’s shoes, so he toed them off and left them. It was easier to run on the beach without them anyway. Rieva said head for the shoreline so he did. He didn’t expect it’d take him nearly ten minutes of running that had dropped to jogging to find his boyfriend. Lance was standing on the beach, both hands on his swollen belly. He really had gotten bigger. So much bigger than when he’d last seen Lance. 3 physical months had stolen that time away from them. He wasn’t supposed to take anything personal with him on a mission, but he’d taken the last ultrasound photos and the photo of Lance showing his tiny tummy. The photos so creased from all the times he’d pulled them out to remind himself why he was going through everything even with Sendak dead. 

Slowly Lance turned his head towards him, a pained smile on his lips  
“Hey, Keith”  
That was the drive he needed, running the last few steps he crashed into his boyfriend. Lance was finally back in his arms. Sobs falling from him as he held him tightly. Lance taking a shuddering breath before his knees gave out. Both of them sinking onto the damp sand. Lance had waited. He really had waited. And Keith had been late. Nuzzling into his boyfriend, they both tried to talk at the same time. He’d been so scared Lance would run and he had so many things to say to him  
“Lance... I... I missed you so much”  
“I didn’t think you’d ever come...”  
“I couldn’t contact you. I tried to let you know I was coming back but you never answered”  
“I broke my phone... and... I don’t think you loved me anymore. I kept waiting for you! I waited and I waited!”

Both of them were ugly crying. Lance shaking so hard in Keith’s arms he felt like he’d shatter from the intensity. Pushing him away, Lance’s big blue eyes searched him, as Keith grabbed Lance by the arms so he couldn’t push him away again, his boyfriend’s whole feel swapping to the aura of anger  
“Why didn’t you come sooner?! I waited! I waited and I waited until I finally accepted you didn’t want me anymore...”  
Lance knew he was on a mission. He would have come the instant he could have had, had that instant been any sooner  
“Lotor...”  
“So you don’t need me anymore... you were happier there, weren’t you?”  
Keith felt crushed  
“I was in a mission! I didn’t know about anything happening. I got the first flight home that I could, then found out you weren’t there. Do you know how worried I was? Every single day I hated being away from you. I couldn’t call. I couldn’t come home. I had no idea where you were. I hate it! I just wanted to be home with you...”

Lance pulled his arms out of Keith’s hold, covering his face as he cried  
“Everything was okay and then it went to shit... I thought you’d be happier not having me anymore... but I couldn’t go back there... I have no where to go any more”  
Mami might have passed, but Lance still had a loving family waiting for him Garrison  
“Idiot. Hunk and Pidge are waiting for us. Everyone’s waiting for us”  
“They probably hate me”  
“They definitely don’t hate you. They miss you. Everyone wants you to come home already”  
“Why did you come here? Why did you come back to me? I’m nothing special”

Taking Lance’s face in his hands, Keith wiped at the tear trails running down his boyfriend’s cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. Lance really did seem so lost  
“I came back because I can’t live without you. I hated it. I regretted leaving you before I even left. Every phone call, every message, I just wanted to reach through and hug you. I quit the Blades for good. Signed a new contract stating that I’m not to be restated with them. I never want to be without you this long again”  
Lance’s bottom lip wobbled. He looked kind of cute with his fangs poking out. Leaning in, Keith kissed him. Lance hesitating at first, Keith persistent until his boyfriend finally returned the kiss and it turned into one of those “wow” kisses that they both couldn’t quite believe. Breaking the kiss, Keith nuzzled into Lance’s face   
“I love you with all my heart, Lance McClain”  
“I... missed you... I missed you so much”  
“I’m here now. Are you okay? Are the twins okay?”  
Lance sniffled loudly, trying to bring his breathing under control, Keith giving him a moment   
“I... I had a bleed... it was terrifying... and Mami... Mami died... and I... don’t know what I’m doing anymore...”  
“Okay. Okay, babe. It’s okay. I’m here... can you stand? It’s cold here...”  
They were cold and they were wet. Lance was exhausted and Keith was scared, despite how he tried to soothe his lover  
“It’s not that far back to the hotel...”  
“You’ll have to show me the way. I have no idea where I am”  
Lance nodded quickly  
“Okay... okay...”

*  
Keith couldn’t keep his eyes off Lance’s stomach. The singlet Lance wore under his jacket hugging his form tightly. Lance had been quite on the walk back, then excused himself to the bathroom when they’d gotten back. Keith listening at the door until he heard the shower running, then taking the change to snoop around.

Things were organised messes. A yellow bio waste container sat by a collection of syringes and glass medication bottles. Folded washing sat on the kitchen bench. Sandy shoes lived in various places across the area. Lance hadn’t been letting hotel staff in to clean. With two bedrooms coming off the main room, Keith opened the closest door to the bathroom first. Flicking the light on, his heart broke for his boyfriend. Miriam’s suitcase sat neatly on end of the bed. The room was Lance’s usual high level of clean, the case the only thing out of place. Carefully Keith closed the door, that room wasn’t a place for him to enter until Lance was ready for that.

The second room opened up onto a balcony. The door wide open, sand swept up and across the floor. Lance had piled the bed up. Keith seeing many of his clothes in there, which was good seeing he came with only the things that fitted in his backpack... which was in the hire car. He probably would have come with nothing if Pidge hadn’t reminded him that spare clothes were a thing. He might not have Lance’s sense of smell, but he could smell the depression and struggle in here. Lance had tried to be so strong. On the bedside table sat photos. The twins. Keith. Blue. Miriam. That was it. It hurt.

Closing the door behind him, Keith moved back to the kitchen. Lance coming out the bathroom already changed, towelling his hair off as he did. Keith’s eyes on his belly the whole time. He had so many questions. Like why had Lance had a bleed, and if he was really okay  
“There’s lactose free milk in the fridge... I... kept buying it thinking of you”  
Keith could honestly say that right now he didn’t want coffee at all  
“Babe...”  
“We should... you should... can you clear the sofa? I’ll make coffee. Just put whatever’s there on the coffee table”  
“I...”  
Lance looked away from him  
“You keep staring at my stomach... I can you please clean the sofa. I know you want to talk but I can’t talk like this”

Keith had no choice. Lance turning lights on as he went about things. There were papers upon papers on the sofa. Keith trying not to look at them. Letters, documents, photos... he realised that most of it must have been to do with Mami. With the utmost of care he gathered everything, placing it all together on the coffee table, before using the glass decoration from the table to hold the pile down. Nervousness coursed through him. How was he not supposed to be captivated by Lance? How was he not supposed to be in awe over the amazing thing of the pregnancy still being viable. Their tiny macaroons not so tiny any more. They were more like cupcakes now.

Bringing over the mugs, Lance passed Keith his, before sitting down beside him. Nursing the mug, Keith tried to think of what to say...  
“I’m sorry about Mami”  
Lance tensed, then slowly relaxed again  
“Thanks. I know it’s harder for you hearing it now”  
“I’m never there when you need me...”  
“I’m... not okay, but I think I’m going... I think being there made it better...”  
“Can I ask...?”  
“She was your Mami too. She bragged and bragged and bragged about you. Made me show everyone your photo. She passed away in her sleep. We were staying at my aunts for the night... and I... kind of felt it. I think maybe she did too. She passed peacefully, and she’d been so happy being here. It’s all I could have asked for really”  
“Coran tried to call me back, but the Blades didn’t let him”  
“I broke my phone. When it happened I tried to call you, but I was so upset it broke in my hands...”  
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there”  
“It... was hard. But I can’t stop thinking about how happy she was. How at peace she seemed to be seeing everyone again. They were really good to both of us. And the minister here... we had a service for her and I didn’t feel like I had the right to be in the church. He realised I was the little boy he’d seen when Mami used to bring us to church. We’d been a few times while we’d been here. I broke down and apologised to him, but he didn’t throw me out...”  
“That’s good...”  
“Yeah. Not like the rest of the family back in America. Luis tried to have me barred”

Fucking Luis. Lance had bent over backwards for Miriam. He loved her fiercely. Lance hadn’t done anything wrong bringing Miriam here, if anything he’d given her back her family ties and happiness in her last days  
“I had the bleed on the day before the funeral. Coran wouldn’t leave my side. He said my body freaked out from the stress. I stayed there for a couple of days before coming back here...”  
“You’ve gotten big while I’ve been away”  
“Yeah. Coran said we could find the sex out, but I couldn’t even look at the scans without you. Mami was happy for us... she kept saying you’d be back soon and in for a surprise”  
“I’m sorry. A lot of stuff happened. Lotor killed Zarkon. Honerva went crazy. She was taken out by the Blades. It was a goddamn mess”

Lance raised his head to look at him in clear shock  
“That’s more than I thought”  
“Yeah. The second we could pull out, I was out and back to Rome. That was a mess too. Shiro ended up with a broken arm. Curtis has twin horns now, but his feet don’t smell as bad. Honerva turned her magic on him... it was fucked up”  
“And you?”  
“I’m okay”  
Busted ribs. New scars. Lance wasn’t going to be happy  
“That’s good”

Silence fell between them. Keith didn’t like it  
“Babe...”  
Lance shook his head  
“Sorry. I was thinking about Mami”  
“I really wish I’d been here”  
“I know. I... I waited here. I couldn’t be there. Not in Platt without her and without you. Coran tried to push me to stay, but I couldn’t. I wanted to wait here for you. Where she was”  
Keith had to ask. Lance had said he’d given up. He’d been prepared to give up. Then he’d waited   
“What does this mean for us?”  
Lance took a sip of his drink, leaning back in the sofa as he did  
“I don’t know”  
“And if I said I love you?”  
“I’d say I love you, too. I do. I missed you so much that every day felt like a lifetime away. But I’m not sure what to do now. I don’t know how to move forward when I was feeling like all I could do was run and leave it all behind”

Keith placed his drink on the coffee table, before taking Lance’s drink and doing the same. Turning to his boyfriend, he placed his right hand on Lance’s belly, and his left on his boyfriend’s cheek  
“We don’t have to rush back. We don’t have to rush at all. I still love you. That hasn’t changed at all”  
“But we were apart for so long”  
“And we’ll need time to figure things out again. To me, you’re still the most amazing man I’ve met”  
“Even when I look like this?”  
Keith rubbed Lance’s swell. He was at least three times the size he had been when he’d last done this   
“This... there’s nothing wrong with this. Or with them. Rome isn’t coming after you or them. Or me. Matt and Rieva pretty much told the council there’d be all kinds of trouble if they so much as thought of it. We did get in trouble for lying. Mum was ready to shoot some idiots”  
“That doesn’t seem possible”  
“Like I said, a lot of things happened”  
Lance worried his bottom lip, getting ready as he did  
“How do we fix us?”  
Keith sighed softly   
“By figuring things out. I’d like to see the twins. I want to hear about everything you’ve been through and what you’ve been doing. I didn’t even debrief with Coran. I told Pidge and Hunk I didn’t want to tell anyone about what had happened until I told you”  
“Did you get my letter?”  
“Yeah. But I didn’t read it. I wanted you to tell me all things you had to say for yourself”  
“That sounds like you. It’s probably better you didn’t. I don’t think I’m ready to go back yet”  
“Then we won’t. What do you want to do right now?”  
“Sleep... I feel like I don’t have the right to ask you to hold me... you’re right here and I don’t know what to do”  
“Let’s just go to bed then. I’m kind of beat. I took the first flight I could get on to get back to America, then had to wait for Coran to organise the flight here... I really want to hold you”

Lance was shy as he undressed. Keith coming up behind him, placing his hands on his boyfriend’s belly as he kissed his hair  
“You don’t need to be ashamed”  
“I’m scared you’ll hate what you see”  
“I don’t and I won’t. You’re the single most beautiful man I’ve met”  
“You sound like you’re drunk”  
This was bad. All it took was holding Lance for his dick to be like “Hello!”  
“Nah. I just really missed you”  
Rubbing Lance’s stomach, his boyfriend moaned softly. Keith feeling a little emboldened, rutting lightly as he slipped his hand lower. Letting his drop back, Lance whined into his touch, arse pushing back against Keith’s shameless dick  
“Babe...”  
“Touch me... I can’t remember how you feel on my skin anymore”  
Fucking hell. He was aiming for snuggles and tummy time  
“Bed?”  
Lance nodded, moaning as Keith’s hand brushed over his dick. It’d been months. His boyfriend must have been so starved of physical affection. It was a good thing Keith was never going to leave him alone that long again.

Laying Lance out on the bed, his boyfriend hid his face as Keith stripped to his underwear. His belly was so cute. Climbing between Lance’s legs, Keith ran his hands over his lover’s swell, pressing kisses to the bump as Lance tried to draw his legs together. Too cute... and probably too much. They could barely talk properly but falling into bed together, yeah, they were good at that. Nuzzling Lance’s belly, his boyfriend propped himself up on his elbows, looking Keith in the eye. Keith blushing slightly  
“Are you... you don’t have to... you, know...”  
Keith kissed Lance’s baby bump again  
“I’m not forcing myself”  
“But you were staring so much before”  
“Because I was mesmerised. Our twins are alive and they’re in there and I... I couldn’t the prouder”  
“I thought you’d be grossed out”  
“I’m not. I’m very not grossed out...”  
“It’s weird”  
“I think it’s beautiful. I think you’re beautiful”

Lance blushed under Keith’s praise. Keith relieved that he could make Lance relax enough to let him see him  
“I... don’t know what to do...”  
“Layback and let me love you?”  
Lance snorted  
“I’ve never not loved you... I didn’t think you’d want me ever again”  
“That’s because you think too much. Lay back down and let me take care of you”  
“Can... I have a kiss?”  
“You can have all the kisses you want”  
Lance blushed harder, Keith moving up to cage his boyfriend beneath him. If Lance doubted he was hard for him, he wouldn’t be doubting now as he rutted against him. Lance’s body was amazing. Not as amazing as his heart and soul, but amazing in its own right. Kissing him filled him with a thrill. Lance responsive to his kisses, starting to move his own hips in search of friction. Keith was liable to come in his underwear if Lance kept this up. Jerking off wasn’t exactly top priority during a mission. He and Lance had jerked off to each other on camera, but this was far better.

Lavishing attention on Lance’s chest, his boyfriend whimpered at the touch. Small mounds forming barely there breasts, Lance hissing as Keith sucked his nipple, Keith tugging the hard bud with his teeth before letting it slide out from between them   
“You okay?”  
“It’s tender...”  
“Should I stop?”  
“No... no, it’s fine... Coran said they’d be sore for a bit”  
“Let me know if it gets too much”  
Lance nodded, Keith turning his attention to Lance’s neglected nipple, swirling his tongue around the small bud before nipping, Lance letting out a much nicer moan at the stimulation. His body was so honest. His scent pouring thickly. He’d missed Lance’s smell. Knowing he was with his boyfriend who felt as good as he did made him proud.

Working his way down, he kissed all the spots Lance squirmed at, leaving a trail down to this snail trail as he then sat back. Lance was already leaking pre-cum. The muscles in his thighs spasming as his legs quivered. He loved it. With no hesitation he sank his lips down over the crown of Lance’s dick, Lance spluttering something in Spanish. He’d missed the taste of Lance. He was hopeless and completely whipped by the man beneath him. Bobbing his head, Lance moaned, Keith closing his eyes as he breathed Lance’s natural scent  
“K-Keith...”  
Holding Lance’s legs apart, his boyfriend rocked into his mouth the best he could. Keith not surprised it took moments for Lance to come down the back of his throat, until he was filling his mouth and Keith had to pull off so he didn’t choke. Swallowing what he could, he milked the last few drops from Lance with his hand, his boyfriend’s belly quivered slightly as he panted. Lapping Lance clean, his boyfriend groaned at him. So fucking cute... as it was Keith’s thighs were firmly pressed together trying not come. 

“Babe...?”  
Lance was staring up at him, Keith smiling at him  
“I missed you”  
“I missed you, too... I want to touch you”  
“In a minute... I want to remember this. Remember you. It wasn’t the same not being by your side. I can’t do it. I can’t. You’re like the most radical person ever”  
Lance chuckled at him, hand coming up to wipe cum from the corner of Keith’s lips  
“And you’re terrible at bedroom talk...”  
“You say that, but I’m pretty sure I can make you speechless”  
“With your stupidity?”  
Keith arched an eyebrow   
“I’m wounded”  
“Then come down here and let me kiss you all better”  
“Mmm... I think I can do that”

*  
Lance was overstimulated. Keith’s fingers inside of him as his boyfriend kissed him. He’d been so prepared to be done, then Keith had come. He’d come for him. His boyfriend had come all the way to Cuba to be with him. Lance felt horrible for doubting him, but after so long... All of this felt like a dream. Rocking in Keith’s fingers, the kisses they shared had him wanting more. He was more than prepped enough, Coran said being horny was alright, but it was hard to be horny when the only person you’d ever let you touch you had left.

Whining for more, Keith smirked into his kisses. He’d barely been able to contain his racing heart as he’d showered. His body accepting his lover was back before his brain could could fathom Keith was real and really there  
“Keith... Keith, please...”  
He was so strung out on the way Keith rubbed his sweet spot without filling all those part only Keith filled. Nosing at his nose, his boyfriend was sending him cross eyed   
“Feeling good?”  
“It’s not enough... I want you”  
“I don’t want to hurt you”  
Because Keith was a moron. His fingers had stretched him enough that he doubted he’d hurt himself. He’d also been randomly getting wet back there, and a lot wetter than normal. That’s why he hadn’t noticed he’d bled  
“The twins are okay. I might just die if you don’t get inside me already”  
Keith chuckled at him. Lance not in the mood to be laughed at. He needed that itch inside him scratched.

Rolling them Keith’s side, Lance pinned his boyfriend down, straddling his lap as he did. Rubbing his butt against Keith’s erection, he took a little of his own revenge for Keith wrecking him with his mouth and fingers   
“Babe?”  
“You talk too much”  
“Is that so?”  
Releasing Keith’s right wrist, Lance used his hand to stabilise Keith’s dick as he raised himself, moaning as he slowly sank down. There was pain. And discomfort he’d forgotten. But Keith was the only one for him. Taking it slowly, he shuddered as he bottomed out. Fuck... Keith made him come twice and he still wanted more   
“Babe?”  
“You feel so fucking good”

Moving his hands to Keith’s chest, he traced the small scars that were definitely new. Keith was going to be in so much trouble when he’d finally calmed down enough not to be horny and touch starved. He’d tried toys... though it was hard to be in the right frame of mind, generally he just wanted his boner to take care of its self and go away. Raising himself, his head dropped back as he let himself drop. It was weird with a belly. His budding chest tender from Keith’s markings across it. No one said he’d grow tiny little boobies. Slowly he started building a rhythm. Keith felt so fucking good he couldn’t stop his hips from moving. The way his boyfriend filled him until he felt happily stuffed and his heart beat thudded in his arse...

Riding Keith, Lance tired out faster than he should have. His boyfriend taking him by the hips, moving his body for him as he sat up. Loosely draping his arms over Keith’s shoulders, Keith made him come again, his boyfriend holding his hips down as he drove up as hard as he could until he came. Warmth spreading in Lance’s belly. Being a vampire was great for feeling things like that. Bonelessly, Keith gathered him against him. Lance tucking his head into the curve of Keith’s shoulder, breathing him in as he felt Keith jerk through the after waves of orgasm. Everything sucked so hard. Everything was too hard. Organising Mami’s things. His siblings at her funeral. Being blamed for passing as she had, they wouldn’t listen. Mami had been so happy. So loved. It wasn’t fair. She was the last one who kissed his belly. Told him to stay strong and how proud she was of him. She adored his twins... 

Stroking his hair, Keith rocked him gently as he kissed his temple. Overstimulation lead to overly emotional. He felt too drained to do anything but be held.  
“You’re okay, babe. You’re okay”  
“Don’t leave me”

He was selfish. He feared Keith’s return and now he feared this was a dream. He feared telling Keith that Coran had mentioned he might have further bleeds or complications closer to birth. He feared telling him that he might not reach full term. There twins were okay, but the strain on his body wasn’t exactly small. He feared hearing all about Zarkon and Honerva. He feared seeing his friends. In Cuba he had the memories of his Mami  
“I’m not”  
“I don’t want to be alone anymore”  
“You’re not”  
He feared telling Keith he wanted to quit working in law and family court to focus on their family, it felt selfish of him. He feared losing his house because babies weren’t exactly cheap. He feared Blue wouldn’t want to know him seeing he’d left his princess alone so long  
“This place has a bath, doesn’t it?”  
Lance didn’t want to bath. He didn’t want to wash Keith off his skin. His boyfriend smelt so good that his teeth hurt. Fresh blood wasn’t easy to get a hold of. His hunger was no joke  
“Babe?”

Keith moved him, Lance turning his head away, knowing his fangs were out  
“Hey, don’t look away”  
“I’m sorry”  
“Are you hungry?”  
“I’m sorry”  
He’d been drinking blood until Keith took his mug away  
“Here, you can feed”  
“I...”  
“Babe. I’m seriously serious about us. I couldn’t be here and I couldn’t do anything for you. Let me be here. Rely on me. When you don’t rely on me, it’s like you’re telling me you don’t need me”

He couldn’t quite do that. Preparing to let Keith go had been hard and now his plans were all awhirl again. He did need Keith. That was so painfully obvious. Baring his fangs, he sank them into the smooth skin of Keith’s neck. Blood pouring into his mouth. There was nothing like Keith’s blood. Moaning at the taste, he drank deeply, before stopping himself. Pulling back to lap at the blood dribbling from Keith’s neck. His boyfriend was tired. He felt like he could taste it, he’d drunk too much. Senses confused from bliss, exhaustion, and the sudden shot of energy   
“Are you okay?”  
“I’m fine. Sleepy, but I’m fine. We need to get cleaned up”  
“Oh...”  
Keith chuckled at him  
“I want to take a bath with you. We’ve got days to take things slow”  
“And you’re not going to leave?”  
“No. I’ll explain it all in the morning”  
“Okay...”

That was if Keith stayed until the morning.


	138. Chapter 138

138

Keith watched Lance sleeping. His shirt hiked up with his belly showing as he cuddled a pillow instead of Keith. Lance was an awkward mess of cuteness Keith could have watched forever if his bladder didn’t exist. Heading to the bathroom, he’d wished he could have peed faster, but peeing with a boner was an Olympic effort. Making himself a coffee, he made it more milk than coffee, sculling it down so he’d have caffeine in his system when Lance woke up. 

As he climbed back into bed, Lance was still sleeping soundly in the same position. Morning sun poured through the open balcony door, heat and humidity already smacking him in the face. Cuba was not Rome... nor was it Vatican City. The weather killer after months in Europe. Smiling to himself, he laid by his boyfriend, hand sliding over Lance’s bump. He loved the bump. But his love was tinged with the sadness of missing watching it grow.

Whimpering in his sleep, Lance’s body tensed, kicking out before he sucked in a breath. Keith cuddling around Lance, sliding his hand up his boyfriend chest as he kissed his shoulder  
“I’m here. I’m here, babe. Breathe. It was a dream”  
“Mami?”  
Lance sounded so sleepy as he asked his for his mother. This wasn’t fair  
“It’s Keith, babe. I’m here”  
“Keith?”  
“Yeah, babe. It was a nightmare. It was just a bad dream”  
“Fuck...”  
Pretty much.

Lance did an almost three point turn as he rolled over, pulling his shirt down to hide his belly away. One coffee wasn’t as good as two, but better than none. Brushing Lance’s fringe back, his boyfriend didn’t look like he’d slept as solid as he’d appeared to  
“Wanna tell me?”  
“I haven’t been sleeping well”  
“I gathered that... you seemed really out of it”  
“Haven’t been to sleep through the nights...”  
“Yeah?”

Slowly Lance wrapped his arm around him, like he had to ease himself into the touch. Kissing his boyfriend’s forehead he wondered how many sleepless nights he’d had because of him  
“I usually walk around the beach at night... it helps”  
The night was cold. Lance shouldn’t be out at night. It couldn’t be good health wise or for the twins... but Lance had to do what he had to do to keep going   
“What about during the day?”  
“I nap if I can... drink, eat, throw up, wallow, think to much and sleep”  
“You don’t go out during the day?”  
“I did with Mami... but it’s hard to look like this”  
“There’s nothing wrong with how you look”  
Lance hummed. The last of his tension sliding away   
“You’ve had coffee”  
He’d humaned. It was an accomplishment... which he could have said if his brain wasn’t broke   
“I had to pee”  
“I didn’t think you’d be here when I woke up”

Ouch. That hurt more than it should have. He wasn’t about to “root and run”. He’d busted his arse to get back to Lance  
“I’m sorry. But you’re stuck with me...”  
“I don’t want you to be stuck”  
“I’m not. I’m where I want to be”  
“Still doesn’t feel real”  
Lance’s big blue eyes searched his face, his boyfriend blinked once then twice more as if he thought Keith would vanish in a blink   
“I’m real”  
“My dreams feel real too. Mami... Mami copped a few nightmares”  
“Mami loved you. I’m sure she was just relieved she was there for you”  
“I hate waking up and knowing she’s gone. I hate it...”

Keith hushed him. How was he supposed to explain everything to Lance when he was dealing with so much as it was  
“I know. It’s not fair”  
“She loved you so much... her son... she was so proud of Keith. So proud”  
“I loved her too. She felt like the first mum I ever had”  
Lance hiccuped, before Keith was shoved aside as Lance scrambled off the bed, running for the bathroom. Lance didn’t mean to hurt him, but damn he got him with his hand against his ribs.

Slowly Keith followed Lance into the bathroom, Lance throwing in the toilet, hand in his swell as he did. Keith had the impression morning sickness would have gone by now. Settling behind Lance, Keith placed his hand over his boyfriend’s. His fingers felt thinner, Lance felt thinner. His hips had widened a little, a little more curvy than he had been... but Keith only knew that because he knew Lance’s body so well. Gagging, Lance wasn’t having a fun time  
“Let it out, babe”  
“S-sorry...”  
“Idiot. It’s fine”  
“Ca... can... you call Coran? He usually...”

The sentence was lost to Lance vomiting. Coran usually wha... oh. Coran and Lance talked in the morning. Lance had someone there now, so he didn’t have to face the man on his own  
“He can wait. Should I get you some water?”  
Lance groaned at him. Keith guessed that meant he wasn’t feeling fond of any form of fluids...  
“What about some blood?”  
Catching his breath, Lance groaned at him again  
“Just... go call Coran... please. I’ll be there soon... and no... water...”  
This morning sickness thing was beyond a joke. How long had Lance spent vomiting alone on the bathroom floor? Why hadn’t it settled? Maybe Coran would know?

Keith headed into the kitchen, opening and booting up Lance’s laptop. He smiled as he found himself as the background, Kosmo making a pest of himself licking his cheek as Lance took the photo. Pin locked, he knew Lance too well as his birthday unlocked the laptop. It’d barely got past the loading screen before Coran was ringing. Was he so untrustworthy that he’d suspected he wouldn’t be able to get through to Lance? Accepting the call, the screen was filled with Coran’s teeth, the fae using the laptop to floss in, coughing and throwing the floss aside, Coran not fooling anyone as he pretended that never happened  
“Keith, my boy! We were worried! We hadn’t heard from you!”

Whoops. Okay. Yeah. He’d promised that he’d call as soon as he knew what was happening with Lance   
“Is that Keith?! Where is that arsehole!?”  
Double whoops. He’d upset Pidge. Coran was bumped out the way by her  
“Keith! You said you’d call! We’ve been going crazy!”  
He was in for it now  
“Hey, Pidge. Sorry. Lance and I were talking... uh, he’s here. He’s kind of okay...”  
“Can we see him?! I want to see him!”  
“Yes, well, excuse me... I did tell you I would be calling him”

Coran nudged his way back into view. Keith felt he’d probably been putting up with Pidge and Hunk freaking out all night now. He didn’t even know where his phone was...   
“Guys. That’s enough. Lance is in the bathroom. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to call last night. We had some stuff to talk about”  
Coran must have regretted his wheelie chair, moved out the way by Pidge again   
“Is he okay? Can we see him?”  
“He’s mostly okay. Look, we’ve only just got up. I can either show you him throwing up or I can call back later”

“Don’t you dare bring that laptop in here!”

Whelp. Okay  
“What was that?”  
“Lance. He doesn’t want you guys seeing him throw up”  
“What’s vomit between friends?”  
Coran rather forcibly butted Pidge back out the way, looking grouchy as he did  
“Keith, how is he?”  
“Throwing up. He’s... we’re gonna stay a few days. He really needs this right now. Is he supposed to throw up this much?”  
“Okay, my boy. Make sure you keep him hydrated. Don’t forget his shots. Make sure he’s eating too... I tell him everyday...”  
Keith started tuning Coran out. It was amazingly easy when you’d listened to nothing but Blade bullshit. No wonder Lance took the chance to have someone else listen to his nagging... 

Pidge yelling as Coran held her back   
“Tell him to show us proof of undead life! I want photos! Don’t you hold out on us, Keith Kogane! We wanna see Lance and we wanna see that bump! And we want to see Lance smiling or your lose you balls, buster!”

Oh lord. Well that was Coran’s problem to deal with. Better Coran than him and Lance. Maybe he could con Lance into taking a photo with him? Maybe play along... No. He couldn’t say he’d kidnapped Lance. That felt too raw still... ugh. Why was he happy about Pidge being demanding? And why was he so annoyed at Coran? Right. Nagging... he didn’t want to hear more nagging. He had Shiro to nag... fuck... he hadn’t called him. Whoops. Hopefully Matt did. On the other side of the screen Coran opened his mouth, Keith fearing more nagging   
“Coran, I’ve got it. We’ve only just got up. I’ll call you later when Lance is up for it”

He’d hung up on Coran, closed the laptop, and made it back to Lance before he felt bad. Their friends cared and he’d cut things short, but right now all he wanted was to keep Lance in his sights  
“Miss me?”  
Lance sighed at him. Resting against the toilet with his arm between his head and the seat  
“You hung up on Coran”  
“Maybe?”  
“I heard you”  
“In my defence, I didn’t think about the fact he’d start nagging quite so soon”

Lance groaned at him, his boyfriend reaching his free hand out blindly, Keith taking it, not completely sure why or what to do with it   
“What are you doing?”  
“Just reminding myself you’re real. He’s been at me like that for weeks...”  
No thanks. Coran should have known his nagging wouldn’t help   
“You’ve got more patience than I do”  
“It gets repetitive. If I don’t answer he calls all day until I do”  
“I think he misses you”  
“I think I honestly can’t take the nagging”

Maybe Coran’s plan was to nag Lance into returning home? He was going the right way to make Lance stay in Cuba forever. Sitting down behind his boyfriend, Keith coaxed Lance into leaning back against him. Lance looked wiped out... so maybe that meant it was really justified nagging?  
“You good?”  
“For now... sorry, I know how gross it is”  
More concerning than gross   
“You can’t help it. Do you want to do something today?”  
“Sleep?”  
Keith snorted, kissing Lance cheek  
“Other than sleep?”  
“There’s not that much to do...”  
“I’ve never been to Cuba before”

Lance fell silent for a bit, Keith kind of hoping his boyfriend would suggest what he was hinting at, without really hinting. He needed to work on his hinting skills  
“Do you want to see Cuba? I haven’t gone out much... since...”  
Yep. He got there. This was why Lance was pretty much the smartest person he knew   
“I’d like that. You can show me around. Tell me about what you and Mami did...”  
“We mostly visited family... and did tourist stuff”  
“Then show me around?”

Keith didn’t know the socially acceptable way to help his boyfriend through this, but if Lance was talking, he’d be able to understand what it was like for him and Mami as they waited. This was different from when he lost his dad. Lance had a life of loving memories with his Mami. Mami had lived a long and good life. She’d been happy. She’d thanked him so many times for loving Lance. So many times she’d said she was reassured that she was leaving Lance in safe hands. 

Keith was sent to have his coffee while Lance showered. His boyfriend going white and rushing to the kitchen sink. Keith glad he’d managed another two cups before Lance threw up. He was most definitely awake now  
“Babe?”  
Lance groaned out  
“Coffeeeeee”  
“You want some?”  
Lance throwing up again said “no”. Was it the smell? But he’d seemed okay last night?  
“Should I air... I’m just going to air the room...”

Opening the doors to the balcony, Keith blinked at Rieva and Matt. Matt waving at him  
“Hey, balcony buddy!”  
Okay. So he knew Coran organised Matt and Rieva being there...  
“What... the fuck?”  
There was like a metre between balconies. Keith could literally climb over to them. What the hell was this?  
“Nice to see you, Keith. How was your night?”  
Rieva was messing with him. Matt was messing with him. Coran was messing with him. What the hell?!  
Keith backed away from the door, looking to Lance, then back to their friends  
“Uh... I’m going to go back inside now”  
Rieva waved at him, Keith giving an awkward wave he wasn’t sure counted as wave  
“Say hi to Lance for us, and tell him we miss him!”

Keith looked back to Lance who was now leaning against the kitchen counter, shaking. Okay. Closing the doors he pulled the blinds across... nope. Not dealing with that right now. With neighbours like that, he’d be going out in the streets to get five minutes of quiet time.

Moving back to his boyfriend, Lance sighed, expecting some kind of nagging. Scratching the back of his head, Keith nearly tripped as he cast a glance back at the balcony, feeling slightly violated   
“I didn’t know they were right there”  
“Try figuring out what to do with yourself when they want to talk”  
“They missed you”  
Lance shook his head, turning away from to organise his injection   
“It’s not about missing me. I know people care and don’t want me to be alone, but no one asked if I was ready to see them again”

Keith bit down his comment about this being like after Sendak had taken Lance and Lance had barely been up to seeing anyone before Keith had to leave. Not having friends was lonely. Lance needed his friends   
“That’s because we all missed you. Shiro and Curtis are coming home next week. They’re bringing Kosmo because I couldn’t bring him on the plane with me”  
“They’re coming back?”

Keith wrinkled his brow. Why wouldn’t his brother be coming home? Rome was done. Done and both he and Shiro really liked Platt’s quietness. Being able to help but being able to be themselves, it was some kind of gift   
“Yeah. Oh, I totally have to tell you Curtis has two horns now...”  
“He has two?”  
“And my mother decided she wants to date”  
“She is hot”  
Maybe mentioning Krolia was too soon? God. How was he going to tell his mother that Miriam passed away? He wasn’t okay with Miriam passing away. His mouth decided he needed to try and cover his “slip up”  
“Yeah. I suppose. Anyway, when Shiro and Curtis come back I was thinking I could move to Garrison properly and we could live together and... we can decorate the nursery. I actually picked up a few things in Rome, but my stuff is coming with Shiro and Curtis because they’re coming back via private jet. Can’t put Curtis on a plane with two horns. He’s twice as horny as he was. But his feet don’t smell as bad any more and fuck, I left my shoes on the beach last night”

Lance let him talk himself out. How could he forget about his shoes? He liked those shoes. Rieva drew smiley faces on the heels and he’d thought Lance would get a laugh out of it. Someone out there scored a nice new pair of red converses. He really liked them... so much... 

“Oh, babe. How many cups did you have this morning?”  
Did the first cup of milk coffee count? He supposed it did as there was coffee in it...  
“Three”  
Lance wrinkled his nose. How could anyone wrinkle their nose at the life giving nectar that was coffee?!?  
“Babe?”  
“It’s nothing”  
Right. He knew now that that meant the opposite   
“You can tell me. I won’t get mad”  
Lance sighed at him  
“I know. Like logically. But... fine. Coffee seems to make me want to puke. The smell. Just thinking about drinking it makes me feel gross”  
Keith gaped. How?! How could coffee make anyone sick!?  
“See. I knew you weren’t going to be happy”  
“It’s not that. I... why do you have coffee? If it’s making you feel sick...?”  
“You. I got some because of you. It reminded me of you...”  
Keith’s cheeks reddened. That was kind of really Lance... as was the hint of red in his boyfriend’s cheeks  
“But, last night?”  
“I was drinking blood. It didn’t bother me because... I was so... so fucking relieved to see you”

Lance’s voice wobbled. Keith sensing incoming tears and he pulled his boyfriend into a hug  
“If you can’t handle coffee, then I’ll stop drinking it”  
“No. No. An uncaffinated Keith is... no. I don’t want you to give up coffee. I just... yeah. The smell...”  
He could maybe at least try to cut down on the coffee... his would hurt to even have those thoughts   
“I don’t want you throwing up because I like coffee”  
“And I need you to be you. Seriously. It’s been four months of nothing but people worrying about me. I heard Mami on the phone more than once, I’m pretty sure she was calling up Coran to ask what to do”  
“Mami loved you. You were her pride and joy”

Lance let out a shaky breath  
“I... I planned this thinking we’d make happy memories. Then you’d come and it’d be like a real family holiday before the twins came. I felt so much better when I saw her with her family. I couldn’t call you, but, like, she came alive again. She told me all about what it was like here before we went to America. Where dad taught Luis to surf. Where Veronica snuck out one night and papi had to come pick her up because she forgot how to get home again She only about 7. She told me how Marco used to pick his nose and wipe his boogas on the pews at church. Aunt Sarah caught him once and spanked his butt until he was screaming she was the she devil... it was like I could breathe again. I wasn’t in Platt and I wasn’t handling missing you very well, but I wasn’t in Platt putting everyone in danger. None of my family here hated me. They were so kind to me when Mami passed. It took Coran a bit to get things organised, then he came down and picked me and her up...”

Keith nodded as Lance spoke, Lance seemed to be more in his memories than in the hotel room with him   
“She sounded happy”  
“Yeah. I... told her I felt like... like it was coming that night and she told me she was okay. She slept next to me a lot... before you... she was the last person to kiss my stomach. I told her the twins couldn’t hear her, but she told me to shut up. Then she’d tell them all about their daddy Keith... When I started feeling down she’d... she just... she’s everything I want to be as a parent”  
“She set the bar super high”  
“Yeah. Oh... that reminds me, I have a present from her to you... and a gift for the twins... and some other things like that. I told her to wait until they were born but we went to these beach markets and she... she pretty much bossed me into giving her most of the money I had on me. Got herself the most ridiculous hat... then she found one of those badly translated shirts that said “Backdoor Gramma”... spelt “G-r-a-m-m-a” with this cartoon old woman in a bikini and fluffy bits. She laughed so hard at it that I thought she was going to collapse”

He and Mami talked two or three times while Lance had slept and Keith was being gored alive over his regret for not being. Mami hated that there were so many things on the screen she could accident press. She had some very unkind words for Sendak that would have made Lance blush, but most of all it was like a check in. When Lance had been too sick to talk on Christmas Day, Mami was there to tell him Lance was going to be okay. He felt okay about Lance being with Mami, because they loved each other so much and Lance really needed that love that only came from her. Mami had her pride and her sense of self was strong. She could be quite and reserved, but for the most part she lived as freely as she liked.

“I don’t think I want to imagine that”  
Mami would have rocked it. Keith imagined her sneaking her chocolates with a bottle of vodka giving the double finger to Sendak if she could have. Chocolates and her abundant supply of love were the only two things she zero self control over. Lance nodded, sucking down a breath, tone slightly dejected before levelling then growing wobbly  
“Probably safer... but, yeah. I... the family gave me a lot of things that she’d left behind when we moved. I tried to go to the nursing home, you know, to thank them, but Coran made me stay in for observation. Luis cleaned her room out and took her things. He had the nerve to lose it at me for paying for her funeral...”  
Lance started shaking again in his arms. Keith rubbing the top of his arm as if he was trying to warm him up  
“Babe. Don’t go there. Luis isn’t your responsibility”  
“I know, but without Mami... I won’t hear about them again”

That was true. Luis wouldn’t be rushing to call   
“Pidge could change that. She can stalk down thin air and pull up all its credit card charges”  
“I think Pidge would bite his ankles in real life if she knew. I wanted to... to be able to talk to them at the funeral, but Coran pulled enough magic to get me there as it was... and I wasn’t ready yet. She and Papi are together now. I wanted her buried in Garrison, but she’s in Platt. I’m talking too much”

Lance wasn’t talking too much. He’d held all this in as he waited for Keith to come home to him. He was glad Lance was telling him what he wanted in his own words instead of by letter  
“You’re not. You miss your mum. From what you’ve said, you’ve made a lot of good memories”  
“I suppose. I mean, I did. I know I’m very lucky I had all this time with her... really lucky considering all things. I wish I hadn’t broken my phone”  
“Shouldn’t it back up?”  
“I don’t know how it really works. It’s like one of your Blade phones but it’s pin locked instead of iris encoded. Laptop’s kind of the same. It’s a Coran special”  
“We can ask him”  
“I hope it’s backed up... I need to stop talking about this... I can’t... I’ve been so whiny. Even when I came back from Sendak, through to now, my mental health’s been shit and all I’ve done is worry everyone. Four months isn’t like long for a vampire but it is for a human”  
“I literally think you’re entitled to let it out”  
“I keep showing... I keep showing the wrong sides”

There were no wrong sides to Lance. Okay. Maybe 4 months wasn’t that long to a vampire but it was a fucking looooong arse four months. They’d barely had three weeksish before he was off to Rome... meaning... it was like 6 weeks he’d had quality time with Mami... and shy of a month since her passing. 

Lance was allowed to have feelings. His feelings made him who he was. It wasn’t like Keith didn’t feel guttered over the loss of Mami too. He kind of wanted to just lock Lance away and cry until his head throbbed and the pain was gone  
“Because I’m so much better?”  
“You are. I haven’t asked you much about Europe. I haven’t asked if you’re okay. I haven’t asked how things went down. I haven’t asked about the court case or this thing about Lotor killing Zarkon. I... haven’t... even asked you... how anyone is...”  
“Babe. I only got in last night. This is our first proper conversation. I want to know what you’re feeling and thinking”  
“I don’t know what I’m thinking or feeling. Running seems so much easier. But... then there’s all the things I’m waiting to hear back about. Mami’s will. Her accounts. What to do with her things she’a got stored at home. If the nursing home got the flowers I sent as a thank you for all they did for her. If I chose the right clothes Mami. If I did the right thing. If it wasn’t her time to go and I did nothing...”

*  
Lance kept telling himself to shut up. To stop talking about Mami. That Keith had been through so much away from him that he was probably more tired than he was letting on. He tried to shut up but he couldn’t not think about Mami. She’d adored Keith. She kept a photo of him on her nightstand. Well, it was him, Keith and an ultrasound photo between them. 

When Keith started leading him away from the kitchen, Lance didn’t want to move. He had to have breakfast, have his shot, then have something actual to eat. Instead Keith tugged him along, pulling him down to sit in his lap on the sofa. That Keith had come back was a miracle. That he’d stayed... Lance couldn’t describe how much he’d needed to see Keith. Then he went and ruined things because he couldn’t stop thinking about his Mami...  
“You’re overthinking”

Geez. No shit. He’d expected a joyous reunion with Keith. Mami teasing them. Not Keith coming home to this. He wanted to feel happy so badly, but Keith... Keith made it too easy. He’d feared last night they’d never talk again as they had. Now he’d word vomit... after too much actual vomit  
“I think I’m... not being strong enough”

He’d cried as he confessed his sins to his Mami. How he’d killed Sendak. His Mami taking his hands and telling him that it wasn’t fair for him to be blaming himself. She went to church with him. Before God he’d prayed. He’d confessed everything, as if it’d offer some absolution for his sins. He did feel marginally better when he didn’t burst into flames. It was hard to accept that the world was safer by taking a life. Mami pointing out that Sendak was the worst of everything a vampire could be, though she got it. She got that he grieved not for the monster he’d killed but at the loss of Sendak ever changing his ways. Vampires didn’t really work that way, but she... she got it because she wasn’t a hunter. She could see that he was worse than Nyma and Rolo, but she could see that he felt worse about the actual ending of potential than killing the monster inside Sendak’s skin. She was a better therapist than Coran. 

They’d headed to the beach that morning, after his nightmare. Blazing hot sun didn’t exactly lure vampires out for a spot of sun baking and spontaneous combustion between snacking on the necks of tourists. Setting up the umbrella, chairs and fetching drinks, they’d settled down and Mami had told him about his first time swimming there. Rachel carried him everywhere. Made him a “hat” out of seaweed. He’d screamed and screamed, until Mami took it off his head. The sun had felt amazing. He wasn’t too pregnant looking, so he enjoyed taking his shirt off, only to burn himself for his efforts. Mami had laughed at him as she rubbed aloe vera on his sunburn. 

It’d been hard to hear about times when they’d been so happy together. Just kids doing kid things. But a lot of Mami’s stories he hadn’t heard before, and some stories he heard over and over yet didn’t mind in the slightest. She was so proud of her brood. Making all these future plans and laughing over how he and Keith were going to be clumsy parents, but that was okay because no one knew what they were doing at first.

“You’re strong. You’re so strong”  
Keith kissed his cheek. Lance knew he was starved of physical affection. He knew because he’d been depriving himself of it. He felt like “King Douche” that his boyfriend came back to this. That he needed to stiffen his upper lip and carry on. He knew he’d been a total dick not contacting Pidge or Hunk, but to begin with it’d been for their safety. He hadn’t let them see him at VOLTRON, though knowing they were also grieving Mami’s loss. Asking for more space on top of so much space already granted to him seemed incredibly selfish. He loved Pidge and Hunk, but it was like with Sendak again, he was scared of losing himself in his grief and hurting them. 

He’d never wished he was more human than in the aftermath of that shit with Sendak. Lance knew if it was his friends going through this he’d be telling them it was okay. To let go. To grieve for as long as they needed and that he’d be there the whole time for when they were ready. But that didn’t apply to him. He had... he had o carry himself a certain way... anxiety fed paranoia that if he wasn’t the perfect friend they’d never speak to him again. Keith... Keith just... all he had to do was breathe and Lance was falling more in love with him. He’s tried building his walls back up when he set his mind to Keith never coming for him, but all his walls were sandcastles, crumbling under Keith’s feet as he trampled over Lance’s attempts and wrapped him up in love. He... he’d been so awkward and embarrassed how easily he’d caved into Keith. Now Keith was taking the time to fix his broken bits. His boyfriend hated the tourist masses but that was Varadero’s main source of income. 

Placing his hand on his belly, Lance settled his breathing back down slowly. Keith didn’t hate his belly. He’d felt their twins starting to move. Like little has bubbly gas bubbles. When he’d spotted blood coupled with weird stomach pain, he’d thought he was dying but his Mami explained to him about things stretching and moving to make space. Coran was worried about his body not being strong enough to make it to term. Despite brewing in a vampire filled with vampire blood, both their kids returned human DNA. Never did he want another long arse needle in there again. Their babies passed their genetics tests. They just had to put up with him and Keith now  
“Babe?”  
“It’s okay. You said you wanted to see Cuba?”  
“Well I came all this way. I’ve never been here before and I’m already madly in love with my tour guide”

Lance groaned at his boyfriend. If Keith turned that charm on everyone he’d probably be an unstoppable conman of the highest degree. His ego loved the flattery. He and it had many an mental disagreement. Now Keith was fanning it back to life   
“You’re a menace. I have to eat. I’ve... been going through the motions but I have to eat before we go out. And... we’ll drive. I’ll drive. I don’t have much to hide this bump”  
“I don’t mind it. I think it’s cute”  
“The world isn’t ready for a pregnant vampire and his lover. This is Cuba. I’ve got a jumper I use if I absolutely can’t avoid going out...”  
“In this heat?”  
“You get the boyfriend covered outside or you get the boyfriend inside with the bump showing. You can’t have both”  
“I definitely want both. I love your stomach. You looked so good bouncing on my dick with that bump showing”  
Lance choked on air. Keith was a damn horn dog!  
“I’m going to punch you in the dick if you don’t start thinking things through. I’m going to put you in “Horny Hunter Jail” if you don’t settle down”  
Keith shrugged  
“I can live with that”


	139. Chapter 139

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rieva does a protect...

139

Cuba was loud. Loud and people everywhere. Lance had bugged him to call Shiro, his brother giving him a hard time for forgetting, but Matt had already called to let him know that he and Lance had a very... intimate reunion. Stupid perverted wolf. He was having a moment with his boyfriend, not some kind of scandalous tryst.

Lance didn’t talk as much as he thought he would. So Keith didn’t push it. He’d sent Shiro a proper message explaining Miriam had passed and that Lance needed a little more time before they’d be headed back to America. Matt had let Shiro know, but Keith felt like maybe that’d been Lance’s place to say. Shiro and Curtis sending their condolences. Each time Lance would point something out, Keith tried to take as many photos on his phone as he could, so Lance would have physical evidence to match his memories.

Stopping for lunch near the beach, Keith realised how screwed he would have been without Lance there to translate for him. Sure, there was English to cater to the tourists, but Lance made it look easy. Chatting away with the servers, swimming in the jumper that he was wearing. His boyfriend had already managed to get him new shoes. They weren’t shiny red converses with smiley faces on them, but they were sneakers because Lance simply rolled his eyes at the idea of boots in the heat.

Sitting across from his boyfriend in the cafe, Keith realising that Lance actually looked a little older. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was, but there was something there. Then again, he hadn’t seen his boyfriend’s face in the sun like this in far too long  
“You’re staring”  
“You’re cute”  
Lance huffed at him. Keith couldn’t help how in love with Lance he was  
“Can... can you maybe... not compliment me as much?”  
“Nope”

His boyfriend huffed again. Did Lance think he was complimenting him to cover other feelings? Or was hating on himself so hard that he struggling to see how beautiful he was? All he had to do was look at Lance and he wanted to say nice things. The Keith from this time last year wouldn’t have believed it. He probably would have broken someone’s face had they suggested he’d be like this with anyone.

Forcing his attention to the meal, he wasn’t sure what it was. It smelt really good. Keith wasn’t sure about the beans, his diet didn’t consist of much outside green beans and baked beans. Baked beans banned because Shiro’s farts were no joke. Pointing with his fork, Lance explained what they were eating   
“It’s Ropa Vieja. It’s very good. It’s mostly pulled stewed beef with veggies”  
“I don’t think I’ve even heard of it”  
“You missed out. Mami used to make a mean ropa. It’s like Cuba’s number one dish and she would come back and murder me if you didn’t try it at least once”

Lance was right, Keith’s eyes widened at the first taste of beef, scoffing down a second forkful. Lance seemed to find it funny enough that he laughed. An actual, proper, barking laugh where he scrunched his face up and people stared. Swallowing quickly, he got hit with the heat of the spices, Lance’s shoulders were shaking with laughter   
“What’s so funny?”  
“I told you it was good and you still looked like you’d come in your pants at the first bite”  
“It is good... Wait, are you trying to say I make weird faces during sex?”  
“You make very manly and sexy faces... but that face was gold”

Keith pulled his phone out his pocket, snapping a photo of Lance who sobered as he drew his brow realising what Keith had done. It’d make the perfect proof of life photo for Pidge   
“Did you just take a photo?”  
“You mocked my “oh” face”  
“You have a many manly sex face. Just be careful with where you’re taking photos”  
That was thing? Then again, there kind of seemed like a vague memory that maybe a thing  
“I didn’t think about that. It was nice seeing you laugh, even it was at me”

He had no idea of the etiquette of Cuba, probably acting like the dumb America tourist he was  
“It’s fine here. Mami and I came here a bit on the way too and from the hotel. On Wednesday’s they clear out the tables at night and they have dances”  
“I bet Mami loved that”  
“She did. We mostly shuffled on the spot but she said it reminded her of when Papi took her dancing. It’s weird when your mum gropes your butt”  
“I bet she winked too”  
“Yep. I wish I’d come back here sooner with her. I feel like I wasted time not”  
“Nah, I’m sure she was happy. Oh, I better text Pidge and Hunk. Is there anything you want me to say?”  
“Just tell them I miss them. I do... miss them I mean, but at this stage I’m not sure how to face them”  
“Then it’s a good thing I’m here. Coran kept getting pushed out the way so Pidge could talk to me. He actually looked annoyed”

Lance nodded, expression sympathetic   
“He’s got a hard enough job. He paid for all of this. I mean, I know he used funds from VOLTRON, but that hotel isn’t cheap...”  
“He did it because he loves you. I’m sure there’s plenty of funding, and I’m sure there’s things you haven’t cashed in on because you didn’t want to make a fuss”  
“He did try to give me my blood for free... I feel better when I’m paying. More independent and not like a teen getting money from dad”  
“See. There you go. This is like really good, can you make this at home?”  
“You want me to?”  
“Heck yes. Don’t get me wrong, Rome is like a food lovers paradise but pasta gets sooooo repetitive”  
“You better make the most of it. There’s still a lot of dishes to try”  
“What about going out for dinner? With Matt and Rieva?”

Lance fumbled his fork. Keith kicking himself but the words had slipped out  
“I’m... I was really rude to them”  
“I doubt they care”  
“I care. I ran the first time I saw them”  
Keith raised an eyebrow at the thought of a pregnant Lance thinking he could leg it from two werewolves. His boyfriend had zero chance   
“Babe, they missed you”  
“They’ll want to talk about what happened and I’m... telling you is...”  
Right. Lance was still trying to tell him what he could, how he could...  
“... telling you is because she saw you as her son. Telling them, I just... it’s harder”  
“We don’t have to tell them the things you’re not comfortable with. If we have dinner, we can go after... but it’ll be a good step”  
“What if they can’t forgive me?”  
“The only person who can’t forgive you is you. Just put it in the back of your mind”  
“I’ve been thinking about it too much...”  
“I’m shocked you’d over think anything ever”  
“Now you’re being mean”  
“You still love me. Seriously though, this is really good. Can I help you make it?”

He was going to text Pidge but his food was too appealing. Shovelling down another forkful, Lance swallowed as he watched him, seeming a little flustered. Keith wished he knew what kind of expression he was showing the man he loved   
“Uh. I guess... we should eat. We’re heading back to the hotel after this. I can’t seem to make it through without my afternoon nap”  
“I’ve deprived you of your morning nap, haven’t I?”  
“Yeah... and my morning self wallowing”  
“I’m like the worst boyfriend ever”  
“Nah. You’re pretty much the best I’ve ever had”

It took Keith a long moment. His heart filled with pride at the praise until he realised he was the only boyfriend Lance ever had. Lance chuckled when the realisation hit him, Keith kicking him lightly under the table. His boyfriend was a brat.

*  
When Lance went down for a nap, Keith was shooed off to let him sleep. The cafe was the perfect distance back to the hotel for Lance to have processed eating and be needing to throw it back up. The vampire had eaten enough human food to rival Matt. Keith could keep up, though he tried. Everything tasted amazing, and all he wanted to do was bask in his food coma, then Lance had kicked him out because his hand had slipped a little too low rubbing his boyfriend’s belly. It wasn’t his fault he loved feeling the swell... Lance didn’t trust him to behave. Lance declaring his arse off limits.

Throwing himself down on the sofa in the living area, he was bored already. He’d messaged chat rather than just Pidge, then avoided checking the messages he got in reply. Shay knew he was in Rome for work, and that Lance was on holiday visiting family with his grandmother. Their chat looked rather sad. Shay had expressed her condolences, which Keith accepted on Lance’s behalf. He didn’t have much to do on his own. People were tiring, the noise reaching the hotel room through Lance’s still open bedroom door. If they were going out to dinner, he really should make the effort with Matt and Rieva. Lance was sleeping and he was sure the pair would let him know if Lance needed him back. 

Doing what any normal person would do, Keith climbed over to their balcony, knocking on the back door rather than going out into the hall and all the way around. Rieva opened the door with a laugh  
“We were wondering how long it’d be before you came over. Couldn’t take the front door?”  
“Too much like effort”  
“Fair enough. Come in. Mi casa es su casa. Matt, Keith’s here!”

Their hotel room was as nice as Lance’s, decorated the same, complete with clothes everywhere. Keith ignore the thin lace thong hanging off the corner of the sofa as he stood there with his hands in his pockets  
“I know Keith’s here! I heard him!”  
Matt was rubbing sunscreen on as he came out of his and Rieva’s room. The werewolf having either squeezed too much out, or accidentally burst the tube. The second option seemed more likely seeing it was in his hair. Rieva laughed at her boyfriend, walking over to him. Keith thought she was going to help with the mess until she drew a dick on Matt’s chest. Matt rolling his eyes at her as he smeared sunscreen across the outline to erase it   
“Anyway, what brings you over? I didn’t think you wanted to be balcony buddies”  
“Leave him alone. You know he only arrived last night”  
“He did? Really... Hey!”

Keith snorted as Rieva slapped her boyfriend hard enough for Matt to double over  
“Ignore him. I told him we’d go to the pool and he’s been acting like a hyperactive child since”  
“Who says I’m not a hyperactive child in disguise?”  
Rieva smacked him again   
“It would explain so much. Anyway, how is Lance? We saw you two left earlier?”  
Keith shrugged, it was really awkward standing there with lingerie just laying around   
“About as well as can be expected. Convinced himself that he needs to be strong for everyone else. He’s worked himself up about being rude to you”

Matt huffed, giving up on rubbing in the sunscreen in favour of wiping it on Rieva’s arm. Both werewolves had new scars. Making a face as Rieva wiped sunscreen back on him, Matt sounded as chill as expected   
“Lance is “bro-dude” for life. He gets the only free passes we give”  
“We really do owe him so much. Garrison is such a lovely town. My boss even let me keep my job despite everything. Now we just need to turn Matt into a respectable member of society”  
“I am pretty respectable... This sunscreen is awful”  
“As awful as those dead things we found on the beach?”

Matt lit up  
“I forgot about those! Hang on...”  
Dripping sunscreen from his hair, Matt jogged back into the bedroom. Rieva seemed to know what was happening here.. he was sure he hadn’t missed a hint   
“What’s he doing?”  
Why was he questioning Matt’s action. He was weird as hell every day of the damn week  
“You’ll see”  
What was that supposed to mean? Matt calling out   
“We found these last night. We thought something had washed up dead on the beach... like a whale or something because there’s sharks and the stench. Anyway, we thought you’d find it interesting”

Coming out with his red converses, Keith could have hugged Matt   
“I thought I’d lost them!”  
“You would have if we hadn’t been making sure you and Lance were okay. Rieva stopped me from rolling in them...”  
“They’re new!”  
“They still smell like your feet! And where is the thank you?”  
“Thanks guys! Lance had to pretty much organise a new pair for me... you guys are awesome!”  
“You’re lucky someone didn’t steal them. Don’t go leaving them around again”

Handing his shoes over, Keith really could have kissed Matt. Finally his stalkerish ways were beneficial  
“I had to stop Matt from rolling on them last night. You can take the wolf out of the country, but that doesn’t make him civilised”  
“I’m just happy he didn’t chew them... Any way, I wanted to know if you two wanted to go out for dinner with me and Lance tonight? It’s nothing special, and Mami is kind of... he’s still processing. He goes from not being able to say a thing to telling me all about their trip”  
“We’d love to. Do you want to come down to the pool with us?”  
He’d love to... but he should get back to Lance. Lance had had long enough to fall asleep and he wanted to show him the smiley faces on his shoes...  
“I better head back, but I totally owe you for saving my shoes”  
“You can pick up tonight’s drink tab...”  
“Not with the way you drink. That bill would be higher than both sets of sneakers...”

Matt huffed at him, crossing his arms and channeling the most “Pidge look” he could... Failing on account of the sunscreen   
“Cheapskate. Fine. Go back to Lance. We won’t be hurt that you’re bailing on us”  
Pidge would have been much more aggressive, with more threats of “ankle biting” or “dick punching”  
“It’s only until tonight... I know he’s been... well, Lance, but I’m glad you guys came down here to be here”

Rieva seemed to have “baby fever”  
“We couldn’t leave him alone. Did you see how big he’s gotten!? I can’t wait to see the twins... he looks so cute!”  
“Careful, babe. Keith might stab you if you make a move on Lance”  
“I missed him! Plus werewolves love pups... I can’t wait to see the nursery... you are living in Garrison, right?”  
“Oh. Yeah. That’s the plan. Shiro and Curtis are going to live in Platt...”  
Matt rolled his eyes  
“They should just move out to Garrison. Curtis is going to have fun with those horns of his”  
Coran was going to have a proper look at Curtis when he returned. Breaking his horn had had affected his quintessence, now he had two... It was science and quintessence stuff above him  
“Yeah. Anyway, thanks for this. I’ll just hop back over the balcony. See you guys later”

*  
Lance was still awake when Keith came back with his shoes. Leaving them in the living area, Keith washed his hands then headed into Lance’s room, Lance raising his head to smile at him  
“Have fun?”  
“I thought you were sleeping”  
“I heard you go...”  
“I didn’t want to disturb you sleeping”  
“It’s fine... they’re your friends”

Moving over to Lance’s bed, Keith pulled his shirt off before climbing under the covers in with his boyfriend. Spooning up around him, Lance rolled over onto his back, biting his lip as he did  
“What’s up?”  
“Nothing... just wanted to look at you”  
Tucking back a stray curl behind Lance’s ear, he realised his boyfriend had a few small grey hairs. Lance had lamented the lack of grey in his hair...  
“What’s wrong?”  
“You’ve got grey hairs...”  
He expected Lance to shoot up and rush to check. Instead his boyfriend nodded  
“Yeah. I look a little older too... Coran pointed it out. He said it’s because so much energy is going into the pregnancy”  
“Are you okay? Are the twins okay?”  
“I... yeah”

Lance wasn’t telling him everything. He could tell. Gone was the Keith that didn’t pick up on social cues  
“Babe, there’s something you’re holding back”  
“If I tell you, you’ll hate me”  
“That’s impossible. Is it to do with the bleed? Is there some kind of complication?”  
“It’s... kind of Coran trying to work things out as it progresses. He said some things, that he’s only guessing... he said I might not carry to full term. That they could be born early. I mean, twins usually are. But another bleed could bad... like actually really bad. He did some genetic testing too... that was scary. A big huge needle right into the stomach...”  
Keith’s heart was sinking. That didn’t sound like something people did when things were normal   
“Was there something wrong?”

Lance’s hands went to his belly, his boyfriend cared more about his bump than he’d let anyone see  
“It’s just a theory that I’m sick because these two are full human, with your blood type instead of mine. Despite floating around in me, feeding on my blood and nutrients and all that, they’re human. But that... could change. I mean, they really should be part vampire... it’s possible that my body could get too weak and start feeding off them... when they’re bigger... My body is kind of unique... I’ve been spending... a lot of time trying to eat as much as I can. You saw me at lunch. I’ve had pretty much no appetite since Mami passed, but I’ve been working hard for them... it’s so frustrating throwing everything back up when I’m trying so hard”

This was the kind of thing Coran should have told him... Coran had tried to talk to him alone. He’d been so desperate to get to Lance... he could have kicked himself. As it was, he didn’t know if the twins were from his weak pull out game or a dodgy condom. He’d never doubted paternity. Lance wasn’t like that... but he was pissed that Lance hadn’t told him this sooner  
“Why didn’t you tell me?”  
“Because... because I’m trying so hard. I promise I am. I have fresh blood brought to me and I drink more and sleep more and I’ve been careful about not tripping or slipping...”  
“Their my twins too. You have to stop taking everything on your own shoulders”  
“You weren’t there! You weren’t! I know you couldn’t help it but you were gone and I had to cope the best I could!”

Lance rolled away from him, curling around his stomach as he started to cry. Keith didn’t want to not be there  
“I couldn’t help it!”  
“I know! I told you to go! And I hate that I did! I hated it! I wanted to go. I wanted to go find you but I couldn’t even be that courageous!”  
“Yeah, well it wasn’t that fucking easy being away from you either! Matt and Rieva got hurt! People died! Lotor is now a fucking prince of a whole damn empire! We were being hunted by those loyal to Zarkon. Honerva turned her magic on Curtis! He nearly ended up dead! It was fucking shit!”  
“How am I supposed to know this if you don’t tell me?!”  
“I don’t know, how am I supposed to know if you run off with our twins and won’t even fucking face all the people that have been there for you!”  
“Get out!”

Lance bellowing at him froze Keith. What had he done...  
“Lance...”  
“Get out!”  
“Babe...”  
Lance covered his ears, shaking his head   
“No! Get out! Get out! Get out!”  
“Look... look, okay. Okay. I shouldn’t have snapped, but... I can’t be there for you if I don’t know. I feel shit enough for all I missed”  
“How could you think I’m not trying!? You left and everything fucking fell apart! I didn’t know if you were dead or had just run off with someone else!”

“What’s going on here?!”  
Rieva and Matt rushed into the room. Rieva demanding to know. Lance was crying on the bed. Keith in tears too  
“Lance, I think that’s enough. Keith never looked at anyone else. He was pathetic about missing you the whole time. If there’s something wrong with the twins, you really should have told him sooner”  
Rieva growled at her boyfriend, eyes turning yellow. Matt shutting up  
“Both of you need to go”  
“Bu...”  
“Go. You’ve upset him enough and I’m disappointed. Yes, Lance should have told Keith, but when has he had the chance? And when he does, everything turns straight into a fight. Can’t you see how much he’s hurting thinking about the twins? I’m upset that you guys would even consider him capable of hurting the twins”

Keith never said he thought Lance would... He was hurt he hadn’t been told properly. And angry again that Lance seemed so ready to give up on him... He’d never given up on Lance. Then again. He didn’t lose his mother last month and have to deal with his douche siblings  
“I didn’t think he’d hurt the twins... but... I... I’m supposed to be the father. All I want is him to lean on me more. To be able to tell me these things, and not act like he’s protecting me by not telling me”  
“How am I supposed to tell you I’m defective!? That it’s not enough to be fucked up but I’m defective on top of it!”  
“You’re not defective! There’s nothing about you that I don’t love!”

Rieva let out a level breath  
“Matt, take Keith and go for a walk. I’ll stay with Lance until he calms down”  
“But...”  
But he was Lance’s boyfriend...   
“I think you both need to cool your heads”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s a shame she doesn’t seem to know Keith and Lance yelling at each other usually resulted in them working things out...
> 
> At least there’s always tequila when you’re thrown out by your boyfie. Matt and Tequila. What could go wrong?


	140. Chapter 140

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith loves tequila but tequila doesn’t love him

140

Rieva climbed into bed, laying so she was facing him. Lance crying. It hurt yelling at Keith. He’d sacked up and told his boyfriend and Keith... No. Keith had a right to be mad, but Rieva was kind of right that he hadn’t had the right time to tell Keith  
“Lance, can you look at me?”  
Sniffling, Lance pried his eyes open, Rieva smiling at him  
“Boys just don’t get it”  
Lance snorted, hiccuping weirdly but she wasn’t yelling so that was kind of nice  
“I really have been trying”  
“I know you would have been. I’m sorry we heard you”  
“I knew he’d be mad... but he wasn’t there”  
“He wanted to be. He really did. Not being with you he was angry and he frustrated. I think he’s beyond hurting over Mami. I know he brought her a Christmas gift. I think he believed he’d be coming home to both his family members”  
Lance sniffled again   
“He was supposed to be...”  
“I know. He knows too. You know he blows up when he gets angry at himself, especially when he had this dream to come back to you. Are the twins really in risk?”  
“Coran made it sound like... maybe. He said so many things and didn’t want me to come back here alone, but I wanted to be where I’d been with Mami. I could still smell her, and I... we were waiting here for Keith...”

Rieva held her arm open, Lance scooching into her hold  
“You two really have so much to talk about. I am a little disappointed you thought Keith wouldn’t return”  
“I didn’t know what to think. I thought I’d have Mami for longer than I did. You guys were gone. I thought coming back to a sad sack of a vampire would be the last thing you’d want to do... I wanted to be waiting here happily. I feel like I let you all down by not being okay”  
“Idiot. Mami was a wonderful woman. She was very wonderful to us, despite us not being her children”  
“She loved everyone... I don’t know if I’m even capable of loving me”

Hugging Rieva felt nice. Hugging Keith had felt nice too  
“You think too much! You love Keith and Keith loves you. You will have two healthy babies and I will be the favourite aunt!”  
“I don’t know... I... had a bleed”  
“And now your heart is full of more fear. Keith’s heart is too filled with fear. He hurts from feeling he is never where you need him. Honestly, much of Rome was very tiresome. Had Shiro not been there to keep him in line I feel he would have come back all the sooner”  
“Keith said you were hurt”  
“Ah. Yes...”  
“I was so mean to you...”  
“I would rather you be you than acting out of sympathy for a wound long healed”  
“What happened?”  
“Lotor went to confront his parents. He was foolish. Though he did kill Zarkon with his own hands. Honerva had already lost her mind, her grief... you know of loss, and of grief”  
“Are you really okay?”  
“I am. As is Matthew. We both were looking forward to being home with you again”  
“I’m sorry I ruined your plan”

Rieva stroked his hair  
“You have done nothing wrong. This is hard. Matthew has a big mouth, but a kind heart”  
“I love having you guys around. I was... so ashamed of myself”  
“Silly. You are very silly. We love you, you are part of our pack”  
That’s not how a pack worked  
“I’m a vampire”  
“We can’t all be perfect. Can you see it in your heart to forgive Keith?”

He wasn’t mad at Keith, he was mad at his inability to just wind back the clock and remember how to be loved by him. Compliments left him flustered, he didn’t see what Keith saw when he looked at him and his big mouth wrecked things  
“I know he wasn’t away because he wanted to be, when I think of him coming home to all of this I feel I let him down”  
“You are the only one who feels this way. You alone. Now, do you forgive him”  
“I forgive him but I don’t forgive me. I know I had to tell him. These are his children. I don’t want to make decisions without him about them. But he’d choose me over them and... even if I’m not comfortable like this, I am so in love with them”  
“You are taking too much on alone. Packs stick together. It’s not uncommon at all back at home”

He didn’t know how to be part of a pack. He loved his friends... did that make them there own kind of pack seeing he thought of them as family already?  
“I’m just... it’s hard”  
“Letting Keith in was hard for you. Letting him go is impossible for you. He cannot let you go either and he would not”  
“Everyone leaves in the end”  
“They have not met Keith. I seem to remember hearing how you tried to kick him out before you started dating and he refused to go”  
Yep. That was true. He’d thrown him out in the sun. Let him drink blood. Jumped out the window to get away from him  
“He thought I’d turned him. He punched me in the mouth and started screaming how I bit him”  
“No one said he was the smartest of men...”

Lance and his ego took instant offence to that. Keith was smart. He was so fucking smart. He just didn’t believe in himself the way he should  
“He’s smart. He can do anything once he puts his mind to it”  
“I know that too, yet he is stupidly in love with you”

Rieva sounded like a mother telling their child they were the greatest artist ever to appease them. He hated this. It was just... he didn’t feel like they were quite clicking. He... he wanted Keith. He’d even fed off of him because he knew that was what Keith wanted him to do. He was trying. He was past the stage of a pat on the head or a gold star, but some acknowledgement would be nice  
“Rieva, I don’t know how to be better”  
“With time. Time heals all wounds. Losing Mami is fresh. Keith knows you never forget but for him, he only found out yesterday he lost his second mother. Give him some time with Matt, and he’ll come back with his head on straight”  
“Really?”  
“I’m sure of it”  
“Can you help me with some stuff? I... I know what it says but I... need someone to tell me I’m not overreacting”  
“I would love to. I love you. You may not be a werewolf, but you are my pack”  
“I guess that makes you part of my coven?”  
Rieva blew a raspberry at him  
“Pack is better”  
Okay. Pack it was.

*  
Heading into the hotel lounge, Matt directed him to bar. Hands on his shoulders, practically shoving him, though Keith wasn’t exactly objecting. Coming over to them, the man behind the counter smiled politely, voice heavily accented, but clearly used to dealing with dumb American’s  
“What can I get you both?”  
“He needs tequila. We need tequila. Can you put it on our room tab?”  
The man looked almost bored at the question   
“Of course. I’ll need your room number, ID, and signature. Plus the agreed upon tip for deduction”  
“Wait... I think...”  
“Keith, let them talk. You know how Rieva is. She’ll only kick us out again”  
“But”  
“Nope. You need tequila. Trust me. Now, go sit and I’ll be right over”

Keith sat, elbows on his knees, face in his hands. He didn’t think tequila would solve his problems but he’d blown up at Lance. He felt like he was being punished for being away for as long as he had been. That his boyfriend was going through losing his mother was hard enough. That Coran had filled his head with ideas... He wasn’t impressed. Coran’s nagging now might be clear, but like... give a guy a break. Piling this on top of him and making him feel that his best efforts weren’t enough. Surely he had to know sometimes Lance needed a different approach than how he’d normally talk. He’d known Lance long enough to fucking know better. Keith could have kicked the table with how angry he was.

Bringing a tray of shots over, Matt grinned as he kicked his foot lightly  
“Look lively, drinks are here”  
“I really should be getting back”  
“Or you could really drink some over priced tequila that we don’t have to pay for”  
“I don’t think me going back drunk is going to help”  
“Ah, Lance is already man. Rieva will make him see sense”  
“I should be the...”  
“Dude, don’t. Look, I didn’t hear everything because Rieva was getting changed and I don’t know if you’ve noticed but she’s kind of hard to ignore, but it sounds like you got mad for a reason”  
“He didn’t tell me about the twins. He could fucking lose them...”  
“Every pregnancy carries that risk”  
“God. You don’t get it, do you? He lost Mami. He doesn’t feel like he’s good enough how he is. He’s so fucking perfect and he’s been dealing alone with this shit”

Matt sat a shot in front of him  
“You sound like you’ve already been drinking. Drink”  
“I don’t...”  
“Drink or I’ll make you drink! Seriously, let Rieva sort things out with Lance. She knows about babies and stuff and she’ll get through to him”  
“I want to be get through to him. I want to learn about that stuff”  
“Ahhh, but we can’t push them out. Now drink”

Keith drank... and things got a bit blurry. Crying against Matt, he was making a fool of himself. He’d hit that stage of drunkness where he’d word vomited onto Matt. He loved Lance. Like super duper loved Lance. Like he’d marry the fuck out the man. They’d have four kids. Get another dog. He’d get his high school diploma. Maybe find a new job. Get matching tattoos because they were that gross couple. “He’d take the bite and be with Lance forever”, loved Lance. But Lance wouldn’t bite him. He didn’t want to get old. How would they have sex? Lance was so damn pretty. He loved his eyes and he loved that Lance loved his eyes. And all of these thoughts were coming out his mouth instead of staying in his head.

Slumping further against Matt, Keith whined pitifully   
“I love him!”  
Matt had a high alcohol threshold. And had been putting up with Keith’s crying for the last half an hour  
“I know, buddy”  
“But I really love him”  
“I know”  
“But I really, really love him”  
“I’ve got the message, dude”  
No! Matt didn’t get the message! He loved Lance. What was so hard to figure out?  
“He’s so perfect... How can anyone be that perfect?”  
“I don’t know, buddy. Maybe it’s time we go back to the room?”  
Keith’s bottom lip quivered as he stared at Matt.   
“I don’t want him to throw me out again”  
“He’s not going to throw you out”  
“He didn’t tell me about the twins... Doesn’t he love me? We had sex last night and you should have seen his tummy. Our babies are in that tummy. Like actual people are in his belly. They’re like cupcakes. I want cupcakes!”

Matt sighed at him. The werewolf completely to blame for Keith’s current state   
“You can have cupcakes another time”  
“No. I want my cupcakes now! I wanna see them!”  
Beside, Hunk wasn’t there and Hunk was a god descended upon them. There wasn’t anything that Hunk couldn’t cook. Again, his thoughts were still being said out loud  
“Okay. That enough. We’re going back to the room”  
“But Lance...”

One moment Keith was down, the next he was up. Matt was holding him up. Why was Matt holding him up? Patting himself down, he didn’t seem to be hurt  
“What are you doing?”  
“Trying to figure out where I’m hurt”  
“You’re not hurt”  
“Then why are you holding me up? And my are my feet so far away?”

Matt groaned at him. They were two legitimate questions if anyone asked Keith  
“Because your feet are connected to your legs which are connected to the rest of you”  
“I want another shot”  
“No, buddy. No more tequila”  
“Why?”  
“The hotel’s run out. Now start moving”  
“How does a hotel run out of tequila? We’re in Cuba!”  
“You have something to drink when we get back to the room”  
“I don’t wanna have sex with you. You’re not Lance. His butt is so pretty. He likes it when I...”  
Matt clamped his hand over Keith’s mouth, Keith didn’t know why. He was just going to say Lance liked it when he plowed him into the mattress. He’d be so cute with that tummy hanging while Keith fucked him. Lance was so cute. He missed him.

Making it to the door, Matt knocked, Rieva letting them in  
“Rieva! Did Lance talk to you? Does he still love me? I love him... I wanna suck his dick”  
Rieva giggled as Matt groaned  
“Help”  
“Shut up. You wish you were sucking Lance off. Did you suck him off? I’ll kill you if you sucked him off”  
Propelled in, Keith crashed into Rieva  
“Lance! Keith’s back! He’s had tequila!”

Lance came out wearing a singlet that seemed to accentuate his bump. Keith hiding behind Rieva. He didn’t want to be in trouble with Lance again  
“I brought something of yours back”  
Keith gripped Rieva   
“I don’t wanna go! He’s mad at me!”  
Matt took him by the shoulders, Keith pulling Rieva as Matt pulled him  
“Please take him. He’s spent the last hour crying about how perfect you are”  
Matt didn’t get it! Did he not see that cute little belly?  
“Lance is perfect! He is best boy... bestest boy? Besterest? I wanna be with Lance”  
“Lance, I’ll never do it again if you take him now”

Lance drew closer, Keith starting to cry. He’d had tooooooo much to drink  
“Babe... I’m not mad. Not at you. Not really, I love you, Keith”  
Opening his arms, Keith dove straight in for the hug  
“I love you, too!”  
Chuckling, Lance kissed his cheek  
“I’ve got him, guys. Thanks. And thanks for the talk, Rieva. I really did need it”  
“You’re most welcome. Seeing dinner won’t be happening, we’ll come see you for breakfast”  
“Sounds good. Thanks. Matt, no more tequila for Keith”  
“I learned my lesson. I was trying to make him feel better then he started talking about sex... He’s so happy about becoming a dad. Take care of him”

Rieva and Matt left. Lance dragging him into their bedroom. Sitting him on the end of the bed, his boyfriend started undressing him  
“What are you doing?”  
Lance chuckled at him  
“You’re going to have a hell of a hangover, and you can’t go to bed fully clothed”  
“But I don’t wanna sleep?”  
“You’ll be comfier out of your clothes”  
“You just want to sleep with me... you looked so hot with my dick up arse and your belly bouncing as you rode me”  
Zero filter. Lance blushed, spluttering slightly as he tugged on Keith’s shoe laces. He didn’t remember putting his shoes back on...  
“Babe, you’re drunk”  
“I know. But you’re like... like perfection. I wanna marry you. I wanna have four kids and marry you and I wanna fuck you until I get old and grey and I wanna have a life with you and I don’t wanna not have you...”  
Lance paused, looking up at him with those gorgeous blue eyes  
“Keith, you’re super drunk. Let me get your shoes off”  
“I don’t wanna take them off! I wanna cuddle with my cupcakes!”  
“Cupcakes?”  
“Our twins. They’re so big now and I missed it and it’s not fair because you’re so beautiful and you’re all cute and round and I just wanna be with you for like forever, because I love you”  
“If you love me, be good for me and stay still and quiet until I’ve got your shoes off”

Keith gave it a fair effort, going red in the face as he tried to keep quiet. Lance getting his shoes, socks, and shirt off  
“Up we go mister, time for the pants”  
Not his pants... Lance was gonna see. The breath he’d been holding exploding out, Lance quirking an eyebrow   
“I can do it”  
“I know. Stand up already”  
“But I’m horny...”  
“I already know you get horny. It’s alright”  
“But we fought... you arse is like... like amazing and all that shit but I love you... I can stick my dick in you when you’re mad at me! What if I poke the twins!?”

He had a new genuine concern. How did that work?! Lance was laughing at him, voice wobbling with laughter   
“Babe. Shut up and let me strip you down already”  
He’d progressed to drunken slurring  
“Nooooo. You’ll see my boner”  
“I love you and your boner”  
“I wanna stick it in you but I want you to know I love and I want to be with you and I don’t wanna fight and I...”  
“Keith, shhh. You’re making this hard. Can we please just get you out your jeans?”

Lance got forceful and Keith was out of his jeans without remembering actually having moved. Wrapping his arms around Lance, he nuzzled into his boyfriend’s bump, Lance placing a hand on his hair as he did  
“I’m sorry I got short with you. I’ve been trying so hard to do everything right and it feels like I’m a bad father already”  
Keith’s head shot up, shaking it quickly he protested  
“I’m the bad dad! I left you for three months! Three! I didn’t wanna but... I wanted you to be safe and I couldn’t even be there and I’m like the worst boyfriend in the world and you should be yelling at me but they’re my twins too and I want to know and I want to hold them already and I don’t want something bad to happen to them and I don’t want to lose you and...”  
“I’ve been trying really hard. Doing everything I’m told... I know I broke your heart giving up...”

That was right. He was mad. Lance decided all these things on his own! He wouldn’t just let Lance leave him. He was his boyfriend. His. He’d licked him and that made him his! No backsies or swapsies  
“You’re an arsehole and liar! I really love and you doubted me! You said you wouldn’t leave me...”  
“Keith, I had no word from you for a month. I was hardly that fun to be around before...”  
“It’s not about always having fun! It’s about me! I want you”  
“I know. I know. I really am sorry”  
Keith pouted  
“How sorry?”  
“So sorry that I’m going to put you to bed without taking advantage of that dick of yours”  
“But I wanna watch your belly”  
“But you’re drunk and consent is still a thing, even more so when you’re dating”  
“I consent to you bouncing on my dick? Can I suck you off? Or do you want to try fuck me? I mean, it wasn’t great the first time but I think I can take it if it’s your dick up there”  
“You’ve had far too much liquid courage”  
“But I’m horny...”  
“Then use your hand. I’m not having sex when you’re this drunk”  
“Fine. I want cuddles!”  
“Cuddles you can have”

Keith was happy for cuddles. He would have purred if he could have. He really was a slut when drunk. Lance kept moving his hand away from his chest when Keith would forget to behave. Or away from his dick when he really really forgot he had to behave. He just loved Lance and wanted to hold him every second of every day. Wriggling against him, Lance sighed  
“You’re making this hard”  
“I’m not doing anything”  
“Tell that to “little Keith”. I’m going to have bruises from how intently he’s stabbing my arse”

Leaning forwards Keith tugged on Lance’s earlobe, Lance squeaking as Keith let Lance’s earlobe slide from him teeth, too horny to remember to behave   
“I can’t help it... you smell really good”  
“Babe... I’m not taking advantage of you”  
“But I wanna pound you into the mattress”  
Grinding up against Lance, Lance moaned as he pushed his arse back  
“Stop... that’s not playing fair...”  
“I want you...”  
“No sex...”  
“Then between your thighs... I’m going crazy trying to behave... I don’t care what we do but I want to feel good with you”  
“There’s a vibrator in the drawer if you really need to get off”  
“But that’s not you... I want you...”  
“Keith...”  
“I went crazy missing you... everything reminded me of you and I don’t want to not have you... I want to be with you...”

Lance rolled over, Keith capturing his lips in a fierce kiss before his boyfriend could object. Running his hand over Lance’s swell, he plunged his hand down into Lance’s damn boxer briefs. His boyfriend’s mouth falling open with a long moan  
“Keith...”  
“I love you. I know you wanna respect me... I love that you do, but I missed you so much... I don’t know what to do... if you don’t want to... I won’t... but if you think I’m going to regret this, I’m not, because I wanna be yours...”  
“We’ve barely... talked... shit...”  
“I suck. I know I suck and you’ve been here and you waited and you said you’d been prepared to give up but I won’t let you give up and I hate that you think I could give up on you and I don’t think you really gave up. I think you just waited but no one came and it hurt and when they did come you hurt too much and I love you and I came”

Keith was quite proud of himself. He was drunk, but he was doing the English really well as far as he was concerned. He sounded reasonable enough, not half yelling like he was. He was horny and he could have jack off, but he was so fucking touch starved. He wanted that physical intimacy of being connected with Lance again. He wanted to kiss away all Lance’s pain and troubles. He wanted to hurry up and bring him back to their house and plan the nursery out. He wanted to be dumb with his boyfriend again...

Lance was staring up at him, Keith cocking his head  
“What?”  
“Do you really... want to come home with me? And plan the nursery?”  
A dopey smile formed on Keith’s face  
“Obviously. I can work a paintbrush! Shiro doesn’t let me have many power tools but I can do it!”  
“And if things go wrong?”  
Keith shook his head  
“They’re not gonna... I’m gonna marry you one day and treat your ring right. Your fingering... finger ring... ring on your finger”  
Lance wrinkled up his face as he laughed. Keith couldn’t reply the sentence in his head because he had the confuse  
“Okay. I get it. Come here, Romeo”


	141. Chapter 141

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When the two adults compare taking care of their drunk boyfriends.
> 
> They both regret letting them drink.

141

Keith was tucked up in bed, saline IV drip in his arm. Lance had been jerking them off when Keith threw up across him. Orgasm, puke, panicked Keith. Moment ruined. Getting Keith up, showered, the bedding stripped and changed, his boyfriend was finally asleep. So much for coming back with a level head... Matt wasn’t Keith sitting ever again. Still, he was kind of cute when he was sleeping and sprouting nonsense. It wasn’t even funny nonsense. Their twins had been upgraded to cupcakes... so that was kind of funny, but Keith obviously not his limits both alcohol wise and mentally.

Heading into the living room, Rieva was back. He really wished they use the front door rather than balcony hoping  
“How’s yours?”  
“Had to put an IV line. Yours?”  
“Tequila hit and he’s been acquainting himself with the toilet”  
“Did Matt say much?”  
“Only that Keith was pretty much babbling by the third shot and obliterated by the 5th shot...”  
“Surprised he made it that long... Am I... I did this, didn’t I?”  
“Matt did. He wasn’t supposed to take Keith drinking while Keith was upset”  
“Keith was upset because of me”

They’d got a lot done with Keith and Matt gone. He’d drafted his will, two copies, one in case Keith didn’t come back, which was now shredded, the other Rieva acted as his witness for. He didn’t have much, but if something happened he wanted Keith and the twins to be provided for. Everything but the coffee machine left to his boyfriend, which went to Pidge as a joke. Keith would decide how to split his assets and if there was something in particular their two best friends wanted Lance was confident Keith would let them take it. Shiro and Curtis to raise their twins if something happened. He hadn’t told Keith, because Keith didn’t want to think about things going wrong. He had a copy of his mother’s will, she’d tried to leave him things but he knew his siblings would contest it. The one thing he knew Luis would want would be Mami’s wedding and engagement ring set, to pass on. He’d slipped it off her finger before they flew back to America, then slid it back on at the service. Even if Luis wanted it, it was where it belonged. Where their Papi had slid it into place all those decades ago.

“Keith was upset because you’ve barely had time to talk about anything properly. Matt did mention you may wish to avoid the hotel lounge. Keith got a bit vocal about your sex life”  
Lance groaned. Drunk Keith was a slut. Matt should have known better  
“He’s lucky he doesn’t have alcohol poisoning... He’s also lucky Coran sent me back with extra medical supplies. Grab an IV bag if Matt needs one”  
Rieva shrugged a shoulder  
“He can suffer. I expected more maturity”  
“I don’t know... Pidge turns to alcohol to solve all her problems”  
“Yes, well. I only popped over to see how you were handling Keith. I can smell vomit in the air”  
“Puked all over me. Gotta admit, as gross as it was, it was nice to not be the one throwing up all the time”

Not that Lance wanted to see Keith throwing up. He was pissed at Matt for letting Keith get into this state. Rieva was lucky he could see her and only smell Matt. His ego wanted to punch their friend in the face. Rieva screwed her nose up at his words  
“At least mine made it to the bathroom. My plans for a swim are cancelled. Shall I pick you up something for dinner?”  
“Yeah. That’d actually be great. Keith’s going to need food to soak up all the alcohol in his system. He still smells like a walking tequila bottle”  
“He’ll be feeling it tomorrow. Alright, I’ll pop back soon. You should try rest too. You’re looking a little washed out”  
“Try washing Keith when he’s crying, apologising, and groping me all at the same time”  
“Nope. That’s a hard pass. I really am sorry for Matt’s actions”  
“It’s fine. I totally owe you for today, so I’ll call it even”  
“On the plus side, Coran’s fitting the drinks bill...”

He didn’t see that as a plus side. He’d have to pay something towards the room tab before they checked out. The rooms were something like $350 a night and he’d already been there twoish months... or was it three? He didn’t quite know where Keith got three months from. Maybe drunk Keith would tell him?  
“... anyway, I’ll see you soon!”

Rieva was back out the window and across the next balcony before Lance could sigh. They were going to get busted for it. All it’d take was someone looking up and opening their big mouths over it. Just another reason why supernaturals shouldn’t be mixing with humans.

Heading back to Keith, his boyfriend was still in the same position Lance had left him in. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he placed his hand on Keith’s hair, letting the soft locks flop over his fingers. He didn’t know what Keith was thinking. Him taking the bite? What kind of crap was that? Keith would probably die before turning. If he turned, he’d have none of the benefits that came with turning young. He was trying to sign up for a life he knew wasn’t as glamorous as Hollywood made believe. He wasn’t going to take Keith’s warmth from him. He wasn’t going to curse him to their weird life. He loved his breathing happy human boyfriend. The feel of his strong heartbeat. The softness of Keith’s warmth as if cocooned around him. His scent. His smile. His ability to function without coffee. Humans were fragile, but he wouldn’t let Keith take the bite. One lifetime with Human Keith was as good as a million with vampire Keith who risked insanity and the troubles of ego. The constant risk of blood borne infection. Their egos might not even get along. Keith’s might outright reject the parts of him he’d liked as a human, and Lance might never recover from the guilt he knew would come if he turned him.

Stroking Keith’s hair, he wished they’d stay like this. Together. He shouldn’t have kept things from Keith, but Keith severely miscalculated how low Lance was. He’d barely started recovering when Mami passed. Yeah, he knew Keith hadn’t had a fun time, but... yeah. He’d fucked things up. The pat on the head and the reassurance he craved came from Rieva. She’d gone to get herself a glass of water from the kitchenette, seeing all the injections and stuff Coran had him taking on top of fresh blood, that he now definitely assumed had been cut off thanks to Keith coming, though feeding from Keith was dangerous. A full feed would leave him weak, his body not able to keep up with his desires to feed Lance as much as he needed. He supposed vampires would simply call in pets to entertain other breeders, that wasn’t what he wanted at all. Love was worth more than blood. Could a human not love a vampire? Or was Keith struggling with the idea of mortality?

Then there was what he’d said. Marriage. Um. Lance wasn’t in a rush. He didn’t feel he had to be married to be with Keith. It went against his romantic heart, but he also didn’t want an engagement ring out of duty. Things like marriage should wait. They hadn’t been together a year, rushing to sign up for the rest of their lives without ironing out the teething problems asked for trouble. Werewolves were different with their concept of marriage. Vampires different again. Vampires generally didn’t marry humans. Humans were generally only ever pets. Keith was not his pet. Did Keith not see them as partners? Did he really see Lance as out of reach permanently if he didn’t take the bite? He hated the thought. The thought he’d drifted so far away from being human in his boyfriend’s eyes. Why couldn’t what they’d had and would have be enough?

*  
Falling asleep against Keith, Rieva woke him gently. Matt hanging back, looking like shit  
“I’ve brought dinner up if you’d like to join us”  
It was food time already? His nap schedule ruined, and his body making it’s dislike known. He’d barely had anything to drink either. One day back with Keith and he acting like a kid  
“Yeah... smells good”  
“Chicken and rice. Extra for Keith”  
“Thanks. I’ll give you the money...”  
“We already decided we’re even. I know I told you to nap, yet, I can’t say you seem too rested”  
“I got too caught up in taking care of him that I might have forgotten to eat”

Rieva took him by the arm, pulling Lance off Keith who whined in his sleep, patting around for him. Leaning back, Lance kissed Keith’s cheek, his boyfriend’s breath hideous, but trying to brush Keith’s teeth didn’t exactly work when his boyfriend wanted to suck on the toothbrush  
“Babe, you awake?”  
“Ngggh...”  
Nope. He needed sleep. The more sleep the better. He was going to be hung over as fuck  
“You just sleep. I’ll be back soon”  
“Unmg”  
“I know. You regret your life choices. It’s okay, just sleep it off”  
“Mhndssf”  
“I love you, too”

The three of them left Keith sleeping, Matt throwing himself down on the sofa with such force Lance was worried it was about to break  
“I’m amazed you speak drunken Keith. He stopped making sense to me”  
Lance shook his head  
“Thanks for that. I don’t, and I don’t appreciate you getting him drunk”  
“Trust me, dude. No more tequila for him. no mas tequila”  
Matt’s Spanish was like nails on a chalk board, making him cringe. He’d even thrown in a very bad Spanish accent trying to sell the three words  
“Did he try hitting on you? He’s a slut when he’s drunk”  
“No. That would have been easier to deal with. It was all “I love Lance!”. “Lance likes it when I hold hips down and fuck him!”. “Lance is perfection!”. “Lance is life!”. I want my cupcakes!””

Lance groaned. He’d never be able to face any of the hotel staff again  
“You shouldn’t have taken him drinking...”  
“I know! He just seemed like he needed to let loose”  
There was any number of things Matt could have taken Keith off and done...  
“Then take him for Karaoke. Give him like two shots and he’ll get up there... Do you have any idea what he’s been saying?”  
“That he’s serious about being with you?”  
“That the wants to be bitten”  
“Ah. He’ll get over that”  
Matt waved it off dismissively  
“That doesn’t seem like something he’ll just get over, Matt”  
Not when Keith had this idea of forever being unnaturally long  
“He had something like 8 shots. He won’t remember”  
“That’s beside the point because I remember. Couldn’t you have picked something else to talk about?”  
“Trust me, I tried”

Rieva interrupted the pair of them  
“Aaaaaanyway, Lance, you need to eat. One full blood bag and your food”  
“I will”  
“You’ll do it now or you’ll forget”  
“I don’t forget. It’d be so much easier if I did”  
“I don’t care for your excuses, eat, now”  
He wasn’t trying to make excuses. He’d come out to eat with his... pack. He was just trying to learn about what Keith had said while drunk. Not putting off eating. This was why he had a hard time accepting the help of his friends because, despite wanting the best for him, he now felt slightly smothered.

Thanks to the feeling of being smothered, Lance was distant through dinner. Before he knew what happened he found his plate emptied. Matt and Rieva also having finished eating, with Matt looking too well after the greasy chicken  
“If you’re going to puke, please try to make it to the bathroom”

The scent of Keith’s vomit was bad enough. He didn’t need Matt puking, he was liable to start vomiting at any moment as it was. The chicken looked good, tasted good, but the amount of oil coupled with the scent was definitely not good.

Matt nodded, chicken bone still his mouth  
“I think I’m going to eat and run before you start sucking down that blood”  
“Matthew!”  
Matt shrugged  
“He said to go if I’m feeling sick, I’m feeling sick, take care of meeee”  
Eh. Close enough. He had Keith to nurse as it was  
“I’m sorry, Lance. Matt’s banned from drinking until we get home”  
Good luck with that one. Matt not drinking was like Keith not having coffee. If he wanted to drink, he would. That was just how Matt was  
“What? Babe. Nooooo”  
“You should have thought about that before you ruined our plans. You reap what you sow”  
“Lance, please tell me we’re on the first plane out of here tomorrow”

He got it. He was interrupting their lives. Yep. He knew it. Rieva and Matt should be back in America. He’d lasted long enough on his own. He could manage  
“You guys can go if you really want to, but I want to spend some more time here”  
Rieva elbowed Matt  
“Lance, we’re not leaving until you are ready”  
Open wound. Pour in salt. Bam. Same feeling as what he felt at Rieva mothering him  
“I’ll think about it some more. Thanks for the help earlier. It felt good to get things organised”  
“You’re very welcome. Don’t stay up too late”

That meant no walk along the beach alone at night. Too bad for Rieva that he was going to. Lance supposed it was a bit weird, but to him it was like a treat for making it through the day. He could walk the beach, swim if he felt like it, breathe in the salt air and just let go  
“Alright. Off you both go. I’ll take care of the clean up”

He’d said alright. Not that he’d promised to. It’d been far too long since he’d been swimming and he’d always loved the water. Going home meant returning to dry inland heat and not a pool in sight. Why couldn’t people just trust him to make the choices that made him happy and his head less busy? No one bothered him. He bothered no one. He always dressed warmly enough... He’d wake Keith up and let him know before he went. No one could be mad at him for that. This was why he’d been keeping so much to himself. Because he knew his mental health was being a little shit and his ego a flaring arsehole. He’d asked for time, not for love to be shoved down his throat at the first possible instance until it choked him.


	142. Chapter 142

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super super heavy convo ahead... like talking, talking, and more talking.

142

Keith was still drunk. Waking his boyfriend, Keith squinted at the world with a pained groan. Lance having taken the cannula out so Keith couldn’t hurt himself with it. Seeing their big blow up had been about 1pm, Matt had brought Keith back about 3pm, and they’d had dinner at 7:30pm, his boyfriend had had about 4 and a half hours sleep when Lance woke him up at 8:30pm after watching Keith sleep and staying close in case of nightmare. Lance wanted him to fall back to sleep while he went for his walk, but then Keith latched on, arms around his waist, face pushed up against Lance’s belly, and shook his head. Lance found he didn’t really mind if it was Keith joining him. His boyfriend wouldn’t push, even if he needed those little pushes to keep working on his mental health. Keith had been so hurt to learn Miriam passed suddenly, and he’d blown up. A walk along the beach sounded like what they needed, especially when Lance liked to be gone for hours at a time.

Bundling Keith up, Keith’s walk was more a stagger. Normally Lance would nap longer and go later, but with Keith around he had think of him first. Instead of holding hands, they had their arms around each other’s waists. Keith leaning into him, both carrying their shoes   
“Babe, if you want to go back, it’s okay”  
“Nah... Fresh air is supposed to be good”  
“Mmm, but maybe when you’re not drunk”  
“I only had... I think... 9 shots...”  
“You should be black out passed out then”  
“But then I’d miss seeing you... I love you”  
“I know you do”  
“I didn’t mean to get so drunk, but... Mami’s gone and I don’t know what to do without her”

Keith had such a soft heart   
“She loved you. She was so proud of you. I can say that because she told me at least a dozen times and would always ask if I’d heard from you and how you were and what you were up to”  
“I’m sorry I couldn’t talk much in Rome. It was fucking bullshit! All fucking day going over the same shit again and again and sitting there listening, over and over and over. I was going insane. It was like... if they could just meet you. None of their holier than pious bullshit about all vampires being human enemies. It was like, I wanted to hit them all. You were so brave and they were like “Your opinion doesn’t count! You knocked him up! You betrayed our holier than thou ancient institution. Fuck them. You’re like the best man out of all us”

Keith was drunk enough to let these things slide off his tongue, and sobering up enough to groan at his voice getting louder  
“How... did you... convince them that...”  
Keith shook his head at Lance’s hesitant question   
“Allura. She got so super angry that they couldn’t do anything. She like laid out all the facts about you how you’d never drunk from a living person and how you worked helping people and how I’m the reason you turned and how if they took my soulmate away, VOLTRON would no longer cooperate and how they’d lose peace with the covens and packs and basically I was terrified of her”  
She’d do that for him?  
“No way...”  
“Yes way. We love you, you idiot crumpet. Even Matt and Rieva came back. They gathered the others when we had to go rescue stupid Loturd”

Now they were getting closer to Keith finally telling him everything that happened, instead of him telling him in pieces   
“How did that happen?”  
“Well because Sendak was dead all these vampires started playing up in Zarkon’s territory. Like, he must have sent word about his return then didn’t come back and Lotor went ahead and promptly got himself in trouble. Then Matt and Rieva rallied their allies like Rieva’s mum and dad are hella connected. Like way too connected and we couldn’t just fly up there so we had make our way up all sneaky sneaky, and I kept wanting to go home, but I had to be a good person. My head hurts thinking about it. It was like total shit”

And there keith went. Walking straight for the goal, only to veer off at the last moment, literally. His boyfriend nearly falling over gesturing wildly with his free arm  
“Okay. Okay, calm down. It sucked”  
“It did! Mum had to do Blade stuff and she came late. And like, we had a whole bunch of us. James and the wolf pack like really like Matt”  
“You’re saying “like” an awful lot”  
“I like you...”  
Lance could have facepalmed. Still, Keith being rude and angry was proving to remind him of all the things he loved about his little anger loaf  
“I like you, too. What happened next?”  
“That fucktard, hear that Lotor, you’re a fuck-knuckle! Well he got on the bad side of mum and dad evil. Allura went and introduced herself and us, you know how she is, no one can’t love Allura. She’s like the bomb. You should have Zarkon’s mansion. It was like... huge... So we had to find him and the others and like Ezor was pissed. Zethrid kept making jokes... she was disappointed you weren’t there... and she kept touching my hair. I don’t like it”

Lance sighed to himself. Maybe this was a conversation for him and “sober Keith” to have. Because right now, nothing made any sense. How did they get in if they had all these people? How did they get Lotor out? Where was Honerva? Was Lotor okay? Was he now ruling Zarkon’s territory? And what happened to Allura? Was her heart broken all over again. He sincerely hoped not. Allura was like a sister to him. Her happiness well and truly deserved ten times over. Keith gesturing wildly again had Lance pulling him up tighter  
“Babe, you need to calm...”  
Keith cut him off with a very frustrated groan   
“Then when we do get out, that Zarkon decides he’s gonna kill Lotor, and Lotor’s like “ya’ll never loved my arsehole as it was”. Fucker threw me off the balcony like I was nothing when I tried to stab him. Fucking busted my ribs up and then I was saved by James! James! He was all like “you could take a lesson from your boyfriend”. Wanker. Managed to shoot Zarkon but he didn’t care”

Maybe he should have been recording this? No. It was probably safer not to. Keith would feel utterly humiliated, instead of lovingly teased, even if Lance was the only one to ever hear the recording. Keeping calm, he tried not to let his heart hurt as much as it did that Keith gotten himself hurt again  
“Sounds like a lot happened”  
His boyfriend groaned at him  
“You have no idea... ugh, can we sit for a bit? I feel sick”  
“You’re not going to throw up on me again, are you?”  
Keith shook his head, with another groan  
“I can’t even remember throwing up... I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have drunk so much...”  
“You’ve got a lot going on”  
“But so do you... I mean, I wasn’t here for three months! Who does that to the man they love?!”  
“Babe, it’s okay. Here, calm down and we’ll sit up here away from the water”  
“Three months isn’t okay”

Keith cooperated with him, Lance getting him seated a little way past the high tide mark. Sitting beside his boyfriend, Keith dropped his head to rest on Lance’s shoulder  
“I feel so messed up”  
“Tequila will do that”  
“I was all ready to come home to you and you weren’t even there”  
“I know, but babe, you know it wasn’t three months”  
“Yes it was. Fucking December, January and now its February. That’s three”

Oh. His poor sweet boyfriend. Keith felt guilty for missing a month he’d only missed a day or two, an entirely different thing to missing the whole month. Gently, Lance tried to break it to him  
“Babe, it was December and January. It was only in January and like a day in February that I didn’t hear from you”  
“It’s three months”  
“It’s two, babe. You didn’t leave on the first of December and even if you did, it wouldn’t be three months until next month. I promise”  
“Then why’s there three?”  
“Because you’re overthinking”  
“Felt like three years...”

Three years without Keith... He barely made it two. His heart really would have broken repair of his boyfriend was gone that long   
“I would have punched you in the dick if you left me alone for that long”  
“I would have punched me in the dick too... Lance, I think I’m talking too much”  
“Maybe a little, but that’s okay. You have a lot you want to tell me”  
“I didn’t think you’d talk to me... it got all weird and shit last night”  
“A little weird, but that’s okay now”  
“Is it? Because... like I feel like I’m talking too much”

Lance ducked his head, stifling a laugh. His ego had really settled down since Keith came. It wasn’t trying to push its ugly head to the surface, well, it kind of was, but maybe because Keith as his calm that it settled  
“You’re not. Do you like the beach?”  
“I want to go swimming but I don’t want to get wet”  
This time Lance let himself laugh. His boyfriend had a serious dilemma with that one. Huffing, Keith elbowed him lightly  
“Stop laughing!”  
“I’m laughing because you’re very cute”  
“Shut up. I’m not cute. I’m manly”  
“Very manly. But you’re not swimming tonight. Not with alcohol in your system and sharks in the water”  
“I’ll fight them”  
“That’s what I’m afraid of. Tell me more about Rome?”

Keith flopped back with a deep sigh  
“It was soooo long. Court all day. You would have loved it. All the legal stuff. They were all like “He eliminated a serious threat!”, and I was like “damn right, that’s my man””  
Keith shouldn’t sound so proud...  
“I bet you didn’t say that out loud”  
“Shiro told me I had to behave. Seriously. Like the first three weeks was all legal stuff and I didn’t understand half of it. Then they wanted to put you on probation again, but Coran sent you into hiding so they were like, he’s disappeared now. Then they were like “should we summon him?”. Curtis had to give the most evidence because he always tells the truth and I nearly hit him”

Why would Keith be hitting Curtis?  
“Why?”  
“He was telling them all the best bits about you and I missed you even more”  
“Oh, babe. I’m sure not everything he said was good”  
“No. He admitted he confirmed the pregnancy. He told them how Lotor tried to say it was his kid, then the beat him up until he told them it was me and that we were having twins. I could have hit him but, he couldn’t help it. He told them you worked your hardest to save him. And that you only flipped out because Sendak tried to kill me. There’s this whole complication when it’s a hunter involved, then there’s this other complication when witches are involved. They didn’t seem fussed that Sendak had Lotor. I think they’d have preferred he killed him. Just to make it all pretty against Zarkon. Zarkon sent two vampires down to give evidence that Sendak was a warrior, but honestly they didn’t seem to give two shits and I’m pretty sure they didn’t make it back to Zarkon. And I’m pretty sure Zarkon only sent them because he thought they’d die. Vampire culture is whack. No offence, babe, it really is”

Zarkon probably sent pets to feed his vampires... Lance didn’t want to know, but he did  
“Did Honerva have pets?”  
“Some. Some happy to be freed, some came back to Rome. Some... didn’t”

Meaning they’d prefer to die with her. A vampire fae was no joke. She’d probably been in their heads. Turning things in her favour. Coran and Allura could definitely change a mood with just a touch, if they wanted. They really were on another level. How they’d face Zarkon alone and survived scared him thinking of the fallout from taking down the guy who was probably the most powerful vampire alive. There’d be so much uproar. So many cover ups. But the Blades would probably be too busy pinning medals on each other’s chests to care about the long term death. It was like an ecosystem. Sometimes predators were the only thing that kept normal numbers from exploding and consuming too many resources. Zarkon would have the “loyalty” of the many, even if that loyalty came from fear. The domino of Sendak’s death had set off the chain reaction that now left gaping power vacuums. Had there been some kind of chance for him and Honerva to change their ways? Or had ego driven them both to insanity with only monsters inside human skin left

Okay. He wasn’t going to focus on what had been found in Honerva’s lab. His overactive imagination provided enough mental images of boxes of human remains left  
“You said Curtis got hurt?”  
“He and Shiro lead a team to Honerva’s lab, with Rieva and Mum... Honerva turned her magic against on Curtis, the demon in him stronger now. He’s still him, he just... has issues”  
“Like my issues or Matt’s issues?”  
“He’s thirsty for Shiro, but I guess yours came because you care about people and don’t like your ego... He gets these moments where... he’s not seeing anything in our world. It’s kind of creepy”  
“I’m sure Coran will know what to do”  
“Yeah. Shiro thinks maybe now the demon is stronger that Coran might be able to rip it out”  
That’d be awesome if he could. Lance wanted Shiro and Curtis to have the same kind of disgusting love as him and Keith   
“I hope so... Curtis deserves more than having his mind under attack”

Keith reached up, pulling Lance down beside him in the sand. There was going to be sand everywhere now, and he didn’t want a third shower for the day... whelp, it sucked fo be hurt  
“He’ll be fine. Hey, can we have Christmas when we get home? I got you a present”  
Lance was caught of guard. He assumed they’d moved past Christmas and none of their friends would care for it  
“It’s February”  
“So? I want to see everyone again and eat lots of food then vege out with you”  
“You do that anyway”  
“Mmm, but we didn’t get to have Christmas... and you were sick”  
“Morning sickness”  
“You haven’t thrown up a lot today”

Cuddling into Keith, Lance kept himself propped up with his right arm. He’d thrown up, Keith had missed most of it. He’d thrown up after dinner, and while Rieva was closely pouring over his will  
“I did, but it’s okay”  
“It’s not. I wish you didn’t keep throwing up. It’s not fair”  
“Making babies does that”  
“But, you’re like, my boyfriend. And you’re so strong. You don’t complain about it. You don’t get mad at me and it’s weird”  
Lance smiled, dropping a kiss on Keith’s pouting lips. Keith would take all the bad bits of pregnancy if he could, but Lance would never ask him too   
“I’ll admit that the idea of baby scared me. Twins shook me completely. I wanted years with you first. You and me, working out our relationship and future, then kids maybe. I still feel like I don’t deserve happiness, being a vampire and all”  
“I want to make you happy”

Happy was a hard word. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d smiled, let alone laughed, before Keith came for him   
“You do. I know a lot changed while you were gone, but what can I do to support and make things easier for you?”  
“Let me in. You’ve stopped doing that stupid smile, where smile through your pain, but now you clam up and I feel like one day you’ll shut me out for good. I want you to want to tell me”  
“I do want to tell you. I’ve been told I can be very stubborn”  
“Tell me about it! You wouldn’t believe someone out stubborned me, then you came along”  
“Technically I was living my life the best I could, and then you came along”  
“I blame Luis. He’s a dick. If he ever wants to talk to you again, he has to go through me first”

Keith might want the best for him, but never seeing his brother again filled him with sadness. All his siblings had been at the funeral service for their Mami. Rachel and Marco both stared up at him as he wasn’t seated down with the rest of the congregation. He felt like he deserved to be, yet for Mami’s sake he wanted to keep the peace one last time... that and he felt ill for the whole service. Death lingered in the church. His Mami was gone. He’d bled. Fighting was the last thing he’d wanted to do. 

“I don’t think he’ll cause any trouble”  
Luis wouldn’t want to come near him now, lest Lance sneeze and magic him into a vampire. Veronica might. Marco... would if he was being nosy... Rachel... nope, he didn’t know what Rachel would do. Mami was the glue that held them together and now that glue was gone they were like a broken book with pages going everywhere   
“Still. I’ll smack him one”  
Luis wouldn’t take a hit from Keith. His brother was hold. He’d probably end up with something broken and suing Keith   
“It’s okay. It’s enough you want to protect me”

Keith’s tone turned unexpectedly serious, galaxy eyes locking with his, flicking away for a second, then back again as Keith nodded to himself before replying   
“I might not be Mami, but I’m going to protect you. I will. I promise I will”  
“You don’t have to be Mami. I like my Keith the way he is. A little angry. A little rude. A little pouty. You showing your emotions makes me happy...”  
“I’m so lame. You sound all grown up and I’m lame!”  
And there was intoxicated Keith again  
“You’re not lame. Seriously, I want to support you. If you need anything, I want you to tell me”

Keith scrunched his face up as if he was thinking really hard. Lance gave him a few moments before nudging Keith, Keith opened his eyes, looking disappointed   
“I think I need to pee”  
Lance let his head drop. Defeated by intoxicated Keith, he had no words. No more attempts at serious conversation until they back in Platt. It’d be easier. Keith would be in a safe place where he knew he could talk freely, and there’d be no tequila in sight.


	143. Chapter 143

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to up the chapter count because the few chapters I was going to write about Curtis’s curse ended up being quality Krolia time and I’m not about to pass that up.
> 
> Also, double update for the last day of the month! 2021 is moving so heckin fast!

143

Matt got them kicked out the hotel. Coran forced to organise an emergency flight out of Cuba, because Matt was a dumb arse who’d teased Lance about being a vampire in a public space.

Venturing out, the four of them were at the hotel pool. Lance laying in a sun chair under an umbrella, enjoying his non-alcoholic Moscow Mule. Sitting with his legs crossed, because his shins had started getting sunburned, Matt had been joking around over how a vampire should have gone up in flames by now, and asking him if he really was a vampire or just a human blood kink. A few people had stared, Lance forcing a joke that Matt had to stop teasing him about that because of pale he was... Still, it was enough to make a few people move thanks to the dumb wolf.

It should have been fine. Matt was only joking, only someone had overheard and it’d gotten back to the branch of SAVE, whom Coran had put him in touch with in the off chance of an emergency, and the whole fresh blood thing. He liked the woman who managed the area, her people came from the Amazon, with an ancient bloodline focused on nature and natural healing. With the hundred other guests in and around the hotel, plus the tourists and peddlers close by, the noise should have drowned Matt’s stupidity out. The noises is Cuba were different. Lance hated shopping and loud crowds seeing there was never a moments peace. In Cuba it reminded him that life went on. That losing his Mami hadn’t buried the world in the dark grey storm clouds that clogged his head. Kids laughing. People having fun. It was nice to hear life, and when it got too much he could always take a nap.

Keith complained as they packed. His boyfriend spent much of the previous morning recovering. They’d gone out closer to sunset, Keith caught up in everything there was to see... So Lance had braved the morning crowds at the markets, then on to the beach to cool off, where he’d got a little burnt and Keith nearly got sunstroke because he didn’t want to get out of the water. Thankfully Matt had gotten them evicted in the afternoon, though Lance was absolutely exhausted... and really enjoying laying out sipping on his drink. He hoped he’d be able to bring Keith back down to Cuba for a proper family holiday. He wanted to tell the twins all about their abuela who’d adored them from the moment she learned of their existence. In a way he was absolutely furious Matt had brought their time in Cuba to such an abrupt end. 

Technically they hadn’t been kicked out by hotel management, but asked to leave by SAVE. It was hard to keep an open secret about the things beyond the human daily life when Matt was so loud about it. Keith had tried protesting, but Ryner, the woman who managed SAVE through Cuba, had come personally to talk to them. Lance learning this wasn’t Matt’s first slip up. What kind of idiot turned into a wolf simply to enjoy night swimming? How did anyone explain that away? He could have been seen by humans. Wolves on beaches in Cuba weren’t a thing... 

Rieva drove their car to the airport for them seeing Lance couldn’t keep his eyes open and Keith couldn’t follow directions to save his life. As much as Lance wanted to nap, his poor undead heart was racing with his stomach churning, filled with butterflies at the prospect of returning home. There’d been a lot Lance wanted to do with Keith. And having sex was pretty high on that agenda. Hormones made him horny, as did Keith smiling and laughing, wearing his board shorts. The way he looked as the sun reflected off the pool, the way the water dripped from his hair... Keith was unfairly attractive in more ways than one. His boyfriend oblivious to the whispers around him and longing gazes. 

Lance had choked on his first drink when he’d heard someone whisper they were going to get Keith’s number later. Yeah. No. No fucking way. Thank god Keith was clueless to their advances. He’d actually told a couple of girls getting close to back off because he was messing around with his friend. They hadn’t looked happy, while Lance couldn’t be more pleased. His ego pleased that everyone found their human so attractive yet didn’t stand a chance.

Still, everything he felt, felt infinitely worse when Lance laid eyes on Coran. The man smiled, Lance threw up in his mouth, hiding half a step back and behind Keith. The fear was ridiculous. Coran wasn’t about to start yelling at him. Coran wasn’t like that. So why did his stupid mind have to go there? Coran had moved heaven and Earth to be there for him. His ego taking the man as a threat as his nails lengthened. Turning to him, Keith realised he wasn’t okay, his boyfriend quick to move to block his view of Coran waiting near the private plane.

Gently pulling Lance’s hand away from his mouth, Keith smiled at him, trying to be reassuring   
“It’s okay. It’s Coran”  
“I don’t think I can go back...”  
“You can. It’s okay. It’s okay, just breathe for me”  
Yeah. Sure. He’d got right onto it when he remembered how  
“Babe, you need to breathe. I’m here”  
Lance shook his head. Keith wasn’t getting it, not that vampire actual got what was going on with him either  
“Hey. It’s okay. I’m going to hug you”  
Why was Keith telling him what he was about to do? As Keith wrapped his arms around him, Lance found himself tensing   
“You’re having an anxiety attack. God, babe. You’re shaking. Hey, I’ve got you. I’ve got you”  
“I... I can’t go back... I can’t... I... they’re...”  
“Shhh, no one’s mad. No one’s going to hurt you. Pidge and Hunk really missed you”

He was leaving Cuba before he was ready. Then again, he might never be ready if left to his own mind. He just didn’t want to... to explain. To explain why he’d needed to wait for Keith in Cuba rather than at home. Why he felt he still needed to be in Cuba, close to where his mother spent her final days. Leaving now... oh... he got it. Leaving now was like leaving her a second time. Leaving her behind here where he might never come back to the place where they’d spent her last days. Burying his face against Keith’s neck, his boyfriend hushed him again, rubbing his back as he did   
“You’re okay. You’re okay. Deep breaths for me. You can do it”

This felt like how Keith coached him through waking up from a nightmare, only he didn’t have to wake up. All of this was actually happening and he was leaving. He was leaving to go back to his old life that felt a million miles away. Keith had been so brave. He’d taken a chance, travelled alone, then made his way out to Cuba all by himself. And here he was carrying on about flying home, with his friends, like it was the worst thing that’d happened to date. Stupid. He was being so bloody stupid. He was 45, not 5. He didn’t need his hand held...  
“Why don’t we get on board and sit down? I know it’s supposed to be individual seats, but we can cuddle? You’re pretty tired, maybe take a nap on the way?”

He was tired of being tired. And tired of his hormones doing stupid things like sending blood south when he was falling apart in Keith’s arms. He wanted his Mami. She’s chuckle at him and ruffle his hair if she could see him. He’d nursed her luggage the whole drive, Matt and Rieva taking care of the luggage when they arrived at the air field. Nodding at Keith, he felt weak. As physically weak as he currently felt mentally. Why did things have to be this way?

*  
Keith kept his anger slowing boiling inside. Personally he considered them being asked to leave a pretty shit move. Matt had been joking. Matt even protested that he’d been joking. Yet they were still asked to leave and Lance hadn’t seemed ready in the slightest.

Seeing Coran again, Keith was relieved to see a familiar face. When he’d flown down on his own, he’d been pretty anxious about what was waiting. If Coran was here then things were okay back home. He’d had the feeling that Lance would be nervous, but not nervous to the point his face had drained of all its colour. Keeping Lance pulled against him, Keith gave a small shake of his head when Coran went to greet them. Lance was so on edge that his anxiety attack could blow into a panic attack with the wrong word. He got why Lance was nervous to return home, he just wished his boyfriend could catch a break from his anxieties.

Separating to head up the steps into the plane, Lance tried to back away from the cabin, and that was why Keith had followed him up. Placing his hands on Lance’s shoulders, he guided him to the back of the plane, towards the seats in front of the single toilet cubicle. If Lance was going to be sick, this was the best place to be. Sitting himself down, he pulled his boyfriend into his lap, Lance starting to cry as he did. His anxiety was telling him all kinds of stupid things. Keith knew as his was too. Stupid things about their friends not being as accepting when they saw Lance’s baby bump. Or Lance freaking out completely about being stuck in the small space for length of the flight. Nuzzling into his boyfriend, Lance whimpered sadly, softly saying “Mami”. Stupid Matt. 

Keith had plenty he still wanted to do in Cuba with Lance. He’d talked about where he and Mami had gone dancing. Keith might not be able to dance, yet he wanted to kind of relive those memories with his boyfriend. He still had to tell him about Europe. And he’d wanted to take him out on a dinner date. Keith wasn’t sure how he felt about Cuba, only that he kind of wished he’d seen more, and seen more of Lance relaxed and laughing.

Despite the empty seats, Coran sat across from them. Lance trying his hardest to become one with Keith. Keith couldn’t very well tell Coran to back off, Coran was concerned for the man he saw as a son  
“It’s nice to see you boys again”  
“Yeah. You too, Coran. I’m sorry Matt got us in trouble”  
“Yes, well, maybe it’s for the best. Nothing like coming home now, is there?”  
Coran was trying. Keith appreciated him trying... but the timing wasn’t right   
“I suppose. There were still a few things I wanted to do in Cuba, but that’ll be next time we go”  
“You wish to go back?”  
Was there something wrong with that?”  
“Why not?”  
Coran chuckled stiffly. Had Matt got them permanently banned? He was going to kill the werewolf if he had  
“Oh, I thought the crowds would not be to your liking”  
They weren’t. Things were loud. Chaotic. Confusing. He had no idea what was going on and would have been clueless if not for Lance there to point things out and explain them  
“Eh. It’s fine. I only really came down to be with Lance, and Lance really loves Cuba. It’ll be nice to bring the twins down here in the future”

Lance whined, sniffled, then let out a small sob in the matter of a moment. Coran looked concerned. Keith kind of felt awkward under his gaze. He wanted to make Lance feel better... without a captive audience   
“Lance, my boy. Is something wrong? Are you in any pain? Shall I take a look at you?”  
Lance shook his head. Words weren’t happening and that was okay. He shouldn’t have to push himself   
“He’s tired. We were going to take a nap later but we had to call you instead. He’s... yeah, pretty tired”  
“Ah. Well, we’ll be headed back to VOLTRON from the air field. We’ll get you all set up and resting properly”

Why? Lance didn’t seem physically... like sick or in need of poked and prodded. He just needed cuddles and love. He needed space and to be in a safe place where he could let his walls crumble and cry his pain out without judgment   
“I was thinking we’d head straight home”  
“Just a check to make sure things are still going smoothly with the twins. He’s been under so much stress, we don’t want anything happening to these twins of ours”

Yeah. Keith didn’t want anything happening to the twins, but Lance was more than the father carrying their cupcakes. He needed rest  
“I think we’ll head back to the apartment tonight and then we can stop by tomorrow. No offence, but my bed is far more comfier than yours”  
Coran laughed at him, leaning forward he patted Lance’s shoulder. Keith feeling his top lip rise as if to growl at the man to back the fuck off  
“I can see why that’d be a priority. Lance had filled out nicely, yet, I still feel it best he spend the night with us, then home tomorrow if the scans all turn out fine. I’m sure they will. I’m most excited and anxious to see the little ones again”

Rieva decided now would be a good time to save them, calling out from where she and Matt had sat towards the door to give them space   
“Let my pack mate rest. He is stressed enough thanks to Matt. He is safe in Keith’s hands, heavens know that Keith has vastly lifted Lance’s mood and will be there for him”  
Coran nodded  
“I intend to let them rest, yet I must put his health first. I assume you two have talked”  
“We have. Not about everything, but the most important things. We’ll talk later, I’m sorry but he really needs to rest”

Keith was grateful to Rieva, don’t get him wrong, but he wanted to know what was happening with the twins and form a plan with Lance about their future, before they talked to their friends about it. He really wished Shiro would be back already. Keith didn’t know if what he was doing for Lance was enough, he was mostly acting on instinct. Keeping Lance close to him, always trying to hold hands when they were in public or hold him up against him. Trying new foods he normally would have shirked in favour of flavours he knew. Making sure he felt loved and comfortable. Letting him talk about Mami as much as he needed. 

“I’ll leave you two be. I am so very happy to see you both together again. I’m so very happy my two boys are coming home”  
Coran stood, ruffling Lance’s hair and causing Lance to whine softly as he did. Keith resisting the urge he felt to slap Coran’s hand off his boyfriend’s head. Lance was his boyfriend. Coran could be happy to see them, but no touchy. Surely Coran could see Lance’s quintessence was unhappy, not that Keith was quite sure what the heck quintessence actually looked like of if Coran could see it physically, or, you know, that Lance wasn’t okay because he was practically screaming to be left alone with Keith.

Keith didn’t want to admit that Lance’s arse was starting to dig into his leg. So he didn’t. He held Lance until Lance had stopped shaking, a private flight was hardly afforded privacy when the cabin was open, designed more on board briefings than private moments. Heading to the bathroom, Keith followed Lance into the space smaller than a bloody broom closet. Fighting to close the door after him, Lance didn’t seem pleased to be followed as their eyes met in the mirror. Cautiously Keith asked   
“Babe?”  
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have started crying like that”

Pressing down on the tap, Lance cupped the pouring water in his hands before trying to splash his face. Things would have been easier if Keith wasn’t squashed against him   
“I wanted to ask if you’re feeling better”  
“Not really... I didn’t think...”  
Lance took a deep breath before continuing   
“It hit me again. I felt like I was leaving the memory of Mami behind in Cuba and it hit me. I know I haven’t left her behind. Maybe a little bit of her, but it hit me that I wasn’t ready, and that if I’d been alone I probably wouldn’t have ever been ready”  
“Mami will always be with you”  
“I know. I know and I miss her. And I know I had to leave Cuba, but I still had more I wanted to do. Do you really want to go back there?”  
Ah...  
“Yeah. You and Mami made so many memories. I want the twins to know all about her. I want them to know she loved them. I want them to see where you came from”

Lance sniffled, wiping at his tears  
“Sorry. Every time I get caught up in missing her, I just want to cry because she never got to meet them”  
Keith felt that way too. He kept catching himself each time before he’d breakdown crying. He just wanted to be strong for Lance   
“Me too babe. I know she would have adored them. Spoilt them rotten. Probably even gotten into mischief with them and taught them to tease us”  
“Yeah. She was always... She was always there and up for mischief. I’m glad she was with everyone. That she saw them all again. That she felt so much love before she passed, but it’s not fair. I wasn’t ready. I know we had scares... God. I don’t know what to tell anyone. “Hi, guys, I missed you but I couldn’t rely on you guys because I just wanted to go back to Cuba and wait there for Keith”... It kind of feels...”

Kind of like anxiety talking. Their friends weren’t going to judge them. They knew things were complicated and knew Lance definitely needed a break. Next time they went, they’d all go. A huge family holiday spent by the beach, where Lance could show off his skills  
“They’ll get it. It’s not like you left them to hurt them. It’s not like you have to excuse or explain your grief away. She was your mother”

Lance sighed at his reflection in the mirror, hands going to his stomach. His bump only slightly hidden by his jumper   
“And what if they can’t accept this?”  
“They will”  
“Babe, I’ve asked so much of them last year. To accept us. To accept I’m a vampire. To accept that Matt and Rieva are werewolves. That I’m old enough to have fathered the pair of them. That I could get pregnant and that I am. There’s a limit to how you can except someone to accept things”  
Yeah, but all their friends were weirdos and Pidge’s love of all things paranormal and supernatural made the transition into acceptance easier. That wasn’t to say her freak out wasn’t justified, but she’d come round, and they’d come round to this  
“Babe, when I didn’t want friends, didn’t think I needed friends, you opened up a whole world to me. Pidge and Hunk love you. And you love them”

Lance turned to face him, Keith didn’t think twice about wrapping his arms around him   
“I panicked that Coran would be mad. I mean, it’s stupid, but I don’t think I’m strong enough to be coddled right now. I think I’m more likely to let my ego slip. With you, my ego has calmed down. It’s like... it’s like I recognises you as an ally. It flared at Coran as if Coran was a threat”  
Keith was glad and proud that he could calm Lance’s ego. His ego could be such a scary thing, so if it was finally giving Lance peace, he’d do everything he could  
“You can’t help it. Your body is going through major changes. Your heart was broken, that you’re alive... it means more than words”  
“Hormones feels like a weak excuse”  
“And how many times have you noticed your mood swings or randomly cried? It’s fine. As long as you know I will always, always be on your side”  
“I know you are. I know this anxiety is stupid. I can’t calm down. I feel like shit”  
“Don’t. You feel pretty Lance like to me. Like the man I love and stuff”

Lance nuzzled into him, Keith kissing the side of his head   
“I don’t want to feel like this”  
“It’ll pass”  
“It feels as if I’m going to be all over the place forever”  
“You were pretty scattered brained before I met you”  
Lance thumped him lightly, Keith laughing  
“Rude. I used to be the smart, suave and mature one. Now look at me. Crying in the bathroom. Worrying about the twins. Trying to figure out what to say to our friends”  
“The truth. It’s fine. They’ll understand. We all loved Mami. All of us. We all miss her and you needed to put yourself first”  
“I think... I would have waited however long it took, no matter what I told myself. That’s kind of a dick move. Pidge and Hunk have given me so much... I get kidnapped, squirrelled away, come back then leave again”  
“And things will settle down. It wasn’t an easy past few months, but we got through it together as a group”

Lance snorted with laughter at him  
“You’ve become the emotionally mature one, and I’ve gone backwards. How did that happen?”  
Lance always said he’d had plenty to say, but kept it all inside. Maybe he had. Keith knew he’d changed. He was more open. He was doing things he’d never done on his own before. He knew social cues. He knew more pop references than he knew what to do with.   
“I’m pretty sure it’s because you’ve changed my whole life. I didn’t really like talking to anyone but Shiro and Adam. I kind of felt like... like I was the burden. Like my words were just... empty”  
“You just needed to see for yourself that you’re amazing. You are loved and wanted. Always. Always, Keith”

Now he was tearing up. His boyfriend so damn sincere. Lance chuckling at him  
“Babe. I promise I still love you. I’m crazy in love with you. I know I was wrong to doubt you’d return. And to think of letting you go. I’m sorry, I should have had more faith. My world crumbled the day you flew out, then broke completely when Mami passed. I was surrounded by people, but I... I... didn’t want to let them. I didn’t want to let anyone back in...”  
“I think you did but you’ve always tried to put others first and be who you think they want you to be. I want to be with you. All the ugly parts. The sad parts. The bits you think are broken. I want to see them. It’s not easy to take a life. I remember way too much”

Without Lance his nightmares had kicked his arse. He couldn’t sleep without Kosmo there. He’d grown so used to sleeping with Lance that sleeping alone felt scary. The bed space too big, even in a single bed. The faces of the people he’d failed haunted his dreams. Killing vampires and worrying about their lives came back to haunt him when he walked the streets wondering if he was walking past someone he’d have to one day kill, and not even knowing it.

“I know you do. I know it hurts. All those parts of you, I want to see them too. I want to know. I want to know all about you”  
“You kind of do”  
“Yeah, but, like, I mean, you’re my future. I truly believe in you. I don’t want you to quit your job and move to Garrison, not until you’re truly ready. I think you still need your job, and I know the people of Platt need someone like you watching over them”  
“I was going to retire”  
Yep. Find a new job. Maybe selling his photos... He missed photography   
“I know you’d give up your whole life for me and our twins... but I also know you need this still. I know your heart babe, you’re terrible at sitting still. I’m going to... to pull myself together and support you. I might not be a hunter, but I can help. Even if it’s a pick up after a long night, I want nothing more than to be your right hand man”  
“I... I think this is one of those things we’ll need to sit down and talk about”  
“Probably. I think I’m going to stop practicing law”

Keith was shocked. He broke the hug, as much as he could in the small space, staring at Lance who nodded  
“You like law. You’ve... you’ve been a lawyer for so long”  
“I feel like I need to focus on the pregnancy. I’ve already let it slip for months now. I don’t have repetitive business for the most part, and a lot of what I did was for free”  
“Babe, you loved helping people”  
“I don’t think I can help anyone right now. I don’t think I can stop myself from putting myself in their shoes. When I think about what some parents put their kids through... I think about how they promised they never would. How some couples must have been as happy as we are. Planning for a happy future. Then life happens and things fall apart. I might do some online stuff, refer people to departments that can help, but yeah. I’m going to have my hands full with keeping up with these two, and their daddy”

Keith was no lawyer, but the ability to empathise seemed pretty important. He’d seen his boyfriend stressed and in tears from clients. Maybe he was right? Lance really should be putting himself first. He’d worked in law in penance for his curse... so maybe moving on meant Lance didn’t hate himself as much as he used to? Still, it was a total and utter shock. Lance might come to regret it. He wasn’t in the right frame of mind for making decisions. No. They’d talk about this later. They’d talk about all of it later when they had some time alone. 

Lance booped him on the nose, Keith jumping as he was brought out of his thoughts   
“I think I broke you. It’s okay, babe. It’s been a while coming”  
“I’m just... shocked”  
“I know. And I know you want to talk about it. You didn’t exactly look pleased”  
“I’m shocked more than anything...”  
“I didn’t mean to break you”  
“I’m not... just... okay. Yeah, we’re talking about this someplace that isn’t a bathroom”  
“Good, because I’m kind of feeling claustrophobic and a little faint, and lot exhausted”

Vampires got claustrophobic? Then how did they sleep on coffins? Wait. No. This was Lance...  
“Why didn’t you tell me?”  
“Because I was getting there and I didn’t want to go back out there but now I feel physically sick and locked in”  
“Okay. We’re heading back. I love you, you know”  
Yeah. He got the message, but he’d never be tired of hearing Lance tell him  
“I do, and I love you”


	144. Chapter 144

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I missed bat Lance. I miss it so very much. Lance upset? Boof! You’ve got a bat! Now Lance upset, boof! You’ve got a heat flush.

144

Curled around him, Lance basked in Keith’s warmth. His boyfriend his protector against their friends. Pidge, Hunk, Shiro and Curtis all waiting at VOLTRON for their return. There were lots of hugs, lots of apologising on his behalf. A lot of anxiety over Kosmo jumping up at his belly, his fun son had grown more than Lance realised. From a tiny pup awkward pup, he now stood just below hip height, but was still his precious baby. Keith a little too firm as Kosmo tried to stand up, paws on Lance’s belly, nearly making Lance vomiting, as he had done for the last half hour of the flight.

Then came the trek to the medical wing, too many people wanting to know if he was okay and if the twins were, and Pidge couldn’t stop staring at his belly, making him super uncomfortable. Coran had shooed them off, Lance suspecting he just wanted to have the first look at the ultrasound ahead of the others. Lance so not in the mood for it, making Coran agree to wait until the following day. He was still poked and prodded. Set up with two IV lines that he felt he didn’t need. Temperature and heart-rate taken. Forced into a clean set of clothes so he’d be “more comfortable”. He’d had a panic attack when they landed. He couldn’t find his mami’s bag, Rieva had already taken it down out of the luggage department. 

He was wiped out, but then the others came back in. Pidge and Hunk tried to squeeze onto the bed, barely built for one, let alone four adults, and Kosmo who’d taken up prime position on his legs. Shiro and Curtis had come back thanks to the news of his Mami passing. Their condolences hurt to hear, on top of Pidge and Hunk both offering theirs again. Battling anxiety, Lance mostly let the others talk around him. A few times he’d nearly snapped when Pidge got too loud and Hunk cuddled just that fraction too close to Keith. His ego was being a dick, Lance no longer sure if his ego was making him worse, or him being worse was making his ego be a dick. 

Things were much easier when the focus was shifted from him to Curtis’s horns. They were cute. Not great big monstrous things like a ram, but two black little nubs that went well with the black ring around his irises. Admittedly, Lance was expecting horns big enough for Shiro to hold onto them, and while he could, it’d barely be a palm full... Not that he wanted to think about Shiro riding Curtis, Pidge put the idea in his head and Lance was left to deal with it. He was happy about Curtis being safe and back, but his ego wasn’t thrilled. It very much felt slapped in the face, wanting to yell at them all to pay attention to Lance’s belly because twins were way cooler than horns.

Filling Lance in, he hadn’t seemed to miss much. They’d had lunch at Pidge’s parents, then dinner at Hunk’s house. Shay had come to dinner, and they’d done Christmas without him. Pidge excited at the prospect of a second Christmas when Keith “suggested” it. Hunk making huge plans to make it a “Welcome Home Party”. Lance using his current stay to plead out they wait until weekend, which would give him the Thursday and Friday to mentally prepare for peopling again, then using his fatigue to politely evict their friends group. Trying to evict Keith to go talk to his brother was like trying to pull two sheets of wet glass apart. It wasn’t happening. The vampire could smell Krolia on them, suspecting she was back, and waiting until they group thinned before coming to offer her condolences. Lance had enough of condolences. Enough of the heartfelt words. Each time he was sent back to Mami not waking. To trying to call Keith only to break his phone, and the pain of losing the one person who’d protected him for so long. It was easier with a heartfelt hug and and a mutual understanding it was hard.

Keith was asleep. He’d fallen asleep while Lance was left unable to shut his mind off. Nausea, coupled with stress and a throbbing headache left Lance awake more than his circling thoughts. Flying didn’t agree with him, even with his shoes sprinkled inside with his death soil. It helped abate the symptoms from flying, it just didn’t help when it came to an overactive mind and being squished by Keith who had his hand pressing against Lance’s belly, as if trying to protect him as he slept. Keith was too cute, and obviously relieved to see Shiro and Curtis had made it home safely.

Putting up with being squished as long as he could, Lance carefully set Keith’s hand on his hip, so he could slip free. Coran would no doubt be around shortly to check on him. He missed the way they used to be so close. Now it felt like Coran cared more for the twins than for him. If Coran had cared he’d have let them go back to Keith’s apartment, and cancelled the surprise of their friends waiting for them. He knew it was because Coran cared and worried for him that he hadn’t. Hugging Pidge, she seemed smaller than ever. Hunk just as solid and warm as a he remembered. He loved them too much. The loss of Mami driving home again how short and fragile human lives where when compared to his. Lance had made up his mind. He’d live as long Keith lived. A full life with his boyfriend and their children, until it was time for Keith to pass and they’d pass together. Never feeling the loss of that half of their souls. It was funny how he’d mocked the idea of soulmates mentally, and now it seemed the only term close to describing the degree of love he felt for Keith. He wanted to spend every day of their lives together, making new and happy memories, in a household filled with love.

*  
Feeling the space beside him empty, Keith shot awake in panic. He’d been wiped out from the visit of their friends. They were so damn loud. Not that he wasn’t happy they’d been there to rip the anxiety bandage off Lance’s wounds, he simply wished they’d been there and quieter about it  
“Babe?”

With the light on in the bathroom, and Kosmo also missing, Keith was drawn to it like a moth. Pushing the door open with his foot, Lance was sitting on toilet with his face in his hands. Kosmo laying near his feet. Keith had noticed each time Mami was mentioned that Lance would shy away. That wound too deep for a reunion to be a magic fix it all  
“Babe?”

Looking up at him, Lance wiped his eyes   
“Sorry. I couldn’t sleep”  
The idiot had been crying alone...   
“You okay?”  
“Yeah. Headache and I feel sick...”  
Walking over to his boyfriend, Keith felt for a fever as Lance bunted into the touch  
“You feel warmerish... and I can smell you”  
Lance blushed, hands going to cover his lap...  
“Babe?”  
“Don’t judge me”  
Keith didn’t know what he was supposed to not be judging Lance over seeing he wasn’t judging him in the first place   
“I’m not. I got a bit worried when you didn’t come back to bed”  
“You were squashing the pee out of me... and then I just... felt so blah that I thought if I could... you know... I might be able to calm down... but I couldn’t...”  
Oh. Lance was looking for a little stress relief after their long arse day  
“You could have woken me up”  
“And what would I have said? I can’t sleep, so suck me off?”  
“Pretty much”

Keith’s knees cracked as squatted down, Lance blushing softly as he wouldn’t meet his eyes  
“I’m not mad, and I’m not judging you”  
“I feel stupid... I’m horny as hell and I shouldn’t be, but I don’t know... it just happens. I’m so fucking tired...”  
He looked it too. And was tired enough to be honest that he wasn’t feeling that great  
“Do you want me to get you off?”  
Lance sighed deeply, angry as replied   
“There’s no point... I tried but... I feel too sick... and I’m so frustrated...”  
“Let me help”  
“I told you...”  
Lance needed release, his scent was begging Keith to touch him   
“Not to brag about my sexual prowess, but I’m pretty sure I can give you exactly what you need”  
“But what about you?”  
“Babe, if you haven’t noticed, I love you. I love touching you. Just let me take care of things”  
Lance nodded, moving his hands away to expose the damp spot on his sweats. Rather than wolfing down the meal, Keith wanted Lance to feel comfortable first. Kissing his boyfriend, Lance hesitated, slowly letting Keith take the lead. That he was kissing him back made Keith’s heart flip. Whining at him, Kosmo protested what his father’s were about to do, leading him to an overdue eviction.

Soaking wet, Lance’s wetness dribbled down his thighs, Keith lapping between Lance’s legs moaning at the taste of his lover. Bent over the bathroom sink, Lance’s legs were already shaking, arse jiggling as he rocked against Keith’s tongue. His boyfriend definitely pent, and already stretched so perfectly that Keith could have slipped right in. Wanting Lance to enjoy this, he also was aware that Lance was on edge. That he was exhausted and needed sleep, cutting Keith’s fun short as he rose to his feet, meeting eyes with Lance in the bathroom mirror  
“You ready?”  
“Mhmm... I tried... but... my fingers couldn’t reach...”

Shit. He’d have liked to see that. He loved watching Lance prep himself almost as much as he loved prepping him. Dizzy on Lance’s scent, his boyfriend smelt as if he was in heat, which shouldn’t be possible with Lance already being pregnant.

Sliding his hands up Lance’s sides, his boyfriend shuddered, wetness dribbling down Keith’s erection as he rutted up against him, missing pushing in on his first try  
“You’re so fucking wet...”  
Lance blushed  
“Shut up”  
“I didn’t say it’s a bad thing. Stick your arse back for me”  
Spreading his legs, Lance stuck his ease back, Keith letting go of his side to guide himself into Lance’s heat, both men groaning in unison, as Keith slowly sank balls deep. Bring up his hand, he gripped Lance by the hip with his left hand, right hand moving to grope the vampire’s small left breast. Whimpering his name, it sounded pornographic  
“Keith...”  
“It’s okay, babe... let it out”

Rolling his hips, wetness smeared across Keith’s crotch. Drawing back then thrusting in caused a wet slapping of skin  
“Keith... just... fuck... me properly”  
Hard and fast, he could do that. Wrapping himself around his boyfriend, Keith fucked Lance as hard as he wanted. His boyfriend panting and they’d barely started. Not quite getting as deep as he wanted, Keith lifted Lance’s right leg, Lance incoherent, as their bodies rocked. God knew how good Lance felt around him. The way he tightened at having his leg lifted made it hard to move, as if his boyfriend was trying to squeeze his orgasm out of him as he drew him deeper  
“I’m... Keith... don’t stop... I’m going to come...”  
The slapping grew louder, Keith barely coherent. High as hell on Lance’s pheromones  
“Shit, babe... come for me... you feel so fucking good... shit... shit... fuck, babe...”  
“Mmm... Keith... Keith... nggm... ah... ahh...”  
Lance tensed as he came, clamping hard around Keith, Keith coming just as hard inside his boyfriend, buried to the hilt and panting like he’d run a marathon. Shit... he hadn’t lasted long... Lance still smelt so damn good. Nosing at the crease between his boyfriend’s shoulder blades, Keith rode out his orgasm, hips stuttering yet still moving, caught up in Lance’s scent  
“Fuck...”

He wanted more. So much more. He’d been pent up as he’d watched Lance from the swimming pool. All the little expressions Lance made while watching him. The way he’d duck his head or look away. He didn’t want his boyfriend looking at anyone other than him  
“Keith?”  
Sliding free, cum and wet dripped onto the floor, Keith rutting between his legs, causing his pregnant boyfriend to whine at him  
“I’m sorry... you smell so good...”  
“I wanna... kiss... I feel so... hot...”  
So Lance was feeling this too? He wasn’t imagining it? The logical thing would to be ask Coran why Lance seemed in heat, but his head brain was on vacation leaving all the flowing blood to his dick  
“Let’s go to bed... I want to do you again...”  
Lance slowly nodded, Keith liked to think his was a smooth as boyfriend as he lowered his leg then swept him off his feet.

Laying Lance down on the hospital bed, Keith climbed up to cage him. His boyfriend wrapping his arm around him, as he claimed his mouth. Sinking his fangs lightly into Keith’s lip, Keith hissed, his lips had gotten used to not being bitten and he was reminded of how long it’d really taken to gotten used to Lance’s fangs. Not that he told his lover. He didn’t want him being sorry when he should be feeling good. Breaking the kiss, Lance licked the blood from his lips   
“I feel... so hot...”  
“You feel like you’re in heat”  
“I can’t be... I’m having your babies...”

Shimmying back and down, Keith went for Lance’s chest. Tonguing at the small bud of Lance’s right nipple, Lance’s hands held his head to his chest, fingers threaded through Keith’s hair, hips rolling as Keith mouthed at the small mound  
“Ahhh... careful... still... sensitive”  
“I know...”  
Lance seemed sensitive enough to come from having his nipples stimulated alone. Keith moving to mouth at his left nipple, Lance’s legs tightening as he knees pressed into his side’s   
“Keith... Keith... don’t... not like... that...”  
Nipping on Lance’s nipple, Lance whined, pulling his hair to pull him off   
“Not there... it’s too much...”  
“Mmm... but they’re cute”  
Lance’s nipples seemed bigger, the colour had darkened, the bud feeling bigger between his teeth than they’d had before. Not pulled away far enough, he swiped his tongue up, Lance groaning loudly  
“Keeeeeith... stop teasing, I don’t have the patience”  
“You don’t have the patience to let me love your body”  
“Fuck loving my body... I need you in me... feels empty... aren’t... I... good enough”

Keith rose back up, words falling between the kisses he pressed to Lance’s lips  
“You are more than good enough...”  
“Then... just... I want to...”  
“I know, baby. I know... you’re body is so amazing... so open for me... think you can take me again”  
Lance sat up as he wrapped his arms around Keith’s neck, nodding as he did, Keith moving his hands down to take Lance by the hips  
“I want it...”  
Nosing at Lance’s nose, Keith’s hands slid to try lift Lance by the arse  
“Wrap your legs around me, babe. I’ve got you... gonna fuck you on my dick, just how you like...”

Lance was too cute. Riding his dick, Lance panted, legs spread and tummy on display. Tiny titties red from all the attention lavished on budding breasts. Sucking on his lover’s left breast, Lance stopped making sense somewhere around the time he nipped at his nipple. When his boyfriend finally grew tired from riding him, Keith laid him back down, spreading his legs wide, so he supported Lance by his calves and riding him hard. Lance’s pheromones increased his stamina, he already knew that from barely being able to keep up with Lance’s heat. Over and over again he drove into his boyfriend, Lance coming across his bouncing belly as Keith kept thrusting, wetness now soaked enough into the bedding his knees were damp. Coming for the second time, Keith finally felt a little calmer. Calm enough to pull out and slump across Lance, mindful of his lover’s precious belly, as he caught his breath. Lance bringing a hand up to rest on his head, long caramel legs wrapped loosely around him. Kissing Lance’s cooling skin, his boyfriend still smelt sweet. 

“Babe?”  
“Mmm...”  
“You okay?”  
“Mhmm...”  
“Okay”  
That was good. Good that Lance was okay. The room smelt of them and their sex, Keith quietly content for now... or at least the next five minutes.


	145. Chapter 145

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not chuckling at an emotionally upset Lance... but I kind of am

145

The following morning was awkward. Keith guessed it’d been close to sunrise when Lance’s body calmed. His boyfriend adorably clingy as Keith took care of him. Proud to say it was before coffee. Hiding his rising fears of something being wrong and Lance being sent into heat because of it, the pair of them came out to Coran changing the sheets like it was nothing  
“Shiro’s waiting outside with coffee. Never mind, number two, you’re not in trouble”  
Lance hid his face against Keith’s shoulder, arms around his waist as he whined softly. Keith feeling the need to defend their actions   
“Uh... Lance... kind of went into heat”  
“I gathered as much from when I came to check on you last night. He had a very stressful day, it’s only natural he needed some release of tension. Don’t make that face, I was once a young fae in my prime”  
“But is he okay? I mean, it wasn’t a full heat, but his scent wasn’t settling”  
“I suspect it’s a defence mechanism to keep you from straying when he felt vulnerable. We’ll get this sorted, then take a peek at our twins. I hope you don’t mind, I took Kosmo to do his doggy business. He’s waiting with Shiro. I won’t bother remaking it properly. I expect you both want to get out of here as soon as you can”

Lance had tried to send him to talk to Shiro yesterday, but with Lance’s emotions all over the place, he knew he needed to be by Lance’s side more than he needed to talk to Shiro. Lance having any heat like symptoms didn’t seem they should be normal... though Lance’s scent was particular strong when he’d gone to Cuba. If it was a normal pregnancy thing, then that was fine, as long as his boyfriend was healthy and happy, they’d work the rest out.

Lance started getting fidgety as Coran had him sipping water, Keith holding his boyfriend’s hand. He knew Lance wanted to apologise to Coran, but was deeply ashamed that his body had betrayed him  
“Coran, you said that Lance might have gone into heat as a defence mechanism?”  
Lance shot him a glare over the plastic cup, Shiro giving a small cough   
“I’m theorising that thanks to yesterday being so emotional, instead of transforming into a bat as he would have, his scent called out to you to stay close to him. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, my boy. I’m just happy you’re home with us”

Lance lowered the cup, Lance lashing out   
“You mean there’s nothing for you to be embarrassed about. I thought this was over...”  
Uh-oh... okay. Maybe meddling now was the wrong plan... But Keith knew Lance wanted things to move back to being normal and that he wouldn’t open his big mouth and tell Coran what he was feeling without prompting  
“Lance...”  
Tears formed in Lance’s eyes, Keith squeezing his hand, trying to calm Lance only upset him more   
“No. It’s no okay! I can’t even talk to you and I don’t like it! I don’t know how to feel! I feel on edge all the time and I don’t know how to make things better! I don’t want to not be able to talk to you, but I... I thought I wouldn’t go into heat like that... I thought things had settled down. I did everything you asked for. I did... and I... I tried so hard and everyone keeps making me feel like I’m not!”

Coran sighed softly. Taking the cup from Lance’s hand, he placed it near the ultrasound monitor before sitting himself down on the bed facing Lance. Coran didn’t seem about to yell... He better not yell...  
“Lance, I’m sorry my boy. I know I’ve been quite pushy, but I never meant to make you feel so low. I know the loss of Miriam has devastated you. It devastated me not being able to help you. I think of you as my own. And part of me wished to keep you by my side so I could be the one you leant on. That you’ve been keeping on with the care plan we designed, it’s a very good thing. For you and our little ones. I missed you very much. I only want you to have the smoothest pregnancy possible, and as you know, there could be complications closer to your due date. I’m not mad at you, my boy. Not at all. You’re grieving. Your hormones are all over the place, your increased libido is just one aspect of a whole lot of what your body is going through”  
When Coran went to hug him, Lance sniffled as he hugged him back tightly. Who knew he was so good at fixing friendships? He was better at this than they gave him credit for.

“There could be complications?”  
Keith had forgotten Shiro. He could have smacked his brother for the question. Pulling back, Coran wiped away Lance’s tears, giving them all a wobbly smile. The man had tears rolling down his own face. Couldn’t Shiro see they were having a bonding moment?!  
“Possibly. The twins have Keith’s blood type, causing Lance to not feel very well. They’re also both human from testing. With Lance’s body being that of a vampire, it is possible that things may become complicated. He may suffer a bleed, or in the worst case scenario, lose the twins and his own undead life. Provided things settle, I’m confident if we can make 30 weeks we can start looking a caesarean in case of emergency, but with the best case scenario we’ll let these two little ones bake as long as possible. He’s had one bleed, the cause from stress, his body already seemed much more stable with Keith by his side. His colour is much better than it was the last time he was here. Though he did have a big day yesterday, before we even made it back home. It’d been a long time since I saw two panic attacks like that”

Keith wasn’t sure he’d count the first one as a panic attack. Panic attack and anxiety attacks both sucked testicles, but they both brought up different feelings  
“I wasn’t ready. Everyone’s being so nice... but I can’t not think of Mami laying there when they give condolences. I can’t not think of her without her warmth... I didn’t want... I didn’t want to leave her behind”  
“Miriam will always be with you. She loved you fiercely. She’d want to see smiling, my boy. I had the privilege of knowing her for a long time, and you made her so very happy”  
“I should have brought her back to Cuba sooner. I should have... I kept her chained to me for so long...”

Keith moved to sit on the bed, gathering Lance against him  
“You didn’t chain her. She was happy. Remember all her friends she had at the home? All her stories? She loved you. You made her happy”  
“I let her down... I let my ego go. I let me go...”  
“You didn’t. You acted to save someone you love”  
“I left her alone and scared! I was scared! And you were gone... I should have... done more”  
Lance was in ugly cry mode. Maybe staying up all night hadn’t been as soothing for Lance as it’d been for him. Keith had to admit he’d gotten pretty sore with his third orgasm. The fourth he was too lazy and simply did Lance from behind as they cuddled.

“You did everything right. Mami was loved. She is still loved. You told me how happy she was towards the end of her time. You’re alright, babe. You’re okay...”

Keith didn’t know if what he was saying was the right thing. Shiro would know, but his useless brother was being uselessly silent. Rubbing his leg, Coran hushed Lance   
“It’s okay, my boy. It’s okay. I need you to take a few deep breaths”  
“How can I? Apparently I go into heat?! I thought this was done! How can I be in heat when I’m pregnant?!”  
“I wouldn't call it a true heat. Think back to when your emotions became unstable. Your body sought the smallest form it could, knowing Keith would be there. Your body knows Keith is here, you’re just trying to keep him close”  
“You mean I’m manipulating him!”

Good one, Coran. Well done. Keith didn’t feel very manipulated... He couldn’t help being really horny for the man he loved. Lance’s arse was next level  
“No, babe. Hey. Hey, it’s okay. I told you last night, I’m okay. I’m okay and I’m here with you. Coran can we postpone the scan for a bit?”  
“I want to see our babies! I want to know they’re still there!”  
Good one, Keith. Way to upset his already upset boyfriend. Lance’s nails starting to dig into his arm. Okay. Calming Lance back down wasn’t working   
“Okay. Hey, they are. They are. Guys... help?”

Coran rubbed Lance’s leg again, eying the fresh wounds on Keith’s arm under Lance’s nails, before flicking his gaze back to Lance’s face  
“Lance, my boy. How about that scan? How about we have a little look. You should be far enough long that we can see what sex these little ones are”  
Lance hiccuped, then sobbed out   
“I want it to be a surprise...!”  
They couldn’t win against an emotionally exhausted Lance. He’d been feeling ill before his not-heat rolled around. It kind of made sense to Keith that Lance would be stressed enough that he felt hopeless  
“Okay, babe. We don’t need to know now. Why don’t we have a look at our little cupcakes? Hey, that’ll make you feel better, right?”

Lance nodded, his nails drawing back from Keith’s skin. Keith trying to move his arm so Lance didn’t see the blood, but it was too late, Lance’s bottom lip quivering. Why did everyone think he was the mature one?!   
“Hey, it’s just a scratch. It’ll heal in no time. Think about the twins. We’ve got to pick a room for them, and we’re gonna need like two of everything... right?”  
“Y-yeah... Mami... has gifts for them...”  
Shiro opened his mouth, finally contributing   
“I bet Hunk would love to plan the baby shower. Him and Curtis, and you know Pidge loves to party.

Making Lance cry harder again. Three full grown men were useless at comforting one pregnant vampire  
“I didn’t think about having a baby shower!”  
“Okay. Babe, it’s okay. See, Coran’s going to give you a scan, then we’ll go home, back to the apartment”  
“He still needs to eat...”  
Somewhere out there, some cosmic god was laughing at their failure. Keith glared daggers at Coran who hurried to get off the bed  
“Yes, well, let’s get you settled and get that shirt up. It’d be much better if you were calmer for the scan...”  
Keith continued to glare until Coran shut up. Matt would have been more useful than these two so called “adults”. 

Getting Lance settled wasn’t easy. His boyfriend hiding his face as Coran slid his shirt up. No one dared upset Keith further by talking. Running his fingers through Lance’s hair, his boyfriend sniffled away, making a visible effort to calm back down. Maybe Coran would understand the kind of pressure Lance was putting on himself now? Bringing up the ultrasound, Coran soon had their twins on the screen  
“Babe, look”  
Lance raised his head, letting out another sob, Keith could tell this one was from relief at the pair of tiny twins  
“Our babies...”  
Coran made Lance jump with his enthusiasm   
“Yes! Now, the heart rates are a little high, no doubt thanks to how upset you are, you two keep watching while I take their measurements!”

Yeah. They didn’t need to know that bit. Only that they were still floating around in there. The sight of them would never not knock him for six. They’d made those two lives. Sure, it’d been a complete accident, but the pair of them were already wrapped around their little fingers... The size of their heads had Keith already cringing in sympathy. His boyfriend’s arse was gonna be tender as hell if he was giving birth naturally  
“Can we hear their heartbeats?”  
“You sure can, number two!”

Both twins had racing heartbeats, as Coran had warned. Lance in a fresh wave of tears, wiping at his face as he did. How did a 45 year old man manage to be so damn cute? They we’re definitely going to be disgustingly in love parents   
“I’m so happy you’re here... I couldn’t look last time”  
It wouldn’t have been the same if Keith had been in Lance’s position. He knew how much Lance would have wanted to be there if their roles were reversed   
“I’m going to be here for every scan, babe”  
Lance snorted very wetly  
“God... I’m feeling a lot right now”  
“It’s okay. Sometimes you just need to cry it out”  
“I feel like I told you that”  
“You’re a very smart vampire”  
“I don’t feel smart... I’m so sorry... I can’t stop crying...”  
“These are happy tears, right, babe?”  
Lance nodded  
“I love them so much... I love you so much... I just love so much...”  
Keith melted. He had the sweetest man for his boyfriend.

Shiro tried to muscle in on the free love   
“I’m already the best uncle, obviously”  
“I left... shit, I didn’t tell you... but I want you and Curtis to raise them if something happens to me and Keith... Rieva witnessed my will... Shit... I hadn’t told you yet...”  
Keith had to have a will with his line of work. He hadn’t thought much about it. Lance had been thinking for the both of them  
“Nothing’s going to happen. All that shit is over”

If you didn’t count the fact that Honerva’s drug was still out there. Doses had to exist that they didn’t know about... Rome slightly mad that Sendak had expired before they’d secured the distribution route. Lance didn’t seem to be thinking about it  
“I hope so. I hope so, so much. I just want our life together to start already”  
“Me too, babe. You and me. Sounds pretty good”  
“Don’t forget your awesome brother”  
Keith rolled his eyes  
“How can I forget you? You’re kind of hard to miss”  
“Just making sure you remember who’s your favourite brother when you need a baby sitter”  
“Like hell I’m leaving you with our babies. We’ll probably come back and find you’ve been teaching them how to wield a knife”  
“That’s more your thing. Obscure pop culture references and a decent taste in music is my gift to them”  
“Can we get a refund?”

They all shut up when Lance started to laugh. Keith loved that laugh so much. Stupid Shiro hogging the glory for making Lance feel better. He was going to have to train Kosmo to poop in Shiro’s bed or something, it needed to be something really good to teach his brother a proper lesson. Still, he supposed he could give Shiro one free pass, on account of how mind boggling amazing it was to see their twins again.


	146. Chapter 146

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soft boys are soft. Shocker

146

Keith had a whole new routine to learn. Anywhere between roughly 4am and 9am, the bathroom was dedicated to sole use by Lance. Coran took all the medical supplies he’d sent Lance to Cuba with, and sent them off with a fresh load. Fresh blood in the morning. Shower. Injection. Food. Blood. Nap. Nap some more if the first nap proved unsatisfactory. Wake up for a few hours. Let Lance clean the apartment. Convince Lance to take a break and watch a movie with him. Then Lance would get up again half way through. Wander around the apartment. Catch his boyfriend trying not to cry. Cuddle said boyfriend as Lance mostly admitted he didn’t know why he was crying. Coax Lance down for cuddles, have a few minutes of cuddles, then Lance would remember he was doing the washing or something that required his attention. More blood. Another injection. Food somewhere in there. Blood. Kosmo’s walk time for the group of them with no arguing allowed. Dinner. Blood bag while cuddling and attempting to rewatch whatever they’d been watching before. Bed. Sex. Clean up. Cuddles. Morning cuddles. He loved the cuddle bit as much as the sex bit... He’d fight anyone who didn’t think Lance was sin on legs.

Keith supposed he couldn’t call it a routine when it spanned two days. Lance insisted that Shiro and Curtis stay. Sometimes Keith had to fight Curtis for Lance’s attention as they’d both get into some show he just couldn’t and the pair would be crying as they finished each other’s sentences over whatever had happened. Shiro was getting better too. His arm still cast, Lance drawing a small bat, that looked like a burrito with a head and legs, when Shiro asked if he wanted to sign it. Keith secretly jealous because it was pretty cute. 

Sent out to do food shopping with Shiro, Keith was the first to admit his heart wasn’t in it. Lance was fooling nobody as he sent the pair of them. Yeah, Keith really needed Shiro time and Shiro did only have one arm. Walking into his brother for his third time, Shiro raised an eyebrow at him  
“Don’t give me that look”  
“Did I give you a look?”  
“I know you know that I know you did”  
His brother chuckled at him  
“Okay, maybe I did. But Lance is safe at home with Curtis”  
“I know”  
“Then...?”  
“Am I doing the right thing?”

Shiro gave him a confused look, Keith sighing before continuing   
“I mean. I don’t know how to help him. I don’t know if I am helping him. He lost his mum and I wasn’t there”  
“Ah”  
“Ah” didn’t give him the answer he was looking for  
“That’s all you’ve got to say?”  
“No. I mean. I don’t know what to say or do for him either. Krolia wants to see you both. Lance mentioned he’d picked up on her scent”  
“I don’t know if waving my living mum in front of his face is the best idea”  
“I think trying to protect him is only going to make things worse. You know how he is. He craves normality”  
“He’s grieving”  
“And we can’t take that pain from him. I know it’s not the happy reunion you planned”  
“No. I was supposed to go home to both of them. I feel like I failed Mami”

Hugging him in the middle of the shopping isle, Shiro knew how to make a scene  
“You didn’t fail either of them. I heard you crying the night before last. I know you want to help Lance, but I’m worried about you too, kiddo”  
He was crying, but not for the reason Shiro thought. Lance had turned on him. Tickling him ruthlessly when he suggested Kosmo sleep on the floor  
“I’m doing better than he is”  
“I know you’re strong, but Mami... well, she was a hell of a woman. She instantly accepted you. Loved you. Helped you heal and let Krolia in. She was a big part of your life for the time you knew her. I know you’re taking things hard, but you guys don’t have to do it alone. I was relieved that Lance wanted us there”

Keith was shocked. Kind of annoyed, if he was being honest. He’d wanted to spend the few days at the apartment having some private time to talk and plan things  
“Oop. I’ve stepped on a mine, haven’t I?”  
“No. I mean. Yeah, but no. He stopped asking about Rome. I got kind of drunk in Cuba with Matt, and I know I told him something, but I can’t remember what”  
“Matt called to tell me. He said you managed to embarrass him with your love for Lance”

Keith groaned, shoving Shiro off   
“I decided it’d be a great time to start getting loud about how good Lance is in bed. I keep forgetting he’s like 18 years older than me. He just... he’s so cute”  
“He looks a little older. Not much, but his face is a little thinner”  
“Coran says it’s pregnancy related. Lance is... too okay with it. I mean, 27 years he spent looking 18”  
“And now I’d say he looks about 21, 22 maybe”  
“I know. I know Coran is the best man to be around with everything going on...”  
“... but you’re trying to take on too much. We’re clueless with the baby thing”  
Yeah. Pretty much. He got all the fun things. Enjoying Lance’s changing body. Belly rubs. Kissing the bump. Lance got the morning sickness and potential complications  
“Rieva kind of said the same. I blew up at him for not telling me sooner... hence drinking with Matt”

Slinging his arm over Keith’s shoulder, Shiro used his broken arm so Keith couldn’t brush him off  
“You had a human moment. I’m shocked. You let yourself feel... Where’s my brother?”  
“Ha ha. Go fuck yourself”  
“Aw, don’t be like that. Look. I’m proud of you. You’ve come a long way, and you’ve still got a long way to go. These things, they’re only temporary. Lance might not have any complications at all. And he might. I know you two tend to pull into each other when you’re hurting, but we’re all a team”  
“Rieva’s decided we’re part of her pack”  
“See. So what’s up? Other than us crashing your sex party”

A couple passing gave them both long stares. Keith could have murdered his brother, Keith pushing the shopping cart forward   
“It’s not a sex party. It’s not even about the sex. Which is amazing, thanks for asking. It’s just that we haven’t had a chance to sit down and get things organised. Lance’s already three steps ahead. He’s updated his will. I need to do mine, but I guess I’m wondering what I even have to offer our kids”  
“You have you. Your kids aren’t going to remember what they did and didn’t have. They’re going to remember that both their fathers loved them”  
“Sometimes I feel like it would have been easier if it wasn’t twins... I feel horrible. I love both of them...”

Keith felt like the worst dad ever for considering it. He felt dirty and unworthy, when Lance was trying his hardest to keep things going smoothly. Shiro chuckling at him kind of stunned him. How could his brother not be taking this seriously?!  
“You’ve got cold feet. Look. I can get a copy of your will from work. Coran’s got us both on leave until the first of March, and I’m free of this bad boy. You’ll have time to talk”

Oh... Maybe. He didn’t know how to be a dad. Shiro had learned along the way, but he’d been such an awkward and jaded teen...

Keith sighed. It seemed like they’d never be done with everything they needed to do on top of daily life  
“I want to get this organised so it’s one less thing to worry about. Lance is packing himself about going back to Garrison. He needs Pidge and Hunk time, just the three of them. Matt and Rieva are almost always around. I can’t kick them out, even for a few hours. Then there’s the nursery. If we have it upstairs it’s more practical, but then there’s the worry of the stares. When Lance gets bigger, stairs... I don’t like stairs”  
“Simple. If stairs are too much, you’ll stay at the apartment until the birth”  
“But there’s sharp corners and baby proofing. Everything sharp is going to have to be locked away...”

His brother pulled him close, ruffling his hair  
“You’ve got months until then”  
Shiro didn’t get it. These were his kids. He’d already started looking up how to baby proof a house and Lance’s house really needed upgrading. June would be there before they knew it  
“I want it all organised so we can relax and enjoy what time we have before the twins come”  
“We’ll make a weekend of it. See. Problem solved”  
A weekend?! This was more than locks on doors and putting the kitchen knives away  
“Not “problem solved”, it hasn’t happened yet”  
His brother laughed at him   
“You’re so serious. Okay. We’ll tackle this like a mission plan. You start making a list of the things you think need to be done. Then, we’ll tackle them on the weekends and weekdays we have free until Lance pops”  
That sounded logical. Keith wasn’t sure how to process something so logical  
“Do we have enough time? I mean... Coran said he could go into labour early”  
“Coran was trying to prepare you so you’d understand if something did happen. He wasn’t trying to freak you out, despite the bang up job he did. No wonder Lance has been so on edge. He doesn’t do well when he feels he’s letting everyone down”

Keith shook his head. Lance was feeling along the same lines he’d spent so many years feeling. The key difference was that they had each other now and Keith knew Lance would gradually settle once he was home again with Blue and the craziness that was their friends group. As Lance would say they needed to take things one step at a time  
“He hasn’t let anyone down. He still loves all of us. He’s been trying to hard and he was alone too long. He’s messed up still, over Sendak. Part of me wonders if he thinks losing Mami was some kind of fucked up Karma”  
“We both know he’d got PTS. The support system he has changed when he lost his mother. I can’t imagine his pain. Not after all he went through. But I can promise we’ll get it worked out”  
Probably in six months time knowing their track record  
“That’s dragging you guys in. You haven’t told me how things went with Coran”  
“Coran is going to try summoning the demon now that it’s more corporeal. He says there’s a much better chance of banishment”

Keith stomped on Shiro’s foot. How could his brother not tell him. Shiro hopping on the spot, hissing out  
“What was that for?!”  
“That’s for not telling me. What does Curtis think? Pidge and the others work on this for months. Does Coran really think it’ll help?”  
Sure, he’d been preoccupied, but this was massive. And massively awesome news!  
“We don’t know yet and Curtis is still deciding. It’s up to him”  
Ummm... What was there to decide? If it was safe and Curtis was going to be happier, it was kind of obvious Shiro should be dropping hints   
“You’re his boyfriend”  
“And he can be as stubborn as your boyfriend when he wants to be”  
“So?! If it’s going to help, then he should go for it”  
“It’s not that simple. It’d be like taking the vampire out of Lance. Curtis found acceptance as he is now. He’s not quite sure how to cope with the idea of being human again”

Oh. Yeah. Keith got it when Shiro put it like that. Curtis found life hard being forced to tell the truth. All his new friendships since coming to Platt had that key element   
“Lance and I will support him. Lance is like best friends forever with him, and Matt, and Matt is far more annoying that Curtis”  
“I’ll remember to tell him that”

Oh, Matthew Holt knew exactly what he was doing. He knew he knew and knew Keith knew he knew, and now Keith was getting confused and Matt wasn’t even there to laugh at him for his Matt induced confusion  
“He knows. I think he delights in driving me slowly insane”  
“He delights in driving everyone slowly insane”  
“Except Rieva”  
“She’s a perfect match for him. He did well falling for her”  
Rieva was amazing. All their friends were amazing... and Rieva was so above Matt’s league   
“He did. We wouldn’t have been able to bring down Zarkon and Honerva without her help”  
“And she never would have learned about her parents without Lance winning Lotor over”  
Ugh. Loturd could go suck a sewer pipe   
“I never want to see Lotor again”  
“Then I shouldn’t tell you he’s planning on moving to Platt?”

Taken by surprise, Keith managed to crash the cart into the shelving. Shiro cringing as cans fell into the cart   
“What?!”  
“Lotor is planning on moving to Platt, and helping here”  
“He can help by fucking off”  
Like he wanted Lotor near Lance, even with this change of heart thing he had going on  
“He’s going to manage things in Europe. As much as it sucks, not everything can be dismantled with a click of the fingers now Honerva and Zarkon have been slain. As next in line, he has a lot to clear up. Acxa submitted an application to be join VOLTRON. Zethrid was mad as hell she missed stowing away in your luggage and seeing Lance again”

The what? Zethrid was very clingy... and very interesting in Lance... and him. It was kind of uncomfortable   
“She can keep her paws off my boyfriend. They didn’t even help them escape earlier”  
Nope. That particular memory didn’t leave Keith salty at all  
“Enchanted chains. They couldn’t use magic. Lance probably didn’t know about it, because I didn’t even know about it. Apparently their blood lines are pretty unique, which was why Lotor was drawn to them”  
What? Okay, the chains made sense seeing Lance and Lotor were both chained up and unable to break free  
“When did you find this out?”  
“We were in the same debriefings... How could you forget?!”

Because if it wasn’t to do with Lance, he hadn’t been paying that closer attention. But... like... he seriously didn’t remember hearing about this. Keith groaned at himself. Moving to clean up the mess he’d made in the cart  
“I’m hopeless, aren’t I?”  
“You were focused on being with Lance”  
“Plus my idiot brother got his arm broken. And my idiot brother-in-law got his curse worsened”  
“And you busted up your ribs. There was a lot going on”  
“I know. I wish I could remember what I told Lance”  
Shiro taunted him in a sing-song, instantly getting under Keith’s skin   
“Probably how much you love him. And how much you want to kiss him. And marry him”  
Ugh... some of that sounded painfully familiar. Huffing at his brother, he had no good retort   
“Fuck off. You and Curtis are as bad”  
“I can’t deny it. He gets me”  
“You’re impossible!”  
“And you’re Keith. Nice to meet you”

Letting out a frustrated growl, Keith gave up trying to straighten things up. His brother was impossible. Why did Shiro seem to have some kind of magic that settled something deep inside of him, then in the next instant he wanted to throttle him?! They were shopping for their trip back to Garrison, and he was taking his task seriously as Lance was craving chocolate. They were supposed to get in, get everything, and get out. Not cause a scene, crash a cart, and leave him seriously wondering how bad it would be to leave Shiro lost and wandering the supermarket aisles.

*  
Click and collect was a wonderful thing. Lance and Curtis hatching a plan of their own that involved getting the two brothers out of the apartment. Lance knew he’d been up as down. Mostly down. Coran, and Krolia, were coming over for dinner, bringing back his things so he no longer had to use the laptop Coran had given for Cuba. He’d been looped into chat by Keith, but that wasn’t the same. He wanted to catch up on everything ahead of going back to Garrison.

Keith would have had a fit if he knew Lance went out. He was supposed to be resting. He’d done a lot of resting. A lot of letting Keith cuddle him, but now he was at the apartment he couldn’t seem to stop cleaning. The apartment gathered a lot of dust, airing and cleaning. Meal prep. Trying to be patient as Keith questioned what was in his injections. Vitamins. Obviously. He’d stressed everyone out enough, so he’d decided he wanted to make a fancy dinner. He wanted to thank them for being there during his flunk. He also wanted to take Keith to mami’s grave, but finding the right moment hadn’t been easy. Concentrating on feeling better and Keith had to come first.

He’d timed his click and collect to be picked up just after Shiro and Keith left, ordering everything the previous night when Keith was in the shower. He’d sent them for things for dessert, hoping the pair of them would struggle to find everything on the list, and be forced to spend some quality sibling time together.

Half an hour later Lance was back in the apartment. Curtis wore a hat to cover his small horns, but he clearly felt self conscious about them in public. Coran said he might be able to summon the demon out of Curtis and Curtis was struggling hard with that. Lots of cuddles with his friend made them both feel better. Lance wanted things to go well for Curtis so badly he could almost taste it. Curtis deserved so much happiness.

Placing the bags and boxes on the kitchen bench, Curtis’s ban had been lifted from the kitchen. Setting down the slow cooker, Curtis let out of a sigh of relief  
“Are you sure you bought enough?”  
“Yep. Keith really seemed to like Ropa Vieja in Cuba”  
“I’ve never heard of it”  
Not enough people had. Lance kind of realising he’d become monotonous with his cooking  
“That’s because you hunters have no idea what good food is. He wanted me to teach him how to make it, but I think for tonight I’m going to go ahead and make it, and make sure he still likes it”  
“Are you sure I should be making it with you? He won’t be upset?”

Probably. But it wasn’t like he was doing it traditionally, or how his Mami taught him  
“Nah. I’ll teach him mami’s recipe over the stove top. Tonight I’m making it a little more mild to suit yours and Shiro’s taste. Are you still blowing up kitchen appliances?”  
Curtis groaned   
“Sometimes?”  
“You can help slice the veggies then. Assuming you’re not going to cut your finger off”  
Curtis rolled his eyes as he hip bumped him  
“I’m not that bad. It’s Shiro you have to watch out for in the kitchen”  
Lance chuckled. Keith had come a long way, but he still had a lot to learn   
“I should book the three of you for a master class with Hunk. Hunk is the sunshine of my life, but mess up in the kitchen and he’s ruthless”  
“I don’t believe it”  
“You should. We had a disagreement over something once and it still haunts me to this day”

*  
With the prep work going mostly smoothly, everything was in the slow cooker by the time Keith and Shiro came back. Evidence of Lance’s and Curtis’s little trip out hidden away, as much as it could be. The pair of them catching up on the soap operas that they’d missed, knowing neither of their boyfriends held any interest in them. Letting them in, Shiro had his arms full, Kosmo jumping off the sofa to race over to Keith, with a happy bark. Immediately interested in the bags of shopping Keith was carrying. There was more there than Lance remembered sending them out to buy  
“Back!”

Kosmo happily ignored Keith. Trailing after the brothers as they headed into the kitchen. Shiro the first to comment   
“Something smells good”  
Engrossed in his show, Lance halfheartedly replied  
“That’d be dinner”  
“You’re making dinner, already?”  
“Curtis helped. I don’t know how it’ll turn out”  
Keith stood on tiptoe as he dumped the bags he was carrying on the bench  
“You’re supposed to be taking it easy”  
“I am. You guys picked the wrong time to come home. We’re just about to see who’s Carla’s baby daddy”  
Curtis backed him up   
“My money’s on Stephan. Lance thinks it Kris”

Shiro sounded bored of it all  
“Riiiiight. So you two had a good time?”  
Curtis answering his boyfriend   
“Yep. We went out for a bit, and now Lance is about to be wrong”  
There went the secret. Not that Shiro and Keith wouldn’t have figure it out when he told them what was for dinner. Grabbing the TV remote, Curtis hit pause  
“What about you two? I didn’t think Lance had so many things on his list”  
Keith mumbled, Lance turning his attention to his boyfriend. Downcast eyes, nervous weight shift...  
“We got distracted”

Shocker right there. That was bound to happen when you left Shiro and Keith alone. Now Lance was curious, Shiro laughing as he ruffled Keith’s hair, Keith seeming to shrink back... there was something afoot here   
“I think you’ll like the result. Keith, why don’t you take Lance and show him what you found”  
“I can show him later”  
“You could show him now. Curtis can help me unpack”  
Keith grumbled, lifting three bags back off the bench  
“I fucking hate you”  
“You’ll thank me later. Of you two go”


	147. Chapter 147

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance has no time for Keith being down in himself. Not when everytime Keith breathes Lance falls harder for him...

147

Following Keith to his room, his boyfriend didn’t seem enthused about the bags he carried. Sitting on the bed, Lance rested a hand on his belly as he stared up at his boyfriend  
“Uh, babe. You okay over there?”  
Keith didn’t quite seem to know what to do. Nodding his head turned to shaking his head  
“It’s stupid... I got caught up and you’re going to laugh”  
Now he needed to know what his boyfriend bought, like yesterday   
“I promise I’m only going to laugh if it’s laugh worthy”  
“See! I don’t know what I was thinking... I’m so stupid”

Lance’s heart hurt for Keith. Keith wasn’t stupid  
“Babe, no. Hey. I’m sure whatever it is, it’s not stupid”  
“I just... it was an impulse buy and now I’m not sure...”  
Reaching his hand out, Keith came over to him, Lance snaking his arm around his waist as the bags were set down on the bed  
“I’m usually the one making impulse buys. You’re overthinking things, aren’t you?”  
“A bit. You went outside... you’re supposed to let me know... did you even need us to go out?”  
Sprung. Whoops  
“Yes and no. I need things for dessert... Coran and Krolia are coming to dinner”

“Babe!”  
Lance winced. He’d expected this reaction. He also knew Keith was trying to protect his emotional state by keeping away anything he thought would upset him... including Krolia  
“I know. Look. She’s your mum. And it’s better we have dinner here than out in Garrison if we all end up fighting”  
“You think that’s likely?”  
Keith getting cranky and him crying were probably the most likely outcome  
“No. But I did manage to distract you. I’m sure whatever’s in the bag isn’t stupid. You’re not stupid. You’re smart. Smart and very handsome”

Keith laughed as he leaned down to kiss Lance on the top of his head  
“I get it. Even if I don’t have the brains I have the looks to fall back on”  
“I’m pretty sure you’ve got both. Now, I need to know what’s in the bag before I explode”  
“Not until you tell me what’s for dinner”  
“Ropa Vieja. Don’t worry, it’s the cheats version. When we make it together, I’m going to teach you mami’s recipe”  
Keith sighed at him  
“You said we could do it together”  
“I know. I guess I wanted to make sure it really was something you’d like to learn how to make”  
“I told you I did”  
“I know. You’re on dessert duty with me. I thought I’d make banoffee pie”  
“Do I know what that is?”  
“Probably not... sooooo, can I look now? I really want to look”  
Keith kissed his hair again  
“Fine... but don’t laugh at me”

Lance wasn’t laughing. He was crying and Keith had thought he’d done something horribly wrong as he tried to pull the onesie out of Lance’s hands. It was their first onesie. Black cursive letters across the soft white fabric reading “I get my good looks from my daddy”. It was perfect. And so tiny... Their kids would stuck in an infinite loop of “Go ask your father”, and it was perfect... and so small  
“I’ve got the receipt if you want me to...”  
“It’s perfect!”  
It took a moment for the tension in the fabric to loosen  
“You’re crying. I didn’t mean to upset you. I thought and then... I can return them...”  
Lance shook his head, Keith still talking  
“... we were shopping and I sent Shiro to go look at dog for for Kosmo... and I kind of just grabbed a few I thought you’d like. I mean I didn’t take Shiro shopping for them. Not with him when I want to do this with you, but I don’t know, I just kind of thought of you’d smile and now I’m making you cry. Have you had enough blood? Did you have your nap? Do you want me to go?”

Lance shook his head firmly as he lowered the onesie carefully into his lap. Wiping his tears he smiled up at Keith   
“I love it”  
“You’re crying”  
God. His boyfriend was so self conscious. How could he not love the twins’ first gift from their daddy?  
“Good tears, babe. It’s so small. I mean, our twins are so small... and they’re going to real humans. This is too cute... I really hope they get their looks from you”  
“I think I’d like a couple of little Lance’s”  
“No. Nooo. God, I hope they have your eyes...”

Keith frowned at him. Everyone who’d ever said anything negative about Keith’s eyes should be dick punched. Everyone who was mean to Keith should have been shoved in a blender  
“My eyes...”  
Were amazing. Keith didn’t fall into the genetic categories for purple eyes, and yet...  
“Are perfect. Like you. Here I was trying to cook a nice meal with you mind and you bring home the best present I could ask for”

Perhaps feeling a tad more confident, his boyfriend changed topic from his eyes and what was for dinner  
“Shiro said he’d help us baby proof the house. If we make a plan, they’ll help. He and Curtis will help”  
Right. That reminded him. Forcing himself to move the onesie aside, Lance shuffled back on the bed, patting the spot between his legs for Keith to sit. Carefully his boyfriend did as he silently asked  
“Babe?”  
“You reminded me. I got distracted and never asked you if you’re really okay with Shiro and Curtis raising our children”  
“You asked the other day”

Lance resisted rolling his eyes, instead he tucked Keith’s hair back behind his ear then looped his arms loosely around his boyfriend   
“No. I had a breakdown the other day and was crying about it. These are you twins. I swore I’d make all decisions with you, then I went and made a pretty massive decision alone”  
“Nothing’s going to happen to us...”  
Lance remembered the days when he was the optimistic one and Keith was “Sir Emo Energy”  
“I know. I want to have these things in place in case of the absolute very worst case scenario was to happen”

Keith turned, moving to rest his legs over Lance’s left leg  
“I don’t want to think about the worst”  
“I know. I don’t either. Coran doesn’t mean to scare us. He knows I do better with blunt honesty, even if I can’t cope with it right now. He’s always been honest with me when I asked. I asked him to dinner because I didn’t want to keep feeling awkward. If you don’t think Shiro and Curtis are acceptable, I can ask him to look after them. Or there’s Pidge and Hunk?”  
Shiro was the best option. Keith adored his brother. Hunk would love their twins as if they were his own, but depending on how “the worst” happened, Shiro may be the safer option.

Sighing, Keith leaned into him  
“I don’t want to think about it, but I suppose you right. Shiro’s going to help me with my will. All hunters have them. It... made me realise I don’t have much to offer as a father. I don’t have a car, I have my bike. I don’t own a house. I don’t have degree or anything... I don’t have much to teach them”  
Lance hissed. Actually hissed. His ego not liking this at all. They’d chosen the best human they could have. He was proud of his boyfriend. Both of them were proud. Keith doubting himself was a slap to the ego seeing Keith was so wrong  
“Excuse me!? Since when do you have nothing to offer?!”

Keith went to climb from Lance’s lap, Lance holding him so he couldn’t, angrily muttering  
“I don’t”  
Lance shooting straight back  
“You do too!”  
“What? What can I offer?”  
“Love”  
“That’s useless in the real world when you’re starving”  
Rude. He had to set Keith straight about this   
“Our kids aren’t going to starve. And you have a lot to offer. You’re smart. You’re brave. You’re funny. You’re great at photography. You’re not teaching them how to ride a motorbike, but you can teach them basic mechanics. I will castrate you if you put our kids on your bike. And you’re still learning. I can see you making pancakes with them. Macaroon one helping you with your bike. Macaroon two hanging off your shoulders as you tell them what you’re doing. Tucking them in. Teaching them to read. How to tie their shoe laces... You think you’ve got nothing to offer? The best thing you can offer them is the chance to know you”

Keith sighed again. Lance wanted to smack him upside the back of the head, but forced himself to listen to his boyfriend’s objection   
“That’s all trivial stuff”  
Trivial. Trivial was him murdering Keith for hating himself, then bringing him back to punch him in the dick. How could a man show so much love and think he had nothing  
“It’s not. It’s important stuff”  
“I don’t... I mean, anyone could teach them”  
Must. Resist. Urge. To. Throttle... Taking a deep breath, Lance let it out slowly   
“That’s true. Every kid goes through loving their teachers more than their parents. But, you’re going to remember all these memories. You’re going to read them stories at bed time. You’re going to show them that they’re so fucking loved. We both know how it feels when the people we love aren’t who we think they are. I was lucky to have Mami. But Papi, he struggled and I felt distant from him as I got older. We know how much that hurts. We’re going to make sure our kids know how much they’re loved and that they can do anything because their daddy Keith had got their backs”

Keith played with the edge of his shirt as he spoke  
“You make me out to be some kind of super human. I don’t have my high school certificate”  
Keith was a “super human”. He was super amazing and awesome, totally radical, amazeballs... like... the best person he could have by his side ever  
“Babe, as a kid, would you have rather be raised by someone who was smart but distant, or someone who loved you and showed you it was okay to be you? You took a different path. There’s nothing wrong with that”  
“I feel like... I should have more”  
“And I feel like with your line of work it was hard to have more, but now you’ve settled down, you’re going to be a total hoarder. I’ll be transformed into a bat, lost under a sea of things, and you’ll have too much stuff to know what to do with because you’re finally living and not just alive. I love you. We’re going to build a warm and loving family together. I love the onesie. I love that you thought about it. I love that you love the twins. You’re going to be the best daddy you can be”

“Shiro said it sounded like I had cold feet”  
And Lance hadn’t? He was pregnant. Him. He. He’d been born without this crazy arse ability. Him. He didn’t know how to grow babies. No clue. That hadn’t been part of his life plan. Falling in love hadn’t been part of his life plan either. Sometimes Keith forgot that Lance had literally waited 37 years to fall in love  
“Literally talking to your boyfriend who’s carrying our kids. I think I know what it’s like to be freaking out”  
“But you’re... you”

Lance chuckled. Keith was a special flower. Hugging him close, Lance nuzzled into his hair  
“The me who’s been constantly crying because you’re finally back, and my heads been up and down, more than you sucking me off. I am terrified. I’m like a zillion other things, but I’m working hard to keep going. You know I’ve been worried. About having the twins. About making ends meet. About you not feeling trapped. About how I’m supposed to give birth now that they’re in there. About how unstable my mood was before I got my stupid arse stolen on Halloween. You know how I keep going? I look at you and think “Fuck. I want to be every bit as good as the man who loves me thinks I am”, because you make me want to be a better man”

He saw the moment and he took it. Keith missed the moment. His bottom lip trapped between his teeth as he tried not to let it wobble  
“Now. I want to see what else you got for our babies, then I need blood and maybe a nap before we get started on that pie”  
“Can I hug your belly?”  
His belly was now a reserved parking spot for cuddle time. Lance had been feeling the twins moving more and more lately, he hoped that Keith would finally pick up on the small movements. His boyfriend adored them so much and he wanted Keith to be the first one to feel them move. The first time felt them move, he hadn’t been sure what it was. It’d started as bubbles, the feeling like bubbles in his belly  
“Yeah, babe. Blood and snuggles. You are going to be an amazing dad. I believe in you”

Lance expected Keith to shine with praise, not to cry  
“What if they don’t like me?”  
“Oh, babe. I’m worried about a lot of things. Like what if I accidentally turn them? What if I accidentally turn you? What if I can’t be a good father? But I’m not at all worried about them liking you. You’re likeable. You’re very likeable. They’ll love you. I love you”  
“Am... I really going to be good enough?”  
“You’re already good enough. All that other stuff, we’ll work it out”  
Keith nodded slowly  
“I’m sorry. You’ve been so stressed and I’m dumping this on you”  
“Idiot. Yeah, I’m a wreck, but I’m doing better... I mean, I think I am. You’ve been so strong for me. I feel... better. I feel safer. And that’s thanks to you. Now, for like the tenth time, can we please look at what you bought? I’m dying of curiosity”  
“It’s not much...”  
“Keith. Don’t you dare put yourself down again. Or I really will punch you in the dick”

He was trying his hardest. He hated his injections, but still took them. He hated how much blood he had to drink, but he still ate. He hated throwing up, but he still forced food down for the sake of their twins. What he really wanted to do was show Keith happiness. He’d even face crowds if it meant seeing him smile... Maybe today was the right day. Dinner was on, prep for dessert would take a little while but they’d have time... Today he’d take Keith to see where Mami rested, and tell her all about their twins first onesie from their father.

*  
Lance had changed. Keith blushing over how happy his boyfriend seemed to be. Aside from buying two bat beanie babies because... well, Lance, he’d picked up half a dozen onesies he thought would make Lance smile... and he’d also picked up some pants for his boyfriend. Lance’s jeans didn’t do up anymore. His jeans fitted, but they wouldn’t for much longer. He was worried Lance wouldn’t like his choice in pants, but he felt like his boyfriend had to be tired of wearing the same sweat pants over and over. Keith hadn’t been sure Lance would appreciate his choices, all black. They’d been an impulse buy too. And a couple of shirts with this weird “in built bra” which made no sense when it was pretty much a strip of fabric with elastic on the edge. They were black too. His boyfriend looked great in black. It set off his skin tone and seemed to make his eyes all that more blue.

Standing in front of the mirror, Lance was checking his curves, his smile goofy as he fangs were showing. This was good right? Lance had been staring at his butt for a while now  
“I’ve got the receipts...”  
“My arse looks great”  
Lance’s arse always looked great. He loved that arse  
“I didn’t know if you’d like them, seeing they’re womens”  
Lance waved his hand at him, still looking at his butt  
“Babe. Clothes are clothes. Too many people worry about labelling things. I’m glad you didn’t get flowers. Do you know how sick I am of sweats? Or my jeans digging in? These are great”  
“Really?”  
“Truly. I’m lucky that you’re two sizes up from me, but pants that are mine... sooooo good”  
“There were other colours... I didn’t want to make you feel you had to change clothes... it’s not weird?”

Lance walked over to him, sitting to straddle Keith’s lap. Keith looping his arms around Lance, really not sure if Lance loved the clothes or not. He didn’t live clothes shopping and he had to guess Lance’s size. He’d tried to match against his size then shrink it down, but then he worried that there wasn’t enough fabric to cover Lance’s bump  
“Babe. Honestly. Overthinking things again”  
“I don’t do clothes shopping”  
“Which makes this even more special”  
It did?  
“You seem in a better mood”  
“I’m giving you whiplash again, aren’t I?”  
Yeah. He wasn’t used to happy tears. He didn’t know what to do with them   
“A little”

Lance snorted at him. Resting his forehead against the top of Keith’s head, his boyfriend nuzzled into his hair  
“I appreciate them. I appreciate you. I’m grateful. I love wearing your clothes, and honestly I haven’t been thinking that much about them. You took into account what I needed. What our babies need. I also decided I want to go out today, if we can find some time. I’ve got something I need to do”

Lance going out still left him unnerved and fearing the worst. Sendak was gone, but the threat wasn’t eliminated. All it took was the wrong person to see him and trouble could be on our doorstep again. It wasn’t like in Cuba where no one knew who Lance really was  
“You do?”  
“I do. It has to be today”  
“Am I going to like where we’re going?”  
“I think you’ll understand when we get there. I know you get nervous, but... I think I’m finally ready to do this and I need to do this with you”

Lance was confusing him. He shouldn’t need to go anywhere. Anything his boyfriend needed, he could bring back to the apartment  
“Where... uh, I mean... Where do you want to go?”  
“I want to go see Mami. Before we go back to Garrison. I want to go see her. I know she’s passed, but I want to tell her about the onesie... and that you’re back”

Oh. Keith wasn’t sure he believed in life after death, but Mami... He hadn’t thought much about visiting her grave. Not as much as he should have, for all the love she’d given him. Miriam’s resting place... He didn’t know where his dad’s grave was, or what to do. Adam didn’t have an actual grave. A place to go to remember him. He kind of felt once someone passed all that remained was the memories of them  
“Are you... are you going to be okay if we go?”  
“Yeah. I didn’t know how to bring it up. I know my behaviour has been pretty concerning, but today, I feel like maybe I can. You helped me make my mind up. I want to tell her that I’m not alone without you anymore”

That sounded like Lance was having a good day. He hoped Lance was having a good day. He wanted to see him happy and laughing. Keith also wanted to pay his respects to Mami, but seeing her grave would make her death all that more real. She was gone and the world had lost some of its warmth. He owed her so much  
“We should get flowers...”  
“Yeah. I’m not asking you to believe she’s still around, but I think I’m ready to see her again”  
That sounded a lot like Lance was ready for death. Keith squeezing his boyfriend close to him. Lance might be dead already, but he was still there. Keith didn’t want him leaving him too  
“Babe, I’m in no rush to die”  
“Did I say... I mean...”  
“Yeah. But I’m not going anywhere. Not if I can help it”  
Keith blushed in embarrassment, mumbling  
“You don’t get to leave me too...”  
Chuckling, Lance kissed his hair before leaning back. Keith raising his head to find Lance smiling   
“I’m not going to. I’ve got too much to do and if I leave you alone, someone’s going to come along and sweep you away”  
“Idiot. There’s nothing great about...”  
“La-la-la! Not listening to you being negative!”

Keith groaned. He was only being honest. He didn’t know how to be a father. Then Lance went and believed in him so much his heart went silly. Still. At this stage Keith wasn’t sure that he didn’t actually have a heart condition seeing Lance seemed to make it beat strangely so often. When he was with Lance, it felt like after all he’d struggled, after the hours upon hours of training, and all shit they’d been through, all of came together to make him strong enough to be the man Lance needed. He’d been worrying himself stupid over how to support Lance, questioning everything over and over, but this whole time, all his boyfriend had needed was someone to hold him. He really was the clumsiest, dorkiest, cutest vampire ever.

Kissing his forehead, Lance was all fangs as he smiled brightly  
“We should get up. The other two are going to be thinking we’re up to all sorts of lewd things in here”  
“I mean, we can...”  
Lance snorted at him  
“I want to show my arse off. These pants make it look great”  
Keith pouted. Lance’s arse was his to treasure, and his alone   
“Then maybe I shouldn’t be letting you out the apartment in them?”  
Leaning down, his boyfriend whispered  
“If you let me out the apartment, I promise you can you pull them down with your teeth later”

That. Yeah. No... yeah. Fuck. He could get behind that. Lance giggled at him, he’d been caught dirty thoughted. Giggling and trying to sober himself at the same time, Lance wound up giggling between words  
“Okay. But seriously. Thank you for this. Thank you for coming home. Thank you for... for noticing I’ve been trying. I really have been”  
“I know you have, babe. I know. Now, you’re going to let me help with dessert”  
“Mmm. I think Curtis earned a break. He didn’t break anything, so that was nice”  
“The toaster survived?”  
Lance laughed as he nodded  
“Yeah. I wasn’t game to let him touch the slow cooker though. It’s all new and shiny”  
“I’m not sure I know what a slow cooker is”  
“Oh, babe. I have so much to teach you”


	148. Chapter 148

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just some boyfriend’s being boyfriend’s with Keith doin a protec

148

Lance didn’t get a chance to “teach him”. They were using condensed milk, cheating according to Lance, getting out something called a “pressure cooker”. Keith had only ever seen memes, he didn’t know they owned one, not that it wound up being needed. One moment Lance was sipping on his blood bag, talking about pastry as he did, the next he was throwing up simply taking the cans of milk out the bag. Wisely, Keith put them away in the cupboard. If looking at the cans made Lance vomit, he didn’t want to know what opening them would do.

Rubbing Lance’s belly until he relaxed against him, Lance sighed in frustration, Keith heading off the upset by distracting him with a glass of cool water. Rinsing and spitting, Lance sighed again, before resting the glass against his forehead  
“No caramel”  
Understandable. Keith wanted to protest and delay their trip out, but Lance had been so happy at the thought of it that he had to force down his protectiveness  
“We could pick something up, if you’re still up for going out”  
They gave Lance the choice. Keith knowing what Lance would choose as he asked   
“Yeah. I want to go... Sorry. Picking something up will probably work out better. Ugh. I can’t believe caramel’s been taken away from me”  
“I don’t remember you eating it that much before”  
“Ahhh, but I had the option before. I like having the option”  
“A bit like having the option of having coffee”

Lance tilted his head back, glaring at him   
“Do you want me to throw up again? Because this is how you get me throwing up again?”  
He might be in trouble, but Lance’s glare didn’t hold enough bite to tell him he was really in trouble. Possibly belly rubs was soothing the beast? Or Lance had no idea how cute he was and that Keith was whipped... which was highly unlikely seeing he’d told his boyfriend enough times he was  
“Alright. Alright. Finish your water, then sip on your blood. We’ll go as soon as you’re feeling better”

Somehow Lance throwing up ended up being the most normal part of the day. Buying two bouquets for Mami, they arrived in time to see Marco leaving. Lance not calling out to his brother, instead sinking lower in the passenger seat of Shiro’s sedan until his brother was out of sight. Keith couldn’t blame him. Lance had to do what he had to do to keep moving forward, and explaining his pregnancy to his brother would only cause a fight that Keith couldn’t guarantee wouldn’t end with him punching Marco.

Leading him through the neat rows of graves, his boyfriend was quiet. Lance catching him staring  
“I only came here once. My family didn’t want me at the funeral, let alone when Mami was placed to rest. Coran decided I’d stressed myself enough at the funeral, so I couldn’t be here when she was lowered down. Papi’s in with her now”  
Oh. What did a normal boyfriend say to that? Squeezing Lance’s hand, his boyfriend gave him a wobbly smile. Aiming at that fake smile of his and missing by a mile  
“They blamed me that they weren’t there for her final days. Mami called them a lot. I’m sure she used my phone to call Coran too. It felt like the only people I couldn’t tell were the only people I wanted to know where I was”  
How the fuck could Lance be held responsible in any kind of way?  
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there”  
“It’s not your fault you weren’t. They were lashing out. I can’t believe it’s been a month... it feels like so much longer”

Lance didn’t mean to make him feel worse, yet Keith did. It’d been too long. The fucking Blades should have let him know... though Zarkon and Honerva would probably still be alive if they had. All of them would have come straight home to be with Lance. Lance loved them all so much, it was only natural they’d want to be by his side   
“I’m sorry”  
Lance was firm with him, firm yet gentle, as if he could see how much Keith hated not being there  
“It’s not your fault. You... you help me remember she was surrounded by love and those who loved her. She loved you. That you’re home safe and in one piece is what she would have wanted”  
Tugging Lance close to him, Keith kissed his cheek  
“I should be the one comforting you”  
“You are. And you’re entitled to feel what you’re feeling. She was your mum too. She just happened to be my mum longer. That doesn’t mean she loved you any less. She was fiercely proud of both of us”

Keith might have gotten used to feeling better about himself when Lance was around, but Lance hadn’t been around. It’d been so easy to fall into the traps of bad thoughts and negativity. That Mami was proud of him was mystifying  
“I don’t know what to say”  
“Then accept it”  
“I don’t know how she accepted me”  
“Easily. Mami knew we didn’t get along to begin with. That you didn’t rush to have feelings or accept what I was. That you went into loving me with your eyes open. You saw more good in me than I know how accept. It weighed so heavily on me to lie to Pidge and Hunk repeatedly, but with you, I could finally see them again. I mean, sure, Kolivan knocked them out, but I probably would have run before we had the chance to repair things”

Falling in love with a vampire. A vampire he’d supposed to kill. Mami was a strange one, not fearing for Lance was kind of Keith’s sworn enemy. As for Pidge and Hunk, Lance could exist without them, but a huge chunk of his soul faded without them around him  
“You guys would have worked things out”  
“Maybe. I don’t know. I haven’t been there for them lately...”

Pidge and Hunk understood. They’d noticed how Lance was withdrawing into himself, Pidge talking louder and louder, trying to stop him from excluding himself. A loud Pidge couldn’t be ignored  
“They love you. Is Mami far from here?”  
Lance shook his head  
“Not really. I don’t love cemeteries. There’s shadows everywhere... it’s cold and it feels lonely, but when you look at the flower and how nice things are kept, you can see the love if you look for it”  
Keith wasn’t sure he did see “the love”, but he supposed he’d been slightly desensitised from the death he’d seen  
“Do you want my jacket?”  
“I’m alright”  
Sure, Lance might claim that now, but Keith undid his jacket anyway.

Mami’s grave was a mound of dirt covered in flowers. Her name and birthday on a small copper plaque attached to a wooden cross. Keith didn’t know what he expected but this wasn’t it. All this dirt, surrounded by lush green lawns... and headstones of people they’d never known  
“Pidge and Hunk have been here”  
“How can you tell?”  
Lance used his bouquet of roses to point to two other bouquets. Keith was no flower expert but he’d felt like he’d seen them before   
“I grew the Candy Stripes for Mami. The Abracadabra for papi. They’re both from my garden”  
Ah. That was right. Lance took ridiculous care of his garden and his lawn  
“It’s nice that they visited”  
“Yeah. Mami would have been happy. Hey, Mami. Guess who’s back”

Keith laid the bouquet of yellow daisies down on mami’s grave. Keith felt daisies were cheap, Lance assured him Mami would have loved them because of their bold yellow colour   
“I’m sorry I’m late, but I’m back... Uh... Rome pardoned Lance, and I went to Cuba. It was nice”  
Lance chuckled at him, placing down the lilies he’d bought. Keith could see why he hadn’t brought roses with him. Almost all the flowers on Mami’s grave were roses  
“Babe, I know this isn’t your thing. If you’re not comfortable saying it out loud, it’s okay to think it. It’s more about the feelings at the grave than having the right words”

Oh. He’d felt like he had to say something because Lance had said something. He supposed what he really wanted to tell Mami was that he was sorry he was so late. That he’d take care of Lance. That they’d all take care of Lance and show him the love he showed them. That the twins had gotten so big, and Lance had gotten rounder. They were still in there, and Lance was probably telling all about him buying them onesies. That Rome had been crap, but he’d been so sure he’d be coming home to her and Lance. He didn’t want to tell her that the threat had been eliminated by killing, he didn’t want Mami to know that. Not on the back of turning her son into a killer. 

He supposed he could tell Mami how Rieva’s adoptive parents had rallied wolf packs against Zarkon and Honerva. That’d happened. It wasn’t a huge Hollywood battle, and a lot of hunters had been mad at the influx of wolves that didn’t want to show their human faces, but they’d come. They all wanted this over. Lance had shown a lot of bravery, and Matt talked up his “brother from another mother”. Lance would say Matt was “cool for a mangy mutt”, Matt would say “he’s alright for a dead thing”. Yeah. He’d taken it the wrong way a few times, stressed over Lance’s life on the chopping block, but as Lance was pardoned his sense of humour started coming back.

“Krolia’s been here too”  
Keith wrinkled his brow. He got how Lance could tell Pidge and Hunk had been there, but Krolia? Sure, she and Mami were tight. Did his mother ever see his father’s grave? Did she know where it was?  
“How do you know?”  
“Look at the wreath near the base of the cross. The purple one”  
Lance would have known the name of the flowers, his boyfriend dumbing it down for him. Shuffling around the side of Mami’s grave, he squatted down to read the small tag on it  
“Miriam, forever my partner in crime. Krolia”

No one ever said Krolia was good with words, Keith groaning loudly at his mother. She could have put anything at all on the tag and this was what she went for  
“I’m sorry. She should be gagged”  
“Babe. We both know Mami would have laughed”  
“That’s true. I hope I have her sense of humour when I reach her age”  
Lance lowered his arse, moving from squatting to sitting. How come other graves for benches? Did you buy a bench? Or did people just borrow them?  
“I already scold you enough. Seriously... Mami would have loved pulling one last prank. She was the “Mistress of Trouble”.”

Lance grew teary, Keith moving to sit himself down beside his boyfriend, careful of his feet. He didn’t want to step on Mami   
“She was great”  
Ugh! What was he saying? She was more than great. She taught him not all mothers were cruel and dismissing  
“She was. I miss our phone calls... I hated that she preferred a home, but she had friends there. I never thought she was a burden. Never...”  
Keith wrapped his arm around Lance’s shoulder  
“She knew. You’re pretty vocal when it comes to things you don’t like”  
“I try not to be”  
“I know. You try to be what everyone thinks you are. It’s okay to avoid the things that scare you. And it’s okay to ask me to be there when you want to face them. I guess I mean you didn’t shy away from being honest with Mami. I didn’t know how to let her in”  
“You didn’t have great memories of Krolia... I hope they’re at least a bit better now”  
“They are. Mami helped. You know, I was doing absolutely horrifically when you were kidnapped. She smuggled in vodka and told me all these stories about when you were a kid”  
Lance shot up, before groaning and covering his face   
“She did what? What did she tell you?”  
“Ah, that’s our secret. I suppose I can let you know that I know you didn’t take learning to drive well”

Lance let out a soul felt groan, flopping back against him  
“Nooo. I can’t believe she told you that. You lift a car by the end once and they never let you forget”  
What now? Hold up. Mami didn’t tell him that. And what did Lance mean that he was lifting cars?!?  
“She told me it was all your fault”  
Using a direct approach would tell Lance right away that this wasn’t the story he was talking about   
“It wasn’t my fault! I put the car into reverse and she went and put it into first!”  
“That’s not how she told it”  
Okay. He felt bad for misleading Lance, but this was gold!  
“She told me to slowly reverse. I was expecting to go backwards! Then she made me lift the front of the car to lift it off the tow ball!”

Keith covered his mouth as he started laughing. Lance drawing his brow as he leaned away from him again  
“It’s not funny!”  
“It is a bit...”  
“I was traumatised! Who put the car into first?! It was my first time driving that car too... I can’t believe she left out the whole story! Stop laughing!”  
“I can’t help it. I’m sorry. That’s not the story she told me but that’s hilarious!”  
Lance punched him in the shower, Keith’s laughter cut off. Lance meant it playfully, and it hit painfully   
“You dick!”  
“I’m sorry. Honestly. Mami told me about you crashing into sign despite going way too slow”

Groaning, Lance buried his face in his hands   
“Nooooo! Why?! Do I have any stories left secrets?”  
“I heard about when you were trying to cook, and Veronica said if you took your clothes off and peed in the bowl...”  
“I’m not listening!”  
Yelling, Lance moved his hands to cover his ears. Mami had told him how Lance didn’t want to put his clothes back on, running around the house covered in flour with his willy in his hand. And about the first time they baked cookies when he has a crush on girl at the same Bible study group. Lance wanted to leave the eggshells in for more flavour. Rachel had sabotaged things anyway. She poured in enough food colouring that everything coming out was green for days afterwards. She’d also told him about Lance’s first crush as a teenager, though Lance firmly denied it. It was on some girl called Jennifer that Keith instantly hated.

Mami had so many stories. She took such pride in her children... Maybe because he’d met Marco and Luis, she didn’t say much about them, other than she wished they were as close to Lance as they’d been as kids. He hoped their twins never drifted apart. That they accepted who their daddy was and that though he was technically a vampire, he was good and kind.

As they were leaving the cemetery, Lance hid again. Luis with two people Keith didn’t know climbing out the car, he man’s upper lip raised as he caught sight of him. Keith didn’t want to talk to Luis, but Luis seemed to have something to say as he stormed his way over  
“What are you doing here?!”  
“I came to pay my respects to Miriam”  
Simply looking at Luis made him want to slap him, and that was the friendly version of what he wanted to do  
“You. You... get!”  
Keith arched an eyebrow. Luis making shooing motions with his hands  
“I’m sorry?”  
“Get. Shoo. Leave”

“Papi?”  
“It’s fine, Nadia! You and Sylvio go ahead!”  
“Do you know this man?”  
The woman with Luis started towards them  
“No. No. It’s okay. I thought he might have car trouble. Nothing to worrying about, princess”  
Oh... So he was a secret. Keith was itching to blow Nadia’s mind and let her know that her uncle was right there... hidden behind Shiro’s car  
“Okay, Papi. Don’t take too long. Mami wants us back before dark”  
“Yes, darling!”

Nadia and Sylvio hovered, Luis staying long enough to hiss through his teeth  
“She might have accepted you, but I will never accept you and that thief thing of yours. Tell It we’ll be in touch”  
“Thing” and “It” rubbed Keith the wrong way. Keith clenching his fists  
“You get one free pass for losing your mother. Describe Lance like that again, and I will hunt you down”  
“You’re a hunter, you don’t touch humans”  
“That’s news to me. I go after evil things and there’s nothing more evil than a man who turns his back on his own little brother. Now go. Go. Shoo”

Keith made shooing motions of his own. Luis gaping at him. He hadn’t struck Luis, yet Luis was livid   
“Well, aren’t you going to go see Mami? You’d best go before I have to tell Nadia and Sylvio that I’m dating their vampire uncle that Mami was proud of. Go on. Shoo”  
Luis turned, stalking away to his children. Sylvio casting his a glare that Keith kept from chuckling at. He wasn’t afraid of Luis. Nor was he afraid for Lance. Luis could have ignored him, yet went out of his way to come over. What a weirdo. He could have completely ignored him. He could have been there visiting anyone. Why Luis went out of his way was plain weird. Humans were weird.


	149. Chapter 149

149

Picking up dessert, Lance selecting by sniffing the air outside the bakery rather than coming in, something Keith wasn’t going to question, they headed back to the apartment. Krolia was there. As was a suspicious looking container on the beach. Putting her beer down, his mother rushed over to Lance. Keith mentally agreeing with his boyfriend as Lance drew closer to him. Krolia ignoring the action as she wrapped her arms around Lance. His mother was a crazy woman. Keith had half a mind to pull her off Lance  
“Lance! Look at you! You’re positively glowing in an undead kind of way!”  
“Mum!”  
“Oh, hush you. I’m allowed to have missed him”  
“You don’t need to tease him”  
“I’m not. Look how round you’re getting! Hello, my grandbabies! How are you feeling? Any weird cravings? I had such weird cravings when I was pregnant with Keith. Have you felt them moving?”

Pulling Krolia off Lance, Keith moved between the pair. The dessert box nearly squashed as he did   
“Mum, leave him alone. We only just got home”  
“No need to be so jumpy. It’s not like you’ve got a head in the box. Sooo. What’s in the box?”  
A what now? Why would he have a head in a box? Okay. The idea sounded somewhat familiar, but who went to a bakery to bring home a head?  
“Dessert?”

Keith didn’t know why Krolia laughed, or why Shiro let out a bark of laughter before covering his mouth  
“Oh, I brought dessert with me! I baked it myself as a little thank you to Lance for having me over for dinner. Here, come take a look”  
Krolia took the dessert box from him, Keith looking to Lance as he whispered  
“Whatever it is, I wouldn’t recommend eating it”  
Krolia calling back over her shoulder   
“I heard that! Talk about rude! I baked it according to the recipe”  
“And where did you get the recipe?”  
“Mostly online”

It was clear that “mostly online” actually meant “hardly on line and mostly from her head”. So proud of her creation that was more an abomination, Keith nearly cried as the cheesecake inside the box went into the bin untouched. Lance looked ready to weep for the poor dessert. Binning it was definitely far too extreme as Lance had chosen something that hadn’t made him feel nauseous and had thought of everyone in his selection. Goodbye lemon cheesecake with lemon curd. They’d hardly known you, but you were missed in the face of the lump in the container.

Maybe lump wasn’t quite fair, yet Lance was trying to figure it out still, so something had to be wrong with the round frosted dessert  
“It’s an apple tea cake”  
Oh lord. That didn’t sound like a dessert should. “Apple” sounded too healthy  
“I steeped the apples in Earl Grey. I mean, why call it a “tea cake”, if there’s no hint of tea in it?”  
That... kind of made sense. A quick glance at Lance’s face told him that it shouldn’t   
“Uh. Right. I might check on dinner”  
“No need. I noticed the lack of vegetables in the dish so I added some frozen ones from the freezer. I expected you boys to be eating healthier, and not just those cans of beans I found in the cupboard”

With each word, Lance looked closer and closer to crying. Ropa Vieja had just the right amount of “fuck all vegetables” to “lots of meat and sauce”. Sure, there were beans and fried things that were like bananas yet weren’t, but Keith could distinctly remember that there weren’t things like frozen vegetables in there. No mixed peas and corn. No carrot. No broccoli. No beans. Lance made them get the proper mixed frozen vegetable packs “as they insisted on being heathens in the kitchen”.

“Ah, Krolia. What vegetables did you add?”  
Lance was brave to ask  
“Just what was laying around. You boys need to eat healthy and keep those babies healthy. Did I do so something wrong?”  
“No. No. I’m sure it’ll be okay. I’m just going to grab some blood before dinner”  
His boyfriend didn’t think it’d be okay at all. Krolia clearly didn’t know how to cook. Shiro and Curtis too spineless to stop her. The pair of them on the sofa with Kosmo, watching this train wreck happen right in front of them   
“Alright. You put your feet up and relax, though you haven’t answered any of my questions and I want to see all your photos. I promised Miriam I’d look out for you. I’m so sorry she’s passed. She was such an amazing woman. Very funny. I saw a lot of myself in her great sense of humour. I enjoyed her company very much”

Lance seemed a little dazed as he wandered off to their room, rather than the sofa. Keith trailing after him, expecting tears. Sitting on their bed, Lance was holding the latest images of their twins, blood bag sitting on the bed next to him  
“Don’t let mum get to you”  
Lance snorted, still staring at their twins  
“I’m that obvious?”  
“A little. She didn’t mess up too much, did she?”  
“Nah. I mean, I would have waited if i was adding vegetables so there’d be some crunch instead of mush, but the meat flavour should still be there”

Lance had the whole dinner planned in his head. Keith knew it. He’d prepped early to have a chance to clear his mind and build up facing a full dinner table... not that they really had the space for everyone to sit at the dinner table as they would have at Lance’s   
“You okay? She kind of bombarded you with questions”  
“I noticed. I’m... kind of not sure what I’m feeling but I think I feel a little better seeing her. She seemed excited about all of this”  
“She’s too excitable”  
“Nah. I mean. Your mum spent decades fighting against vampires and werewolves. I know she says she accepts me... her excitement... I guess it makes me feel maybe that she does. And that makes me feel better”  
“Babe, she’s slightly crazy. Don’t think I haven’t forgotten your first meeting”  
“I haven’t. Do you get what I’m saying, though?”

That Lance felt he didn’t have to fear being killed the moment their twins were born, or killed before the birth to stop the spread of vampirism. He hadn’t thought of that. Other than Kolivan, Krolia was the highest Blade member that he’d met. Coran was biased, he helped far more than he harmed. So if Krolia wasn’t going after him, than that meant he could settle that lot of internal worry.

“I do now that I think about it. That reminds me, what was Luis on about? That was weird as hell”  
Lance sighed deeply  
“Mami’s ring was a family heirloom. She got my grandmothers wedding ring and her sister got the engagement ring when my grandmother passed. Instead of passing it on, as it should have been, I took it once she’d passed. Coran stayed by my side as we viewed Mami until the very last moment before the lid the was slid onto the coffin. I slipped her rings back on where they belong. Seeing you, he’d have to tell Nadia and Sylvio that I’m still around and dating a guy. I wish I could have seen his face when you told him to “shoo”. Thank you for not hitting him...”  
“It was tempting... I didn’t want to upset you by starting a fight. And... he had lost Mami too”  
“It’s easy to get caught up in what I’m going through, but us kids all adored her. Thank you for being there with me. It made it easier to remember the better times than simply focusing on her being in the cold ground”  
“If mum is too much. I can talk to her”

Lance placed the photos down beside him, holding his arm out. Coming over, Keith sank to kneel in front of him, Lance hugging him as he rested his head against his boyfriend’s belly  
“She’s fine. Honestly. It’s refreshing that she isn’t acting like I’m made of glass”  
“As long as you’re okay. You’re okay, aren’t you?”  
“I’m okay. Our twins are okay. I know you can’t feel them, but I was looking at the photos as I felt them move. They’ve been moving a little more”  
Keith didn’t feel anything  
“Are they moving now?”  
“A bit”  
“Maybe they don’t like me”

Patting his head, Keith’s chin dug in lightly as he looked up to Lance   
“It’s fine, babe. They know you’re here and they love you. Google said it might take a bit before you feel them”  
“What does it feel like?”  
“Like nothing I can explain. It started like bubbles at first. I totally thought it was indigestion or gas. Pregnancy farts are no joke. Mami told me. She didn’t feel then move though”  
Keith pouted. He wasn’t sure he’d handle the pregnant part, but he wanted to feel their babies move   
“I want to feel them”  
“You will. They already hear you. They hear every time you tell them you love them. I’m sure it won’t be long. I’ve been trying not to say anything but I definitely felt them moving. I don’t know I was being punched or kicked”

Lance’s tone held a lot of pout. Keith was pouting too. For all Lance was going through, he could feel their twins inside of him, as living human beings. Them moving felt as Lance was being rewards for working so hard. He wanted to be rewarded too. He’s contributed, even if he wasn’t doing the heavy lifting   
“They’re picking on you already”

Lance sounded proud. Normally someone wouldn’t seem so proud of being hit, before his tone started to shift  
“Yep. My two fighters showing off that they’ve inherited their daddy’s moved. I’m honestly okay, babe. Dinner might be... an event. The reason it’s called a “tea” cake is generally because you have it during afternoon tea. Not because there’s tea in it... I was looking forward to cheesecake”  
“I was too. I don’t know what to make of her icing it”

“At least she tried?”  
Keith didn’t know much, yet he was sure he was right about this. Lance’s fingers against his hair felt nice as he leaned into the touch   
“She’s super trying. You don’t have to answer her questions if you don’t want to”  
“No. I meant it when I said it was relieving having her be herself. Like a little taste of normality”  
Keith snorted. Lance was deluded   
“I don’t think that word factors into our lives”  
“Maybe not. We should head back out”  
“I don’t want to”

Lance ruffled his hair, not caring that he was being whiny. He wanted tonight to go the way Lance had planned so Lance could see he really was more capable than his depressed state was making him feel. Normality really didn’t exist in their lives. Going back to Garrison meant living with two werewolves and stolen cow. How was that normal? And how was it that he was actually looking forward to it. To seeing Lance putter around and mumble about the lawn. The lawn at the cemetery must be like total goals once you hit a certain age. It was rather impressive and Keith really couldn’t care less about lawn. Maybe he should have bought Lance a new lawnmower for Christmas? It probably wasn’t too late, but was it safe to let his pregnant boyfriend loose with a lawnmower? Maybe he’d make it this years Christmas present, for after the twins were born? Wait. Was he really thinking about the lawn...? What was wrong with him?

*  
Krolia hadn’t stopped talking. Keith was fairly certain she’d only raised her voice when she’d gone to use the toilet instead of shutting up. She’d asked Lance all kinds of questions about his pregnancy and Cuba. Lance had shown her photos, Krolia taking photos of the photos with her phone. By the time Coran knocked at the door at 6:30pm, both Shiro and Curtis seemed as relieved as Keith was that there was finally someone else Krolia could focus on. Standing up mid-conversation, Lance went opened the door. Keith stifling his laugh. His boyfriend had the best manners of all of them, but clearly he too had had enough of Krolia.

“Allura?! What are you doing back?!”  
“Lance!”  
Keith blinked in shock. He didn’t think Allura would be back so soon. Lance hadn’t said he’d heard two sets of footsteps and Kosmo hadn’t barked. Hugging each other, the pair were acting like reunited siblings as they wrapped their arms around each other. Both of them trying to tell each other how good they looked, Keith suspecting Lance was teary eyed and happy about the surprise. Coran seemed especially pleased with his part in this surprise, eyeing the pair happily, moustache corner in his fingers as he beamed. Drawing away, Allura looked Lance up and down  
“Oh, Lance. You’re positively glowing with pregnancy. May I?”  
“Yeah. Thanks for asking. It still feels a little weird. I’m... so happy you’re back. Rome agreed with you. You’re more vibrant and stunningly beautiful than ever”

Allura drew Lance away from the doorway with a giggle, Keith may have kind of hated the lingering touch of her hand on Lance’s arm. And what was Allura asking permission for? She’d already hugged Lance. That was enough physical contact. And why was she giggling?   
“Hush, you. It’s wonderful to see you. I’ve missed you very much, and being diplomatic is simply tedious! Oh...”  
Allura grew distant, looking past Lance as she continued in a vacant tone. Keith cautious over her expression   
“A boy and a girl... Oh, Lance. I’m so sorry, oh... I’m so sorry. but he’ll be okay. You’ll see. The agony will turn to happiness again”

Allura blinked half a dozen times, perhaps she was unaware of what she’d said. A boy and a girl? Did she just... tell them the sexes from a touch? A girl... and a boy... They were having a boy and a girl? Lance stood frozen, Coran’s smile had slipped. Sliding off the arm of the sofa, Keith strode over to Lance, taking Allura’s hand off his boyfriend. Lance had wanted to wait. To be surprised. Now Allura was telling them there was something wrong with their little boy? And what was this agony?

Pulling out her handkerchief, Allura dabbed at her nose  
“Sorry. My mind went right away. Oh, it’s so wonderful to see you. I have so much to tell you. I’m so sorry Miriam passed. I adored her so much. She treated me like a daughter for all these years. I have such fond memories of her over a cup of tea and a biscuit in the middle of the night”

Allura seemed a bit old to be acting as if it’d been one of Mami’s secrets. She didn’t exactly say it was, but the tone was wistful. Genuine sadness over something that’d never happen again. Lance stammering slightly as he said  
“Me... uh... yeah... me too.. uh. Come in. Dinner’ll be ready in a little bit, provided that the rice hasn’t started sticking. Keith, can you give me a hand? Shiro will get you and Coran a glass of wine. Krolia made a cake and dinner is Americanised Ropa Vieja. You have to tell all about what you’ve been up to”

His boyfriend was doing a good job of hiding his upset. Keith’s heart was racing as he tried not to snap at Allura. Lance hadn’t noticed her visions all that much in their time together, now it was the third time? that she’d experienced some kind of foresight in front of them. What was this agony? Lance wasn’t going to go through any kind of agony if Keith could help it. If the boy and the girl weren’t their twins, then who? Did they know them? We’re the kids going to be hurt? Was their son going to be hurt?

“Is no one going to ask what the hell was that? Or am I going to have to?”  
Thank god for Krolia and bluntness. Keith didn’t have the words to be polite  
“Oh, I’m sorry. Did I do something?”  
Coran cleared his throat, Allura seemed confused by Krolia’s outburst  
“Allura, my dear, your foresight popped up again. Do you remember what you saw?”  
“Flashes. I’m sorry. I saw Lance holding two beautiful children, and him giving birth, but it’s already fading away”  
“You said someone about a boy and girl. And someone hurt. That’s pretty serious to be coming in and saying things about my grandchildren with no idea what you’ve said”

Whelp. Keith was glad not to be in Allura’s shoes. His mother sounded ready to shoot Allura or hold her prisoner and torture her until she revealed everything. Allura stared at her feet, downcast as she replied   
“I’m sorry. Sometimes I remember what I see. Sometimes it fades away. Sometimes it’s a feeling more than anything. Sometimes I don’t notice. And sometimes I speak”

Reaching, Lance took Allura by the hand   
“It’s okay, Allura. You didn’t mean to. What you said could mean any number of things and not everything you see happens... right?”  
“This is true. There have been times when I’ve had such intense feelings for them to fade in a moment of felt déjà vu with no real conclusion. Perhaps it’s the change in your quintessence? Being with Keith has mellowed it muchly. You’ve always had such a soft feeling, but now I feel Keith’s energy in yours. He’s very soothing and compliments your quintessence so well. Maybe I detected an underlying fear? I’m afraid I’m not much use”

Allura tried to laugh it off. Keith feeling a bit of a douche for wanting to yell at her  
“You’re plenty of use. You’re practically my sister. You’ve been a beautiful person since the first day I met you”  
Allura giggled, raising her head as she covered her mouth   
“I remember that. I remember the first time I came to your house. You asked if I was angel... Coran brought me to see you. I seem to remembered you hadn’t spoke in some time”  
“Mami called him because of the nightmares. I couldn’t sleep and I was seeing things because of it. Then you showed up and were the prettiest girl I’ve ever met”  
“And you asked if I wanted to hide in your closest from the monsters”  
“Yeah. I don’t know why, but sometimes I miss the closest”  
“Until Veronica and Luis locked you in there”  
Allura was teasing, Lance going tense as she stepped on a bad memory. Their friend clearly waiting for a reply, Keith butting in  
“Babe, we should check dinner and get that wine organised. Allura, Krolia’s the got the scan photos if you want to take a look”  
“Oh, yes please! You have no idea how much I missed you. I would love to see how much these precious ones have grown”

Sacrificing Allura to Krolia, Allura was happy to let Krolia brag about the twins. Coran followed them into the kitchen area, leaving Keith without the opportunity to ask Lance how he felt about what Allura had said. Sighing deeply as he checked the slow cooker, Lance poked at the contents, then let out another sigh  
“Babe?”  
“I hope you feel like mush. It’s mush for dinner”

Coming up behind Lance, Keith peered over his boyfriend’s shoulder at their dinner   
“That’s doesn’t look right. I mean... that’s not how I remember it”  
“Nope. The vegetables have lost all structure. Can you get out the blender and hand me a fork? I’ll try fishing out what’s mostly intact then I’ll blend it and stir back into the sauce. If we’re lucky the wine and the taste of the beef would have gotten rid of most of the vegetable taste”  
Ignoring the old rule that “Two’s company and three’s a crowd”, Coran moved to peer into the slow cooker from Lance’s right side  
“I’m afraid I don’t know what to say about this. I remember less of those pesky vegetables when Miriam cooked”

Lance sighed at Coran as Keith mentally adjusted his rating of Coran. The man going up with his dislike of “pesky vegetables” where they didn’t belong. He’d gone down a fraction due to Allura’s foresight nearly killing their dinner plans by upsetting Lance internally.

Poking at the remains of broccoli, Lance shook his head at the mess in the pot  
“Krolia added mixed vegetables while Keith and I were out. She’s made an apple tea cake for dessert”  
Coran hesitant in asking   
“And how did that go?”  
“It was nice knowing you all... and I’d like to remind everyone that I get first dibs on the bathroom”  
Lance was being brutal. Brutally hilarious. Mami would have been appalled, but Keith loved it. He didn’t want to try Krolia’s cake either... and her trying to feed him broccoli, this wouldn’t be forgotten or forgiven anytime soon. That his mother would bake left him clueless. Maybe one day they’d meet someone who wasn’t as weird as the rest of them, yet Keith highly doubted that possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Krolia is certified Disaster, but we still stan her


	150. Chapter 150

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got a lower conch piercing which one day will go with the helix piercing I want. New piercing for me means double update for you xxxx

150

Settling back into Garrison, Keith and Lance were rather rudely woken as Pidge and Hunk slid into Lance’s bed with them, the day after the they’d come home the previous afternoon. Krolia had somehow managed to give them food poisoning. Not that he knew for sure. Yet seeing she’d tampered the possibility was strong. Coran the only one game enough to finish his slice of cake.

Kicked out of the house so their friends could set up for their “Surprise Return Party”. He and Lance had nothing to do except wait until they’d gotten the call from Pidge that they were allowed to return. She didn’t need to call. The pair of them had only gone as far as the back lawn, Lance lamenting over the state of his garden and Keith annoyed his sleep had been interrupted after being sick the previous night.

Playing up the surprise theme, they both had their eyes covered, then were led into the living room. The space had been transformed. A Christmas tree up. Stockings hung. Presents piled up on the coffee table. Kosmo dressed in a reindeer outfit with Blue glaring from her cat tree, not pleased to be dressed as an elf. Okay. So maybe their friends got a pass because of the theme. Wearing a hideous green sweater, Pidge beamed as she waved her arm to gesture to where “Merry Christmas” hung over the fireplace  
“Ta-dah! It’s our Christmas do over! I know! I have the most amazing ideas!”

Keith didn’t bother correcting Pidge about it being Lance’s hope to recreate Christmas   
“Guys! This is...”  
Lance rushed Hunk, throwing his arms around him. Hunk sweeping Lance up with a chuckle   
“Merry Christmas, bud!”  
“I love you! Oh my god! I can finally give you guys your Christmas presents! And I can finally give you your birthday present! Please tell me we’re celebrating your birthday!?”  
Hunk laughed awkwardly as he set Lance down  
“Nah, it’s...”  
Lance cut Hunk off   
“Don’t you dare think you’re getting out of this. I was the worst friend in human history and didn’t call for your birthday!”  
“It’s wasn’t...”  
Great. Lance was being hyperactive... Seeing his boyfriend hadn’t stopped cleaning until nearly 1am, Lance had too much happiness and energy...  
“Nope. Okay. Keith, can you grab Mami’s bag for me? I’ll grab everyone else’s presents...”

That seemed a lot of work and everyone seemed to have forgotten to give him his coffee. Blankly staring, he hadn’t realised Matt was wearing a set of ridiculous antlers on his head, or that Curtis and Shiro were there. Baubles hanging on Curtis’s horns. Groaning, Keith bumped into Matt as he went to turn, not really sure where to go  
“Pidge, did you kick Keith out without his coffee?”  
Pidge cackled  
“Maybe?”  
Always loud, Matt started yelling   
“Guys! We’ve got a Keith without coffee! I repeat; We’ve got a Keith without coffee! It’s a category three disaster in the making!”  
Pidge confessing  
“It’s not that we didn’t make him coffee... I forgot and drank it myself”

Well “fuck you” to Pidge. He deserved his coffee. He’d barely got his morning pee in before they were tossed out. No wonder he’d been so sleepy and useless as Lance talked  
“Don’t worry, bro. I’ve got you. Double shot topped with tequila, right?”  
“Fuck off and get fleas”  
Matt laughed at him. Too many people were laughing. Not enough coffee to upright. Lance moved from Hunk to his side, kissing Keith on the cheek  
“I’ll put the coffee maker on for you. Don’t worry about Mami’s bag, I’ll grab it. You just focus on your coffee”  
Lance hadn’t eaten either, Keith trying to remind him  
“Food... you?”  
“Yep. Gimme a bit”

Caffeinated Keith perked up. He’d been worried about them coming home, Lance admitting he feared the house would no longer feel like his after all the time he’s spent away from it. So when Lance had gone on a cleaning frenzy, Keith hadn’t interrupted. He’d let Lance do what he needed, despite the fact his boyfriend hadn’t been happy until late in the night and Keith just wanted to go bed several hours earlier. Seeing Lance happy felt right. He knew some of it was an act. And he’d noticed the occasional jolt in Lance’s moves as if he was forcing himself to move, but there was definitely something there that told him Lance felt more at ease than he had in a long time.

Disappearing, Lance returned with his arms laden with presents. Keith immediately trying to help. Vampire or not, Lance shouldn’t be moving heavy things around. His boyfriend laughing as he tried to protest the fact. With the size of Lance’s present pile, Keith couldn’t help but be conscious of the fact his own was tiny in comparison. His nerves over gifting left his stomach rolling, with a cold sweat across his forehead. He’d tried to gift shop on his own as much as possible, but with Rome being Rome and the daily repetition of the council meeting... No. He was making excuses. He’d sucked at gift giving for the others because his head was filled with how much he missed Lance.

Setting the presents down, Keith noticed then that a whole bunch were for Shiro. 7 wrapped all the same way, seemingly from each of them  
“Is that everything? Because I want to open my presents already!”  
Lance shook his head at Pidge  
“Not quite. You’ll have to be patient a little longer, Pidgeon”  
Shiro gaped at Lance, Keith kind of feeling the same way. Their Christmas’s were never like this. Staring at their friends group. His brain supplied an unwanted thought. Pidge was a girl and Hunk was a boy. Rieva was a girl and Matt was a boy. Was this party extra important because Lance had already thought about them? That they could be hurt? Or was it just him over thinking things? Pulling the top present off the pile, Pidge threw it at Shiro   
“How can that not be everything? And why is there so many presents for Shiro?!”

Lance chuckled at their impatient Gremlin. Pidge seemed mortally wounded at the stack for Shiro   
“Mami bought you all presents. Just small things from Cuba. We weren’t sure when we’d be allowed back, so we hit the markets in case we could come back for Christmas. It’s not much, but she did try to think of you all”   
“Do you want me to...”  
Lance sighed with a roll of his eyes at Keith’s offer  
“Babe, sit down already. You’re being overly attentive. I can still do things like face the stairs”  
“Okay. I just thought...”  
“Stop thinking and sit down. Pidge will divide the presents up. Hunk, do you need any help bringing things in from the kitchen?”  
“I’ve got it! But... uh... Bud, please be careful on the stairs”  
Matt nodded quickly  
“Maybe Keith and Hunk have a point, dude? You don’t have a great track record with the stairs”

The look Lance gave everyone spoke volumes. The stairs were now a forbidden topic that he didn’t want to be reminded about again. He’d healed from falling down them, and they’d all be in the shit if they started fussing over him. Keith felt goosebumps erupt at the look. Swallowing hard, Keith couldn’t remember the last time he’d shut up by a single scathing look like that from his boyfriend. He couldn’t help the almost phobia he’d developed over Lance and stairs. Especially with two very special passengers on board.

With Lance upstairs, Pidge went about dividing out presents, asking as she did  
“So when are we going to hear all about Rome?”  
Keith shrugged. He supposed Pidge and Hunk had been super anxious in their absence, but the topic of conversation had kind of fizzled out  
“When Lance hears about Rome? I don’t know. All I can tell you is that he’s safe”  
Pidge huffed, pausing mid-sorting to look up at Keith   
“I can see that. I mean, like, is he really safe? We were talking with Shay, and she’s worried about him too. He seems happy but I don’t know. He wasn’t that happy when he came back”

Keith was surprised when Rieva answered  
“In his defence, he was exhausted. Physically and mentally. Matt getting us kicked out of Cuba wasn’t on the plans. He’d had a very long day”  
Pidge sighed   
“I wish we got to go with him”  
Lance had been so very missed by his two best friends  
“Lance would have loved to have you guys there, but he couldn’t tell anyone he was down there in case you guys were contacted or in danger”  
Matt added unnecessarily   
“Yeah. Listen to Keith. The first thing he did was lose his shoes, then he made Lance cry. Boyfriend of the... ow!”  
Rieva elbowed her boyfriend in the ribs  
“Keith was under a lot of stress too. You guys should have seen him. He barely kept his temper under check, too impatient to be back with Lance”  
Shiro chuckled  
“You guys should have seen him in Rome after you left. I think he must have packed and unpacked a hundred times so he’d have something to do before his flight”  
“That’s true. I don’t think he slept the night before he left. I worried about letting him on a public flight with how much coffee he’d had”  
Now Curtis was teasing him. Keith looked to Hunk  
“Don’t worry, man. We all know how in love with Lance you are”  
“The only couple more loved up than you guys are Hunk and Shay. Oh! I forgot to tell you, Shay totally knows everything!”

Pidge dropping a bombshell like that had him, Curtis, and Shiro, all shocked as they looked to Pidge  
“What do you mean she knows?”  
“Apparently Hunk gets blabber mouth after sex”  
Hunk blushed so deep a red, Keith was surprised his head didn’t pop  
“It’s... not... I didn’t... Pidge!”  
Pidge laughed at Hunk, resuming present sorting  
“I’m not judging, but I think you could have picked a better time to tell her vampires and werewolves were real”  
“It’s not my fault! She’s... Lance wanted to tell her!”  
Okay... but if Shay knew, that led to an important question   
“If Shay’s in the loop now, why isn’t she here?”  
“Because she’s working. I tried to get her to swap shift. Plus, he didn’t tell her Lance was up the duff with twins. Nice going with that. You and your wonder sperm”

That wasn’t entirely his fault. It was. And took full responsibility, but he still wasn’t sure how it happened. Snarking back at Pidge, he felt defensive of Lance who wasn’t there to stick up for himself   
“They were a complete surprise. We’d only just gotten around having one, let alone two. There’s nothing wrong with Lance being pregnant or the twins”  
Sensing a potential fight, Shiro forced a laugh  
“Leave him alone. He’s super excited about the twins. And frankly, I think we’re all looking forward to meeting them. It gives us something good to focus on”

“I hope you remember that the first time you change a shitty nappy, Uncle Shiro”  
Coming back into the room, Lance had much smaller gifts this time, as well as an envelope with something in it that Keith couldn’t help but cock his head at  
“What’s that?”  
“I don’t know. It’s to you, from Krolia. I found it in my room when I was looking for my phone. I guess it’s a present or something”  
That sounded just like this mother. How hard was it to shove something into his hands awkwardly and change topic? It’d worked well for Shiro and Adam. They didn’t make him awkwardly exchange gifts  
“Of course she can’t just give it to me like a normal person”

Lance smiled, he could because he faked out of the cake with nausea. Not completely fake, but the only smart move that wouldn’t make Krolia angry or suspicious   
“Be nice. I’m sure she didn’t mean to give you guys food poisoning. Anyway. We got these in Cuba. When I still could go out and stuff. They’re not much, but each is heart felt. Mami loved all of you. She loved the bond between Shiro and Keith. She loved how mischievous our little Gremlin was. She whole heartedly agreed that Hunk was like sunshine whenever he’s around. She thought Matt... was a bit... weird, but in a good way. Curtis, you may as well have been my actual cousin. I think she might have even slipped up and said you were. And she found you very exotic and mysterious Rieva. She was very upset that someone would ever hurt you. Mami was a lot better at a lot of things than I am. I guess... I know this might be selfish, but these are the last presents from her. I guess it’d make me happy to know that you’re taking care of them... and... she just loved you all so much. I made on my own for so long, but... she was so grateful I had all of you in my life. She always worried what would become of me after she passed... I know she made Keith swear to be there... but... I really did miss you guys... I’m sorry my anxiety was so shit I couldn’t talk... and I was so scared you’d all never want to talk to me because I had to lie so much... I hated lying to you. I did...”

Keith was the first to move, but they all kind of moved as group. Lance forced into being hugged by the lot of them  
“You are the biggest undead idiot around!”  
“Oh, man! You’re my brother!”  
“You’re part of my pack! We’ll never leave you alone!”  
“Group hug!”  
The words fell over each other. Lance’s sniffles turned to laughter. Keith not too happy that his boyfriend was being squashed, and that he was being squashed as he tried to protect Lance’s bump, but at the same time he was overwhelmingly happy that they were all together again. Mami knew someday she’d pass, and had entrusted him with being there for Lance. She’d left Lance, but no matter how far their little family split or went, they’d always have each other when they needed someone.

“Okay! Off! You’re going to crush me and the twins!”  
Lance gave them a few long moments. Everyone other than Pidge and Keith let go, Pidge poking her tongue at Keith  
“He’s my brother. You have to share”  
“I’ve already shared enough. Now take your paws off him”  
“Laaaaance, Keith is being mean”  
“I’m sorry, but he does have a point. Your hugging my belly. Squeeze too hard and I might throw up”  
Pidge wrinkled her nose as she let go  
“Curse you vomit. Next time I shall have my hugs”  
Lance smiled at her fondly   
“Will you settle for me sitting between you and Keith?”  
“Fine. Now hurry up. I’ve been dying waiting for this”  
“Okay. Okay. Calm down. You do know this is Keith’s first Christmas with us. You’re going to have to be nice”  
Lance sounded like a dad scolding this hyperactive daughter. Keith clueless to what they were on about  
“He snoozes, he loses. Them’s the rules”  
“Be nice!”

Opening their presents was a thing. A very different thing than living with Shiro and Adam. They did small gifts, lunch if they didn’t have to work, and movies after work which usually involved falling asleep on the sofa. That was not the case here. Seeing Pidge was so damn excitable she went first, opening all her but one of her gifts before it moved onto Hunk next, and so on around their circle of friends. Lance took his time to explain that normally on Christmas Day he’d be in Platt with Mami until the evening, then they’d do presents at his place. That didn’t explain what was coming after the present part... which he was honestly more nervous about than his own gifts, which were more or less trinkety things from Rome, apart from his gift to Lance which was an old fashioned wrist watch he’d found in an antiques store. He wasn’t sure if Lance would love it, but he seemed to as he was made to help put it on his boyfriend’s wrist almost immediately after opening. Lance’s gift to him was a vintage camera that probably cost a fair bit. His boyfriend also sourcing the film for it, which Pidge laughed over being antiquated and all that.

They all seemed on the same wavelength about keeping Miriam’s gifts until last. Shiro buried under a pile of ugly sweater that Curtis found hilarious, as he’d known about them. Down to Miriam’s presents, they all fell kind of quiet, appreciating that Mami had thought of them all. Keith couldn’t help but not want to open the lovingly wrapped gift. Hunk and Pidge had gifted him a new kitchen knife and a coffee cup. Shiro’d already given him his gift Christmas Day, a new clip on cover for his personal phone so he’d be able to wear it on his Blade suit seeing they’d both probably stick with the Blade suits despite being full time hunters for Coran.

Watching Lance, his boyfriend ran his fingers over the small gift in his hands. Eyes growing teary  
“Sorry. I already know what it is... but... She was really happy picking out presents. Honestly, if I’d left her unsupervised your gifts wouldn’t have been quite PG”  
“It’s okay, babe. We don’t have to open them right now if it’s too much”  
“Nah. She wanted you to have them for Christmas. She’d want you to open them and to smile as you did”  
“Should I go first?”  
Lance nodded, wiping at his eyes  
“Yeah. Sorry... God... we haven’t even gotten to Hunk’s birthday presents and I’m a mess. Mami’s birthday present to you is in there too. I rewrapped them after... so they’d stay together. That’s why your present is a little larger than the rest of ours”

There were still two other presents that hadn’t been handed out sitting on the coffee table. Pidge had left them, Keith didn’t know why. Making to sling his arm around his boyfriend, he used the reposition to see they were to both he and Lance from Miriam. Lance had mentioned she had presents for the twins. It must be those  
“Come on, Keith. You said you’d go first”  
Keith ignored Pidge. He only had one hand free unless he wanted to put Lance in a choke hold. Thank god he was ambidextrous. Pulling the paper away from the tape, something small dropped into his lap. Picking it up, he realised it was a red stone pendant   
“She knew you loved the colour red. It was what caught her eye first at the stall. All our gifts are similar. If you tilt it you can see cat in there. It’s like micro etched in. Mine has a fish. Shiro’s I think is a tiger...”  
Keith interrupted. He wasn’t really a pendant kind of person, but this was one of the most heartfelt gifts he’d been given in his life. He wanted Lance to know he appreciated it   
“Do the clip for me?”  
“Sure. You guys can open yours. No trades or swapsies. She picked each thinking of you”

Rieva and Matt both had wolves with mother of pearl inlay. Curtis’s was a white shiny stone that kind of looked like a pearl. Lance said it was made from a polished tooth, Keith immediately glad he hadn’t met anything in Cuba with teeth a big, and that he hadn’t said he thought it was a stone. Shiro’s stone was black, Keith thought it looked more like a Lion than a tiger, a bigger cat than his, his was cooler because it was red. Hunk’s yellow stone had a sun. Pidge’s green stone a leaf. And Lance’s blue pendant was indeed etched with a fish. 

Other than the two presents on the table, Keith thought the line of gifts had come to an end. Picking up both presents, he passed one to Lance, who seemed to be attempting to go cross eyed looking down at his pendant   
“Babe, these are the last two from Mami”  
“Oh. What. Oh... technically there’s a gift for Allura, Coran, and Krolia... but they’re not here...”  
Pidge scrambled to her feet, holding her hands out as if trying to stop them from ripping into the last two presents   
“Wait! There’s another two presents from me and Hunk... well, Shiro chipped in, and Curtis helped... hold on. Do we do this now?”

Pidge looked to the group, Matt rolling his eyes at his sister. Keith was slightly jealous of how much energy Pidge had. Then again, she’d probably had a propers night sleep and more coffee than him  
“Go on. I know you’ve been dying to show them all fucking week”  
Keith playing along with Matt, trying to sound serious and not half an emotional wreck over all the thought behind each present   
“Should we be worried?”  
“Ha! Rude! Okay. We’ll do the one for Lance first, then we’ll do Keith’s because his bigger”  
Matt groaned   
“Why don’t you just tell them already, big mouth?”  
“Shut it, you. Okay. So, like, this ones from the group. Coran totally helped out. Then it took hours to get it right... wait here”

Climbing on the sofa, rather than going around, Hunk was smacked in the head as Pidge pulled out a ridiculously large flat gift  
“Pidge!”  
“Sorry! It’s not like you were using your head anyway. Okay. We kind of had the idea but we changed it, and anyway...”  
“Dear Sister of Mine, you are babbling. Pass it over. You didn’t even show us before you wrapped it”  
“Shut up! I’m trying to do this right. Okay, so you guys are probably better standing up for this. It’s kind of big”  
“It’s nearly as big as you”  
Matt’s joke earned him a kick in the shin and a huff from Pidge. 

Getting to their feet, neither of them knew what to expect. If it was a gift from Pidge it’d either be tech based, or some kind o explosion for leaving Garrison for as long as they had. Rieva suggesting   
“Why don’t you let Keith hold it while Lance opens it?”  
Pidge snapping back   
“I was going to do that! Here. Don’t you dare drop it”  
Passing the gift over, Keith could feel what felt like a frame through the wrapping paper. Lance on the same wavelength as him  
“It’s not going to blow up, is it?”  
“Rude. A lot of love went into this. And we totally ripped off Keith’s idea. Now open it already!”

Lance started with a small rip, then all but tore the paper apart. Eyes filling with tears that made Keith look down to realise what it was  
“We got the footage from Coran. It took ages to clean it up and pick the right shot  
“Mami’s first scan...”  
Okay. So that was it was. Keith wasn’t that great at picking that up from upside down  
“Yep. And then down the bottom it’s got us, because we’re the bestest friends ever. We wanted to get you something big to remember it by... it was going to be of us camping until... Mami passed. Do you like it?”  
Lance nodded as he covered his face, Keith would have put the frame down but he kind of didn’t know how to, or where to put it  
“I do... Guys... thanks... I...”

Lance fleeing wasn’t what he saw coming. Turning, Lance jogged from the room. Keith handing the frame to Hunk, intending to go after his boyfriend. Shiro stopping him before he could  
“Why don’t you let Hunk and Pidge go talk with him? He’s missed them. We can work out how to hang the frame”  
“But...”  
But he was Lance’s boyfriend. Plus he kind of needed a break too. Everything was a lot and a lot at once. Matt lifted the photo frame off Hunk  
“Keith, they’ve got this. He’s out the back, if you want to guys want to go. We’ve got this”  
Shiro sided with Matt  
“It’ll be a good chance to show Lance we can handle putting the nursery together”

Keith unconvinced that they could, yet... Pidge and Hunk had really missed Lance. He’d let them go this time, but next time he wasn’t being swayed so easily   
“Go. But go easy on him. His anxiety levels have been pretty high”  
Pidge rolled her eyes at him   
“We’ve got this. Personally I’m more concerned with how you losers are going to hang the frame up. If you break it, I’ll castrate you all”  
Shiro saluted Pidge. Keith internally groaning at his brother feeding the Gremlin’s ego  
“Ma’am, yes, Ma’am!”  
“That’s more like it. And don’t make a mess! Come on, Hunk, our bestie needs us”


	151. Chapter 151

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should probably warn you that is like the longest February known to man kind

151

Coming back to Garrison should have been a relief. It really should have. It wasn’t until Lance had cleaned through that he felt like he was really home again. All his stuff was where it was supposed to be, but Matt and Rieva had changed a few things around. Lance felt bad about changing it back, yet he knew it’d grate on him until he had.

Sitting himself down on the lawn, the vampire sighed deeply. Hand clutching at his pendant, unable to not think of Mami. That photo... of his first scan. Taken from camera footage obviously... back when he thought they were only have one child and Mami placed her bet. Back when he thought he’d have his Mami through it all. Back before Allura had dropped her foresight in their lap, and back before everything fell apart. It felt impossible to get Allura’s words out of his head. So he’d done what he did best when stressing, he’d cleaned. Cleaned and organised. Everything in its correct place, normalcy restored one room at a time. The Pidge and Hunk had climbed into bed with them, and... it’d been kind of nice seeing how long it’d been. Keith was left coffeeless, but that was okay because he was there to guide his sleepy boyfriend from the chaos.

This was his first Christmas without Mami, ever. It wasn’t even Christmas Day by a long shot. Presents were a distraction. Opening Mami’s was the hardest... then they dropped one last present on him as he lingered over opening the presents for the twins  
“Lance?”

Shooting Hunk a wobbly smile, he’d heard them coming. Kind of glad it wasn’t Keith. He didn’t want to burden his boyfriend with a mess of feelings when all he wanted was Keith to feel part of their Christmas traditions. Being the tech nerd she was, evenings meant losing repeatedly and watching her and Hunk get progressively drunker through the night. He’d tuck them in, Pidge would be bragging about her winning right until she fell asleep  
“Hey guys. I’m okay”

Dropping down beside him, both his best friends leaned into him  
“Dude. We’re sorry about Mami”  
“You guys did nothing wrong. I love that photo. I just miss her”  
Wrapping their arms around him, Lance didn’t know who to hug back first  
“I miss her too. She like super believed in me. Told me to show those boys how a real woman took on technology”  
“Remember how she made all that extra food for our exams...”  
“Mhmm... and Lance disappeared, so she called us to come over and visit”  
“Remember the first time we met her...”  
Pidge laughed at Hunk. Hunk had stammered so badly Mami couldn’t stop laughing at him to relax   
“Yeah. I thought she was too cool to be related to Lance”  
Lance sighed softly  
“She really was the coolest. I miss her... I miss her so much”

Pidge eased off, letting Hunk pull Lance up against his chest as Lance started to cry  
“We know you do, buddy. We know. We do too. She was the best to go to the fair with. Always cheering us on”  
“She loved you guys. God. She loved you both so much. I thought... so many times I thought that this was it. Then she’d rally through, talking about how she’s a tough old bird...”  
“I don’t think she’d want to see you crying like this. She’d call you out and say you’re too soft hearted”  
Lance snorted  
“Yeah. Yeah, she’d tease me. But... she was like... like my number one supporter. She protected me from everything. And I feel like I didn’t do enough for her”

Pidge punched his arm  
“Idiot. Mami loved being with you. And you loved being with her. We all knew you were a total Mumma’s boy”  
“That’s... that’s because... She never looked at me differently. When they... my siblings cut ties, she kept them all in line. I ruined my whole family and she’d tell me I didn’t. She didn’t blame me when it got too much for Rachel. Or... or how many nightmares I had. She’d reach for me and hold me in her lap. Sometimes she’d sing me to sleep, and sometimes she just knew I needed her to hold me. I’m sorry... I know I’m not... not okay... I just...”  
“Man, she was your mum. Pidge and I are just happy you’re home again. We really missed you”  
“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you guys”

Deciding she needed hug, Pidge wrapped her arms around the pair of them, digging her chin into Lance’s shoulder  
“It’s okay. If you’d up and left we would have totally hacked your devices and found some way to track you down. You didn’t leave because you hated us, right?”  
“No! No... I could never hate you guys. But... I wasn’t sure about coming back”  
“Dude, we get it. I mean, you were mostly here because of Mami. You like to overthink too much”  
“Careful, Pidgeon, you’re starting to sound too much like Keith”

Pidge sighed dramatically. Lance glad she hadn’t screamed in his ear. She was so excited over this Christmas party that Lance wondered how many coffees she’d downed before coming over and if she’d slept at all the night before  
“I hate to admit it, but he’s got a point. You’re back with us now, and you’re stuck with us. Like super stuck. I mean, I could superglue myself too you, if you’re not getting the point, but I think it’s against some kind of universal law to glue yourself to a pregnant person”

Lifting his arm, the angle was awkward as Lance hugged Pidge without having to move away from Hunk’s chest. His two besties were the best friends anyone alive, or dead, could ask for  
“I think Keith would be mad, plus being a vampire means throwing up what you eat... and we all know how much you love the sight of vomit”  
“This pregnancy isn’t working in my favour. At least I know I’m in prime position for favourite aunt”  
“There’s always Shay. Seeing she knows... Which I’m betting you haven’t had her sign a non-disclosure agreement over”

That Shay now knew meant there was a massive weight taken off Hunk’s relationship with her. He didn’t need to know Hunk and Shay had done the do. Hunk was his best buddy. The feelings it brought up were the same feeling about hearing Shiro and Curtis, or Matt and Rieva, meaning as long as it was consensual it was absolutely none of his business. Hunk let out a long moan of what Lance assumed was despair, before shaking his head  
“I didn’t mean to tell her. She was talking about you being gone, and not coming back and why you vanished in the first place when that was completely unlike you... and it kind of slipped out. I thought we were over. She left pretty much as soon I’d told her...”

Pidge took over from Hunk  
“Then she called me up, talking about Hunk saying some really weird things. She was as freaked as I was to know these things existed. I told her to listen to Hunk and that he wasn’t crazy, and Shay was crazy enough to go back and demand answers”  
Yeah. No. Lance wouldn’t have able to handle it. He was slightly cowardly and he knew it. Though... he hadn’t really had much of a life not knowing about the things in the dark   
“I don’t think I could have handled it”  
Pidge giggled   
“She already thought you were a bit weird. The teeth totally didn’t help with all the flashing around you did, and she had her own theories about you being ill. She’s not as good of an investigator as I am, but she’s got potential”  
Hunk defended his girlfriend, Lance not sure how he felt about Shay thinking he was weird when he’d been so nice to her in the past   
“She’s still learning. Shay is so smart, I’m sure she’ll catch up in no time. We weren’t that good when we started”  
“Maybe. She’s better than Matt. People want to see more of my “Hot Brother”. Like, excuse me?! Matt isn’t hot, and he’s not that smart either. We’re making a show about ghost hunting, not about my brother”

Eh. Sometimes he could throttle Matt and wish an in anaesthetised neutering upon him, yet, he wasn’t ugly. Objectively Lance assumed a lot of people would find mind Matt attractive   
“Matt’s not completely unattractive. Like you’re pretty cute for a criminal mastermind”  
Pidge made a fake retching sound. Matt to busy arguing with the others over how to hang the photo frame over the fireplace. It’d look nice there, better then the mirror and above his little shrine of super important things on his mantle   
“Dude, that’s my brother. No. You’re not allowed to say that”  
“I’m very happily taken by Keith, so you don’t have to worry about me climbing into bed with your brother. If anything I should be worried about Matt climbing into bed with me”

Pidge detached herself. Lance clinging to Hunk like gum to the bottom of a shoe. At this point someone might have to scrape him off. Anxiety was so cruel. The voices in his head telling him over and over that they’d never forgive him and he should rid them off the curse that was knowing him. He’d been preparing his heart, knowing he’d break theirs if he chose Cuba over coming home. Blue would go to Hunk, who’d make sure his princess would have all the wet food that her highness could desire.

“You guys are weird. Like, super weird. I get that you’re close, but why would Matt climb into bed with you”  
“It’s a wolf thing. They have a high sex drive. I’m a vampire so his ego is naturally ruffled, but my body can also take a lot more than human. Don’t worry, we punched it out and we’re friends. Rieva says I’m part of her pack, which is super weird for a wolf to accept a vampire”

Hunk was making his “confused face”. Lance didn’t have to see it to know he was. Pidge must be wishing she hadn’t gone there. A moment or two of thought passed before Hunk shrugged   
“I don’t think it’s weird. They do live with you”  
“Hunk, my sunshine. It’s not really a thing in my world. I’ve never hung around werewolves and vampires for longer than I could help it. Normally we’d both kill each other if we were strangers in the wrong territory. Even if we’re “domesticated” we still have strong egos that control us if we don’t keep a tight hold of them”  
“But you helped them out”  
Bless Hunk from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet  
“Yeah. But there’s all this instinct bullshit. Sometimes the smell of Rieva and Matt still makes my face go all vampire like and my nails get super long and scary. I guess maybe if you think of as being drunk and trying to act sober. There’s that part of you that’s all party with no fear and could anything. I don’t know how to really explain ego to you. It’s just there for me”

“Well... we’re here for you too. Shiro says we’re having a baby shower soon”  
Pidge wasn’t having a topic change by Hunk on her watch  
“Excuse me, but I think we were actually crowning me best aunt”  
“Shay would make a great aunt. And a great mother...”  
“Can I not have anything to myself?”  
Oh dear. He’d better not mention Allura   
“Now, now. We all know Curtis would make a great aunt too”  
“He doesn’t count. You two are too into those weird soap operas. Plus, Shiro said he’s the best uncle, so Curtis is already one up”  
“What about me?”  
Lance nuzzled into Hunk’s chest. He loved cuddles with Keith, but Hunk cuddles were a whole other feeling  
“You’ll be the very best uncle. As for a baby shower, can we wait? Until things have settled down and we’re closer to June?”  
Pidge tugged on his arm  
“But we want to celebrate”  
“And you will. That reminds me, should I be worried about Keith’s present?”  
“Oh, absolutely. We’re got to borrow you both for a bit, but we think he’ll be happy”

Putting two and two together, Lance bit down his groan. Obviously Keith’s bike was at Hunk’s dad’s garage. Great. Now he’d have to worry about Keith out on it  
“I know what’s happening. I don’t think I want to think about him back on his bike”  
“How did you know?”  
“Call it one of my many vampire senses. You guys can borrow him. I don’t want to see that death trap. He’s still got the scars from the accident”  
“Fiiiiine. We’ll borrow him. It’s not our fault if he comes back smiling”  
Lance smiled at the thought of Keith smiling. He loved it. He loved how unguarded Keith could be when he let his walls drop and let himself be happy  
“He does that”  
“Much more than when we met him. You’re completely to blame”

Blame was such a dirty and ugly word. Still, if he was to blame for Keith’s happiness, he’d take all the blame in the world.


	152. Chapter 152

152

Keith was absolutely the densest person Lance knew. Absolutely, completely, obliviously dense. His boyfriend was in the shit and he hadn’t seemed to even realise it.

Keith had forgotten Valentine’s Day.

Clear on forgotten. Rieva and Matt were off being wolves for the night. Lance had made a nice roast dinner with chocolate mousse for dessert. He’d cleaned, trimmed, and prepped himself. Made sure to take a big nap while dinner was cooking. Put the nice sheets on the bed, and a couple of candles on the bedside table. Endured hours of being stuck in horny limbo from the plug he’d left in place for Keith to find.

He’d been replaced by Keith’s stupid death trap. After their Christmas party, and at Hunk’s invitation, he, Matt and Keith had all been spending almost every day at the garage. Lance was fine with it. Keith was beyond excited to finally have his bike back on the road. He’d talked a million miles an hour filling Lance in on everything that needed to be done, and Lance was happy to stay home so he could get his office sorted.

Then Valentine’s Day came along. Their first Valentine’s Day as a couple. Hunk was going to Platt to watch a movie with Shay. Matt and Rieva were wolfing out. Shiro and Curtis were having a fancy dinner and a lot of sex, according to Curtis. Lance supposed he’d deserved the overshare because he’d been pretty much horny as fuck for Keith any way the could get him. He hadn’t even been mortally embarrassed when Matt yelled at them to shut up as Keith ate him out on the sofa. God if pregnancy sex wasn’t the apology for all the other stuff your body went through.

But that was all beside the point. Aiming for seductive, he’d sent Keith off to take a shower, letting him get away with only washing his hands before dinner. Pulling down the blankets, he tried to look the best he could at 23 and a half weeks pregnant with twins. There wasn’t much need to worry about his stomach being too small anymore, and as Keith loved it, he’d stripped down to lay across their bed in his boxer briefs... then remembered to light the candles and turn the ceiling light off in favour of the lamp on Keith’s side.

The sex had been great. Holding the bed head, he’d melted into the waves of pleasure. One hand on his stomach as Keith decided to attack his nipples again. When they’d finally fallen back with Lance in Keith’s lap, Keith had asked what the special occasion was. Lance had giggled... Thinking his boyfriend was teasing him, playing it off with a “You know. I just really love you”. And his boyfriend accepted it. It wasn’t until they were curled up that Lance remembered Keith hadn’t actually said “Happy Valentine’s Day”. His boyfriend’s wonder dick made him forget the whole reason he’d gone to the extra effort.

Lance waited. He waited the following day, pathetically internally pining for Keith to come home and tell him he’d been messing with him and they they had some kind reservation or something super intimate planned where Keith whisked him away. And nothing happened.

Nothing happened the following day. The day after that. And the day after that... Lance had snapped. Lance had snapped and his poor house was taking the brunt of it. His office was rearranged. The beds in Curtis’s room had to be moved out to turn it into the nursery, as well as the rest of furniture but the beds were the most annoying to deal with seeing he’d never thought they’d ever be moved out, so what better way to run from his pain than to be productive and ignore Keith’s scolding about him taking it easy and avoiding heavy lifting. Lifting wasn’t exactly an issue, being a vampire and all. The real issue was trying to fit what he was carrying out the room around his belly when it came to door frames. Matt wasn’t there to help him. He’d accidentally stolen the job Keith had in mind when he had the idea of quitting being a hunter. Lance finding out the first day the three of them had headed to the garage. Curtis was in Platt, his day time TV buddy resorted to calling him and they’d leave their phones on speakerphone while they watched TV.

By the fifth day of Keith forgetting, Lance was making plans of his own now. His office now had a single bed in it, making it a tight squeeze, but he trusted Curtis not to look through his files or on his desktop. Something he’d never foreseen ever happening. His work email had been flooded. A solid day taken just to catch up on that. Some clients he couldn’t help but agree to help, mostly phoning around and referring them on. So far Rieva was the only one who’d caught on to what had made him so driven of late. She and Matt had a very active night. Lance didn’t need to know the details... all it’d done was make him jealous and sad that Keith was so oblivious. She hadn’t said anything to Keith, leaving it to him, but god knew he couldn’t have left enough hints.

The hints had been there. Rieva brought him flowers, Keith calling it a “Nice Gesture”. The calendar on the fridge had the date marked with a love heart. Keith assuming it was Rieva and Matt thing. There’d been a heck of a lot adverts on TV for it, that Keith ignored. His hopeless arse had waited all his life to spend Valentine’s Day with a partner. It’d been a nice day with Keith, for that he should be grateful... and Keith was kind of distracted by something he loved... apparently more than Lance’s arse as they hadn’t had sex since the night of Valentine’s Day.

Sitting in the room that’d be the nursery, Lance felt he’d done a good job. The smell of paint hung in the air. After a quick sugar soaping of the walls, Lance had repainted them the same antique white they’d been to give them a fresh mark free canvas for them to start plotting things out, all while belting out that 70’s pop rock that Keith liked to tease him for. Certain things were staying. The mirrored chest of drawers would be bolted to the wall to prevent mishaps, and currently Lance was thoroughly absorbed looking at nursery furniture. Things had come a long way. He remembered aunt Sarah talking about a friend of hers who’d raised her children in a literal tent during the 1940’s. Now days if you could dream it, someone out there was selling it. So absorbed he didn’t hear Keith come home, or his boyfriend come up stairs, his music was a bit on the loud side of his normal settings.

The first clue he had that Keith was home was Keith scaring the heck out of him by grabbing him by the arm and dragging him out the nursery. Pulled along to their bedroom, Lance found himself sitting on the end of the bed, taking his headphones out as Keith stared down at him   
“Oh! Hey, you’re home”  
“What the heck were you thinking?!”  
Ummm, what now? Keith seemed cranky, cautiously he replied  
“I wasn’t?”  
“You were sitting in a room filled with paint fumes”

Oooooh. That  
“The window was open. I was trying to figure out what should go where”  
“I thought we were going to do the nursery together. Now you’ve emptied the room and gone and painted it by yourself”  
Ah...  
“I didn’t have anything else to do...”  
Keith cut him off  
“We didn’t even pick the colours together”  
Not appreciating being dragged out the nursery and being made to feel bad about something that wasn’t a permanent thing, Lance crossed his arms defensively. Yeah. Keith had every right to be upset, but he’d understand if he just calmed down for a moment   
“Are you going to let me explain or are you going to lecture me?”  
“You can just sit in a room filled with paint fumes! It’s not good for you, or for the twins. Plus you’ve emptied the room on your own. I told you I didn’t want you moving heavy things around”

Closing his eyes, Lance counted to three before opening them   
“I’m fine. Your twins are fine. I had to do something seeing you’re never home”  
Ooooh. Fuck. His ruffled ego caused him to be a douche  
“I’m working on my bike. I thought you were okay with that”  
He was. No matter how lonely he got during the day, Keith would come back all smiles and talk on end about him and Hunk working on his baby  
“Maybe if you weren’t working on your bike you wouldn’t have fucking forgotten what happened this week!”  
“You said we’d do the nursery together!”  
“All I did was empty the room and put on a fresh coat of paint to hide the marks!”  
“That you did alone! What if you’d fallen?! You could have hurt yourself!”  
“I’m fine!”

Were they fighting? It felt like they were fighting...  
“You’ve been in a mood for days!”  
“And who’s fault do you think that is?!”  
“I don’t know because you’re acting like I have no say in things!”  
“I painted the walls ready for when we decided on colours!”  
“It didn’t need another coat!”  
Keith sounded like he’d never painted a wall in his life. There were smudges across the walls from the furniture that would still be visible if they used a soft colour  
“Right! Well, obviously if you’ve decided it doesn’t matter it simply doesn’t matter!”

Keith threw his hands up  
“Why are you yelling at me?!”  
“Because you don’t give two shits about this whole thing, do you?! I’m home alone, what do you expect me to do?!”  
“Not demolish a room on your own! Seriously. Did you think at all?! What if you’d fallen?! What if you were bleeding out on the stairs and lost the twins because you were so impatient?! Then what?!”  
Lance snapped completely   
“Get out!”  
“What?”  
“Get out! Get out of my fucking house and don’t you dare come back until you’re ready to act like a fucking idiot!”  
“So my caring about my kids makes me a fucking idiot!? God! What is up with you?!”

Up with him?! He wasn’t the one who’d come home yelling. And he hadn’t done all the heavy lifting. He’d moved a few things and a few things Rieva had moved when he’d left them in the hall  
“Get out, Keith. Get out right now”  
“Why do I have to leave?! I can home early to see you!”  
“All you’ve done is yell at me! You know what, you stay. I’ll go!”  
Normally yelling at each other resulted in finding common ground. Not... actual fighting... He didn’t know how to fight with Keith. Getting up off the bed, Keith reached for him, Lance slapping his hand away  
“Lance!”

Lance felt bad for slapping Keith’s hand away. He didn’t want to keep fighting with Keith, yet with them both annoyed it was likely he’d say something he didn’t mean now that his ego was riled up. Valentine’s Day is the one day of the year that celebrates love. He couldn’t turn off his pathetically romantic heart or how much Keith forgetting actually really bloody hurt. When the reality had set in, his heart had hurt so much that he couldn’t breathe   
“If you’re not leaving, then I’m going to Platt!”  
“You can’t go to Platt, there’d not enough fuel in the car”  
Of course there wasn’t. Lance didn’t exactly get to go out much. There’d be too many questions, and all Keith was using his Bronco for was to go to and from the garage   
“Then I’ll walk!”

“Babe. You’re being... Why are you being you like this?”  
Keith looked crestfallen. Kind of like if Lance had kicked their precious fur son. He needed to go. He could easily walk into town then beg Rieva for a lift to Platt. Though he’d have fewer questions from the townspeople if he tried calling her first. Actually... Hunk might be the better choice because he’d at least listen to him from the start  
“Because right now I’m really upset. You hurt my feelings more than once and you didn’t want to listen to me about the nursery. I didn’t make any big decisions without you and I never put the twins at risk. You managed to make it sound like you’re more worried for them for me. So thanks for that. I’m going to have Hunk take me to see Coran, because right now I can’t be around you”  
“What’s that supposed to mean?”  
“It means work it out yourself. God. I can’t even be mad at you for not knowing... even if it hurts like hell. I can’t...”

*  
Keith was shaking as the front door slammed. Frozen in Lance’s room, he stared down at his boyfriend’s bed with tears in his eyes. He knew he hadn’t missed Lance’s birthday, so he didn’t know what he’d missed that had put him in so much trouble with his boyfriend.

Lance never did take resting well. Keith knew he’d spent a lot of time working on his bike, but he didn’t think he’d missed anything hugely important. Lance had been acting strange for a few days, Keith put it down to him trying to get thing organised, and the loss of freedom seeing the town rumour mill would explode if anyone saw Lance waddling around with his pregnant stomach. What was so wrong about wanting Lance to wait? His boyfriend practically emptied the whole room alone. All the energy into moving furniture around and heavy lifting couldn’t be good for their twins or for Lance.

Usually when they yelled at each they kind of worked things out mid-fight and they were okay. Lance seemed seriously mad at him, and his dumb arse didn’t know why. Had he overreacted when he’d found Lance sitting in the nursery alone? He didn’t think he did. He’d been able to smell the wet paint when he’d opened the front door. Kosmo hadn’t escaped, flecks of white across his back. And what did Lance mean that he cared more for the twins?!

Did Lance think he was being distant? He wasn’t trying to be distant. If he was it because of Krolia and not Lance. His mother and Mami were frustrating. Fucking Krolia’s present was a few photos of wedding rings, and a nearly empty ring box. In the place of the ring was a small piece of paper reading “When?”. Lance didn’t want to be engaged. He didn’t want to rush to be married. Keith didn’t want to rush, couldn’t help the sting knowing Lance would say no if he proposed. Not that he didn’t love him, but he wanted them to grow more together as a couple and for things to really settle.

Shit. It hurt his head. The garage was hot. All he wanted was home and cuddles with his body tied.

With Lance deciding he had to leave home, Keith called Hunk to give him the heads up. Once he remembered how to move and had flopped onto the bed he shared with his boyfriend to wallow over whatever he’d done wrong. Lance had already called Hunk, Hunk on his way to pick Lance up, promising to try to convince him not to go all the way to Platt where Keith couldn’t simply chase after him.

Maybe Lance was mad that he hadn’t filled up the Bronco? It’d been on Keith’s to do list. He’d been busy with his bike. They’d stripped her down, taken measurements for new panels and he’d taken pride in knowing his bike well enough to be able to name the parts he needed. Matt had stolen the job he’d wanted. The stupid werewolf now employed as an apprentice mechanic. Matt was way smarter and better than him at most things, he was the logical choice, but Keith didn’t see how he could hunt and level Lance alone with their children to fear he wasn’t coming back.

An hour later Hunk called to let them know that were at VOLTRON, and Lance was okay. Trying to pry the answer of his fuck up from his friend, all Hunk would tell him was “That he really messed up”, and “He agreed with Lance that he needed to work it out on his own”. Oh, and “that Lance was going to stay overnight in Platt to rest”. Keith fought to keep both his temper and his tears at bay. It was so like Lance to run when he thought he was protecting him. He was going to work out what had all gone wrong, all by himself and prove to Lance he did care about him, not just their twins.

By Keith’s reckoning it’d been about a week that Lance started acting strange. Needing coffee because he needed to absolutely figure this out, and not because coffee felt like his only friend, Keith found up a pen and writing pad, sitting at the kitchen table determinedly. He could totally do this. Right. He had to back think the order of events. First, Hunk and Pidge had shown his bike, so that went at the top of the list. He’d been pretty busy with his baby, so that was second. Rieva gifting Lance flowers for no apparent reason... He wasn’t sure how that fitted, but it went on his list. What the fuck happened in February that he was clueless to. Matt and Rieva’s anniversary... Turning to the fridge, he jotted down the heart drawn on the 14th. Okay. So they’d gone off and wolfed out for the night. Maybe this was Hunk related? He’d gone off with Shay... That went on the list too. Lance had prepped himself which had been an awesome surprise seeing they had the house to themselves while Matt and Rieva enjoyed their anniversary. 

Half an hour later, Keith was on his third cup. His list confusing as heck:  
Bike.  
Not home.  
Lance. Flowers. Rieva.  
Matt and Rieva. Anniversary. 14th.  
Hunk. Shay. Date.  
Lance. Sex. Prep. Home alone.  
Empty nursery.  
Mad Lance.  
Lance not mad.  
Office move around.  
Nursery painted.  
Lance’s feelings hurt.  
Scan 26th. Twins?  
Allura’s vision?  
Too much time at garage?  
Too much time with Matt?  
Jealousy? The   
Curtis?  
Using the last of the milk?  
Work?  
Angry client?  
Luis?  
Coran?

Pidge seemed to be their only friend who hadn’t done something that could have possibly upset Lance. Lance had been on both his phones a lot lately. Mostly talking to Curtis... But then Hunk seemed to know what was going on too... Why was he so backwards?

“Keith?”  
Snapping his head up, Keith hadn’t heard Rieva arrive home. He’d come home early as he’d wanted Lance snuggled time without Matt and Rieva around  
“Oh, hey. Back from work?”  
Nodding, Rieva tilted her head, Keith flushing as he realised she was reading his list. Covering it quickly, he felt like a high schooler sprung by a teacher  
“What’s that?”  
Carrying over the white bags with left overs from work, Rieva didn’t seem to be judging his dumb arse. She seemed more curious  
“Lance had Hunk take him to Platt”  
“Oooooh”  
She knew! He knew she knew! She knew he knew she knew!  
“You know what’s going on, don’t you?”

There was a crash in the fridge a Rieva unpacked, Rieva didn’t seem to mind the avalanche   
“Yep”  
“He’s mad at me, isn’t he?”  
“Yep”  
“I’m trying to work it out. Am I missing something obvious?”  
Rieva flashed him a grin as she emerged with the orange juice  
“Yep”  
Keith groaned at her, slumping forward over the table with his arms extended, staring at his list  
“He said he wasn’t mad... but that I hurt his feelings”  
“Well, Lance does have a hard time being mad at you”  
Lance seemed pretty done with him before, Keith mumbling   
“He yelled and stormed off”  
“That’s not good”

Geez. Really? His pregnant boyfriend storming out wasn’t “good”?! He’d never have guessed! Pouring her glass of juice, Rieva walked past him, putting the bottle away before coming up behind him and resting her chin on his shoulder  
“Your list’s wrong”  
What did she mean it was “wrong”? This had taken three coffees to get this far!  
“What do you mean?”  
“I mean it wasn’t mine and Matt’s anniversary on the 14th. Hunk is fine. I know he’s dying for you to work this out. So I can’t give you any more clues. You’re a smart boy, Keith. I’ll be in living room when you’ve worked it out all by yourself”

Some help Rieva was. She up and left him, more confused than ever. Okay. He could do this. If his list was wrong... Rieva had said it wasn’t their anniversary. And it definitely wasn’t his and Lance’s. They’d met at the end of the first week in April. They’d got together in May. The twins weren’t due... and they’d been conceived at the start of September. So what the heck in February was so important that Lance would be disappointed in him? They’d gone to see Mami on the one month anniversary of her death. From memory it wasn’t her birthday. Nope. He had no clue.

“Rieva? Can I use my phone?!”  
“Yes! As long as you research things yourself!”  
Okay. He could his phone. But what did he type in? Just “February”? Would that tell him? Maybe it was a cultural thing? Keith wasn’t used to cultural things. All he really knew was that “Kogane” was Korean, and maybe that his dad was Korean-American. He had no idea about Krolia. She was just... a mystery. They hadn’t got that far, but if she wasn’t talking about mysterious relatives that must mean there weren’t any. Since Lance came into his life, he was more okay with that, because he wasn’t alone. Not that Shiro didn’t count. It was more like Lance’s love fixed that bit of him more and more everyday.

Googling “Holidays in February” brought a fat lot of nothing. The heart on the calendar had to mean something. Googling “heart February” only brought up that February was heart awareness month. That was well and good, but not what Lance was hinting at. Googling “Heart February 14” still brought up heart awareness... until he scrolled down out of sheer desperation. Valentine’s Day. He’d forgotten Valentine’s Day! He’d forgotten a day that was probably more important to Lance than his own birthday. Letting out a miserable groan, everything fell into place.

“I take it you figured it out?!”  
He was... beyond stupid. Rieva knew he’d missed it. They all knew he’d missed it. Everyone one of their friends, except for him. Her calling out proved how right he was  
“It was Valentine’s Day!”  
“Ding ding ding! You’ve got it!”  
He wished he hadn’t. How did he... how? Lance had made dinner, which wasn’t totally out of the norm, but now that he thought about it had been a bit fancier than normal. His boyfriend had prepped himself. Laying nearly naked across their bed... He’d been thinking too much with his damn dick... 

Carrying his phone into living room, Keith had teared up. He didn’t blame Lance for being upset. His boyfriend had probably been waiting to be wooed all day... Sprawled across the sofa, Rieva tilted her head over the arm looking up at him upside down   
“Keith?”  
“How did I miss it?”  
Sitting up, Rieva patted the spot next to her  
“Come tell me what happened”  
Keith didn’t want comforting. He wanted a time machine   
“I yelled at him”  
Rieva sighed sympathetically, patting the spot again   
“Lance wasn’t so much mad as disappointed. I wanted to tell you, but he said it was okay, and I let him. Here, come sit down. I’m sure whatever happened he’ll listen and calm down”  
“I don’t know... I... How could I miss Valentine’s Day as a... as our first Valentine’s together?”  
“We only had Christmas like last week. Cut yourself a break and get over here”

This was true. Christmas had been delayed and he’d never actually had anyone to spend Valentine’s Day with. He’d ignored all of it and all that was related with the overly commercialised day. It’d never applied to him, when it had it’d been joke love letters stuffed in his locker to mock him. Not exactly the thing of a magical love story. For Lance, he’d be different. He was the most romantic man he knew. If Lance could imagine it, he’d most likely daydreamed about it... Then Keith had gone and fucked up as his boyfriend internally deflated.

“How do I fix this?”  
Still standing, he looked to his feet then back to Rieva, Rieva smiling as she answered  
“With a plan all of your own. But it’s okay, because I’ll help you now you’ve worked out the main issue”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance - No, no, babe! I don’t need romance! I love you!
> 
> Lance Internally - Romance me! Love me! Tell me I’m pretty and give me kisses!
> 
> Keith - Eh, nothing major happens in February. 
> 
> Lance knowing Keith is dense, praying for a miracle, only for it not to happen - Y U LIKE THIS?!
> 
> Everyone around them - He actually expected Keith to remember? Not our problem! Booges not dealing with the fall out!


	153. Chapter 153

153

Keith’s heart was currently somewhere in his throat as he struggled to breathe around the solid lump wedged in there. Though that might have also been the tie around his neck, which may be too tight but just right if he had to make a dash off the mortal coil. He knew he had to do something big to apologise for his behaviour. Rieva had pulled so hard on his ear as he admitted he’d lost his cool over the nursery that his ear still hurt. Call had been made. Shiro had groaned, but played his part, and now it was time to see Lance and of his boyfriend would let him apologise.

Lance loved love. Keith sent on a two hour mission across Platt to find anything Valentine’s Day related. He’d managed to find a teddy bear with chocolates, marked well and truly down enough to make Keith mentally kick himself all over again. Coran offered his help, but this was something Keith had to do by himself. Suited up, because he knew Lance loved it when he did, Keith held both the bear and two dozen long stem red roses that he’d paid an outrageous amount for. In the bag hanging off his arm was dinner. Italian, as Lance couldn’t say no to Italian food, as well as a bottle of non-alcoholic red wine. Coran had confirmed Lance was resting on his own, though warned him not to distress him further or he’d be kicked out. The way Coran had looked him had hurt. Coran was worried about the pair of them, yet didn’t hide the disappointment with a fake smile. Not that Coran had straight out said he was disappointed. He didn’t need to. Keith knew enough to know when he’d disappointed someone despite the compliment about him looking “quite dapper and fetching in a suit”

Knocking lightly on the door, Keith hated the place. Every time he came down to the medical wing he felt his stomach drop. The space barely had any fond memories, with visiting usually meaning Lance wasn’t doing too well. Letting himself in, Lance was laying with his back to the door. His boyfriend not moving  
“It was Valentine’s Day. I missed Valentine’s Day. And I am so sorry. I have no excuses. I shouldn’t have lost my temper about the nursery either. I worry. I worry too much. But the thought of something happening to you breaks me on the inside”  
“I’m not fragile and I’m not human”

Lance’s wobbly tone told Keith that his boyfriend was either crying or on the verge of crying. Keith not that far behind in the tears department   
“I know you’re not fragile. To me you’re more human that most of the humans out there. I... so much has happened, but I... can’t get that image out of my head. You laying on the bed with blood between your legs. I keep... getting stuck on it. On how I could have lost you permanently, over something... something that... you do every day. I know you don’t forget, but I don’t think I’ll ever forget seeing you like that. When you saved me from Matt in the tunnels, I didn’t think there was anything that’d hurt more than seeing you torn to shreds. But then I... I think of you... bleeding and bleeding and somehow our twins surviving. It’s like a miracle. I get scared that something is going to happen and then you’ll all be gone”

“I know you get scared. But, today really hurt me. It felt like on top of ignoring Valentine’s Day, that I was nothing more than the breeding container for you kids. That Valentine’s Day was your way of saying you don’t like me as much as you used to, then today was the nail in the coffin. I tried not to let it hurt but you didn’t know. I went to so much effort to make... make it all special and then... I waited. And I waited. And then you were asleep and I realised you didn’t know at all. I know you don’t pay attention to things like that... but I thought maybe I was special enough that you’d have some secret plan”

Keith couldn’t feel shittier. Lance had waited for him again. This time he’d been right there and oblivious   
“I’m sorry”  
“I know you are and that makes it hurt so much more because you take such good care of me. I wanted to show you you mean the world to me and I... I wanted to spoil you because we couldn’t go on an actual date like everyone else did. I didn’t even... all I did was paint the nursery walls. Matt and Rieva helped with moving some things and I tried so hard to be careful. I scuffed up the floors... scraped the walls, and dented the stairs... because I didn’t want to keep thinking about you not liking me how you did. I know you love me... You... you didn’t hear what I was saying. You’re my heart and soul... so it hurt even more than I can handle”

Lance was one of the most house proud people he knew. He wasn’t obnoxious about it like in TV shows, nor did he go out of his way to brag about the things he had. His pride manifested in the way he kept things near and maintained. Things like a dripping tap would be fixed as soon as he noticed him. His love for his house was felt by everyone who visited. That Lance would intentionally harm his house said he wasn’t acting normally. Sure, his boyfriend had a track record of walking into things or falling down them, Lance had to also understand that his klutzy ways scared the shit out of Keith. The last example of his boyfriend’s uncoordination was Lance smacking his face on the bedside table trying to turn the lamp off and not disturb Blue. 

“I don’t want to fight with you”  
“I don’t either... I know you didn’t mean to forget... I just got my hopes up. I built it all up in my head”  
“I’m sorry. Can I come closer?”  
Lance nodded, Keith finding his legs stiff as he made his way over to stand in front of his boyfriend. With the blankets pulled up to his chin, Lance looked far too vulnerable. His eyes scrunched tightly closed as he sniffled  
“I know I’m late, but... I... I picked up a few things. Are you up to sitting up?”  
“Gimme a moment..”  
“Okay. Do you need help?”  
“I can do that much... I didn’t... I didn’t mean to act so selfish”  
“I wish you’d told me. We had one of the best nights we’ve had in ages and I was so fucking clueless”

Lance opened his eyes as he propped himself up to sit. They were a little red from crying and a whole lot of wide as he stared at the roses in Keith’s hand  
“They’re for you. I thought you would have smelt them and the surprise would have been ruined”  
“You brought me flowers? And you’re... in a suit?!”  
Keith nodded, kind of self conscious and wishing the happiness in Lance’s eyes was solely for him and not the roses   
“You said you liked how I looked and it’s not like I wear one often”  
“You look amazing... and I look like this... God... I hate fighting with you. I hate that I snapped...”  
“I was the one who overreacted. With your sense of smell I panicked over how you could tolerate the paint”  
“Honestly I’ve been smelling so much lately I let the paint knock my sense of smell out... I’m so sorry. I know I overreacted and I didn’t know how to come home and tell you I was sorry. I’m the worst boyfriend...”  
“I’m the one who didn’t know Valentine’s Day had passed. I messed up our first Valentine’s Day as a couple”  
Lance rubbed his eyes, failing at keep his tears at bay   
“I’m the one who built it up”  
“So you should. I know you’re a romantic. Fuck. I wish I’d known...”  
“It’s not like we could go anywhere if you did”

That was true... but fuck it. He wanted to. Keith had had plenty of time to overthink things and rule out potential dates as he did  
“We could”  
“We can’t... I’m too big”  
With his boyfriend down in tears, Keith hurried to sit on the bed beside Lance’s legs, placing his hand on Lance’s leg and kind of hoping the takeaway containers didn’t open as he did   
“You’re not too big. You’re not. Fuck anyone who says that”  
“We can’t hide it”  
“Fuck them. It’s nobody’s business but ours. Tomorrow. We can go tomorrow. Anywhere you want”  
Lance shook his head  
“I can’t. What if... the wrong people see. Things have died down”  
“Most vampires don’t walk around during the day. I won’t force you, but I’d love to go on a date with you”  
“But your bike?”  
“Babe, you’re a hundred times more important than my bike. I brought dinner too. Italian because I know that’s you’re favourite”

Keith was slightly lost as Lance cried harder, hiding his face completely. The hunter was sure Coran would be bursting through the door to yell at him for upsetting Lance any moment now  
“Hey, no need to cry”  
“You’re doing all this for me and I was so shitty to you!”  
“You weren’t shitty. Maybe a bit, but I’m the one who forgot”  
“How did you figure it out?”  
“I made a list of things then worked through it. I thought the heart on the fridge was to mark Rieva’s and Matt’s anniversary”  
“I don’t even know when that it!”  
Keith snorted. As if he had any clue. Matt and Rieva were just... a complete package from the start  
“Neither do I. I’ve never had a Valentine’s before. I don’t know if this is right...”

Lance lowered his hands, big blue eyes staring at straight at Keith  
“It’s perfect. You’re perfect. I... I don’t deserve you”  
“You deserve everything good, babe. Do you want to have dinner with me?”  
Lance’s lack of immediate answer sent Keith’s stomach falling. His boyfriend sniffling hard, moving both hands to his stomach as he did  
“Okay... but... tomorrow... tomorrow can we do something you want to do? I don’t care what kind of date we go on. I just want to go with you”  
“Babe, I think we both remember how it went on our first date. It was kind of a disaster”  
Lance granted him a soft smile with his fangs showing. He was just too damn cute, and it was too easy to forget he was 45 when he didn’t look or act it   
“It wasn’t... I mean... I didn’t expect a gun range, but, I was happy. And happy in the hotel room. I’m happy when I’m with you. I don’t need special”  
“You deserve special”  
“Babe. Special is like... overrated. What’d make me happy is doing something you want to do”  
“But I’m the one who forgot”  
“And you’re the one who suggested a date. We’re either doing something you want to do, or we’re not going”

Keith channel his best “Kosmo” look. Pouting as he stared at Lance, Lance simply crossing his arms. It wasn’t fair. He knew he’d kind of nailed the look Kosmo gave that got him out of the shit most of the time. Holding the expression, Lance finally laughed after several long moments   
“Stop it. It’s not going to work”  
“It seems pretty effective”  
“That’s because I have a hard time saying no to the man I love. I’m serious, Keith. I want to do something for you and me, that you like. I don’t want you thinking I love you any less if you don’t keep me happy, because that isn’t what I want in a relationship at all. I want you to be a bit bossy and be selfish, because honestly you really struggle with that. You’re important to me. The things you like are important to me. The nursery... I’d... I’d never go ahead and decide on everything. You’re the father of our twins. They’re half you. And a whole lot of responsibility. I looked at few things I like, but I want to know what you like. I want to make memories as we make these choices together. You scared me when you suddenly grabbed me”  
“I’m sorry. I just... get caught up in the “maybes”. Like how you shouldn’t be stressing yourself, and what Allura said, and that you’ve had a bleed”  
“It was barely really a bleed...”  
“The first one wasn’t”

Lance’s face fell. Keith felt mean for trying to drive home that he couldn’t cope with that fear, but he really did Lance to understand that it was something he grappled with  
“I didn’t... I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have... not if...”  
“I know. I feel that same fear you feel when I’m hurt. That feeling like all the oxygen has been sucked out the room... I know you’re tough and strong, but I also know you’ve been through a metric ton of fuckery, like some messed up author keeps throwing crap at us when all we want to do is get on with our lives. And... and when you do things without me, I wonder... if I’m needed”  
“You’re needed. I swear it. But this is something we’re going to need to work on, to meet half way. I got too self reliant, that I let myself be all swept up. When I get something in my head I like to do it then and there to get it out the way. I’m not trying to disclude you. Exclude you. Disclude isn’t even a word. And... I may have over done things trying to cope with my anxiety. I know you love me... but I live with my ego too. You settle and soothe that part of me. So I think I react even more because I’m so used to it settling around you. It never used to settle. It was a chronic itch under my skin that I fought with every day since I died. You didn’t ask to deal with my ego on top of me”

Lance sounded so troubled by this mysterious force Keith couldn’t understand no matter how many different ways it was explained to him. He was himself. His ego was his self of self. Lance’s ego acted as if Lance was an unwelcome in his own body. He’d known that all along. That he could soothe Lance’s ego showed how deeply Lance and the monster inside trusted him to do right by them  
“No, babe. I knew you struggled with your ego. I knew that it was this other part of you. I still love you. Ego and all. Now, I’ve got dinner and alcohol free wine. You’ve got just enough bed space to move over so we can eat and cuddle...”  
“Only if you agree our date will be somewhere you want to go”  
Somewhere Lance liked. He liked seeing Lance happy... He didn’t know how to ask for more, nor did he need anything more  
“Okay. I’m still super sorry”  
“I’m sorry too. We’ve been through a lot, and you’re so sweet to me. You keep me going and...”  
“And you gave me a super romantic night that I had no idea about”

Lance snorted at him  
“I feel like that’s saying I’m not romantic enough”  
“Babe, you’re very romantic. I know it’s cliche, but having you to come home to makes all the difference. Even when I’m covered with grease. That should have been my biggest clue”  
Normally he was met kisses then sent to shower, or if Lance was asleep on the sofa he stole a kiss then headed up to clean up  
“Well we did only just have Christmas not that long ago, but let’s aim to actually celebrate things on the right day this year”  
“And next year...”  
“Babe, we’re gonna have two kids either crawling or walking. We’re gonna have our hands full”  
“Their uncles can watch them. I can’t believe Shiro didn’t remind me”  
“He’s got a lot going on. You look really handsome in that suit. I don’t think I’ve seen more than pictures of you in one”  
“Then you get the whole suit experience for the first time. Matching socks and underwear and all”  
Lance laughed at him, starting to move over as he did  
“I’m down for the suit experience, but I’m more down for cuddles. It’s a shame your suit’s going to get wrinkled. You look very dashing and very charming”  
Keith blushed harder than he should have. He’d tried to look good for Lance, and not like the slob he was slowly evolving from  
“That I know I can’t forget. Uh. I mean... I can’t forget the cuddles... uh... okay, let me get the hospital table and we’ll eat”

Lance’s smile was so bright that it sent Keith stupid. Lance had been through so much that he didn’t even notice the love he gave to everyone around him. The way he’d fix small rips or tears if he found them in the washing. The way he’d swapped to lactose free milk like it was nothing. The way he held him like he didn’t have blood on his hands. The constant encouragement. The way he gave and gave. He could be a brat. A total brat and sometimes he drove Keith crazy being too nice and too ready to help. But Keith didn’t think he could repay Lance for the way he’d changed him. Not all changes were good. Lingering thoughts of the people who’d died in Zarkon’s mansion haunted him. He’d never overthought about the life of a vampire until Lance came. He’d always wonder how many he’d killed who’d been on humanities side. Yet... his overall view of the world had softened. Shades of grey now seen between that black and white line of vampires being evil abominations and humans being good. Not that all humans were good either. They’d both had their moments. Keith did wonder if he’d be able to keep things spicy enough for Lance to stay interested him, then he’d remember that his boyfriend really seemed content with Keith simply existing in the same space as him, and some of that anxiety he’d suffered his whole life would simply fade away. Lance standing in the kitchen. The smile just for him. He didn’t need to propose or rush, despite the occasional compulsion, because Lance wanted to move slowly. To wait for him to catch up. He held out his hand and smoothed the way forward, despite all the ups and downs. Next year he wouldn’t forget. He’d remember and make sure Lance felt like he was the main character of those trashy romance movies he loved so much.


	154. Chapter 154

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t let me write dates

154

Fussing over Lance, Lance sighed for the hundredth time at his boyfriend. He loved Keith. Treasured Keith. Adored Keith. Cherished him with everything he had, but surely their had to be some kind of limit to the amount on guy could fuss over another, especially seeing he’d been fussing over him since early morning. Keith had wanted to cancel their date on account of Lance’s morning sickness. Lance wasn’t having it. He was having his date with Keith and nothing was stopping him. Not nausea. Not lack of sleep. And not Keith fussing over him when he was totally fine-ish.

Keith was taking their date seriously. Lance was seriously kicking himself over the previous day, despite the fact that Keith finally working it out made him stupidly happy. Plus, Keith had enjoyed the evening, even if he had no idea what was happening at the time. His boyfriend had taken this date seriously enough that he’d spent a hefty chunk of time on his phone working out where they were going. Knowing Keith would consider his feelings, he really hoped that Keith had seen how much he wanted to do something with him that his boyfriend enjoyed. Things were better that way. That way they’d both be excited and have more to talk about than just Lance blabbing on and on about his own interests.

“Are you sure you’re okay? You’ve got your hands on your stomach”  
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes at Keith, Lance wondered where else his hands would be. The twins were moving, like they were as excited as Lance was for this date  
“Keith, it’s kind of the most convenient place for them”  
“You’re not in pain?”  
Lance gave in to the urge to roll his eyes as he replied   
“I’m fine. Like the other hundred and one times you asked. I’m fine and I’m excited, but no pain”

Other than the discomfort of having to pee, and the general achiness of his hips. He’d been anxious about the date, being pregnant and all that, but now he was in disguise... Kind of. He had his jumper on that no longer really hid his bump, but the cap on his head his hair, and the thick sunglasses took up most of his face. Coran has given them the okay to go out, as long as they were careful and Lance took things easy. Around his neck was a blue scarf, that Keith had stunk up for him, so he was as ready as he was ever going to be when it came to slipping back into the general human population. 

Huffing, Keith drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, waiting for the lights to turn green. Lance clueless and loving that he was  
“I’m sorry... I know you’re excited”  
“I am. And you’re anxious that I’m not going to like the surprise...”  
“A bit”  
“Babe. It’s not going to be like super different than normal. It’s you and me, seeing something together. It’s about making memories and not stressing”  
“I know. I still... want things to go well”  
He would have kissed Keith if Keith wasn’t so focused on not killing them  
“They will. Just concentrate on not getting us lost”  
Keith shot him a scowl, deadpan with his reply  
“You’re hilarious”

Another 5 minutes passed before they were pulling into the parking lot and Lance was lighting up. Being landlocked Platt didn’t have a whole lot of water around it. There was an artificial dam of sorts, where people could swim, boat and fish, and for some reason there was also this place. Platt Aquarium and Animals. Their sign boasted about the conservation work they did in the area. It’d been a long time since Lance went there. Probably sometimes around his first year back at college when he’d only just made friends with Pidge and Hunk. He’d brought Mami along, so she could meet them again, and it was one of those places he’d meant to take Keith on a date to before all the craziness had happened. 

Cutting the engine, Keith seemed tense. Lance reaching out to place his hand on his boyfriend’s thigh  
“This is it, right?”  
“I mean... uh... if it’s not too lame”  
Probably a little lame, but by Lance’s standards it was a whole lot of unlame  
“It’s not lame. Did you know this place has sharks?”  
“It said on the website”  
“That’s the whole reason isn’t it? You want to see sharks and tell them their traitors for not having two dicks, don’t you?”

Keith’s cheeks reddened. Lance chuckling. His boyfriend was so cute when he blushed   
“It’s fine. As long as you don’t get the compulsion to try punch one”  
“I’m not going to punch a shark. Not unless it tries to make you lunch”  
Lance raised an eyebrow, knowing full well what Keith meant   
“I could support a shark making me a sandwich”  
Keith groaned. His boyfriend too stressed to be able to take a joke  
“Not like that. Why... How would that even work?”  
The mental images shouldn’t have been as funny as they were, he couldn’t help the small giggle at the thought   
“Carefully. Seriously, if you keep stressing in going to start stressing”  
“But is it enough? I wanted to...”  
“Babe, you’re overthinking. This is one of the places I wanted to bring you. I think the names changed, but this place is super cool. I thought you’d love taking photos of the fish”  
“So... this is better than a shooting range, right?”  
“Much. Let’s go already. I want to see all the fish and the animals. I think they even have bats here. You’re not going to get me confused with another bat, are you?”  
“As long as you stay human”  
“Well I can’t seem to turn into a bat carting around our twins, so I think we’re pretty safe in that department”  
“You’ll let me know if you need a break or anything?”  
“Yes, dad. Now can we go in?”

Keith paid for their tickets, Lance already losing concentration when it came to the tanks filled tiny neon fish in the reception area. Keith’s eyes had lit up the moment they’d stepped through the doors, Lance smiling at his boyfriend’s excitement that Keith was trying not to let break his cool calm “adult” demeanour. Keith had probably never got to go to an aquarium as a kid. Shiro had to have taken him, or maybe Shiro and Adam had made a family day of it. Lance hoped so. He hoped Keith wasn’t overthinking him having been there before. Having older siblings meant doing this kind of thing when Mami and Papi could afford it. When he’d been a kid there’d been this face painter at an aquarium they’d been to. Lance had his face painted with as many different fish as he could, then refused to take a shower that night because he didn’t want them to come off. Instead most of them scratched off against his pillow and he’d been devastated the following morning.

Sliding their tickets into his wallet, Keith took him by the hand as Lance moved away from the family wanting to get to the ticket counter. His boyfriend putting his wallet in his back pocket, staring at his feet as he did  
“You probably know this place better than I do”

Stupid nerves. Lance wanted to kiss away all Keith’s anxieties. Sure, internally he was paranoid and just as fearful of something going wrong, but if he kept to that chain of thought then neither of them would have any fun  
“If that’s your way out of us seeing everything, I’ve got news for you”  
“I mean... where do we go?”  
There were maps, and three different ways to the exit. Keith would know this if he wasn’t so anxious. His boyfriend had no right being so adorable  
“You follow the yellow arrows on the floor until you’re past the biggest tank. That’s the one with the sharks in it”  
“And is there anything I shouldn’t do?”  
Other than punching sharks? And following common sense? Nope. There was only one “rule” that Lance could think of which would ease both their anxieties   
“Yep. But the absolute worst thing you can do here is let go of my hand. I want to see everything here with you”

Keith ducked his head as he squeezed Lance’s hand, embarrassed as he mumbled  
“I didn’t mean that”  
“I know. Still, I want to hold your hand”  
“You already are, dumbarse”  
“Yep. I’m not letting go either. You’ll wander off and get lost if I do”  
“If anything, you’re the one more likely to wander off”  
“Why would I? I mean, like, the best part of the date is you, so why would I leave your side?”  
Keith groaned at him, Lance bumping him with his hip  
“Come on, mullet. Let’s go see some fishes... I wonder if they actually have mullets here... a photo of a mullet in front of a mullet...”  
Keith stepped on his toes lightly, Lance shaking his head as he grinned. This was going to be the most awesome date ever. He was going to make sure of it.

*  
Lance was a vampire in too deep. He couldn’t help himself and now he was lost as Keith tried to make conversation over the “colony of Nemo’s” in the tank they’d stopped to coo over. He couldn’t help but be distracted, and what was worse was that Keith had noticed his distraction. His boyfriend trying to make more of an effort, though he absolutely didn’t need to. Excusing himself to the bathroom. Lance went through the usual routine, before standing in front of the mirror. He didn’t look like he was having a good time. He didn’t look terribly healthy either. There was a major problem he was having and it was ruining his whole date.

Keith was too cute. 

Trying to fix his appearance up in the bathroom, he came out to find his boyfriend sitting on the bench looking dejected. With his elbows on his thighs and his figure hunched forward as he held his head in his hands, Lance felt like a douche. He wasn’t trying not to have a good time. He just kept looking at Keith and getting caught up in the expression on his face. The wonder. The innocence. The way he scrunched his nose and put on a posh accent as he tried to pronounce species names. This date was so perfect that his stupid heart was dying from a Keith overload. They weren’t clumsy teens fawning over each other, they were supposed to be mature adults... but that went out the window each time Keith would smile and Lance would find his own smile growing wider. Keith was stressing out and his boyfriend had no clue. Despite how embarrassing it was going to be, he was going to have to tell him so Keith knew the date was anything but awful.

Sitting down beside his boyfriend, Keith sighed heavily  
“I fucked this up again, didn’t I?”  
Lance’s heart damn near broke  
“No. No... it’s not that”  
“I thought you’d be happy...”  
“I am”  
“So why are you... so sad?”  
Resting his head against Keith’s shoulder, Lance let out a shaky breath, trying not to cry over Keith feeling so bad  
“It’s...”  
“It’s me, isn’t it?”  
“Yeah. But not the way you think”  
Lance cringed at his own words. Zero reassurance right there. Flinching a little as Keith sat up and he was forced to move back  
“I wanted this to go well”  
“I... okay. This is kind of embarrassing, but I can’t take my eyes off of you”

Drawing his brow, Keith seemed ready to start yelling or internally implode trying to ask what the heck that meant without having quite the right words or brainpower to figure them out. Right. He could do this. He’d comforted Keith a hundred times before... though if that was true than his boyfriend probably should have more rights when it when it came to fussing  
“I mean... You just look so happy and so cute that I keep getting distracted by you. And then I realise I’ve kind of mostly missed everything because I can’t take my eyes off you. I’m not not having a good time. I’m just being... weird... because... you’re really cute”  
“What the fuck?”

Finally it was Lance’s chance to groan. What part of what he’d said wasn’t making sense  
“You. Look. Cute”  
“You’re watching me instead of the fish?”  
“I’m watching you watching the fish...”  
“I start looking at the fish then I see you and my heart goes weird. I’m having a small panic about what to do though. I like being able to talk to you about your interests, and mine, in this case. But I can’t seem to keep my eyes off you”  
Keith opened and closed his mouth, before dramatically sighing and ruffling up his hair   
“What am I supposed to say about that?!”  
“I don’t know”  
“You sound like you love me, or something?”

As if that could be doubted. He wouldn’t be having so much trouble paying attention if he didn’t   
“I do. Very much. Have you taken many photos?”  
“Yeah... I mean... a few”  
Lance had the feeling Keith was trying to cover up that most of those photos were of him from the tightness in his boyfriend’s tone  
“We should take some more. I don’t want to forget this day”  
Keith dropped his head down to kiss Lance on the shoulder  
“Where I made your brain go all stupid?”  
“Mhmm. If you think I’m stupid now, you should see me later”  
Keith cocked his head   
“What do you mean?”  
“You see, I have this boyfriend. He’s kind of fucking amazing... and he turns me into this massive mess when we’re in bed together. Can’t think at all about anything important other than him. Zero brain cells remaining”

Keith snorted at him, Lance managing to sound to proud and serious at the same time, ruining it by laughing at the end. Keith deserved to feel good about himself. He was wonderful and everything Lance could want. Other people had stared at Keith as they’d made their way through the complex, but Keith was oblivious to their looks   
“Are you sure you had brain cells to begin with?”  
“My sources say no. I’m sorry I made you worry. I know you want everything to go well, and it is. I love you”  
“I love you, too. Though I do think the fish are much more interesting than I am”  
“That’s because you don’t see what I see. Just like elbow me if you catch me staring or phasing out”  
Lance tilted his head, leaning down to nuzzle into Keith, Keith wrapping his arms around him as he nuzzled back   
“Nah. Having you watching me... it’s nice to know you can’t take your eyes off me”

None of the fish compared to Keith. Not the tiny Neon Tetras, or the rainbow of colours of the fake coral reef that the Gropers swam over. The Black Cardinals reminded him of Shiro and the clownfish of watching Finding Nemo for the first time. He didn’t know what fish suited Keith the best, but he’d buy a whole damn aquarium if he got to see Keith so excited every day of his life.

Actually, he wouldn’t. 

His boyfriend would be sad each time a fish passed and they were both pretty clueless over how much went into running a place like that. What Lance really wished was that he could bottle the happiness he felt when he watched Keith’s eyes tracking the fish in the tanks. The way his eyes would widen, or he’d squint to find the fish in the tank, then widen when he’d found his target. They should have picked up Keith’s proper camera. Next time they’d have to come with the twins and the rest of their family. But that’d be okay because he’d gotten to see all these expressions on Keith’s face that made him fall in love all over again.


	155. Chapter 155

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More date happiness

155

What Lance didn’t know was that Keith was also having a hard time focusing solely on the fish. The aquarium part wasn’t hugely fancy. Nice, but a little repetitive with the main attraction being the big tank you went past when you came in. The place used to breed stock for international and domestic populations, with some fish way cooler than others. The sharks were cool. Kids in awe as they came near the glass wall of the tank that arched up and over the walkway. Keith could have totally dick punched a shark of the glass wasn’t in the way. Irrational fear of the glass breaking had him holding his breath until they’d passed from under the tank. Even Lance seemed jumpy as he flinched as the hugest stingray Keith ever seen turned the tunnel black as it passed overhead.

Tank after tank sat alcoved in the walls. The amount of colours and shapes were ridiculous. Everything was amazing, still Lance managed to bombarded his field of vision. Keith wished Lance hadn’t hidden his face away behind sunglasses, he wanted to see Lance’s eyes, see if his boyfriend was mesmerised by all the thousands of fish or if he was hiding his disinterest. He knew his boyfriend loved water. He loved all things ocean related. He also knew Lance was secretly addicted to documentaries. He hadn’t predicted Lance would be caught up watching him in his date plans. God. How was his heart supposed to cope with this? He felt flustered and way too happy to be the centre of Lance’s focus.

Holding Lance’s hand, Keith interlaced their fingers together so Lance couldn’t wander away. Sometimes he swore his boyfriend did it just to scare the crap out of him, and he never wanted to feel the way he had when they’d gone to the shopping centre together. Dragged away from the lower tanks and crowds of families, Keith was off in his own head taking a long moment to realise they’d stopped in front of a recreated set of jaws   
“What the fuck is that?”  
Meaning the painting behind the jaws that were kind of intimidating as hell with those big fuck off teeth and a whole lot of nope   
“It’s the jaw set of a Megalodon. In front of it is the jaw set from a Great White”

Documentaries were one thing. This... was... Keith wasn’t sure how he’d look at the beach again. Megalodons better bloody be dead. There was no way he was letting kids in the water at any beach with those huge bastards swimming around   
“You know how I said I’d punch a shark for you... I would, but those teeth...”  
Lance snorted at him, his boyfriend tugging his hand free  
“I’m the only one who gets to sink their teeth into you... plus, I won’t tell if you punch it. I’m going to punch it”  
Keith panicked hard. Punching an exhibit seemed a good way to be booted out  
“What?! Babe, you can’t... They’ll kick us out!”

Shrugging him off, Lance waited until no one was close to them before walking over to the set of jaws. Covering his face, Keith didn’t want to look, but that didn’t stop him from peaking through his fingers, watching as Lance punched the lower jaw with all the aggression of a leaf. Grinning at him, Keith realised he’d been had. Lance obviously wouldn’t punch an actual exhibit. Groaning, Keith dropped his hands as Lance covered his toothy smile. What the heck had he been thinking? Why was he acting so totally lame and uncomposed   
“You can touch you know. Because it’s not an actual jaw set. Didn’t I mention that?”  
“No. You conveniently forgot to. Stand still, I’m going to take a photo and tell Pidge you’re being mean to me”

Moving his hand to his forehead, Lance faked a staggered swoon   
“Oh no! Not the Gremlin! How ever can I apologise?”  
Talk about dramatic. His boyfriend should have been an actor   
“You fear the Gremlin as much as I do”  
Keith pulled out his phone to snap a few shots as Lance posed as if scared he was about to be eaten. What an idiot. A big dorky idiot that was his  
“I do, but it’s a healthy fear built up over the years and smothered in love”  
“Oh, so no love for Hunk?”  
“Excuse you. Hunk is the embodiment of sunshine. Now come over here and let’s get a photo together. You can even punch a shark in the mouth”  
“I’m not into destroying the displays like you are”  
Lance rolled his eyes at him, holding both hands out until Keith finally started moving towards his boyfriend. He’d gotten a good spread of Lance. He’d be screwed if his boyfriend wanted to look back at today’s photos. Ninety-nine percent of his photos were of Lance   
“You break into a school once and they never let you forget it. Lotor never did bother clueing us in on that. A bit like how I still have no real idea about Rome”

Posing for photos with Lance, Keith didn’t know what to say about Rome or why they were going back to that again  
“Rome is done with”  
“I know. I still don’t know much about what happened though. I know. Today’s not the day to ask”  
“Nope. I can’t even remember what I’ve told you, but I don’t know how much that matters when the most important outcome is that you’re safe”  
“And Curtis is all demony. Do you think he’s stronger than me now?”  
Keith stowed his phone away. Curtis shouldn’t have to feel obligated to tell him more than he was ready to. So he hadn’t pushed it   
“Maybe. Does he feel different to you? I mean, you can like tell can’t you? About the demon?”

Humming, Lance looped his arm around Keith’s, the pair of them starting to move away from the fake jaws   
“A bit. He’s still Curtis though so that’s all I need to know. I’ve given up on me ego being a weirdo. I mean, Matt and Rieva sometimes set it off and that’s whack seeing they’re family”  
“Our family is weird as hell”  
Lance nodded with a laugh   
“Our family is close to hell. Seriously. A vampire who senses death and sees fuzzy things. Pidge who is a raging gremlin with no coffee. A demon from hell. Matt and Rieva are much more powerful under the light of the moon. You’re all dark and broody...”  
“What about Shiro?”  
Lance’s tone was strained and reaching, words slightly spaced   
“He’s got dark hair?”  
“That’s all you’ve got?”  
“Yep. I know. I’m lame. I don’t know. Sometimes I did want to shake him, but he’s your brother and he’s family. I can see why he’s such a weirdo after meeting the Blades. I can’t imagine a whole bunch of them. It scares me”

That hurt. To Lance they’d always be distant and weird... then again, that was the truth, even if him being a Blade was what brought them together. They’d let a mark be put on his head, he’d always be a case on their files that someday someone might change their minds over  
“Then it’s a good thing you don’t have to. How does Hunk work into this?”  
“Ummmm... The sun is hot and the flames of hell are? I don’t know. He’s like all the good things in one... Didn’t I tell you I was low on brain cell power?”

Turning to face Lance, Keith pretended to feel for a fever, teasing his boyfriend lightly as he did   
“You’re not warm... I think you got away with using that brain power but you should probably give it a rest. I don’t know how to explain to people that your head exploded from thinking”  
Lance gaped at him, then huffed as he pouted  
“You’re so mean. It’s not my fault. I’m like smart and stuff. It’s happened before”  
“Maybe. Maybe not. How will we ever know?”  
Lance hummed lightly, before clicking his fingers   
“Oh! I’ve got it! If I’m so dumb, why did I choose to spend the rest of my undead life with you?”  
Keith shrugged, cheeks warm as he tried to play down how happy he was that Lance had  
“I’ve been asking myself since the moment you liked me back. Maybe your dumbness wore off on me?”  
“This coming from the guy who thought I’d turned him after he punched me in the mouth. You were such a cute little anger loaf. All broody and pouty...”  
Ugh. He’d never ever live that down. Lance would drop it in an instant if Keith asked  
“Like you’re any better you idiot crumpet. At least I had my reasons”

Because vampires had been the sworn enemy and had robbed him of the most family like family he’d known. He’d loathed them. Thrown himself in recklessly and nearly lost his life, only have everything he’d taught be wrong  
“I know. I’m really glad you opened up to me. This is much nicer than jumping out of windows to avoid you, or rescuing you from would be muggers”  
“That happened once”  
Did Krolia really count? They hadn’t known it was her soooo maybe?  
“Ahem, twice. First at the cinema. Or did you forget my manly attempts to save you”  
Keith snorted. Oh. He barely remembered that. He’d been pissed at being forced to move at Lance’s speed   
“Manly? I thought you were the biggest moron ever”  
“Rude! I was very manly and stuff. You’re breaking my heart”  
That was lie, Keith biting back with  
“Better than staking your heart”  
“Don’t go staking my heart!”

Lance sounded like he was singing something, Keith staring at him blankly   
“Elton John? Babe, you do know who that is, right?”  
“A singer?”  
“Oh babe... oh, my sweet idiot. I have so much to teach you”  
“If you say so”  
“I do. He is legend. I’m shook. I’m shook and going to need to educate you on the way of Sir Elton”  
Of course he knew who Elton John was. He kind of knew the song yet was sure the lyrics didn’t go like that. Keith muttering under his breath  
“I’ll shake you”  
“Nooo. No shaken vampires. It’d be like shaking one of these tanks. Our little cupcakes are gonna be all swished up”  
“Fine. You get a free pass for now. Where do we go next?”  
“They’ve got an exhibit on Orcas. Did you know they’re not a whale but a dolphin?”  
“Yeah, and that they attack moose. They’re like the family member you don’t invite anywhere”  
Lance nodded quickly   
“I know, right. Dolphins are supposed to be all cute and then you’ve got killer whales. They’re nasty. Man, jelly fish have the right idea with no brains”

Keith wasn’t about to be “out facted”. Not when he knew stuff about stuff  
“Did you know people used to stand in whales like it was a magical cure”  
“Well, did you know Moby Dick was based on a real whale named Mocha?”  
Keith wanted to protest that one. Mocha was a delicious coffee drink... instead he moved onto his next fact  
“Did you know a Blue whale can live up to 90 years?”  
“Mhmm. Like how their tongue can weigh the same amount as an elephant. You know people think Nessi is a sturgeon”  
“Nessi can’t be explained. Nessi doesn’t need explaining”  
“Just like Mothman?”  
“Yep. Somethings just are”  
“You’d make a cute Mothman. Jumping off balconies and all”  
“That wasn’t my fault! I blame Shiro”  
“Suuuure. Blame your brother. Let me know how that works out for you”  
Keith huffed in defeat. He had no one to blame other than the bottle of tequila  
“Whatever. Which way to the Killer Whales?”  
“To the left. You know, they can weigh up to 6 tons”  
“And that they’re teeth are like 4 inches long. And sharks don’t even like eating humans”  
Keith felt kind of smug being able to match Lance fact for fact, until he found himself choking on air as his boyfriend delivered the final blow and Keith without a comeback  
“If you want 4 inches, I’ll give you the longest four inches of your life”

Whelp. There was nothing smart he could say back to that. He had nothing. His brain had short circuited and his blood was fast draining down to his other brain. Laughing, Lance tugged him along, Keith stumbling as he let himself be moved. How did he reply to that? He didn’t have a reply for that. Now he was popping a semi in his jeans and he wasn’t sure he was going to be able to look at whales the same way ever again.


	156. Chapter 156

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is why you don’t lemme write a date

156

At the back of the aquarium was the animal park/zoo. Lance wanted to feed the deer, so they did, his boyfriend would have adopted them all if left alone unsupervised for too long. For someone who hadn’t wanted a cow, Lance was pretty attached to his cow. His boyfriend fawning over everything that moved. Zero fear at all when it came to the snakes, where Keith liked to think he has a healthy fear of them. They did their own thing and he did his own thing. Never the pair to cross paths. How could they have snakes near open pens with pattble bunnies did his head in. Didn’t they worry the snakes would get the rabbits? The pavilion was dedicated to kids more than adults, Lance seemed to fit right in. Keith conned into rabbit cuddles. As nice as it was terrifying trying not to drop the rabbit, Kosmo was cuter when he’d been smaller. Lance just as cute as he smiled up at him holding his own rabbit happily. The rabbit in Keith’s arms was... he supposed... cuterish... until it pooped and Lance cackled so hard he had lean against the rabbit pen wall. This was why Kosmo was better. Keith taking a baby wipe from a zoo worker to clean up the mess on his hand as the rabbit was half dropped and half thrown the few inches back into its pen. Fuck rabbits and fuck snakes. They weren’t for him. He had Kosmo and he had Blue. That was definitely enough to keep him happy in the fur department.

Stumbling his steps, Keith came to a stop as he held Lance to him. His boyfriend’s colour faded from his face as sweat beads rolled down his forehead. The day wasn’t terribly warm, but the lack of cloud cover and coming out the air conditioning must have been getting to Lance. The pavilion was like a cool oasis before you stepped out into heat and the paths that looped around back to where they currently were  
“Babe, want to take a break?”  
Expecting Lance to say no, because he was a stubborn idiot about all the wrong things, his boyfriend nodded   
“Sorry. I need to sit for a bit”  
Okay. He wasn’t going to freak out. Nope. Lance had made it clear he was over being fussed over. A quick scan and he’d found a converted building with a neon sign in the window  
“There’s a cafe. Let’s get something to drink”  
“Yeah... I need a moment”

Propping Lance up, Keith lead them over to the cafe where he glared a couple away from the only available seats on the shaded veranda of the old building. Sitting Lance down, his boyfriend pushed his chair back, leaning heavily on his thighs as he hunched forward, legs spread as if he thought he might vomit between his feet  
“Babe?”  
“I’m sorry. Can you get me some water?”  
“Yep. Hang on. Don’t move, I’ll be right back”

Grabbing two bottles of water Keith’s anxieties had him practicing what he’d say to the server as he took his place in line. The family at the sandwich counter were fighting with kids over having to eat sandwiches and not cream topped cake. The aircon in the house barely seemed to make a dent, and when he got to the counter he fumbled down both bottles of water, flustered and annoyed over the wait. Paying for both bottles hurt his heart. No bottle of water ever should cost $5 each. That was ridiculous. If Lance hadn’t needed water he’d definitely have had some very choice words to say over how they ran their cafe. In his rush to get back to Lance he nearly forgot his wallet, then bumped squarely into some kid that started crying. Apologising to the cranky mother who rushed to her precious darlings side, Keith had had enough of crowds. Enough of people. Like, couldn’t they see he was in an obvious rush? Or did they expect him to make Lance wait, then would complain if Lance threw up in front of their kids? People were too damn complicated. He should have been paying better attention to when Lance stopped laughing and started stumbling.

Lance had stripped off his jumper and used it to cover his belly as he leant against the veranda railing in his chair. His boyfriend still looked ill, but at least he was upright. A few people were glancing in his direction. Keith resisting the urge to snap at them for staring. If they were going to state they could at least offer assistance  
“Babe, I’ve got the water”  
Raising his head Lance blinked at him, a smile slowly coming to his lips   
“Hmm... what? Oh. Thanks...”  
“Are you okay? You don’t look like you feel very well”  
“Just a little faint. And a whole lot of thirsty. Why do you smell funny?”  
Keith handed Lance his bottle of water, using himself to shield Lance from those staring. Raising his upper slightly, Keith didn’t want to think about whatever had been on the kids hands, or on its face. He was going to be a horrible parent. What kind of person felt icky about a strangers dirty kid? Kids were dirty creatures   
“Bumped into a kid. More like they bumped into me. I have no idea why it was on the loose”  
“You were rushing, weren’t you?”

Sprung. He couldn’t help but rush. Ten minutes in a line of people who felt as frustrated as he did then turned out to not be able to make their damn minds up either. Then again, the cakes did actually look good. Maybe had Krolia not given him food poisoning he would have picked a slice to share with his boyfriend  
“Maybe?”  
Lance sighed, cracking open his bottle of water as he did. His boyfriend realising he was watching him   
“Come sit down already. I’m alright. I’m feeling better in the shade”  
“You said you felt faint. If this is too much...”  
How often did Lance feel faint? Often enough to hide it from him?  
“Keith, sit down already. It’s hotter out here than I expected. That’s it. I’m fine”

Keith didn’t quite believe Lance as he sat across from him. They’d done a fair bit of walking. The complex deceptively large inside with the outdoor area feeling more like an after thought. Still, this was closest thing to an actual zoo in the area. It made sense why it’d be so popular with families  
“You’re frowning. What’s on your mind?”  
“How often do you feel faint?”  
Lance sighed at him  
“It’s okay. I’ve normally had a nap by now and I didn’t sleep that much last night. But I’m fine now I’m sitting. You should drink your water or you’ll end up dehydrated”  
“Are you you don’t need it?”  
Lance rolled his eyes at him  
“Babe. You’ve got to relax. Besides, my bladder is like the size of a walnut these days. I’ve already had to pee like three times. It’s repetitive”  
“Was it because of the water?”  
Maybe the sound of running water or being surrounded by so much of it was making his boyfriend pee more?  
“Nope. I know what you’re hinting at and no. Seriously, they don’t over exaggerate this peeing thing. Everything’s all squished up to make space for these two”  
“I’m sorry”

Lance sighed at him again. Replacing the cap on his bottle of water as he leaned on the table  
“You don’t need to be sorry. I know you’ve got new dad jitters. I’m enjoying myself, and if it’s any indication by how much these two are moving, they are too. What do you think of this place?”  
Keith let Lance have the topic change, sitting back in his chair as he nodded  
“It’s cool. I mean. It’s not like hugely fancy, but it’s cool. The rabbits suck”  
“I don’t know. I thought they were kind of cute”  
“Because you didn’t get crapped on”  
“That was definitely an advantage. It’s nice. Just seeing all these people going about their lives. It’s nice”  
There was a clear “but” in Lance’s tone  
“But...”  
“Honestly, a kid tripped and I smelt blood. Kids trip all the time, but it got me wondering how I’d react to our kids”  
“And?”  
“And I don’t know. It kind of scares me. I mean, I think I’ll be okay. I think it’s just all these extra hormones amping up my senses. I’ve taken care of Pidge and Hunk before, and you without going crazy. I think I’m just over thinking it”  
“You wanted to help the kid, didn’t you?”  
“Yeah. I think I’m touchy because it’s a kid. They’re supposed to be enjoying themselves and not face planting on the walkways”  
“They’ll be fine. Seriously though... these kids are scary”

Lance chuckled, his colour still wasn’t improving but if he could laugh Keith would take it as a sign his boyfriend felt a bit better  
“That’s going to be us. And we’re going to have two of them. I hope they don’t inherit your sense of direction”  
“Rude. I got us here in one piece”  
“You did. It hasn’t quite been the same riding around in a car since... you know”  
Since Lance flipped a truck to save him and Curtis...  
“You still think about that?”  
“I think about how damn lucky we were. I don’t know how you’re so willing to get back on your bike after it”  
“I haven’t really thought about it. I mean, my accident wasn’t that bad. And I’ve missed my bike. Do you want me to sell it?”  
Lance shook his head immediately   
“No. No. I mean, I don’t love your bike but you do. I want you to have the things you love. I’m going to have to get used to it sooner rather than later”  
“It has been off the road as long as you’ve been pregnant”  
“I know. I’m still not sure how we made the twins...”  
“When a daddy loves a daddy...”  
Groaning at him, Lance’s smile only grew  
“When a weird vampire drinks the blood of a weirdo, magical things happen?”  
“Something like that. What do you want to do after this?”

Keith had a plan of how he wanted the day to go. First the Aquarium Centre, then out for lunch, then putting on his big boy pants and facing crowds. Lance needed more clothes, especially with how large his stomach was getting. Plus, he wanted to see Lance getting excited over things for their twins. He wanted to check out furniture... maybe choose a theme? That’s what parents did right?

“Maybe take a nap? I know it’s not a very exciting outcome”  
“Babe, it’s fine. We can totally head back to the apartment and take a nap. I have no idea how I’m supposed to go back to work with all this time off”  
“Does that mean you take a secret nap in the afternoons at the garage?”  
Hunk would let him. Matt would see an open opportunity to get up to some kind of mischief. Grease on his hands. A grease moustache. Anything was possible if he let his guard down  
“No. But I have thought about it. Then I remember Matt’s there and I think again”  
“I don’t think he’d play up at work. You know Rieva tried to pay me rent? I mean, who charges their family rent?”  
“Parents?”  
Lance shrugged  
“Mami never charged me. I told her to put it towards the food bill instead. I’m paying the same amount no matter the number of people in the household”  
“You’re using more power and water”  
“Yeah, but I’d still rather them save up for their own place or save towards going to see Rieva’s parents. This time last year it was only me and Blue”  
“And now?”  
“And now we’ve got a whole family in there. I’m so grateful to have met all of you... I’m going to be sad when Curtis leaves for good. It’s not the same without him there”

Keith huffed, hoping his expression seemed as if he was acting hurt  
“Should I worry you’re going to run off with him?”  
“I don’t know. He does give a pretty good running commentary when we’re watching our shows together. And he’s stopped coming at me with sex toys”  
“What am I supposed to tell Shiro when you two elope?”  
Lance choked on air, coughing as he shook his head  
“I don’t want to die... Shiro would kill me. What about you? Would you stop the wedding?”  
“Nope. I’d burn down the church so you couldn’t marry him in the first place”  
“Babe, you can’t burn down churches!”

Still coughing, Lance opened his bottle of water again and proceeded to choke on that too. Keith hanging his head, useless against an invisible enemy. He’d gone and made himself upset with his own jokes. Lance was right though. Curtis was into cheesy dramas and Keith really wasn’t. Asking questions only got him glared at as Lance would be forced to spend more time explaining things to him than watching his show. Slowly recovering, Lance wiped his mouth, still coughing slightly as he shook his head again  
“I have to pee again. I’ll be right back”  
“You’ll be okay?”  
Lance gestured towards the sign Keith hadn’t noticed. There were toilets at the side of the cafe  
“I’ll be right back. Here, look after my stuff”

Lance’s stuff was his wallet and phone. Keith tapping the screen to check the time and noticing Lance had half a dozen missed calls from Hunk and Matt, his boyfriend’s phone set to “Do Not Disturb”. That couldn’t be good. Pulling out his own phone, Keith opened up his contacts, calling Matt instead of Hunk. Hunk would have been the better one to call, but if something was going on, Matt would be the calmer one to relay information. The call took long enough to connect that Keith was bored of holding his phone to his ear, and a little annoyed Matt hadn’t answered immediately  
“Keith?”  
“You called? What’s wrong now?”  
Okay. He could have hidden someone of his annoyance, but Matt could have also texted whatever was up to Lance  
“Oh! Shit. Yeah. Are you with Lance?”  
No. He was on a doomed mission to Pluto. Where else was he going to be?”  
“Yeah, we’re on a date. What’s going on?”  
“His sister showed up here today. No idea what she wanted, but she left in a hurry. Rieva saw her as she was leaving for work”  
“Which sister?”  
“I don’t know... Rieva said she was pretty shocked to see her, then didn’t look too happy Lance wasn’t home”  
“Did she say anything else?”  
“Nope. She thought I should call you guys and let you know as soon as possible. She said she caught her peaking in through the lounge room window”

That couldn’t be good. What the hell was Lance’s sister doing showing up?!   
“Thanks for letting me know. I’ll let Lance know. If you see her again, don’t bother asking why she’s around...”  
“I know it’s complicated, but you sound like you’re not going to tell Lance. Has something happened?”  
Maybe the thought had crossed Keith’s mind, but Lance wouldn’t be impressed if Keith didn’t tell him  
“Not that I know. I don’t think it’s a touching family reunion she’s after”  
“Hunk said the same thing. Anyway, bro. I’ll let you get back to your date. Are you guys coming home today?”  
“Maybe. Lance wants to spend some time with Curtis”  
“Okay, well, Rieva put the alarm on. I’ll let you know if his sister shows up again”  
“Thanks”

Keith hung up as Matt was saying his goodbyes. Keith now really wasn’t sure what to do. He couldn’t tell Lance that one of his sisters was snooping around his house. He vaguely remembered Rachel had drug problems, so maybe... she was going to break in? Veronica had kids... what had she done with them? Luis and Lisa hadn’t told Nadia and Sylvio about Lance. Or was it Lisa? Had Luis sent Lisa to ask for Mami’s ring? Maybe Rieva had gotten it wrong and it wasn’t Lance’s sister... but then who would it be? Why would some strange woman who wasn’t Krolia be poking around Lance’s home? Rome better not have reversed their decision. Fucking Matt had ruined his whole mood. Shoved the responsibility on him, and now it’d be on his mind until the end of their date if he didn’t tell Lance about it right now. Keith didn’t want to skip the nocturnal section. He wanted to get his own back over the rabbit incident by teasing Lance over a family reunion with the bats. He missed Lance’s tiny little bat form. With his chubby belly and tiny little teeth as he fed from Keith’s finger. He wished he’d taken video of Lance floating around in the ice cream container in the bathtub. Or with his bubble beard and unamused look... But if he told Lance, Lance would be depressed and worried for the rest of their visit to the zoo.

Waiting for his boyfriend to return, Keith started getting concerned as people came and went from the public toilets with none of those people being Lance. Gathering up their things, Keith ignored the few looks he got as he left the veranda area and turned the corner to head into the public toilets. Stared at as if his arrival was somehow startling, Keith made his over to the three cubicles against the wall. Leaning against the corner as if he was waiting in line, and not waiting to see who came out of which one to determine where his boyfriend was. 

Pretending to be polite, Keith gestured to those actually as the two cubicles opened, with Lance in the closest, he was grateful the zoo employed the simple turn locks and nothing fancy as he slipped the edge of one of Lance’s key into the small slit, to let himself into the cubicle. Sitting on the toilet lid, Lance had a wad of tissues to his nose as he cried silently, Keith rushing to lock the door behind him and move to kneel in front of his boyfriend   
“Babe?”  
Raising his head, Lance hiccuped softly, relief coming into his big blue eyes   
“Keith...”

That was all it took for Keith to be wrapping his arms around his boyfriend. Lance shuddering as he let out an audible sob  
“Babe, what happened?”  
If someone had hurt Lance, he was going to murder them very slowly for daring to touch him. Logic out the window, and the numerous other reasons Lance’s nose could be bleeding, out with it  
“I’m... I... panicked... and I... my nose”  
Lance sounded all stuffy, as he would have if he had a broken nose or a head cold  
“Can I see?”  
Nodding Lance drew back, Keith cupping his face in his hands as his boyfriend pulled the toilet paper away from his nose  
“What happened?”  
“I panicked... and bumped a guy who pushed me... and I smacked my face”  
Who the fuck shoved someone who’d bumped them by accident?!  
“I’m going to kill him”  
“No... no... this is my fault”  
“Babe, your nose is messed up!”

Why couldn’t Lance admit that he wasn’t to blame?! Clearly the other guy had over reacted  
“I... he broke my nose... and my arm... and I... I killed him”  
Hang on. What? Keith hadn’t seen any dead bodies in the bathroom. A normal human had a habit of screaming in the face of a discovery like that. The only person... oh...  
“Hey. Hey, you’re okay. He’s gone. He’s gone and he’s not going to hurt you again”  
“I know... I didn’t mean to panic... the... the basement had a stone floor and it came out of nowhere... and I tried to hide it... but I...”  
Lance was starting to smell sweet. The wanker who’d pushed him had pushed him right over the edge. He was lucky Lance was coherent enough to talk to him. Fucking Sendak  
“Okay. You’re okay. I’m sorry I didn’t come faster. Does your nose hurt?”

Lance nodded, bottom lip bleeding too from where his fangs had pierced it. Lance didn’t tell him Sendak broke his nose and his arm. Keith wished he could resurrect the wank stain and lop his damn head off for himself   
“My whole head hurts. He hurt Curtis and I lost my head. I didn’t... I...”  
“Shhh. You were in an impossible situation. You need to calm your breathing down. Can you do that?”  
“I can’t smell you...”  
Thanks to fucking blood across his face   
“I know. I’m here though. Breathe through your mouth. In for 6 out for 12...”  
Lance nodded at him, making the attempt  
“Good. Good, just like that. Just like that. He’s gone and you never have to see him again... just keep breathing for me”

As Lance kept on with trying to calm his breathing, Keith pulled off a long strip of toilet paper, starting to clean his boyfriend’s face up. Lance would heal, but it wasn’t fair that some douche took his bad mood out on him. Lance’s voice wavered as he mumbled   
“Is it bad?”  
“I’m pissed as hell, but not at you”  
“I’m trying. I am... but... when I saw the floor I panicked...”  
“Hey. You’re not to blame”  
“I ruined our whole date!”  
“You didn’t ruin anything. Nothing at all. You’re okay now. Fuck... I should have come in with you”  
“You were on the phone”

Right. Super hearing. Lance had probably heard every rude thing whispered as people watched him recovering. He couldn’t lie. Lance deserved better than a lie, even if this wasn’t the time for the truth  
“Matt called. He said your sister came to see you. Rieva didn’t know which one”  
Lance’s sharp intake of breath cause Keith to knock his boyfriend’s nose, more blood running from his nostrils in a fresh wave as he hissed in pain  
“Sorry! I’m so sorry...”  
Lance whimpered as Keith wiped the blood up. Shiro would have once lost his shit over him doing this without thinking twice   
“Can we go home? I... want to go home...”  
“Yeah, babe. We’ll wait a little longer until your nose stops bleeding. Do you need anything? Can I get you anything? Did he hurt you anywhere else?”  
“N-no... I scratched myself... with my nails... I didn’t...”  
“Shhh. You’re not to blame and you’d be saying the same thing if our positions were reversed. Can you show me?”

Lance’s nails were long and lethal looking. His boyfriend had scratched up the soft skin of his inner left wristKeith had a fair idea of what happened. Lance would have walked into the bathroom, moving out the way of someone leaving. He’d probably looked down and seen the floor. Feeling himself panicking and his body reacting, his boyfriend would have tried to hide in the first available cubicle, accidentally bumping the guy who’d shoved him out the way. With how good Lance’s memory was, he’d be recalling Sendak’s touch, associating it with the feel of his nose getting messed up and panicked further. When had going to the toilet become so dangerous? People sucked.

“A few scratches but your jumper will hide them. You’ll be okay. We’ll go back to the apartment and we can snuggle”  
“I’m so sorry... I ruined our whole date”  
“You didn’t. You didn’t do a single thing wrong”  
“I must have... he shoved me so hard...”  
Why hadn’t he grabbed his fucking gun? Stabbing the guy didn’t seem as good as shooting him in both feet and making the man walk himself to help   
“He’s the one with the problem, not you. Let me clean your chin up. You’ve got blood down you front”

Using up most of his bottle of water, Keith got Lance as cleaned up his could. His boyfriend’s scent spiking in waves, Lance not mentioning it so Keith didn’t either. Replacing the toilet paper with a fresh wad, once Lance had his jumper back on, Keith got his boyfriend standing then flushed away all the evidence, careful to triple check there was no split blood on the floor or the door. So much for the peaceful date that they both more than deserved.


	157. Chapter 157

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you wondering, yes, we will be curing Curtis’s curse before the end... and I do plan to end after the twins come into the world...
> 
> Also, there’s some whump in like 10 chapters... and I know this is early spoiler but soft boys will all be soulmates... even if Keith doesn’t believe in soulmates

157

Lance dozed off and on as Keith drove them home. His hat and glasses coming off as he curled up as much as he could in the passenger seat. Driving a little too aggressively, Keith definitely wasn’t leaving the zoo a good review. What kind of people were they letting in there?! Reaching the apartment, he had to coax Lance out of the seat and into his arms, keeping him close as they headed up.

Opening the door to the apartment, Shiro and Curtis were sitting on the sofa. Shiro’s legs over Curtis’s lap. Both of them staring at Lance’s disheveled state  
“What happened?!”  
“Is he okay?!”  
Lance flinched at both questions. Shiro pulling himself up to sit properly, hovering on the edge of his seat as if knowing Keith would ask for his help if he wanted, and holding himself back at the same time. Angrily Keith huffed   
“Some fucker shoved him. Messed up his nose”  
Shiro was instantly angry   
“What?! What the fuck?!”

Lance flinched away. Keith keeping him in place with his arm around his waist. Harsh tones and loud sounds were bad. He should have taken Lance straight through to his room  
“I know right. Babe, do you want to stay up or lay down?”  
“Can I lay down?”  
“Yeah. I’ll grab you some blood”  
“Can I be alone for a bit?”  
“Babe...”  
“I want to be alone for a bit... I’m sorry...”  
Keith was very much against leaving Lance alone. Kissing his boyfriend’s hair, he settled on a compromise   
“How about I help you get out of these clothes then I get you some blood? Then you can have some alone time a nap?”  
The second he was organised he was going to be letting himself back into the bedroom   
“Okay... I’m sorry I ruined our date”  
“You didn’t. Not at all. I had a good time with you. I always have a good time with you. Here, let’s get you out these clothes and I’ll put them in the wash”  
“Okay... sorry... guys... I didn’t know you’d be home”

Keith shot Shiro a warning glare that Shiro ignored  
“It’s fine. We’re just watching some TV. You’re not interrupting anything, if anything you’re saving me. I have no idea what’s going on anymore”  
Lance snorted, immediately regretting it as he moved the toilet paper from his nose to look at the blood  
“Yeah, let’s keep that against your nose. Ignore Shiro, he’s not in any way hilarious, despite what he thinks”  
“He’s not awful... I really am sorry”

Lance stopped apologising as Keith got him out his bloodied clothes and into his bed. Everything was dusty from him staying in Platt. He’d have to have a word with housekeeping, aka Curtis, about the state of things. Rolling away from him, Lance totally seemed to be shutting him out of whatever lingering panic was eating him up inside. Retrieving a blood bag from the fridge, there was only one in there, meaning he’d have to call Coran and organise something if Lance didn’t want to go straight home to Garrison. The news of his sister had to be hard. Keith felt drained and he wasn’t even the one going through all this shit. Making sure Lance had everything he needed, he kissed his boyfriend’s cheek before leaving him alone against his better judgment.

*  
Keith counted to 20 mentally before forcing himself to leave Lance alone. Putting his boyfriend’s clothes in the machine, he came back out to living area to find Shiro making him coffee. God he loved his brother   
“Is he okay?”  
Watching the coffee pour from the machine, Keith didn’t know how to answer that  
“He was. You should have seen him. We near came home with a flock of deer, a dozen rabbits, and if he’d had his way a new pet snake”  
Shiro chuckled at him  
“It sounds like you two had a good time”

After their little talk and “punching the shark”, Lance had made such a huge effort. His boyfriend making him laugh way too much as he impersonated stiff jawed sea captains from the photos on display, accent and all, as he proclaimed he was off to hunt for the “Great White Booty”. And how it was a rare treasure belonging to him that no one else should touch. Keith not initially realising Lance was talking about his arse, dying a little inside as Lance talked about harpooning it.

Inside the whale exhibit had been cooler than the rest of the place in Keith’s opinion. There were these stairs to this underground theatre area where you could watch whaling documentaries. They’d been done to look a if they’d come out of some fancy cruise ship from way before Keith’s time. There’d also been this whole big glass wall of whale measurements compared to humans, skeleton fragments, and the anchor off a famous whaling ship that’d sunk off the coast. Keith tried to get Lance to attempt to lift it but his boyfriend refused to even try, laughing about how he liked how big Keith was and didn’t need bigger. 

For some reason that Keith didn’t get, there’d been these two tanks of jellyfish down there too. The colours of the tank lighting make the jellyfish appear otherworldly and bathed Lance’s faces in so many colours that it’d taken Keith’s breath away. Maybe that was the point? A big wow before the indoor touch pool and the exit to the animal part? They should have just stayed inside.   
“Yeah. Fuck. I should have gone with him”  
Shiro sighed softly as he moved the coffee cup away from the now empty machine  
“What exactly happened?”

He’d fallen hard for his boyfriend again? That’d happened. He’d also seen the largest and scariest fucking stingray of his life. When that thing floated over them, he’d definitely nearly died of awe  
“Everything was... it was a bit rocky...”  
“I thought you had a good time?”  
“I worked myself up and over thought things. Lance was being distant... and I thought I fucked up”  
“I can imagine that”  
Keith glared cooly at his brother   
“You’re not funny. We... kept staring at each other and not to much the exhibits...”  
Shiro snorted, starting to pour milk in to Keith’s coffee for him. Nodding to himself, he deemed an inches worth enough as he slid the cup over to Keith   
“Yep. I can imagine that too. I meant what happened to Lance?”

Keith sighed heavily, knowing Lance could probably hear him  
“You know how... how I used to have panic attacks, and you’d be there. He kind of had one but I wasn’t there, and some wanker pushed him out of the way”  
“Your attacks have calmed down a lot being here. Does Lance know what triggered it?”  
“The floor. It was stone”

Shiro froze. Keith had never been into the house but Shiro had described the flooring as being stone. Taking a moment, his brother slowly relaxed  
“I can see why”  
Then it wasn’t his Lance still dealing with what happened. Shiro was too and they’d barely spoken about how he was doing lately. Keith felt like a shit brother going to ask Shiro to talk to Lance before realising maybe that would be something best asked in front of his boyfriend   
“Then... his nose wasn’t broken but it was messed up. He panicked and tried to hide, only some dick pushed him. He said Sendak broke his nose and his arm”  
“His goons knocked his teeth out too. Curtis told me”

Keith looked to Curtis who nodded  
“Once the plans were in place to leave, they took particular delight in making us feel shit. He got so mad over my behalf”  
“He hasn’t talked much about it... He still regrets killing Sendak”  
Shiro nodded. He knew that too well. Keith may have mentioned it more than once and twice and how he should be with Lance helping him through being abducted  
“Taking life is never easy. Especially for Lance. It’s kind of the stigma, isn’t it? That he’s some kind of blood thirsty beast? Has he talked to Coran?”  
“I don’t think so. Should I have pushed him on this? To tell me more?”  
“You know being triggered usually happens unexpectedly. Was he coherent?”  
“Yeah. Kept acting like it was his fault. It’s not. Is he still awake?”  
“He wanted to be alone”  
“If he’s sleeping I’ll leave him be, but for now I just want to check in with him and let him know we’re here. Don’t give me that look. If he doesn’t want me there, I’ll leave right away”

Keith knew he was giving Shiro “that look”. If anyone was talking to Lance it should be him. But he hadn’t been held captive. He wasn’t there. If Shiro asked, and Lance said yes or no, then... that would be giving him the choice. Keith didn’t want to limit Lance’s freedom or take his chances away from him   
“Alright. I’ll punch you in the dick if you upset him”  
“Understood. Maybe Curtis can explain what the hell’s going on in that show of his? That’ll keep you too preoccupied to worry”  
“We both know I’m going to worry”  
“We do. Drink your coffee and I’ll be back in a bit”

*  
Laying in Keith’s bed, Lance heard everything. Lance hadn’t been quite completely truthful. He had for the most part but there was one huge element he was leaving out. An element he absolutely couldn’t tell Keith.

Knocking on Keith’s door, Shiro opened it to poke his head in  
“Lance?”  
Lance too tired to care about being shirtless under the covers as he internally sighed  
“Come in”  
“I guess you heard us”  
Not that he’d wanted to. He didn’t want everyone fussing and worrying, but he felt so messed up, and maybe needed a little fuss and worry from Shiro because he’d underst  
“It’s hard not to. You can stay, close the door”  
“Okay. If you’re not up to talking, I can go”  
“Nah... I kind of need your advice”

Walking around to what was usually Lance’s side of the bed, Shiro dropped himself down with all the grace of a sack of potatoes, Lance groaning as the bed shifted aggregating his throbbing head further  
“That good?”  
“I’ve been better”  
“I can see that. Keith said you had an attack”  
“Yeah. I... nearly vampired the guy”  
“Oh”  
“Yep”  
“And how does that make you feel?”  
Lance could only shake his head mentally at Shiro. The question was valid, but he knew Shiro knew he’d get an internal laugh out of it if he didn’t have other things on his mind  
“You want to talk about what happened...”

Shiro moved closer, ruffling Lance’s hair  
“Only if you’re ready to. Do you want my advice before or after?”  
“Maybe during... The stones set me off... but I didn’t tell Keith everything”  
“I can imagine he was mad enough”  
“Very. All I wanted to do was use the bathroom. We were sitting down because I felt faint”  
“Are you okay? Should I call Coran?”  
“I’m okay. I just didn’t get much sleep last night... Keith went to get me water and all... people were talking about us. Mostly me, but us... Then, when I bumped into that guy... He didn’t have the nicest things to say about Keith, or me. Or about how appropriate our relationship was. He tried to start something. He even kicked the door when I locked myself in”

Shiro sighed. He got it. If Keith knew then Keith would have gone ballistic  
“So he shoved you maliciously?”  
“Yeah... Kind of. I didn’t want... I don’t want Keith to... He’s...”  
“He’s in love with you and probably would have beaten that guy to a pulp if he knew”  
“When I saw the floor it was like everything started spinning. My nails came out and I wasn’t even looking... Our whole date got ruined”  
“Not your whole date. Keith’s really upset over this. I understand why you’re not telling him, but at the same time, he couldn’t give two shits what people think about the pair of you dating. He adores you”  
“But how do you cope?”  
“I ignore them. What happens in my private life is my business. I know it’s hard, but they’re not worth your time. You can’t win an argument with an idiot”  
“I apologised and he still... He scared the fuck out of me when he kicked the door. Someone said something and he played it off as a joke... We were having a good time, we didn’t hurt anyone... so why do people have to be so mean?”  
“Because they don’t know you. How’s your nose feeling now?”

Lance’s head still hurt. He could taste his own blood, but he’d been sipping on the blood bag Keith left him. He’d heal. Soon it’d be like it never happened. The stranger had lashed out, shoving him with a slur. Cursing how he didn’t want “one of them” touching him. Kicking the door he’d called for him to call his “abomination of a partner”. Muttering he’d left the bathroom talking about how those kinds of people should be castrated and chucked in a wood chipper. The words weren’t complicated. He’d heard people whisper before when he and Keith held hands or were close in public. Some happy, some nervous, some rude. As long as Keith didn’t know, or wasn’t being insulted, he didn’t show that he’d heard. This man... Lance’s panicked thoughts had him thinking the stranger was Sendak. 

Overwhelmed by the strange scents and unfamiliar faces, all Lance had wanted to do was snap. Ego tearing him up inside as he resisted breaking the bathroom door down then snapping the man’s neck for insulting Keith   
“Better... Keith was going to help me clean up but... I wanted blood, Shiro. I wanted to hit him and it scared me. I can take the insults but when they’re directed at Keith...”  
“It hurts so much more because you love him. I know. Some people just don’t get it and it sucks and it’s wrong, but those people aren’t worth your worry. You love Keith and he loves you. That’s the main thing. Are you sure I should be calling Coran?”

Lance wasn’t sure he could face the fussing of Coran. The twins were moving, his stomach didn’t hurt that much... That was the main thing. He hadn’t hit his stomach, just his face on the door frame. He’d been a mess trying not to let it show as he’d waited for Keith   
“I’ll be okay... I’m trying. I keep trying to not think about that. About how things played out. How I could have injured Curtis. How things could have gone wrong in the crash. What would have happened if I hadn’t lost my temper”  
“If you hadn’t then I doubt you and Curtis would be alive. Curtis told me how you wanted I protect him. How you pushed yourself. I’m sorry I seemed like I was disregarding your ideas”  
“They were stupid ideas”  
“Not necessarily. We just didn’t have enough information to act”  
“I still feel like I could have found another way”  
“Sometimes there isn’t one. You’re not a hunter, but you did a good job. You protected Keith. That’s all I could have asked for. He’s got this habit of rushing in head first. You give him a reason to think twice”

Yeah. He did. Except he really threw everything away when it came to Lance. Lance had wanted to tear the throat out that man at the petting zoo when he’d slagged off Keith  
“Unless I’m the one in danger”  
“Ah, yes. In his defence, when we arrived to find the house empty I felt as if... I felt as if I’d lost Adam all over again, only this time I’d lost my lover and my brother”  
“Do you have nightmares?”  
“I do. Of being too late and Sendak snapping Curtis’s neck. Of dying in that cell. Different memories mixed in with being in that place. I froze when Keith mentioned the stone floor”  
Sendak had fucked them all up. Everyone else seemed to know how keep walking forward, so why did he have to be the one to freak out over the flooring? Seeing Narti’s body didn’t mess him up as much it should have. She had her life snuffed out, and that seemed to be something he was far too okay with   
“Shiro, is there any way that we can see the house?”

Shiro lifted his hand off Lance’s head. The man’s heart beat increasing in pace. Shiro didn’t want to go back there  
“Lance...”  
Shiro cut himself off, moving his hand to his lap  
“Why would you want to go back there?”  
He wondered himself, the question as much as a surprise to Shiro as him  
“I know it’s over, but... I want to see where they kept us. I want to see no one else is in there. I know no one else is but I never saw Sendak’s body and I never saw the outside of the house”  
“Are you worried Sendak is hiding there?”

He hadn’t been until Shiro brought up the possibility. A cold shiver ran through his body. He’d never seen what happened to the body, nor did he know what was in that house   
“Yes and no. I don’t know what I did for sure. Everyone kept praising me and I never... I don’t want to be stuck being scared of flooring. I want to see the house is empty”  
“Then what are you going to do? Even if it’s empty, we might not be able to see it, or go inside. If we do, though, what do you want to do?”

Shiro was too uncomfortable. His heartbeat too fast. Lance knowing he shouldn’t have asked. Shiro may have said he’d talk to him, but he wasn’t ready to talk either when it came to that house. They hadn’t treated him overly badly, instead it was the pain of what happened to Curtis that kept Shiro from wanting to be there   
“I want to burn it down. That’s honestly what I want to do. I know houses aren’t evil. It’s just a house but... Never mind. I thought maybe I understood what I wanted but I don’t think I do”  
“Let me think about this. I’m not to find of the idea of going back there”  
“Neither am I. I’m just sick of being stuck with these thoughts when all I want to do is focus on Keith and the twins”  
“Speaking of Keith... am I allowed to let him back in?”

Oh. Lance wasn’t strictly done with the things he wanted to ask Shiro.. Shiro must have decided to run before Lance could ask him anything else, like if he and Curtis wanted to come and stay for a few days   
“Yeah. I feel so pathetic... When Keith hugs me it’s like everything else just falls away. All I want is for him to be happy”  
“I know you do. If you need to talk, I’m here. So’s Curtis. We’ve both been through similar events before, but I imagine all of this was very new to you”  
“The last time some really hurt me, like, really really hurt me was when I was turned. Matt doesn’t count because he didn’t mean to”

Matt had felt terrible for hurting him in the tunnels. Lance felt terrible because Matt felt terrible while their egos both laughed at their stupidity. If anyone supernatural was going to hurt him, Matt would be the least of his worries  
“You’ve got a big heart. Get some rest”  
“Yeah. Thanks for... for this. I realised how lucky we’d been with the people around us and I flipped at the idea that someone saw Keith as anything other than himself”  
“People can be very stupid. I understand not telling him. What happened already happened, and he already has the gist of things. I love both of you like brothers”  
“I love you like a brother too. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much family as I have since you all gate crashed my life”  
Shiro chuckled at him. Lance kind of definitely feeling he’d maybe upset Shiro by accident, either that or Shiro was pulling a Keith and running away  
“Happy to help. Okay. Don’t forget to talk to me if you need to... wait, that sounded wrong, I’m here when and if you want to”  
“I know. Thanks”

Keith was like Kosmo. Climbing straight up into their bed and laying himself right up being Lance as their precious fur son liked to do. There’d barely been a minute between Shiro leaving and Keith coming in. Wrapping his arm around Lance stomach, his hand immediately went to rub at the vampire’s belly as he nosed at Lance’s shoulder  
“Babe?”  
Ahhh... questions. Keith had questions. Lance placing his hand over Keith’s and snuggling back into him. He missed being the big spoon. Being about to curl around Keith and protect him from the big bad world  
“I’m okay. Better. Much better with your cuddles”

Kissing Lance’s shoulder, his boyfriend’s coffee breath wasn’t the greatest thing with how he felt, but it was so very Keith that Lance didn’t care  
“Is it okay to ask what you wanted to talk to Shiro about?”  
Shiro was thinking about his request, but if he did grant Lance’s request they’d be taking Keith with them  
“I can talk to right, and you’re not going to yell?”  
“That doesn’t sound good”  
“Keith, I’m serious. I want you to hear me out”  
“Okaaaay. God, you’re not going to break up with me, are you?”  
“No! No. No, that is not happening”  
“Then tell me what you talked to Shiro about”  
“I asked him if he’d feel comfortable returning to the house where they held us”

Keith immediately tensed, Lance flinched in preparation for him yelling. When Keith didn’t yell, Lance forced himself onwards to explain  
“I want to put Sendak firmly behind us. Today was... like a wake up call that no matter how hard I’m trying I’m not okay with what happened. I want to go to the house and see it. I want to see it empty. See he’s not there anymore”  
“He’s dead”  
“I know that logically. My reaction today wasn’t very logical. I want to understand what it was in the flooring that made me freak out. What I want is no more regrets and secret fears popping up and getting in the way of making a happy life together. I want to keep moving forward and today brought back all that fear. I know you’re angry at me and you probably don’t understand why I’d ever want to be in that house again, but that house robbed us of time together. I just need to see it. I need to see how they kept us down there... I asked Shiro, and I think I set of his anxiety and upset him. But I feel like if I don’t see that house I’m going to keep wondering what happened to it”

Keith took a deep breath, slowly exhaling. His grip with his fingertips on Lance’s stomach almost painful  
“I don’t want you going back there”  
Of course he didn’t. It’d be hard for all of them, his pregnancy was complicated enough and Keith feared the amount of stress Lance would be under   
“I know. It’s not like I’m asking to go alone. I don’t want to be there alone”  
“Who would you go with?”  
Keith hadn’t volunteered. Normally he’d volunteer  
“You. Shiro, Curtis if he’s up to it. I know I’m overthinking things, and I know I’m fixating on the house like it’ll be a cure when we all know it won’t be. Today I was really scared. Right up until you came. You make all the bad things bearable and you... you make me feel safe”  
“Then why...”  
“It’s something I guess I need. Don’t have to. I would like to, but everyone got messed up by what happened. I get it if you don’t want to go”  
“I’d rather burn it down”

Lance nodded, shifting his weight so he could roll over onto his back, and hug Keith. The internet said sleeping on your back or right side was bad for the baby, yet he was going to take his chances if that meant better Keith cuddles. Moving to give him space, then cuddling back up against him, Keith was positioned just right for Lance to kiss his hair  
“Me too. I told Shiro the same thing. If it wasn’t for the fact the fire could spread and things could get out of control, I actually think I’d be okay with destroying it. Then no one would have to live there where all that crap happened”  
“I’m a bad influence on you. Trespassing. Theft. Assault. Arson... You’re straying further and further from the law”  
“You’re going to preach to the lawyer about law?”  
“No. You’ve got me beat there. Coran would probably know what’s up with the house. It would have been processed for evidence”  
“Yeah. Babe, if you truly don’t want me to go, I won’t, and I won’t go there without you. We’re a team and you input matters to me”  
“Can I think about it?”  
Lance bit back a sigh. Though unlike Shiro, Keith was more willing to listen as to why. He really should change topic and put Keith’s mind at easy over their date  
“Yeah. You know, I had fun with you today. Even if things were a bit awkward, it was nice. Your face lit up so much I didn’t know what to do with myself”

Keith nuzzled into Lance’s chest, Lance not complaining about the tenderness as he looped his arms around his boyfriend   
“You were pretty cute too”  
“Nah. You totally won on that department. I really liked our date”  
“Until some arsehole ruined it”  
“Yeah, until then. But I knew you’d come to rescue me, you always do”  
“It’s be better if you didn’t need rescuing”  
“Then how would you show off your manliness without a damsel in distress?”  
“You are definitely not a damsel in distress. You’re my boyfriend”  
“Can’t I be both?”  
“Nope. That’s just being greedy”  
Lance hugged Keith tightly for a moment. Everything truly was better with Keith their  
“Fine. You’re very manly all of the time”  
“I know, right? Dashing, charming and manly”  
“Careful now, you’ll make me swoon all over again”  
“Good. Nobody gets to love you like I do”  
Lance laughed softly  
“And no one loves you as much or as deeply as I do. I really did enjoy being with you today. I hope I wasn’t too embarrassing”  
“Says the man who threatened to give me the “best four inches of my life””  
“Offer still stands. That’s a mighty fine booty for plundering”  
Keith groaned at him, Lance winning the banter between them  
“Baaaabe”  
“I’m just saying. You’ve got a great arse”  
“A great arse for an arsehole”  
“You’re not an arsehole. You’re not nearly brown and hairy enough”  
Keith groaned again. His boyfriend was too cute not to tease a little  
“Fiiiine. What do you say I take nap, and you hang out with your brother for a bit?”  
“Nah, I’m good here. I don’t want to let you go”  
“I don’t really want to let you go either. God. We’re grossly in love”  
“Yep, you’re stuck with me Lance McClain”  
“As stuck with you as you are with me, Keith Kogane”


	158. Chapter 158

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just some soft boys picking furniture and Pidge shocking Keith

158

Lance’s scan went well. Their twins were doing well, better than Lance felt at any rate. He and Keith had gone shopping. Keith had sprung it on him after the scan results were positive. Confused as to where his boyfriend was taking him, as it clearly wasn’t back to the apartment or Garrison, Lance had started crying when Keith’s surprise became clear. He’d been worrying himself over what had been said in the toilets. Worrying that Keith would work it out, and no longer love him. Neither of them had been “gay” before meeting each other. Lance wasn’t sure what to describe his sexuality as. Men were hot. Women were hot. He could appreciate both, but Keith was a whole next level batting out of his league kind of deal. Keith might be tall, broad, grizzled and sexy as all heck, but he was so much more than that. He was funny. He was smart, funny, coffee addicted, and there wasn’t anything he’d change about his boyfriend.

Heading into the store, Lance knew it took a lot of courage on Keith’s behalf. The store’s car park had been pretty full, large signs in the windows declared some kind of sale. Keith grabbed a shopping cart, anything he liked his boyfriend wanted to buy. Lance felt the exact same way... Even if he was the more practical one of the two. The vampire only had a couple of rules for their shopping trip; practicality came first and they didn’t need super duper fancy when something simple would do the job. 

Steered away from the cute onesies, Lance once again was clueless. There was so much to look at, his hands resting on his baby bump, trying to take everything in. That’s when he realised. Keith was leading him to maternity clothes and he could have kissed his boyfriend for it. There was absolutely no way to hide his bump now. The clothes Keith had bought him only just covering the roundness of his stomach. Tears rolled down his face, excited as heck for new clothes that’d fit his changing body. Keith misinterpreting his tears, trying to stutter out asking what was wrong as Lance tried to reassure him they were happy tears.

Though feeling self conscious as he looked at all the flowery and flowing materials, Keith urged him to pick whatever he wanted. He’d always dressed himself somewhat neatly, much preferring the fashion of now to short short and jeans that suffocated his testicles. He couldn’t help but blush hard at putting in a couple of maternity bra’s. He didn’t exactly have breasts, but he didn’t not at the same time. Keith seemed to love them. Especially during sex where he’d hold Lance’s breasts instead of his hips. His boyfriend was definitely more okay with the changes in Lance’s body than Lance was, but that was okay because it meant Keith still accepted him for him and not his body.

The next wave of tears hit hard as they looked at cots. Lance wanted a room the twins could grow in. Some place filled with love and comfort, he was hit with wondering if Krolia wanted the same when she was pregnant with Keith. She’d probably had so many hopes and dreams, without the thought of having to abandon him in the future. Noticing Keith staring down into the crib, he moved to wrap his arms around his boyfriend’s waist. This had to be hard for Keith. To be wondering the same thing. To have spent years thinking his mother didn’t love him. Nuzzling into Keith, Keith turned his face to kiss Lance on the forehead. The gesture soft and sweet, making Lance smile with the amount of love he felt for his boyfriend. He loved Keith, and he loved being with him, but lately he’d found himself really needing time with his Gremlin. Pidge might not be overly maternal, yet she gave him a level of comfort that he longed for. That his sister would come to his house threw things out of whack. Pidge was more of a sister to him than his own sisters. 

“You worried about being a daddy?”  
Nosing Keith’s cheek, Lance knew he was. Keith had been acting a little strange in the way he was ignoring Krolia. Shiro mentioned Krolia called because Keith wasn’t picking up his phone. Lance left to wonder if it was because he wanted to go back to the house or if Keith had other things on his mind. He wanted to be able to chalk it all down to this planned surprise but that didn’t feel entirely right. The only logical conclusion he had was that Keith was internally panicking over being a daddy all over again  
“I don’t know if I can be a good dad. I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know how to choose a cot... like... what if I choose wrong? What if they die because I chose wrong?”  
That was being a tad dramatic   
“All of them have to conform to a certain safety standard these days. I was looking online a little and you can get cots that convert to toddler beds”  
“That sounds like a smart idea. I’m sorry, this was my idea but I don’t even know where to start”  
“We start with the basics. Shit, shower and sleep. So, cots, a baby bath, and I don’t think we really need a change table”

Keith snorted with laughter  
“I don’t think you have to be so blunt”  
“I’m just saying, they’re like the real basics we need”  
“We haven’t even picked a theme or a colour for the nursery”  
“Maybe we can choose it together based on the furniture? The only thing I was going to keep in there was the chest of drawers”  
That made sense, right? Like repainting a wall to highlight a certain picture... Then again, decoration wasn’t Keith’s strong point. Red on black, with more black was how his boyfriend rolled   
“But... like... bedding? How do we pick bedding?”  
As long as it wasn’t black, Lance wasn’t fussy  
“That’s easy. If it’s soft and nice it comes home with us”  
“I don’t think it works that way”  
“It does now. You’re going to be the greatest daddy to our twins. I know you don’t believe it, but I firmly do”  
“I feel... out of my depth”  
If only Keith could peek inside his mind and see how unalone he was with those thoughts. Keith was blissfully ignorant to his internal struggles with his boyfriend being labeled by an idiot. Shiro had been right. Each time he’d started to feel shitty about Keith being slandered, all he had to do was think about everything good inside Keith and how that idiot had no clue about his boyfriend   
“So do I. I had a bit of practice growing up, before Luis became a dick. We’ll work everything out together”

And they did. Keith found a convertible bed he like while Lance found a change table he absolutely loved. There were drawers. Drawers and an inbuilt bin. The second he saw it he knew it was a game changer. Fluttering his eyelashes at his boyfriend, Keith snatched up to of the paper slips for the cots before jogging over to him. Lance hadn’t meant to wander away. The change table completely to blame as it lured him over. 

Looking the piece of furniture up and down, Keith frowned at him  
“I thought you didn’t want a change table”  
That frown wasn’t bring down Lance’s excitement. If anything he was more determined to show Keith how fucking cool it was   
“I didn’t know I needed a change table. Look at this beast! Look at it. There’s drawers. Drawers! They didn’t have this stuff when I was growing up and it has a bin!”  
“What do we need a bin for?”  
“Nappies, obviously! And wipes... Babe, I don’t think I’ve ever fallen in love with a piece of furniture so fast, and it’s white so it matches the beds”  
Only in colour. The style was more curved, but with the right accessories it’d blend right in. Plus, he needed it. He needed it more than he needed blood. Every molecule of his being seemed to be vibrating with excitement over how much of game changer this really was. He loved his old drawer, but this... It was more a case of “Drawers? What drawers?”  
Keith sighed at him in an overly exaggerated way, he was winning. Keith was caving   
“If that’s what you want...”  
Lance nearly squealed, yet as much as he wanted it... needed it, he wasn’t going to disregard Keith’s opinion  
“Only if it’s what you want”  
“They said online something about “Push Presents”. Do you want a push present?”

Lance knew he’d done plenty of research, and he knew Keith was the same, yet it still thrilled him Keith was researching all things baby. He didn’t really need a push present. Their twins were enough. Them alive and breathing, that was it  
“I don’t need a push present, but I think I need this change table. No. I know we need this... I mean, look how practical it is! Babe, look at it!”

Keith laughed softly, Lance stepping back so his boyfriend could inspect the change table as he gestured wildly towards it. Keith’s eyes widening at the amount of space in the drawers as he checked the depth of the top two   
“Seeeeeee. Think of all the supplies we could fit in there”  
“We have to buy the supplies first”  
Pffft. At this stage Lance was happy enough to buy it simply to look at it  
“Good thing we’re at a baby super store...”  
Keith tried to hide his smile, coughing to clear his throat, before giving up with a shake of his   
“Alright. We’re doing it. Cross change table off the list. We’re getting one of these bad boys... Holy heck, the bin bit has a latch. Kosmo’s going to have a hard time getting past that”

Keith was hooked! Lance knew it! That squeal escaping out his nose, Keith raising an eyebrow at the weird sound. Pfft. Keith already knew he was dating a weirdo, a very excited weirdo   
“I know! Whoever designed this needs a medal. So if we get this, then the bedding, and the supplies we need most when I pop, that’s like almost everything”

If he popped tomorrow they’d be basically prepared. Not that he intended to. He wanted these two to bake as a long as they could   
“What else do you want to get?”  
“A rug, and a bookcase... oh, and a chair. I definitely want a chair in there for nursing”  
For nursing and “sleeping” in on sleepless nights. In his mind he could see Keith sitting in the chair, reading their twins their bedtime stories, or holding one of their twins for a bottle feed  
“That sounds smart. Okay. Done. Where do we buy a chair from?”

Lance smiled at his boyfriend as Keith looked over the display of cots and bedding. With how large the store was, he wouldn’t be surprised if they did have rugs, bookcases and chairs, probably with a high price tag...  
“From a furniture store. They’re not hugely necessary items, and we’re not going to have room in the back of the my baby once we get the boxes for the cots and the change table”  
“Do you think they’ll deliver?”  
The cots, or the chair? Either way, Garrison was outside of almost every free delivery zone. He knew from experience, but happy to spend the money if he really needed to  
“If you want to pay a $250 delivery fee”  
“Fuck that. I could probably ask Hunk if we can use his dad’s Ute”

Lance loved Hunk’s dad. He was as easy going as Hunk, but he didn’t want to ask for a favour without being there in person   
“Or we could save it for the next time we’re in Platt, it’s only two weeks, and by then we should have an idea of colours to match with”  
“That’s like super smart. Okay, so we need bedding next?”  
“Mattresses too...”  
“They don’t come with a mattress?”  
“Some do, some don’t. I want to try and find one with a removable cover”  
“They have removable covers?”

Keith seemed extremely shocked by this. Lance could only hang his head. It was like the first time Keith discovered the waterproof mattress protector on their bed. He’d been so confused until Lance had gently pointed out wet spots happened and he’d rather them not happen to his mattress. That and when Blue brought him presents he didn’t want squashed entrails on his mattress either.

Kissing Keith’s cheek, Lance then nodded   
“Yep. Trust me, you’ll thank me the first time you have to clean shart sheets”  
“Our twins are going to be perfect”  
“Babies poop, babe. Fact of life”  
“But they’re only small”  
Boy was Keith in for a surprise. Good thing Lance hadn’t mentioned projectile vomiting and sometimes stuff came out both ends at once   
“And sometimes they make a huge mess. I’ll save the first one just for you”  
Wrinkling his nose, Keith looked as if the spell of excitement over their twins had been broken  
“You don’t have to”  
“Nope. You insisted”  
“Well don’t let me do it again”  
“I make no promises”

*  
Garrison. Keith was grateful to be home again. Lance had been texting on the drive home, Keith finding out who when Hunk and Pidge had been waiting for them at the house. Volunteering Hunk to help unload, Lance was whisked away by Pidge. Keith somewhat glad Lance hadn’t insisted on helping with the heavy lifting. His boyfriend had loudly proclaimed he was beached this morning, while laying on his back with his belly out. The scan might have gone well, but Coran had done a lot of “ahhing” and “ohhhhing” and telling Lance to get plenty of rest, while not explaining anything to the pair of them. Though Keith had planned to take Lance shopping, he’d upped the schedule to distract his boyfriend from whatever Coran could possibly mean.

Opening up the back of the Bronco, Hunk’s eyes widened at the game of Tetris Keith had played in the back to fit everything in. Each cot had two boxes, the change table had three, then there were two mattresses, three tins of paint, a fly screen door Keith had no idea what for, plus the baby clothes, bedding, Lance’s clothes, the small amount of shopping they’d done for home, as well as nappies and wipes. Both of them had spent a fair chunk today, without buying the chair, bookcase, or rug Lance wanted for the room. Keith understood how Hunk was speechless, the hunter also somewhat speechless at the pile of shopping to be brought in and sorted.

Explaining the pile, Keith pointed as he talked  
“The big boxes are for the nursery and the bags need to go to into the living room. Lance wants to wash everything before he puts things away. If it’s food, well, you know...”  
Hunk cutting him off as he eyed the very top of the pile   
“Is that a door?”  
Yep. The stupid thing kept sliding forward to smack him in the back of the head every damn time he braked. Lance wouldn’t explain, saying it’d become obvious if he was patient   
“Lance wanted it. He got distracted at the hardware store”  
“I’m not going to ask...”  
“You know he probably heard you ask”  
Hunk groaned  
“That’s not fair, man. And how dare you guys decide you’re staying in Platt without telling us about your date”

Lance had mentioned in passing that he missed his Gremlin. Unloading the bronco would leave Pidge and Lance to have some sibling time together. Keith knew he’d been thinking a lot about Lance’s sister showing up, which meant Lance had to be thinking about it at least twice as much  
“I bet that’s what Lance is telling Pidge all about. Seeing you haven’t been to Platt, Lance brought home papers for Shay to sign. Basically the usual “she’s not going to tell anyone he’s pregnant””  
“That’s usual?”  
Okay, maybe not the usual... Lance said he’d sit down with Shay and explain things, and that the conversation was well over due. Hunk had dropped it on them so semi casually that old Keith would have flipped   
“Nope. If you want to grab that top box, I’ll grab the one next to it”  
Hunk looked the pile of shopping up and down  
“That door’s gotta come out first. Did you guys just buy everything?”  
“Not quite everything. Lance did get caught up looking at kitchen sinks”

Hunk didn’t laugh. Keith secretly quite proud of the joke. Lance would have laughed. He would have teased him about about understanding universal jokes better than he had when they met. Maybe even made a joke about “Who needs a kitchen sink when I can tap you?”. He missed Lance.

Talking as they unloaded, Keith found out he’d missed nothing much happening at the garage, other than Hunk’s dad looking for him when he hadn’t come in. Spending time with Hunk was pretty cool. Hunk knew enough to be a hell of a mechanic if he’d wanted to, so it’d been easy to discuss bike specs with him over Keith’s baby. The new exhaust pipe he’d ordered hadn’t arrived yet, the shipment delayed, but from the way Hunk filled him in he could tell the big guy had missed having him around. It was nice to feel missed, even if it twinged at him that Matt had gotten the job he’d hoped to apply for. Lance was right, he was made for being hands on. 

There was a certain feeling of accomplishment that came with fixing each part of his bike up. According to Coran’s schedule he’d be starting back as a hunter in March. Coran hoped to have everything in place for summoning the demon out of Curtis by then, then he’d be a trio with Shiro and Curtis, instead of simply partners with his brother. Lance had asked Coran about what went into summoning out a demon, and Keith promptly became lost when it came to things that needed to be brewed. 

He’d tried to pay attention for Shiro’s sake since it was his future brother-in-law’s life at stake, yet Lance seemed to have a better grip on how it’d all go down. He’d meant to ask Shiro and Curtis to come stay a few days before the summoning, yet forgot thanks to “baby brain”. The store had been pretty intimidating. As was the three missed calls from Krolia on his phone. Keith knew he couldn’t keep ignoring Krolia, but Krolia seemed to think he wanted to rush into proposing to Lance, leaving him agitated that she was meddling again. 

Speaking of proposing, he’d also had a kind of crazy idea. Miriam’s rings were where they should be, but part of him wished he’d had them for when the time felt right to propose to his boyfriend. While Lance had slept, Keith had worked. He’d found every photo he had of Miriam, cropping things down until he had a clear mental picture of how her ring had been designed. His intention now was to save back up and find a jeweller in Platt able to recreate Miriam’s wedding ring, with his own tiny twist in it. Instead of three diamonds, he wanted 5 stones. 2 amethysts and two sapphires, with a diamond in the middle. Lance would realise the significance the moment he saw the ring. Or, at least, that was Keith’s hope. Never had anyone managed to reassure him about the unique colouration of his eyes like Lance did. Amethyst the closest stone he was probably going to be able to get, while he hoped he’d be able to find sapphires close to Lance’s own eye colour.

“Earth to Keith, you in there, Bud?”  
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Keith nodded as he straightened up. Having Hunk cut down on the number of trips up and down the stairs, but damn if he didn’t feel weaker than he had been  
“Sorry, I was off thinking about the future”  
“Was it interesting?”  
“Mildly. What’s up?”  
“I asked if I should just leave the bag of nappies up here? I grabbed them with the second mattress”  
“Oh, yeah. That’d be awesome. You’ve got to see the change table when it’s set up. Lance is love with it. This thing is awesome”  
Hunk chuckled at him  
“I thought Lance was adamant about not having one. He told me he didn’t want one when we asked”

All their friends had asked what they wanted or needed. Being their firstborns, Keith and Lance both wanted to prove that they could support their growing family without the need of gifting. Keith particularly felt the need to overcompensate as he’d never had any real family experience until Shiro  
“He didn’t until today. You should have seen the look on his face. He seemed ready to commit murder if he didn’t get the change table”  
“I’m sure he wasn’t that bad”

Maybe not, but I’d been love at first sight for his boyfriend. Lance thinking he’d been turning on the charm to sway Keith, the joke on his boyfriend as Keith was very readily swayed by his lover   
“He would have carried the one from the store home if he had to”  
Hunk laughed openly as they both imagined that. Lance really would have. He’d probably even say it wasn’t at all heavy  
“Is it bad I can see that? That’s bad, isn’t it?”  
Keith snorted, smile wide  
“Not really. Lance can be very determined”  
“Man, don’t even go there. He’s almost as stubborn as you are about not letting us know about this date of yours. I know you took photos. Lance said there were photos”  
“Only on my phone. We’re lucky half the zoo didn’t come home with us. Did you know he has no problem with snakes? He’s jus like “Yep, that’s a bit snake. I’m gonna touch it””  
“I don’t need to know what you two get up to in private”

Keith was stunned. Slack jaw stunned. Their little Hunk was going there   
“Oh man, don’t tell me I broke you”  
“I’m not broken. Lance is going to lecture me about corrupting you with all the time we’ve spent together lately”  
“You’ll have to talk to Shay about that one. No offence, dude, but she’s the one”  
“None taken. If this is everything, we can collapse now, right?”  
“Sounds good to me. I’ve got some ice tea in the fridge”  
Keith hadn’t been an “ice tea person” until he’d met Lance. Lance barely made ice tea, but Hunk... Hunk was their culinary god. Not that he’d tell Lance. Lance’s cooking was so amazing he was sure he was getting fat. Fat and lazy... He liked being mostly a home husband without the whole constantly fearing for his life. He liked having good people to come back to, no matter how far he want, they always welcomed him back  
“Hunk, you are a god... You know this right? I don’t know how I can thank you for everything. We keep up and leaving... but... you guys...”  
“Aw, man! Bring it in!”

Hugging Hunk, they both wrinkled their noses at how sweaty they were from lugging everything upstairs  
“Dude, we need showers”  
That they did. A cold shower would be just the thing to wash away the heat in Keith’s cheeks. He and Hunk had hugged before, but this hug had him feeling a little self conscious. The day had been long, shopping wiped him out much more than than thinking about his dwindling bank account  
“You can go first. I should check on Lance”  
“I don’t mind if I do. The tea’s in the fridge, all you have to do is pour”  
“Thanks... and thanks for helping. Lance probably could have done it all in one trip”  
“I don’t know. I think even he might have struggled trying to carry everything”  
“Well... maybe. He would have tried though”  
“This is true. Okay, I’m gonna hit the shower. Don’t forget the tea”  
“As if I could”

Being polite Keith grabbed out the serving tray, glasses, and pitcher of tea before carrying them to the living room. Lance was snoring his head off, laying with his head in Pidge’s lap, Pidge shooting him a worried look  
“Keith... I think I broke him. He started crying then fell asleep”  
Okay. Lance crying wasn’t that unusual. Keith was still learning that tears didn’t mean sadness. Sometimes they just seemed to happen. Lance had cried on the way home because he’d bitten a hole in the straw of his drink... Still, the tray shook slightly in his hands, Keith forcing himself not to rush to put it down on the coffee table and spill everything as he did.

Spilling the tea slightly, the hunter forced down a breath. Pidge was still staring up at him, her hand on Lance’s hair  
“I didn’t mean to make him cry. We were talking and he started crying and I didn’t mean to...”  
Keith hoped he hadn’t been making a judgemental expression. Pidge adored Lance, she’d never intentionally make Lance cry  
“It’s hormones mostly. Should I be worried about what you were talking about?”  
“He asked if his sister had been back, then told me how much he’d missed, started crying and fell asleep...”  
“Ah...”

Keith mentally groaned. He was terrible at this “comforting people thing” when it wasn’t Lance  
“I didn’t mean to”  
“It’s not your fault. We’ve had a pretty long day, and this is Lance, he cried a lot even before he fell pregnant”  
Pidge snorted before sobering. Keith tried not feel possessive watching Pidge stroke Lance’s hair   
“Yeah... I just... didn’t mean to upset him”  
“I doubt it was you. Some stuff happened in Platt... Some wanker hurt him for bumping into him and he realised a few things. Trust me when I say it’s really not thanks to anything you’ve done”  
“Thanks, Keith. I love him, you know. And did you just say someone hurt him?!”

Lance whined in his sleep, Pidge clamping her free hand over her mouth as they both watched. When it became clear Lance wasn’t about to wake, she slowly moved her hand down, whisper yelling   
“Someone hurt him?! What the hell happened?”  
“He had a bit of a panic attack, and the guy didn’t appreciate Lance stumbling into him. He’s okay now, but... Actually, I have something to ask you”

Keith was still on the fence about returning to the house. Lance wanted to go. Keith didn’t want to go. He didn’t want Lance committing that place to memory and his nightmares getting worse   
“Oh? Actually, I’ve got something to tell you. Lance fell asleep before I could talk to him about it... well, two somethings... You go first”  
Pidge had something to tell him? Why did he get the feel he wasn’t going to be happy? She was smiling, but he knew how sharp her teeth could be behind that smile  
“You’ve known Lance longer than I have, and I don’t want to fuck this up”

“Oh my god! You’re going to ask him to get hitched?!”  
Keith sighed deeply  
“Have you been talking to Krolia?”  
“Yes, but not about that. Oh my god! When?! Are you getting married before he pops?!”  
Keith pinched the bridge of his nose as he sat himself down next to the serving tray  
“No. Lance and I both... we want to be together a while before... God. If my mother’s been at you, I’m so sorry”

Fucking Krolia. Only by sheer luck had the ring box not been found by Lance. Keith meant to throw it out, but it was hard when Lance generally took the rubbish out and the big bin was emptied once a week. Cocking her head, Pidge forgot she’d been whispering   
“She hasn’t been... but if you’re not proposing, then what’s going on?”  
“Lance said he wants to go back to the house where Sendak held them. He said he wants to see that it’s empty and that no one there’s suffering”

Immediately Pidge’s gaze dropped to Lance   
“Hasn’t he been hurt enough?”  
Keith nodded, more than grateful Pidge seemed to get his fears  
“I don’t know if it’s a good idea. He asked Shiro, and Shiro’s been in a bit of daze since. We didn’t see Sendak’s body, but I trust Coran when he says Lance killed Sendak. He’s freaked out from his attack, overthinking things and I... He doesn’t forget. I’m scared if he goes there, he’s always going to have the house in his head”  
“Dude, he’s already got the house in his head... Maybe... maybe he’s right? If he didn’t see the body then maybe he needs to see the house? You know he has to understand everything”

And now Pidge was shifting her thoughts to things Keith had already thought about   
“He said he wants to put it behind him so he can focus on the future. You’ve been by his side longer... I’m not sure if I should say yes”  
Pidge snorted with laughter, adjusting her glasses as she did  
“Pfffft. I didn’t even know he was a vampire and I’m a paranormal investigator. Dude, you’re his boyfriend. You can tell him no. But if he thinks it might help, then the best we can do is be there with him. I mean, someone’s gotta start the fire and then provide the alibi”  
Keith found himself smiling   
“Here I was blaming myself for leading Lance astray and you say the same thing we’ve been thinking. We all want to burn the house down”  
“In my defence, I think the house has it coming. I would have loved to kick Sendak, even only once in the ankle, that would have been enough”  
“I can see that, but you’re lucky you never had to go face to face with him. I still have nightmares about the raisin fuck”

Pidge arched an eyebrow at his “raisin fuck”. Keith blaming Lance solely for his defaulting to bread related items  
“Smooth, dude. Okay, well, I’m down to go. Hunk will too. You both have to get it into your head we’re not gonna let you guys go through this alone. Now, I’ve got news and Lance is gonna be so mad so I need to you turn the boyfriend charm on”  
“I don’t know if I’ve got any charm”  
“You must do. Kosmo totally got up, huffed, and then laid back down. That’s the most he’s been bothered moving in this heat”  
“You broke my boyfriend and my fur son?”  
“Rude. Matt wore him out this morning taking him for a run. Annnnnyway... You know how I am like the most amazing tech person you know and will ever meet, and you know how we’ve been not making videos lately... I have solved both problems because I am a genius”

Keith wasn’t going to debate facts. Pidge was as amazing as she thought she was  
“How?”  
“I’m going to work at VOLTON! Oops... I mean, I’m going to work at VOLTRON. Before you get worried, it’s all in research and development. Meaning I’ll be tinkering with all that tech. Coran promised me like an amazing wage, as much tech as I could get my fingers on, and I get a company car!”  
She was what? How? What?  
“You what now?”  
“I know you’re worried. I totally get it. I’d be worried about this amazing little me too. So, it’s like totally okay. I won’t see any vampires or werewolves outside of staff. Mum agreed... well, dad agreed that it’d be safer than letting me do whatever I want seeing Lance is pregnant and he really should be focusing on that. I get weekends free... and Coran said I could totally check out any equipment I want to use while hunting. Apparently he’s a total fan of our videos”

Pidge sounded so beyond excited that Keith had to almost physically cram his fist down his throat to push down the rush of fear he felt for her. Coran was only one fae. Things went wrong all the time... but for Pidge this was a once in a lifetime offer  
“I want to be excited but I’m worried”  
“Hunk threw up. He said he wasn’t going to, then he did. But think about it, I’m gonna be there and you’re gonna be there and when Lance gives birth I’m not going to be in the room but I’ll be in the complex. I have to have training. Basically enough training to fight a human off... I start next week full time”

What... the actual fuck... Pidge was... holy heck. He didn’t want this life for her. Lance didn’t want this life for her. Lance had busted his arse for years protecting Pidge from her overexcitable ways... and now she throwing herself into the jaws of a lion. He couldn’t... Lance was not going to be happy. He wasn’t happy. This was their Pidge and their Pidge needed to be safe at all times. He was being a bad friend not sharing her excitement. Lance kind of taught him that that was a thing and it was okay not to worry and to go with the flow  
“I’m going to need... a moment. Are you sure this is what you want? I’m not trying to upset you, but you know what things can be like and they can be a whole lot worse. Lance managing to cause a commotion is what kept us from losing him”

Pidge’s shoulders slumped. Yeah. Definitely being a bad friend right now. He’d never be leaving VOLTRON’s employment once Lance learned about this  
“I get that you guys are scared, but this could be a great chance to put something good on my resume. I’m not working with any magic, or with Lotor, or Acxa, Zethrid and Ezor. It’ll be things like redesigning your phone to be a bit more practical and better coordination communication, and encoding”

If Pidge could hack into the Blade network that said a lot for her skills but also did highlight that anyone might be able to. He couldn’t brain this right now  
“Let me just process. What was the other thing you wanted to tell me?”  
Pidge shifted her weight... Guilt coming over her face. How could things possibly get worse?! How could she not feel guilting for joining VOLTRON, but feel guilty about this  
“I... Okay. I’m sorry. I started when... when I was trying to work out my feeling about Lance being a vampire and Matt being a werewolf. So... I um... started looking into your past too. I sent some emails out, and lately I’ve been asking Krolia. Umm. I know I shouldn’t have pried, but I know how much it’s a thing for you. I...”

Oh, God. This... she’d done something. Instantly his nose was put out of joint by Pidge having the audacity to poke into his past. He still had shit in there he hadn’t told Lance. What happened was his business. Not Pidge’s. When he told Lance, that was up to him. Lance knew how much it fucking hurt to go there...   
“I found your dad’s grave. I know. I can see you want to yell, and I nearly gave up and no one was replying then I got email two weeks ago and I’ve like been confirming it and I’ve found his grave. I found a few articles on him too. Please, Keith. I know I invaded your privacy... I just... I don’t know what it’s like not to have my dad and I imagine it fucking sucks so I wanted to find something for you...”

She’d... found... Keith knew if he dug deep enough and manned up enough to face his past he may have found out, but... he wasn’t sure he... now she had... what the fuck was he supposed to do?  
“Keith?”  
“I need some air”


	159. Chapter 159

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No one can deny Hunk...

159

Sitting on the back door step, Keith wiped away his tears angrily. He felt like he couldn’t stop crying. He’d been so young when he’d lost his father. Technology wasn’t what was now back then. He’d been left alone. Forgotten until someone remembered that he existed. Then forgotten all over again as he’d been moved into the system. By the time he was old enough to go looking for answers he was too haunted by his past. Too mixed up inside. Too untrusting and jaded by society... and cursed by the passage of time with barely any memories of his father left inside his head.

Then he’d left the country. Swept away by a man who seemed to know more about him than he did himself. Plunged into the hell hole that was the truth, now spat out the other side into a relationship with a man he’d never thought he could love as much as he did. How was he going to be a dad? What would his own dad say if he could see him? Lance insisted he’d be proud. Mami was proud of him and she’d still passed away. Pidge shouldn’t have meddled. She shouldn’t have decided on working at VOLTRON without talking to Shiro at the very least. Maybe Shiro knew? His mum had to know. She’d also probably known all along where his dad was buried. Coran too when he gathered Keith’s personal files up before they transferred there. Like always, he was the last to know. 

And now he knew, he didn’t know what to do. 

If he went what did he say? “I didn’t have the greatest life and mums a weirdo?”, that seemed a bit much. Would someone have cared for his father’s grave? Would someone have brought him flowers? Would his friends visited until one day their lives got to busy? Who was the last person to visit his dad? Keith didn’t believe that the soul stuck around after death, though Lance seemed to sense it, he couldn’t. What if his dad was still stuck there? Waiting and waiting... only... he’d never come back. Like his dad had never come back...

“Babe?”  
Lance sounded sleepy. Pidge must have woken him to send him to check on him  
“Go take a nap, I’ll be okay”  
He didn’t want Lance to go. But he didn’t know if he had the strength not to say something wrong and start a fight if Lance pushed him on this  
“Not when you’re crying. Want to come upstairs and talk?”  
“I’m sorry... I need air right now”  
“Then I’ll... just... squeeze past you...”

Lance did that as he spoke, trying to make himself impossibly thinner to fit through the gap. With a lot of effort, Lance lowered himself to sit on the paving, Keith wiping at his face and failing to at wiping all the tears away  
“Okay. I’m here now. Can you tell me what happened?”  
“Pidge didn’t tell you?”  
“Ah, no. She woke me up and said you needed me”  
Pidge could have clued Lance in. Then Lance would have known he wanted to be alone right now   
“I just need some air”  
“Air is good. Air is very good. It helps you like breathe and stuff”  
“I want to be alone”  
“I don’t think that’s a good idea right now. You’re obviously really upset. I want to help if I can”  
“You can’t. I don’t want to talk about it”  
“Then how about I just sit here until you’re ready”  
“How about you go upstairs and take a nap instead?!”

Snapping at Lance, Lance sucked in his top lip. This was exactly why his boyfriend shouldn’t see him like this. He fucked everything up and now he was going to fuck everything up with Lance. Keith dropped his head in shame  
“I’m sorry. I just want to be alone”  
Lance countered his request immediately   
“I respect that, but as your boyfriend, I can’t leave you alone like this. I can’t even wrap my arms around you from behind and hold you... I might not know what’s happening, but I do know you’re hurting and you’re confused. I get if you need to think, just as long as you know whatever it is, I’m going to support you. I’m here with you. I’m on your side”

Fuck. Lance was fucking stubborn when he wanted to be. Keith didn’t get what his boyfriend saw. He wasn’t a hunter anymore, not really, not since January. He wasn’t a good son. He was a bad brother. No one had wanted him. He hadn’t even been to see his dad. What kind of son didn’t ... A fresh sob bubbled up.

Wrapping his arms around him, Lance ignored his wishes again. Keith breaking in his hold, body heaving as he cling to Lance’s shirt  
“Everything’s going wrong! There’s something wrong with the twins. Pidge got a job at VOLTRON. She found my dad’s grave and I don’t know what to do! I’m not there for Shiro! I can’t be there and be here and I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to be a dad. I’ve got no clue. I don’t know how to change a nappy! I don’t know how to read a bedtime story! I don’t know if I love them or if I’m going to love them. I don’t know how to love... How can I be a dad when I don’t have a dad?! How could I not find him?!”

He’d spiralled. Spiralled down to the very depths and smacked the ground like a parachuter who’s parachute hadn’t open. Keith didn’t know he’d said that out loud between his sobs. Everything was a mess inside his head and his heart   
“You’re wrong. There’s nothing wrong with the twins”  
Keith shook his head dismissively  
“Coran kept making noises...”  
“Because I’ve lost weight. I’ve gotten rounder but I’ve lost a little weight and the twins are totally taxing my systems. I’m okay as long as I don’t lose any more and sleep some more...”  
“But he kept making noises!”

If Coran didn’t want him to worry than he should have talked in understandable English and not this secret coded conversation Lance seemed to have had without him, despite the fact he was holding Lance’s hand during the whole thing  
“I’m pretty sure he knows the twins sexes. He probably kept making noises because he had to stop himself from telling us. Pidge working there... I... I think I’m kind of... going to need a moment with that. I also think I want to shake her because she’s following her passion not her brain...”  
“How could she want to work somewhere so unsafe?!”  
“Because she’s Pidge. We can’t protect her forever. Look, I know she crossed a line. She should have talk to you about this privately and gotten your approval. It’s not my job to apologise for her, but, Babe, we love you. We love you and if you want to go see your dad, I’m coming with you as long as that’s okay”  
Taking his boyfriend to meet his dad... What would his dad think!? How could he explain when so much had happened? Where did he start? And would his dad have approved of Lance? What if he didn’t? What if some part of him still lingered and didn’t like the man he was?  
“I left him alone. I left him alone for so long”

Lance hushed him. Hand coming up to hold Keith’s head against his shoulder as he kissed Keith’s temple  
“You have been through so fucking much. You never ever left him because you wanted to. You had him stolen away from you. It doesn’t matter how much time passes. He loved you with all his heart. All these feelings about being a dad, he felt them too, but he busted his arse because he fell in love with you the moment he knew you existed. He worried he wasn’t going to be good enough. If he’d drop you. How to handle your first fever. How to make you know he loved you. If you’d love him even a tenth of the amount of how much he loved you”

“I still left him. I left him and moved on... How could I not track him down sooner?!”  
“Babe. There’s no limit on grief. There’s no limit on missing people. You weren’t safe. You weren’t there. Your whole life turned upside the moment he passed. You’ve carried so much guilt for something you didn’t do. If I was your dad, I would be bragging to everyone about you”  
“There’s nothing about me to brag about. I’m not working. I couldn’t get the job at Hunk’s garage. I didn’t finish high school. Am I too old to be dad?!”

Lance snorted at him. Yeah, he was younger than Lance, but Lance had this whole vampire thing where he wasn’t going to die of old age. Sighing at him, his boyfriend went into “Gentle Lecture Mode”  
“Okay. You’re thinking too much. Do you remember what you felt when Krolia gave you those photos? How you felt like you were reconnecting with him? You miss him. My pregnancy is pretty stable at the moment, we’ll be staying close to home once I hit 30 weeks because Coran is worried about preterm labour, meaning, now is totally the best time to go. I’ll be there with you. I’ll be telling him every single good thing I know about you. And you can tell him everything you’ve wanted to say to him all this time. That you love him. That you never stopped thinking about him. How you and Krolia found your way back to each other. If you don’t want me to come, I understand. If it’s easier to go with Krolia or Shiro, I understand. If you wanna take our whole pack we can totally all go. Even Coran and Allura. We’ll kick anyone’s but if you think they’re silently judging you. I think we should have a family meeting that way we’re all on the same page”

What the fuck was a family meeting? And how was it different to hanging out and talking? Was it a thing? He didn’t remember having family meetings before...?  
“I don’t know how to have a family meeting”  
“It’ll be okay. Let me take the lead and you’ll see. You know how we all got together to plan for our trip up to the cabin, it’s exactly the same as that. We’ll wait until Matt and Rieva get home, then call Shiro and Curtis, then we’ll all talk about what to do together”  
“And if I don’t want to talk?”  
That’d be safer. If he kept his mouth shut he couldn’t upset anyone   
“Then I’ll use my words. These past few months have been extreme. We’re all feeling different things and we all only know so much. We all love you, and we all want to be there for you”

“I don’t get it...”  
“That’s because you’re so upset right now and stressed to the max. Let us be there for you”  
“I don’t know how to...”  
He was moody and angry. Anything to do with his dad was always so hard to deal with  
“You do. You really do. You’re just shaken up, but that’s more than understandable. He was your dad. Not visiting doesn’t mean you love him any less. It means life got complicated but you’ve always been thinking about him. I think this is a good thing. You need to see him. You need to know where he is for your own peace of mind”

Keith was reminded of Lance saying the exact same thing about returning to the house. He couldn’t go see his dad and not let Lance have the closure he needed. That wouldn’t be fair  
“Maybe... can I have a bit to think before the meeting?”  
“You sure can. You need a shower. As much as I love the super manly sweaty scent your rocking, you smell”  
Lance smelt sweet. Too sweet. His emotions must have been as scattered as Keith’s. Lately Lance seemed to be able to ignore any all heat flushes. Though Keith knew that was only skin deep. His boyfriend was holding back more than ever. Why did their friends insist on dumping life changing decisions on them the first chance they got? And why did he have to always think so damn much? The dust bunnies in his brain had never been so active as they had been in the last 10 months. Right. Showering. Showering seemed too much effort  
“Hunk was showering...”  
“The big man doesn’t take long. Head upstairs and take a shower. I have a Pidgeon to threaten”  
“You can’t just threaten her”  
“I can threaten her all I like. She needs to know I will kick her arse to the moon if she doesn’t take every safety precaution available. No one hurts my man. And no one hurts my Pidgeon. I’m a simple vampire of very few needs”

Smartly, Keith didn’t touch that one with a ten foot pole. By human standards Lance could live on one food source alone, meaning he didn’t really have that many needs, however, this was Lance and he needed everything a certain way. He wasn’t pointing that out, even as a joke  
“Wanker! You could have at least agreed”  
“I’m sorry?”  
“So you should be. Now go get cleaned up while I get things organised”  
“You’re exhausted. Go take a nap”  
“Exhaustion can wait a while longer”  
Unlike him, Lance was pregnant. Nap time was a special time for his boyfriend where he didn’t have to be stuck throwing up or crying. Lance lived for his nap time, no matter how he stubbornly denied it or protested against it  
“Or you could take a nap”

Lance shook his head in firm denial of Keith’s trying to send him to bed  
“Nope. This is more important to me than sleeping. When you’re hurting, I want to show you that I’m here for you”  
“I know you are. Why do our friends always have to dump stuff like this on us without a break?”  
“Because we’re hardly ever home lately so they have to get it all in before we run away again. The timing could have been better, I was enjoying my nap”  
“See, you’re sleepy. Go take a nap until Matt and Rieva get home”  
“I’ll be fine”  
“If you don’t take a nap, we won’t go”

Lance stared at him. Blue eyes widened as if he’d been threatened with bodily harm and not a spontaneous road trip for answers   
“You can’t do that”  
“I can”  
“No you can’t. That’s not how this works in our house”  
“Our house. Meaning yours and mine, meaning you will listen to me. You need rest”  
“But... but... family meeting”  
Keith didn’t want a family meeting. Lance wanted a family meeting. Lance would be getting his family meeting, but he’d only fall asleep if he didn’t take a damn nap first  
“I’ll call Hunk”  
Lance shot him a glare as he crossed his arms  
“You can’t use human sunshine against me”  
“HUUUUUUNK!”

Hunk took a few moments to appear, Keith craning his head back to look up at his friend   
“Dude?! Are you okay? You’ve been crying”  
“Lance won’t take a nap”  
“That’s no good. Bud, you need to rest if you’re tired. It’s not good for you or the twins to be pushing yourself”  
Lance huffed, two could play this game of his   
“Well, we’re having a family meeting, and Keith needs a hug”  
Hunk leaned down, Keith finding himself hiked up with his friends hands under his arm pits before Hunk was wrapping himself around him  
“I don’t need a hug!”  
“Sorry, man. You totally do. And If Lance is calling a family meeting, we’re having a family meeting”

Lance chuckled as Keith stood limp in Hunk’s arms  
“Do I not get a say in this?”  
“You can have plenty of say. You can help me make snacks while Lance takes a nap”  
That wiped Lance’s smile off his face. Using his best “pleading” face, Lance tried protesting against his best friend  
“I don’t need a nap”  
And Hunk wasn’t having it either   
“You do too. Don’t worry about a thing, Bud. Keith and I will take care of everything while you get some rest. You’re pregnant, it’s time you started taking things slower. Besides, Keith promised to tell us all about the date you guys went on”  
Lance whined softly at the pair of them   
“But I wanna tell you about our date! Hunk, he was so cute. You should have seen him. Keith was hugging a rabbit and your heart would have melted from adorable overload. You have to get him to show you the photos. And when I was feeling sick he braved people to get me water. He was so manly”

Hunk lifted Keith off his feet for a moment, then stood him back down  
“That’s our Keith. Always looking after everyone but himself...”  
Lance nodded  
“That’s what I was trying to tell him. He needs a shower”  
“And you need a nap”  
Hunk released Keith, then made him stumble as he bumped him with his shoulder  
“Now, now. We can’t have everyone’s favourite couple fighting. Keith will have a shower, you’ll take a nap, while we make snacks”  
No one could argue with Hunk. He was far too loved to be argued with. Lance letting out a long sigh   
“Can I nap in the living room?”  
The bed would be better...  
“Will you actually nap?”  
His boyfriend rolled his eyes at him  
“Yes, dad. I will nap. Will you not murder my toaster?”  
“Once. That happened once”  
Hunk interrupted   
“Guys, get moving or you’ll still be arguing when the others get home and we’ll all cop it from Rieva. She scares me, man. She scares me. I don’t know how she handles Matt”  
For a moment Keith wondered if Hunk was actually scared. A werewolf was a big thing to adjust to. Keith would understand if Hunk had a healthy fear, but to hear he was scared of Rieva because she kept Matt in line... it only proved how healthy Hunk’s fear was   
“Don’t worry, she scares me too. You should see her when she’s in battle mode. She’s fierce as hell”  
“Nope. I don’t need to see that”

Lance climbed to his feet, hand on his belly as he tried not to look asleep on his feet. Keith could only shake his head at his boyfriend, who smiled proudly as he made it upright without anything going wrong. Waving his hand dismissively, Lance yawned out his words, before dropping to a sleep mumble   
“You guys are overreacting. She’s the perfect mate for Matt. No, the only person in our friend group we really have to fear is Curtis and his ability to accidentally explode electron devices. And we don’t hold that against him in this family. Rieva isn’t scary. Mostly... Look, I like Rieva, but she does have her moments when she’s being protective. I’m gonna go nap against Pidge after I tell her off. Don’t let him cut his thumb off”

Keith and Hunk no idea that they’d be seeing that protective side of her sooner rather than later. Splitting up, Keith trailed behind Lance until he settled next to Pidge, safe on the sofa instead of trying to negotiate the stairs. Maybe it was time to set up a more permanent bed down here for Lance that wasn’t in his office? Realising he was faking down another rabbit hole of thought, Keith quickly shook his head to dismiss the chain of thought. He’d need all his brain power for this damn unwanted family meeting.


	160. Chapter 160

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith is loved and he will accept it. Even if it has to be forcibly shoved down his throat.

160

Having Pidge scream was not on Keith’s plans. Walking in on him walking around Lance’s bedroom naked, Keith was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn’t notice Pidge come in. Pidge caught up in her own thoughts of which blanket to get Lance from their buried bed that she didn’t notice him towelless. Kind of mutually spluttering at each other, Pidge grabbed the top blanket before bolting. Keith ready to die from embarrassment. Though in her mid-twenties, Pidge was the baby of the group. She didn’t need to be seeing his junk, just as much as he didn’t need Pidge seeing it ever. Rushing to get dressed, Keith ended up in jeans far too tight, and his shirt on backwards. Now he shared a wardrobe with Lance their things had sort of blended together. If Lance noticed he’d start cleaning, so Keith wouldn’t be telling him any time soon.

Heading down, Keith could hear Lance giggling. A quick look in the living room proved Lance had heard everything, Pidge cuddled into him as she begged him for some kind of vampire magic that would make her forget what she saw. His junk wasn’t that ugly. Lance seemed to like it perfectly fine. Seeing Lance was happy, Keith left the siblings without disturbing them, heading to the kitchen where Hunk had already gathered everything for their snacks. Not looking back at him, Keith thought maybe he was in the clear until Hunk made him choke on air  
“I heard Pidge saw your junk”

Not Hunk too... Keith coughing out his question as he tried to regain control of his breathing   
“Does everyone know?”  
“Pidge came flying down here. I was going to check that the pair of you were alright”  
“It’s Lance’s bedroom, how was I suppose to know she’d let herself in?”  
“Lance said he was cold and asked Pidge to get him a blanket... I guess we’re going to have to work on knocking”  
“That’d be nice... I feel like I’m the bad guy when she was the one walked in”  
“She’s good like that. Have you been practicing your kitchen skills?”  
“Does microwaving count?”

Hunk groaned at him, Keith taking that as a no. It wasn’t his fault. Lance liked to do things a certain way and it seemed to cause him less stress letting when Keith didn’t protest  
“Okay, but it’s not my fault. I haven’t had to cook”  
“Dude, you can’t let Lance do all the cooking. He’s pregnant. He needs his rest”  
“We’ve been living off the meals from last time... we only came home today”  
“All I’m hearing is excuses. Wash your hands, then you can start on the celery sticks”  
“I thought celery came in sticks?”  
Hunk groaned at him again. Keith didn’t think he was wrong. What were the long bits if they weren’t sticks?  
“Bud, you’re lucky I love you. You’re about to get a crash course in snack making. You should at least be able to leave Lance a snack before you go to work”  
“Lance is a snack...”

Hunk didn’t laugh. Keith missing Lance again. Lance would have said he wasn’t “a snack”, but “a whole damn meal”. With his joke falling flat, Keith resigned himself to being Hunk’s helper and having his ego perked back up by making Lance laugh with his bad jokes later.

*  
Sitting in the living room, Lance wasn’t really awake. His eyes were open, his legs across Keith’s with his feet in Hunk’s lap, with his boyfriend’s arms looped loosely around him. Rieva was taking a shower to freshen up after work, unlike Matt who came home stinking of sweaty wolf and grease then threw himself on his sister and hadn’t moved since. Lance was hoping his sleepy state would excuse him from copping Keith’s wrath when Krolia arrived. She had to visit sometime and this was a matter for all of them to discuss like adults.

Watching Matt’s ear twitch, Pidge finally had the advantage as she shoved the now distracted Matt off her lap. Matt falling less than graceful on the floor where let out a long growl. He heard it too. The sound of tires on gravel, and the revving engine of the car Krolia was driving far too fast  
“What the fuck? I push you off and you growl at me?”  
Grumping at her brother, Matt hushes her. Both of them listing to Krolia come to a sudden stop in front of the house. Lance hoping she hadn’t torn up the gravel too badly. It’d been a bitch the get everything exactly the way it’d been after Pidge tore up the gravel when she was freaking out  
“Someone’s here”

Pidge rolled her eyes at her brother before kicking him lightly in the back of the head  
“Now you’re a fucking guard dog?”  
“Hey, I’ve got my uses! Are we expecting anyone?”  
Lance hadn’t asked Hunk to invite Shay. It’d be better for his bestie to explain to her in private Keith’s past   
“Not that I know of...”  
Oops. Well, not oops, it was time to turn on the boyfriend charm. Tilting his head back, he tried to flutter his eyelashes, but it came out more like weird blinking as Keith raised an eyebrow   
“Babe, you know how you love me... like super love me. I want you to remember those feelings while Matt gets the door”  
“You didn’t... Lance!”

Lance couldn’t help but flinch. Slowly he’s grown used to everyone else being loud, yet when it came to Keith he irrationally feared him raising his voice. Keith was so damn good to him, maybe that was why? Because what Keith thought of him was the most important thing to him?  
“I’m not going to say I’m sorry. I know you’re hurting... but she’s your mum”  
Keith didn’t look happy, if anything he looked apocalyptic as Matt teased them   
“You kind of need to tell her if you two are getting hitched! That why you called the family meeting right?! I worked it out on my own!”

“I’m not proposing to Lance! Fucking hell. You knew I wasn’t talking to her and you called her anyway... I’m not ready to talk about this...”  
Lance felt wounded. His ego felt wounded. He always tried to be sensitive when it came to Keith’s father because he knew how much grief Keith carried over the loss of him. Krolia had to know where the grave was. She’d be the best to talk to logically about making a trip there happen. Plus, she hadn’t visited yet and it was a family meeting. No better time  
“Babe. I know you’re mad, but we all love you. We’re going to talk this out, and work out a plan”  
“You wanted to talk. I wanted to think things through”  
“You need all the facts to make a clear decision”  
Keith snarked back hard   
“Then I could have asked Pidge. She knows more about me than I do”

Lance hissed, out of Keith’s lap and across the space before his boyfriend could stop him. Hunk and Pidge looked mildly scared and a tad impressed as Lance crossed his arms. Lance was also impressed, it was a three metre jump and the biggest he’d made in months, that and the fact he’d landed on his feet with how tired he was  
“You don’t get to take that tone with her. She knows she went about things the wrong way, but now we know we can go see your dad”  
Matt gaped. Matt knew all too well about Keith’s past thanks to Shiro, and the bits of pieces he and Keith had filled him in on  
“Dude! That’s... I’m happy for you”  
Matt didn’t have the right words, but none of them did really. Just because Lance would want to know, didn’t mean he understood any of the pain Keith was experiencing  
“What? Happy that I left him alone for the past two decade or happy I can now tell him how much of a fuck up I am”

Matt growled again, this time at Keith. Keith ignoring him until Matt got to his feet  
“I get you’re messed up, but this is you dad. We want to help, you don’t get to have this pity party and complain when everyone around you cares”  
Keith was in quite the mood  
“I didn’t ask for them to care”  
“No, but we still fucking do. Lance why don’t you let Krolia in? I’ll make sure Keith doesn’t run”

Krolia was waiting on the front step, Lance hugged the moment the door opened, Krolia quickly releasing him and slipping inside   
“I was starting to think you weren’t going to let me in”  
“Sorry, Keith’s in a bit of a mood”  
“I imagine so. He’s been ignoring me for days”  
“Yeah. I’m sorry about that. Anyway, welcome. I know it’s not much but this is my home. Hunk’s made snacks, and Matt’s keeping Keith from running away”  
“Oh? How’s that working out for him?”  
“He’s not happy. But I thought if we were making plans to go visit his dad’s grave then you should be here”  
“I tried to catch up with you in Platt... but I have no idea what I did to upset him this time”  
Lance didn’t either. He was worried for Keith. His boyfriend was so very fragile over the death of his father. Lance felt going to see the grave would give Keith some closure and maybe some kind of answer to whatever questions his boyfriend had floating around in his head. Seeing Keith cry made his heart ache, but if he told Krolia then Keith would be madder   
“Don’t look at me. He doesn’t want to talk about it so I haven’t been pushing the issue. Come on through, we’re hanging out in the living room”

Matt was sitting on Keith, Keith trying to push him off. Laughing at the sight, Keith shot Krolia a glare. Trust Krolia to laugh in the face of danger  
“Hey, kiddo! Looks like you’re having a fun time”  
Nervous enough over having Krolia in the house, Lance found himself stepping back as Keith growled. Stupid tears gathered in his eyes, it seriously felt like everything made him cry since he’d fallen pregnant   
“This fat arse won’t get off!”  
“I’m not fat! It’s all my winter stores”  
“It’s not even winter!”  
“It was!”  
“Yeah, was! You’re a wolf, lose some weight or you’ll be a keg on legs!”  
“I’ll show you!”

In a flash Matt was off Keith and had lifted him over his head. Keith kicking the air, trying to get free of the werewolf’s grip as Pidge cackled with laughter. All of them were damn children  
“That’s enough! Put him down gently before you break something!”  
Letting his hold on his ego loosen, Matt’s eyes widened. Wisely he lowered Keith to stand  
“Really, dude?”  
“I’m not having you break my house! Matt, you’re older than Keith, you need to be the adult here. Keith, sit down. Pidge, stop laughing. We’re all going to have a little talk about you working at VOLTRON without telling us, and what this means for our Garrison Trio hunting videos. Hunk, you call Shiro and Curtis. I don’t think I trust anyone else to. Krolia, find a spot...”  
God give him strength. Matt was likely to accidentally hurt Keith trying to play around. Whining at his scolding, Kosmo deserted Blue who looked less than pleased at her bed getting up and leaving. Padding over to him, his fur son licked his hand  
“I’m not mad at you. You are best boy. Matt could take some lessons from you”

Rolling his eyes at him, Matt’s tone was heavy on the sass  
“Says the vampire”  
Baring his fangs at his friend, Matt’s ego seemed to scamper away. Lance didn’t want to upset him, but all the yelling seemed to have driven the twins into thinking now was the right to time to be bashing his internal organs   
“This is my house, and we’re going to have a serious conversation about things. We all need to discuss the next full moon, Curtis having the demon summoned out of him, and the fact my family seems to think showing up now is all okay. I’m tired and I’m pregnant, I don’t need everyone else playing up right now. And because I know we’re all going to somehow loop back to it, Keith and I aren’t getting engaged. We’re happy with how things are. None of you are to start pressuring him over it. He’s got enough to deal with as it is. Anyone who picks on him is off the Christmas list permanently. We’ll wait until Shiro’s joined the call, then we’re going to have a nice little chat and enjoy the snacks Hunk and Keith made”

Lance knew he was grouchy. Being tired did that to a man, as did the thought of finding yet another coffee table that suited the decor of the living area. Boldly Matt didn’t keep his mouth shut  
“Alright, but we’re talking about this pregnancy too. You guys haven’t been telling us everything and you refuse to let us buy you gifts”  
Lance bit down a sigh, his fangs still showing but not quite as badly as his ego got stupidly happy at the thought of gifts for the twins   
“We don’t need gifts, Keith and I went shopping today”  
“I bet you didn’t get everything. You guys probably forgot heaps of stuff”  
“I do have nieces and nephews, and I have baby sat. I know what to buy”  
“I still bet you forgot something”

“The forgot to buy you a muzzle. Honestly, you’re all as bad as each other. Hey, Krolia, it’s nice to see you again. Lance, please sit down before you fall down. You’ve gone awfully pale”  
Walking in, towelling her hair, Rieva was the only other person in the house Lance felt like calling an adult right now, even if the first thing she did was tell him off   
“I’m fine”  
“You’re tired. I can smell it, and you smell sweet. You’ve not been getting enough rest, you’re all skin and bone. What happened?”

Pidge betrayed him. Maybe because her one day sister-in-law was there to back her up against the scary vampire, or possibly wishing not to start a fight over her new job, she blurted out  
“Keith said Lance got pushed on their date and hurt!”

All eyes went to him. Lance feeling them keenly as his hands went to his belly. The twins were fine. All their friends worried about this pregnancy too much as it was. They had a good date. Shiro had helped with his reassuring words about how to ignore people’s ignorance   
“Keith!”  
Keith sighed  
“Well you did!”  
“You don’t need to tell them the bad bits!”  
“You very much need to tell us the bad bits! Who hurt him? Did you hurt them back a bad?”

Now Rieva was encouraging bad habits  
“They were gone by the time I got there”  
And Keith still sounded bitter about it  
“How could you let this happen?”  
And now Rieva was blaming Keith   
“I didn’t! He went to the bathroom and next thing I know some fucker’s messed his nose up!”  
“Lance should have been able to still identify the individual”  
“I was more concerned with his bleeding nose...”  
Hunk worried his pointer fingers together   
“Holy shit, dude. You didn’t get hit in the stomach right? They’re still okay, in there?”  
This wasn’t the conversation they were meant to be having! He didn’t want to think about the guy who’d slurred Keith off. His boyfriend was the best man he knew, okay, well Hunk, but he was head over heals for Keith   
“I’m fine. They’re fine. This isn’t what I called a family meeting over”  
Rieva threw her hands up  
“You can’t not tell us! You barely tell us anything about the pregnancy. We’re a pack, you know you can rely on us to be there for you”  
“We only got home today! I had another scan, they’re fine! Some guy smacking my face into a door frame doesn’t matter!”  
Keith drew his brow  
“Wait, I thought you said he pushed you when you bumped into him”  
“He did! God. I don’t want to talk about this! We’re hear to talk about going to see your dad!”  
“I told you I wanted to think about it!”

Now he and Keith were yelling at each other. He didn’t want to yell, but no one was listening   
“And I told you I’d support your decision but as a group we should all be on the same page!”  
“And I think you need to be at home resting instead of traipsing across the country! You’ve already had a panic attack and you want to go back to the house!”  
“Because I need fucking closure! Like you need closure!”  
“I need you to be okay, you idiot!”  
“I’m “the idiot” now?! Nice to know caring about you seems to make me automatically stupid!”  
“I didn’t say you were stupid! You need to calm down!”  
Oh no. No. No. No. Telling him to calm down didn’t calm him down at all  
“And you need to accept we all care about you!”  
“He’s not your dad! He’s mine and I left him rotting in the ground!”  
“It wasn’t your fault! You said you barely survived before Shiro saved you vampires!”  
“I didn’t know I was on the menu of a bunch of blood suckers!”  
“Well it’s my fault my race is fucking shit! I didn’t ask to be a vampire!”  
“I never said you did!”

“Boys, perhaps yelling isn’t the most effective way of communicating”  
Angry at the world and not quite sure how they’d gotten into a yelling match, the pair of them glared at Krolia before looking back at each other. Lance needed to pee again, but right now he wanted to punch his boyfriend for riling up his ego   
“Then say what you actually mean!”  
“I don’t know what to say when I don’t know what I’m feeling!”  
“Obviously you’re feeling something if you’re yelling!”  
“Fine! I didn’t want to have a family meeting!”  
“Well too bad because we’re you’re family! We care about you!”  
“God! You’re impossible!”  
“You’re the one being impossible!”  
“Me?! I finally know where my dad’s buried and now everyone knows!”  
“Pidge hasn’t even been able to tell us yet, because you keep yelling!”  
“Maybe if some dick hadn’t hurt you mid-panic attack I wouldn’t have to be so mad every time I thought about it!”  
“Maybe if you didn’t overthink things you’d know I had a good time until he did!”  
“That’s not the point!”  
Lance’s hands went to his face, wiping at his tears as he hiccuped softly before yelling again   
“It is! I fucking love you!”  
“And I love you!”

As Lance’s emotions bubbled over, Keith moved around Matt to take him in his arms, the vampire sinking into his boyfriend’s hold as he gripped Keith’s shirt  
“I love you... I just want to be able to support you...”  
“I love you, too. I’m sorry. I feel like the shittest son in existence for leaving him alone for so long”  
Why couldn’t keith just see how extraordinary he was?  
“You’re not the shittest son... You’re not even a shit person”  
“I’m pretty shitty for making you cry”  
Keith’s apology only made Lance cry harder as he weirdly laughed out   
“Everything makes me cry”  
“I wish it didn’t”  
“I can’t help it... Can we sit down? I don’t feel very good from all this yelling”  
“Are you okay? Should I call Coran?”  
“Can you just hold me... but first I need to pee”

Keith kissed his forehead, his left hand sliding from Lance’s lower back to his baby bump. Lance enjoying the touch as he moved to nuzzle into Keith’s neck   
“Sure thing, babe. I’m sorry I’m being a dick”  
“Babe, it’s your dad. You love him and I love you. I just wish you could see that”  
They weren’t quite the right words, but they’d do for now  
“I do. I see you. I guess I always thought I’d work it out with Shiro but it never happened”  
“I’m sorry. If we’d found out sooner we could have gone sooner. If I wasn’t pregnant we could have gone right now”  
“Surprise twins were a huge surprise, but like you always say, we’ll work things out together. Now go pee and come back so we can cuddle”  
Lance nodded. Why was it their arguments generally nearly almost always ended up like this? And why was he so okay that they ended this way?

In their own little world they missed the confused looks on their friends faces. Pidge the first to shake her head and sink back in the sofa. She had no clue what’d just happened, annoyed she didn’t but okay because she was as clueless as the rest of them.


	161. Chapter 161

161

It was lazy day. Plans had been made for the following week leaving Lance with nothing but time to relax. Keith felt a little better once they were and once they were all on the same page things seemed a little easier for the pair of them. If Keith seemed in a bad mood or lost in thought, Matt backed off with his teasing. That wasn’t to say Lance was fully forgiven, but Keith had to admit he felt like a weigh had been lifted from his shoulder. 

The weather turned out being a pretty miserable day outside, rain bucketing down from sunrise until lunch time, easing off yet leaving dark grey clouds in its wake. Matt and Rieva were both home, Keith at Hunk’s father’s garage as there’d been some flooding, so he needed to move his bike then volunteered to help unblock the pump to clear the workshop floor. 

Laying against Rieva, the female werewolf and Matt were in their wolf forms. Lance freezing from the ridiculously cold day that could kindly piss off. Curled into Matt, Kosmo was making the most of the warmth, with Blue snuggled up on Lance’s belly as he read his book out loud to Rieva. For both working werewolves the storm seemed welcomed. The power knocked out in town, and the pair of them already in their wolf forms when he and Keith came down to breakfast. Lance envied their ability to sleep. He’d spent the night up and down, Keith worried stupid about him until he finally called Coran at 3am to demand to know why Lance was feeling irregular cramping in his stomach. Coran instantly hit concerned mode, Lance explaining the feeling, trying not to show he was kind of worried, while simultaneously keeping Keith calm over. With no bleeding, or fluid leakage, Coran was confident that it was the first signs of Braxton-Hick contractions, sympathetic to any pain Lance might be feeling due to his overly tuned senses. With the twins moving as much as they were the vampire didn’t feel anything was wrong, though that didn’t stop Keith shadowing his every move. His boyfriend extra clingy as Lance made him his morning coffee.

Feeling one of the twins give a particularly hard kick, the book slipped from Lance’s hand, hitting Blue who rose to her feet with her back arched and a stern glare on her face. He loved his princess. He’d groomed her this morning, then Matt when he’d nose his way between Blue and her brush. Blue look scandalised at sharing her brush with a mere werewolf, but Matt was an idiot no matter what form he was in  
“Sorry, Rieva, Blue’s made it clear she needs pats more than I need to keep reading”  
Lance had noticed the change in Blue since they’d come back home again. She seemed to love bunting into his stomach, yet she didn’t like it when the twins moved. His fur daughter was fickle like that. Lifting Blue, her claws came out, as if activated by gravity, back legs clawing at Lance’s arms as he lifted her up  
“You’re such a princess! You’re not supposed to claw me, I give you the wet food”

Rieva made a noise that Lance could only describe as a laugh. It was kind of breathy and growly at the same time. Alerted by his mate, Matt lazily flicked an ear and cracked an eye open with a huff  
“Go back to sleep you big floofa. Blue’s just being Blue”  
Matt huffed at him again, eye closing before both eyes shot open and he jumped to his feet with a yap. 

Thinking something exciting was happening, Kosmo barked, Blue squirming hard enough Lance had to let her go where she jumped on Rieva before bolting. Kosmo barking as he chased her  
“You upset the children... Is that a car?”  
With the road muddy the sound was different. A wet squelch rather than the cracking over gravel  
“It’s probably Hunk and Keith, or Hunk sent Keith home for the day”  
There wasn’t much that could be done at the workshop without power. Hearing a second set of tyres, Lance sighed. Matt might be interested, but apparently not enough to both changing back into human  
“Don’t all rush to help the pregnant man up. No, I’ll handle this, you guys just keep snoozing on the floor”

Lazy wolves were lazy. Rieva flicking her tail, Lance getting the meaning “If its Hunk and Keith then why bother changing back”. Struggling to his feet, Lance mentally cast a glare at the pair of wolves. Without their warmth, he was freezing cold. Three pairs of socks hadn’t helped, and with winter being over, he didn’t have any winter maternity wear, which he now bitterly regretted. Barking loudly to tell his human there were people there, Kosmo came running back into the room, nails scraping against the wooden floor as he skidded to a stop, then went racing back towards the door. Kosmo was growing into a lazy barker. If he knew the car he didn’t really bark, unless it was Keith and he was excited his dad was coming back from leaving him for hours upon hours. Matt and Rieva climbed to their feet, the two wolves easily up to his hips. Rubbing the fur between their ears, both of them looked up at him for direction   
“Don’t bother shifting back, I’ll see what’s going on”

Grabbing Kosmo by his harness, Lance held him back as he opened the door with his free hand   
“Stop being a pest! Sit! Come on, sit”  
His fur son struggled, eager to bolt through the door and conflicted because he knew he had to follow the command. Sitting, he kept tugging, Lance more focused on him than his guest, so focused he didn’t look outside until Rieva and Matt both growled.

Pulled up in front of his house were two cars. His sister Rachel standing near her sedan, with Veronica. The car behind them a cop car. Fan-freakin’-tastic. This was more a Luis move. Fucking Luis couldn’t let things drop. No. He had to poke his ugly head up like a whack-a-mole that wouldn’t stay down. Having been an outstanding member of the community for years now, Lance recognised both police officers. Hunk’s dad was the local mechanic, which meant everyone crossed his path at some point. Growling again, Lance closed his eyes counted to three, then opened as he turned his head back to his two friends   
“Would you stop it. Those two are my sisters. You’re going to end up taken away by animal control if you keep growling. I keep threatening to cut your balls off, but they really will. Now behave”  
Matt sat, Rieva not as prepared to behave as she came up to Lance’s side, nuzzling into his hip and ready for action if anything went wrong.

“Hey, there Lance. Long time, no see”  
Lance smiled. He didn’t mind deputy Swirn, the man a little panicky, and a little not there, but he cared about the citizens of Garrison. His partner, Bakku, was a bit of a grump. A lot of grump. The kind of person who believed when people went out to have a drink that it should stop with just one drink   
“You’d be right about that. I get the feeling today isn’t a friendly visit?”  
“Ah, no. Is it alright to come in? Those dogs of yours look... pretty big”

Swirn might have been talking about Matt and Rieva, but he was staring squarely at Lance’s stomach. Ugh. This was going to fun  
“They’re big but they’re gentle. Sorry, Kosmo’s a bit excited. He’s my boyfriend’s dog and is still learning not everyone wants to be friends with him instantly. Rach, and Vee, if you two want to come in it’s fine. I hope you don’t mind the house being pretty dark inside. This no power thing sucks”  
“Yeah. Thanks for that, Lance. These ladies seem to have some official business with you”  
“I gathered as much. Kosmo, come oooon, move it”

Dragging Kosmo back in, Kosmo wanted pats from his “new friends”. Lance’s poor undead heart was pounding as the group followed him, Matt, and Rieva, into the living room. The key to these situations was playing it cool. He could do cool. Cool as a cucumber. Smile. Nod. Explain. They’d leave and he’d be okay. He had nothing to hide. Nothing at all. No human would find his safe without a lot of poking, so if they wanted to poke around his house it should be fine... other than the injections in his bathroom... and the kitchen... and a couple of blood bags in the bin... Fuck. He wasn’t really prepared for human company outside his friends group. 

Sitting on the sofa, Lance sat Kosmo between his legs. Matt climbing onto the sofa as Rieva laid back down in front of the fireplace  
“Can I get you guys anything? A water?”  
Bakku glared, Swirn shaking his head  
“No, thanks. Is that your boyfriend working out at the Garrett’s?”  
“The brown haired guy is Matt, he’s Pidge’s older brother. The black haired guy is Keith, he’s my boyfriend”  
Swirn sighed at the thought of Pidge’s infamouscy. They’d been warned a couple of times when Pidge got a tad too excited or people saw lights on in the building they were investigating and thought they’d broken in. They didn’t have records, but they had learned it was better to call in when they wanted to hunt somewhere normally off limits after dark rather than apologise for wasting police time   
“Not another Holt”  
“Yep. He’s the only other one. I’m going to take wild stab here and say you came out at the request of my sisters as they claim I have stolen a set of rings belonging to our late mother”

Swirn scratched the back of his head, Veronica and Rachel hovered near the living room door as if they thought they’d be fleeing for their lives. Seeing his sisters in his home left him longing for some other possible life where they wouldn’t hate him like they did  
“Yeah, sorry, man. Sorry about your mother passing too. Was it sudden?”  
Lance decided to elaborate for the sake of Rachel and Veronica, not knowing what lies Luis had spun  
“Yes and no. Her health was up and down a lot last year. She passed in her sleep while we were in Cuba last month, surrounded by her family”  
“That’s all anyone can hope for. So, these rings... I hate to come in here accusing you, you’ve always seemed reasonable enough”  
“You’re just doing your job. Normally it was our family tradition that they be passed on. I removed them after her death in Cuba, then replaced them at her time of burial. She was buried wearing them, it only seemed right given how long she was with our father. I do have a couple of witnesses if you’d like to confirm with them”  
“If they’re buried with her, there’s nothing we can do. Sorry, ladies. It looks like all this could have been sorted with a simple conversation”

Lance was surprised when Rachel threw the hissy fit and not Veronica  
“You’re just going to take his word?! We saw her before she was buried, she wasn’t wearing them!”  
Swirn raised an eyebrow. Yeah. Rachel was scary, though she seemed to be looking healthier than he could remember her being for a long time   
“Because Luis would have tried to take them off. I told him about it. Mami might have wished them passed on, but think back to a time when we’d sit and talk to Mami and she’d tell us all about her what those rings meant to her”  
“You kept them and you’re lying! They’re not yours to keep”

Swirn shot him a glance, Lance sighing. Mami would have hated this, he sympathised with Bakku and Swirn, they were trying to do their jobs  
“I’m happy to show you up to my room to check if you’d like. I have nothing to hide”  
“If you don’t mind. I’m sorry to impose on you when you’re obviously... busy”  
Swirn just wanted to get out the house as soon as possible. Bakku still taking the “tough cop” approach of glaring in Lance’s direction   
“Then Rachel can stay down here with Bakku and check the living room, I’ll show you through. My dogs won’t hurt you, even if they growl. They’re a bit territorial, but would never hurt a human”  
“That’s good to know”

Showing Swirn up to his room, the man seemed even more uncomfortable now he’d been separated from his partner. Lance wishing he’d known he’d have visitors before hand and had the chance to make the room look a little neater. As it was, it was hard to have two humans in his room filling the space with their scents when it should have been filled with his and Keith’s. Standing in the doorway, Veronica glanced at him twice, she seemed to have something to say, but didn’t want the audience. Rifling through the drawers, Swirn barely opened one before slamming it shut, well... fuck. Someone had seen his and Keith’s toy collection... moving up, Lance found himself cocking his head as Swirn pulled out a ring box he didn’t know anything about. Snapping it open, the man snapped it closed with a shrug  
“Is this the only place you keep jewellery”  
“There’s the dresser. Feel free to check that too”

Swirn did. Lance feeling like the man was very half hearted about it. Grateful when the experience was over   
“I don’t see any traces. Look, this is clearly a family drama best left to family to sort out”  
Lance couldn’t agree more but it was hard to sort things out when his siblings were scared of him  
“I’m sorry you got dragged into this. I’ll give you the contact details of my friend who were there. One was beside me as I placed them on my mother’s finger. The other two are Pidge and Hunk. I’m certain they didn’t see them there as I placed them on her finger just before the casket was closed. I don’t really know how to resolve this, and I’m very sorry you were dragged into this”

Swirn chuckled at him, the sound strained. Family drama was always awkward   
“It’s better than being called out in the middle of the night because someone thinks Pidge is up to no good again”  
Swirn needed Lance to crack a joke. Something to ease the awkwardness   
“I don’t know, I was starting to think you were looking forward to popping by and finding out what we were up to, like a groupie”  
“I’ll leave that to my kid. Completely obsessed with those damn videos, I tell you. Speaking of videos, can we expect a new one soon?”  
Swirn was definitely a secret groupie  
“Possibly. We’ve got plans to visit my boyfriend’s home town. Pidge also starts a new job up in Platt next week, they’ve promised her access to some interesting sites”  
There was a smile. Awkwardness lifted. Good  
“As long as ya’ll get the proper permissions”  
“Of course. Once again, I’m sorry you had to come out on a day like today”  
“It’s the job”  
“Still. You’ve got a lot of work to do as it is. Shall we head back down?”

Bakku hadn’t found anything either, though Lance noticed his office door had been opened, which he didn’t remember leaving unlocked. Rieva raising her hackles at Rachel as Rachel tried to ignore being singled out by the werewolf. Rachel must have been the one to come to the house. Saying goodbye to the pair of officers, Lance was now left to face his sisters alone. Not alone “alone” seeing Matt and Rieva were there, so there wasn’t privacy, but alone enough that he wished he wasn’t facing them alone. Now would be a great time to be a bat. Slumping down in the sofa, he sighed heavily, headache building in his temples  
“I’m not surprised you came again, but I am kind of hurt you thought you needed the police presence. I’m not about to hurt either of you physically. As far as I was concerned I didn’t think I’d see the pair of you again”

There was a time when Veronica was his closest confidant during his teen years. Then things started falling apart and Rachel really couldn’t cope. Rachel seemed furious with him and the cops for just leaving them to sort it out  
“We’ll leave when we get her rings back”  
“Her? She was our mother. No matter what we did, she was always on our side. I know you’re both mad at me that she passed in Cuba, but I had no idea that was coming when we went into hiding. She spent her time there happy. All the family was happy to see her. I regret not taking her back sooner, but I can’t keep apologising for something that was beyond my control. She passed in her sleep, with no pain. In a house filled with people who loved her. She was happy... I don’t know how to make you believe me, not with how much you loathe my existence, but Mami was the world to me”

Rieva climbed up onto the sofa, resting her head in his lap. Ruffling between her ears, he could tell she could smell him internally fighting to keep his head up over this. Kosmo had grown bored of things, the precious fur son cuddled back into Matt  
“You had no right taking her from us”  
Two could easily play the blame game  
“And you had no right breaking into the house for money. Mami knew when you’d steal her jewellery, or empty her purse. I suppose you thought you’d break into my house, only my housemate saw you”  
Rachel opened and closed her mouth, Veronica raising an eyebrow as she looked to her younger sister  
“You tried to break in”  
“He doesn’t deserve Mami’s rings. Besides, I don’t even know what he’s talking about”  
“That’s funny. Rieva had never met you before, yet she’s been watching you, not Veronica, since you got here”

Rachel shifted her weight, Veronica’s brow drawn deeply. Yeah, Rachel had problems, but his family wasn’t exactly close. None of them had given up on Rachel, still, Veronica probably expected her to have more self control than almost addicts usually did  
“What are you even talking about?”  
“Never mind that. Look, Lance. All we want is Mami’s rings back. Luis told us you took them. Given as you were with her in Cuba and they weren’t on her finger before burial, it’s logical to assume you kept them”  
“You know what, Vee, I wish I had now. I wish I was that monster you all made me out to be. You know I never wanted that bite. But you also want to know something, if I hadn’t been bit, I wouldn’t have met my boyfriend. I wouldn’t have this home, with my friends and my housemates. Incidentally, before you think of reporting me, the man who runs that side of things in Platt is Coran. Even the Vatican have let me live. My boyfriend is a hunter, sent by Luis to kill me. If you want Mami’s rings back, the one way you’re getting them is by exhuming her body. If you’d like photos of them for reproduction or photos of Mami, I’m sure my boyfriend will be able to email them through. He spent a lot of time with Mami, though I can’t imagine you two give two fucks about me or him”

Rieva whined softly at Lance’s tone, yeah, he knew he was getting too upset. His ego didn’t care that these were his sisters as his nails lengthened at the potential threat  
“You’ve always acted like this. Running away. Blaming us for not being there when you turned. Mami died and you were there. You were the only one who could tell us what happened”  
Veronica did not just go there, nope, no. He tried to turn to them and they weren’t there for him anymore   
“Excuse you. I wasn’t welcome at her funeral. I wasn’t welcome at Papi’s funeral. I fucking kept away and would have if not for Mami. I stayed away from all of you like you wanted for years and years. I wanted Mami to keep living with me but she chose the home because she thought she was holding me back. You have no right coming to my home and taking your hurt out on me. We all miss her. I’m the one who was there every single time she got sick. I’m the one who picked up her favourite soap. I’m the one who took her to church. Me. Because I loved her”

“You took her money and left her in a home! Did you know she barely had a few thousand before passed, and you’re out here living in a place like this!”  
Fuck Rachel. He had no idea what any of his siblings were thinking anymore. His house wasn’t richly decorated, the antique furniture he did have was mostly hand me downs, or pieces he picked up cheap due to damage. He had what he needed, or what was forced on him... Except maybe his TV but he needed a big TV because that was the main component of most of his hanging out time with the others   
“This house I paid for with my money. I paid for the bulk of Mami’s care with my money. I paid for most of her funeral too. Everything she needed I paid for. I don’t work as some hugely successful fucking corporate lawyer. You’re pushing 50, sis, you really need to let go of the past. Vee, you keep looking at me like you’ve got something to say”

Veronica sighed, for a moment Lance thought he might feel guilty for calling her out, yet, nope, he didn’t   
“I know you and Luis continually antagonise each other. He actually called ahead today. He took a restraining order out on you. How did things come to this?”  
When a restraining order was served, the person the order was being placed on was generally there. That he’d heard nothing about it... He smelt douchebaggery in there   
“What am I supposed to do? Drive to Platt and Vamp out? Get all fangy? Get my wings out and fly off with him? I’m happy here. I love my boyfriend and I love my friends”  
Veronica threw her hand in the air  
“Can’t you be serious and reasonable for one conversation?!”

Him? He wasn’t the one who called the police and showed up out of the blue making accusations   
“Not when you’re not listening! God! I don’t know what else to tell you. Mami passed in her sleep. Call Aunt Sarah if you want all the news. She knew I had the rings, she tried to tell me Mami would want me to keep them for when I marry my partner, but they belonged on her finger. Now, I suggest you both leave. Neither of you are prepared to sit down and talk things through calmly, and I would prefer you leave before my boyfriend comes home”

Something flickered across Veronica’s face that Lance didn’t know how to name. Had they actually loved him, he might have deluded himself into calling it worry. Her heart was already beater fast, but... it seemed just that little bit faster...  
“Why? Is there some reason? Is he violent?”  
The stress of the situation must have gotten to him. Lance letting out a weird giggle at the thought. Keith was protective of him. The first to go into battle if he needed him  
“You’re asking if a human beats me? Keith would never lay a finger on me like that. Mami adored him. They were very close. He’s... the third dangerous in our group? I mean I don’t see him as a danger though he does hunt vampires and werewolves and has done for most of his adult life”  
“Then why do you look like that?!”

Lance wondered when they were going to get to “that”  
“You’re asking a lot of questions. Careful, Vee, people are going to start thinking you care about little old me”  
“Cut the shit, Lance. You didn’t look like that the last time we saw you, and you’re the one who said we should leave before your boyfriend returns. Has he done something to you?”  
Lance’s laughter bubbled up again as he nodded. Rieva was staring up at him, her yellow eyes filed with concern. This laughter wasn’t normal nor was it healthy   
“You could say that. You could also say I’m a rather special type of vampire, but knowing could put your lives in danger, so it’s best you don’t. I doubt we’ll ever speak again as it is. I spent years wishing you’d love me again. That we could be a family again. I spent years keeping myself to myself. Never daring to hope for a family of my own, nor did I want one. Now I have another family. I have a boyfriend who treats me like I’m the most special thing on Earth. I have friends who’d do anything to help me. We might be family by blood, but it’s been a long time since we were a family through blood”

“You tore our family apart! With your nightmares. With your drama. Those weird people who’d visit our house because of you. Mami and Papi were fighting all the time...”  
Lance rolled his eyes at Rachel  
“You think I didn’t know? You think I didn’t realise that my trauma from the attack caused Mami and Papi so much stress? I heard every fight whether I wanted to or not. I was a kid. I was beaten and tortured by two rogue vampires. I screamed and screamed for help. No one came. Then when I woke up, everything was different. I saw them everywhere. I felt them. I lived in constant fear that they’d show up and kill all of you. I lived like that for years”

He’d lived that way until Keith came crashing in and started breaking his furniture... then smashing through his walls like he was made to. If he never saw his sisters again it’d hurt, but they’d hurt him too much for this to be a quick and easy conversation. With a small shake of his head, Lance continued   
“Hell, I became a lawyer so other families wouldn’t suffer the pain we all went through when things started falling apart. It was my penance for existing. I didn’t feel I deserved love. I was forced to lie to everyone I’ve ever known or cared about. Then Luis reported me. I never wanted it like this. Mami was so hurt that we all fell apart but I would have given you all a chance if you could have gotten over me being a vampire. I don’t know if you know but a vampire doesn’t forget. Everything bad. Everything said. I remember it and I felt I deserved it for all the pain my existence caused. In my head I still can’t... can’t figure out when exactly it all went down hill. I never bit you guys. I would never ever wish for this curse to be passed on. In my time I have fed from one human purposefully and intentionally, and that was to save their life when they’d been poisoned”

Rieva whined at him. She knew he was sensitive about a lot of things, but now Lance was forcing her to witness him laying things bare   
“You turned your back on us. You didn’t need us when you continually ran to Mami”  
“That’s funny. I seem to remember you both making fun of me when I was too scared to talk. I remember Mami being the one who held me everytime I was scared. She never saw me as the monster everyone else, including myself, did. All I wanted was my siblings and for you guys to want me around. I’m glad Mami never saw the times I tried to hurt myself enough to die because I couldn’t keep living like this. It’s not a good life. It’s not a happy life. It’s long and it’s hard and many of us go insane resulting in a bullet in the brain or heart. I needed and wanted all of you, but how would you guys ever explain a brother that didn’t age? That threw up after every meal? You couldn’t. Luis let his fear drive him further and further because he couldn’t cope. It’s laughably understandable”

Now the tears were welling in his eyes. Leaning down awkwardly, Rieva raised her head so he could bury his face in her fur. Matt climbed to his feet and came to climb up next to him. This was his family now. These were his two pack members  
“You hardly helped yourself. You cut us off”  
“Because I wanted you all to be happy! Happy and free of the curse that was me! The lies! The stories! None of you had normal lives because I messed up. I was so fucking lonely at school that I talked to two people who turned out to be vampires. Sometimes I wish they’d just tore my throat out... and funnily enough, lately, I’m almost grateful for this undead life because I let me meet Keith. You want to know why I look like this? I’m pregnant. Mami knew. She knew and she loved me, even when my body started changing into something weirder than a simple vampire. I want you both to leave”

Matt growled at his sisters. Lance raising his head when the pair didn’t move immediately. He knew his face was all scary and his teeth were showing. He wasn’t trying to scare them away but he was overcome with exhaustion from all the emotions stirred up   
“I said I want you to leave”  
Rachel covered her mouth, looking physically sick. She was probably disgusted that her brother was pregnant. Veronica didn’t flinch away from the sight, angrily snapping at him  
“You’re running away again!”  
“I’m not running away. I’m setting you free. Forget I exist. Forget you had a little brother called Lance who loved to dance and sing with you. Who let you sneak in and out my window. Who you locked in the wardrobe so no one would see your freak brother. I wish you both happiness. You deserve to be happy...”

Veronica seemed ready to start yelling. Her face had taken on a red dusting from her anger   
“How are we supposed to forget you?! It might come as a shock but Mami told us all about the things you were doing... What are we supposed to do now?”  
“Really, Vee? You’ve got amazing girls who you raised with love and strength. You’re supporting them and Rachel. You’ve always been hard on all of us but that was because it was how you showed you cared. Go back to your girls and hug them tight. Love them with all your heart, and never come back to this place”

Neither of his sisters were moving. Climbing out his lap, Rieva transformed as she did. Not one to care about nudity, she strode over to his sisters. Rachel’s eyes wide as she realised what she was seeing. Yeah. It was the same woman who caught her snooping   
“Lance has asked you to leave. I suggest you both leave now. I would not hurt a human, especially not one of Miriam’s children, yet, I feel myself insulted and hurt on his behalf. He took myself and my boyfriend in when we had no home. He let us in and he has been beyond kind to us. If you continue to hurt him, I will have to get physical with both of you. I know the pain of losing parents without being there or having answers. Miriam was a strong and courageous woman. She held the strength and love of a true pack leader. She spoke kind words to me, the kind of monster who lurks in the night and howls at the moon, with the compassion and love like that of my own mother. Lance may accept your existence and acknowledge your blood connection, but I never will. I will protect him and this house where we live. Now leave. I will not be so kind next time we meet”

Rachel stood over his sisters until Veronica sighed, her hand going to the doorframe as she half turned   
“Fine. Lance, if you can, I would very much like a copy of those photos from Mami’s final days”  
“For her sake I’ll organise it. She loved you, Vee. And your girls. She adored them. I really don’t have her rings”  
“I believe you. I’ll talk to Luis”  
“Thank you”

Showing his sisters out, Rieva came back to his side. Matt shifting back, the pair of werewolves wrapping their arms around him. Lance thought he’d done well to keep it together as long as he had. They were gone. They were gone and they’d never be coming back. He’d never hear about them from Mami. She wouldn’t have stories of Vee’s girls and what they were doing... because she wasn’t there and it goddamn hurt so fucking badly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes. We will hear from Vee again.... and yes... it’s in like 187...


	162. Chapter 162

162

Keith didn’t know what it was, but he just had the feeling something wasn’t right. It’d formed in the pit of his stomach until he was completely distracted by it. Staying to help the Garrett’s clean up the garage, Hunk drove him back home a little before five, teasing him over his absentmindness and the few small mistakes he’d made. Hunk’s teasing should have been annoying, still, Keith kind of felt better for it. They’d grown so comfortable around each other that they’d progressed into that side of friendship. Keith not hesitating to tease Hunk back just as a bad over the way he’d turned into a stammering mess when Shay had dropped by with muffins.

Pulling up at the house, Keith let out a long sigh of relief. He wanted a hot shower and to scrub his hands within an inch of their lives. Plucking leaving and gravel out the cold puddle where the pump was blocked had left his hands kind of gross. Both silently mutually agreeing Hunk would come in, they climbed from the car, jogging up to the front door as the rain started spitting again. Opening the door, Hunk let out a gasp as he stepped back with his hands raised. Rieva and Matt were both standing in the entrance area, both in their wolf forms and both looked ready to attack with their razor sharp teeth bared at them.

Rieva was the first to relax, shifting to her human form without caring she was very very naked  
“Rieva!”  
Hunk let out a strangled kind of groan as he covered his face  
“Argh! You... you’re naked why are you naked?! Clothes. You need clothes!”  
Keith nodded in agreement, his gaze on his feet. Stupid werewolves and their “pro-nudity”. Rieva huffing at the pair of them   
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know who it was”  
Yes, well, okay. She could shift back now, or at least find some modesty  
“You do know! Put some clothes on!”  
“Stop yelling. I’ve finally got Lance calmed back down and I don’t want the pair of you riling him up”

Keith’s brain blanked the fact Rieva was naked as he raised his head, then quickly used his hand to shield his eyes. Sniffing the air, Keith smelt something sweet lingering. That bad feeling in his stomach, dropped as if he’d missed the bottom step in a set of stairs. Moving on instinct, Keith strode towards the living room, jogging once he reached the doorway. Lance was curled up with Kosmo by his side, his boyfriend’s scent screaming at him  
“Let him rest”

Rieva was between him and Lance in an instance. Lance’s scent should have set off the pair of werewolves. They should have called the moment Lance got upset   
“Rieva”  
“Keith, let him rest. I only just got him calmed back down”  
Yeah. Good for her. Lance needed him and they all knew it. Resisting the urge to shove Rieva, because he wasn’t that stupid, Keith grit his teeth   
“He’s upset! I can smell it. He smells like he’s in heat. He’s upset and not just a little bit. Fuck, I knew something was up”  
“He’s resting. He needs his rest”  
“Then let me take him up to our room”  
“I think here is the best place for him”

“Ummm. Guys... Maybe we can talk about this?”  
Matt sat near Hunk who’d taken half a step away from him. The poor guy had limited wolf experience with Matt and Rieva in their wolf forms  
“I am sorry, Hunk. It would be better if you went home for the day. I need to have a conversation with Keith”  
That was obvious. Rieva was on edge. Her posture stiff. Something big had happened, but that didn’t mean Hunk should be sent away  
“Hunk’s Lance’s best friend... You don’t have to send him away when he’s worried for his bud”

“I’m right here... Rieva, it’s okay. My sisters came today. To ask for Mami’s rings back...”  
Both? Both of them... here... in their house. What right they did they have? What bullshit had they stirred up? Did Luis come too? More importantly why hadn’t Lance reached out?  
“Why didn’t you call me?”  
“There were things that needed to be said”  
Rieva sighed. Keith really, really wished she’d put clothes on. He’d be hearing it from Matt over looking at Rieva naked  
“They brought the police with them. Lance was too kind to them both. I don’t care for them and I have warned them not to return here”  
“Rieva, can you and Matt please go get dressed already. Keith, come sit down. Hunk, you can stay too if you don’t mind monopolising Keith for a little bit”

Hunk came over to them, stumbling as he tried not to look at Rieva  
“Dude, I might go for now, but we’ll talk right?”  
Lance nodded, holding his arms out for a hug which Hunk was happy to provide. The two besties hugging each other tightly   
“Thanks, man. I’m okay. Rieva’s just being a bit overly protective and territorial. Want to come over for lunch tomorrow?”  
“That’ll be great”  
“Perfect. Bring Shay too, if she can come. I love you, bro”  
“I love you, too. Let me know if you need me to bring anything”  
“Just yourselves. Better message the gremlin too”  
“I’ll talk to Pidge... but... uh... we’ll be wearing clothes tomorrow, won’t we?”  
“Yeah, clothes will be worn. Rieva’s been back and forth between forms. She’s lucky it’s too horrible outside to kick them out”  
“You wouldn’t anyway”  
Lance snorted  
“No. I wouldn’t. I’ll see you tomorrow”  
“Sure thing”

Being Hunk, Keith was also hugged. Hunk giving him a look that said he expected an explanation yet was glad to be escaping way too much nudity and Rieva’s wrath. Keith wished he could take Lance and run from her too. He wasn’t equiped to deal with Rieva when she was acting this protective, also, it was his job to protect Lance and his job to be there for him. Rieva had done enough.

With Hunk taking his leave, Keith manhandled Kosmo off of Lance’s legs to sit beside his boyfriend. Lance as cute as ever as he sank into him  
“You smell”  
Maybe not that cute. No. He was cute, and also definitely experiencing heat like effects from the run in  
“That happens when you spend the day playing pool boy and unblocking the damn pump. Do you want me to shower?”  
“Not yet...”  
Kissing the top of Lance’s hair, Lance nosed into Keith’s chest  
“Okay. Are you okay? Did they... What the fuck happened?”  
“Can you guys give us a little space? I know you’re going to hear us, but I need to talk to Keith and my ego is setting us all off”  
Rieva gave Keith a nod  
“I’ll leave him your hands. We’ll be in our room, come, Matthew”

Matt obediently trotted off, Rieva walking out behind him. Kosmo didn’t know what to do with himself. Patting the space beside him, Kosmo jumped up to lick at Keith’s face  
“Stop it, you. Lie down already”  
“Let him be. He missed you”  
“Tell him that. God, those paws of his...”  
Kosmo was best boy, until his paws went places paws really shouldn’t   
“Kosmo, down!”  
Jumping off the sofa, Kosmo huffed at Lance, then laid out on the floor in front of the sofa. Keith already knew Lance wore the pants in the relationship, but damn if Kosmo wasn’t as whipped as he was   
“You’ve got him trained”  
“Nah. He’s just happy to have you home. We both are”

Kissing Lance’s hair again, Keith nodded as he did  
“I’m late again”  
“I’m okay now. I’ve had time to... calm back down”  
“Babe, I can smell you. You haven’t calmed down, plus, your sisters came”  
“They did. Luis called the cops over Mami’s ring. He couldn’t come near me, shot himself in the foot taking out a restraining order”  
“So he sent Veronica and Rachel to do his dirty work”  
Lance sighed heavily, far too heavily for Keith’s heart to bare  
“No. I mean, yes, but no. I had a panic attack after they left, but I also got to say a lot of things I wanted to Vee”

Veronica being called “Vee” seemed intimate. That his sisters came and that Luis was still harping on about Mami’s ring was ridiculous   
“They shouldn’t be dragging you in”  
“I was mad, but I know the police. Pidge didn’t always get all the permissions she needed, but they’re solid. I was mad and then I kept thinking about it. I don’t think Vee... I don’t think she wanted to antagonise me. I think she... I think she actually wanted to hear about Mami’s last days but didn’t want to go against Luis. I think maybe if I were to talk to her, that maybe she wouldn’t ignore me”

That went against everything Keith thought he knew about Lance’s sibling dynamic   
“That’s...”  
“Surprising. I know. Rachel still hates me as much as ever. She was the one who came, Rieva kept her eye on her. She also asked them to leave”  
“You didn’t?”  
Lance had the habit of having to talk... but to talk to his siblings who’d treated him so cruelly over the years, that must have really fucking sucked   
“I did but Vee needed to hear what I had to say. I think she... when they left... I fell apart again. About never hearing from them ever again. I know I’m not making sense. I told them to forget me and to be happy. Them knowing everything would only hurt them more. I keep... I keep trying to cut them off. To move on. I can’t forget what they did and I can’t forget the times when we were happy. I heard so many stories in Cuba that I felt kind of reconnected with them again, but they don’t want me”

Taking Lance by the chin, Keith tilted his boyfriend’s head up  
“You’ve done more than enough. You’ve given more than you have to give. Anyone would understand if you threw them out without a second thought”  
Keith would have. He’d never hit a girl who wasn’t a supernatural being, yet he sure as heck would have lost his temper at the pair of them for using Lance. They were lucky to have left before he came home  
“I couldn’t do that. They’re Mami’s children. I don’t know what the next step is. I told Vee I’d send her some photos from Cuba. With everything happening I never got Coran to look at my phone. I just... I wish it didn’t have to hurt this badly. I’m meant to be relaxing ahead of our trip to see your dad”

Their three day trip. Lance asked if he’d wanted to go for longer, Keith didn’t want to stray too far from home too long in case there were complications with Lance’s pregnancy. He, Shiro and Lance were going. Krolia... he wasn’t completely sure on. That afternoon had been so long and so much said. Curtis’s demon issue had been pushed back, Coran having to recalculate the new best day which fell late in March, though there calculations and all kind of stuff that went over Keith’s head. All of them wanted to push the trip back for his sake, yet Curtis refused, Lance upset for his friend. Now they’d be leaving on the 5th of March... as a solid maybe with a more than likely yes unless they changed plans again which could happen seeing their group chat was filled with plans. Theoretically if Lance was to go into labour during their trip there was a chance the twins would survive, none of them wanted to take that chance though. February really needed not to be ending so damn fast.

“My dad would rather you be safe and everything be alright”  
Keith hoped so at least. They seemed to be the right words as Lance gave him a soft smile  
“I hope they’re okay. I want to bake as long as possible before popping”  
“I know. But we need to be as careful as possible. I really wish you’d let me take you to Coran”  
“And I really wish you’d fuck me on the sofa”  
Lance blinked at him. Keith blinking back. Okay... Here he thought Lance was settling, but that would be a big fat nope   
“You’re having symptoms still”  
Lance blushed hard  
“I didn’t... fuck. I’m sorry, that just slipped out. Babe, false contractions happen. It’s not a medical emergency you need to rush me to Coran in the middle of the night over”  
“I’m allowed to worry”

How was he supposed to know the difference between something like that and something serious? He wasn’t the one who was pregnant. He wasn’t the one who’s body could turn traitor. All he could do was worry   
“I know you worry. You’re right. I am. It was bad before. My ego set off Matt’s and Rieva’s, serving to upset mine further. The fact I told my siblings to forget I exist and to never come back... I can’t believe I said it. I felt alone again. It’s so stupid. I have more of a family in you and our friends than I have with them. Rachel seemed ready to puke over my pregnancy. Vee barely seemed to care. She even asked me if you hurt me, like she cared”  
“I don’t know what to say about that. Is your heat bad?”

He didn’t know how to “biological sibling”. They were weird. Shiro was weird enough as I was. Lowering his gaze, Lance mumbled   
“It’s not great. I’m sure it was affecting Matt and Rieva. Honestly my head’s such a damn mess. I’m horny as hell, and content now you’re home. It’s embarrassing”  
“You can’t control it. Plus, I’m sure Matt and Rieva wouldn’t mind taking a half an hour drive”  
“I’m not throwing them out my house. That’s mean. All they did was try to comfort me. Rachel didn’t know where to look when Rieva turned back and she was all naked”  
Keith definitely felt he was owed some form of compensation for having to face a naked Rieva   
“I didn’t know where to look. I didn’t even want to look. If they’re affected too, maybe they should go work it out elsewhere... somewhere they won’t have to listen to us?”  
“Babe... It’ll pass”  
“We both know sometimes it doesn’t and you’re left on edge like this for hours. Being intimate isn’t about you being in pain over something that you don’t have control of”  
Lance snuggled into him, hand dipping between Keith’s thighs suggestively   
“I love that you love you. But I can’t kick them out”  
“Then we’ll just have to be quiet”

“Nope! We’re going! Save your horny!”  
Dragging Rieva along, Matt yelled at them as he stuck his head in the room. Lance couldn’t have been more embarrassed if he tried. Rieva finally had clothes on, explaining   
“Sorry. Lance’s scent set our egos off, he’s right. Lance, enjoy your heat, Keith knows I will break him if he hurts you. We’ll come back after dinner with Pidge. I think that will be best for all egos”  
Lance’s tone wobbled as he replied   
“I’m sorry, guys. Thank you for being here today. Egos can be a total pain in the arse”  
“We’d never hold this against a pack member. Matthew, let’s go already”

Left alone, Lance sighed at him. Clearly a disappointed sigh   
“I can’t believe we kicked them out so we could have sex”  
At least they’d left. When he and Lance couldn’t leave they had to pull out their noise cancelling headphones or risk hearing way too much. Keith wasn’t so much concerned with having sex as he was worried about Lance being stuck in a state where his body wasn’t listening. Lance would never push sex on him, and Keith was only human. A human with a high sex drive for that glorious arse, even at the worst of times   
“Actually I kind of wanted to kick them out sooner so I could talk to privately about your sisters. I smelt you from the doorway. All afternoon I felt like something was wrong. Hunk teased me about it”

Instead of laughing or snorting at him, Lance raised an eyebrow   
“Babe, would you rather talk about that or go have a shower before you have your wicked way with me?”  
“I’d rather make sure you’re doing okay mentally before pushing anything physical”  
“I’m better now I’ve calmed down and thought about it, but I’m also wet as fuck and trying to cope with that too”  
Keith groaned at Lance. He was trying to give his boyfriend the out if he felt he needed it  
“That’s not fair”

Lance fell silent for several exceptionally long moments that made Keith feel like maybe he’d done something wrong or Lance was worrying about him not being in the mood and felt the decision forced   
“Babe?”  
Lance sucked in a shaky breath   
“You’re... you’re my family... right?”  
“Oh, babe. Of course I am. You’re my family. You, our boys, my family”  
“I love you so much, Keith. So much. I’m sorry I didn’t call, I wasn’t in the right frame of mind when they left. Plus you saw how protective Matt and Rieva were. If something happened to you, even by accident...”  
“Nothings going to happen. I’m going to take a shower and then I’m going to come back and make you feel amazing”  
“I’d like that. And cuddles after?”  
“As many as you can stand”


	163. Chapter 163

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmmm double update feels... please comment when you can xxxx

163

Holding Lance against him, Keith was coming down from his orgasmic high. Having showered he’d come down to the first floor of the house filled with Lance’s scent. Heading into the living room, his eyes widened as his brain cells ceased functioning. Straddling the arm off the recliner, Lance rocked against fabric in search of friction, hand down the front of his boxer briefs as he panted. Shit, it was hot as fuck. With his free hand on his stomach, his boyfriend had stripped. Stomach and breasts bouncing as he all but fucked the arm of the sofa. Keith could have watched Lance forever like that, instead he strode over to Lance, kissing him fiercely as Lance’s hands move to grope at his arse. Breaking the kiss, Keith immediately started mouthing at Lance’s neck, his boyfriend letting out a breathy moan  
“Keeeeith...”

Skipping putting clothes on had been the right plan. Lance already shaking, pupils wide and a fine layer of sweat on his skin. God only knew how good Lance smelt and sounded. Moving from Lance’s neck, back to his mouth, his boyfriend moaned into the kiss that soon turned to three hungry kisses that broke the skin of Keith’s lips. Drawing back, he didn’t know where to start first with Lance still grinding against the sofa   
“Lance...?”  
“I need it... fuck, I’m so fucking wet for you... I couldn’t... couldn’t come without you”  
“Can I see?”  
Whispering, Lance was blushing   
“I want you to bend me over the sofa and fuck me...”  
“You have to get up. I can’t fuck you like this”

Placing his hands against the arm of the sofa he’d been riding, Keith shimmied down Lance’s damp underwear. Lance whining softly as the fabric caught on his leaking dick. After a day playing handyman, having Lance to come home to made it all worth it, not that helping out Hunk’s family wasn’t worth it. Spreading Lance’s arse cheeks, his boyfriend’s opening was already loosened  
“Did you play with yourself without me?”  
Sinking down, Keith ran his tongue over the twitching ring of muscle   
“I... shit... mmm... I didn’t... want... you feeling obligated... to... get me off”

Moving to tonging his boyfriend as he spoke, Lance pushed back against his face as he panted out the words   
“I’m not obligated to do anything. These things, though the timing could be better, are the things I do only with your permission”  
“Fuck... I’m going to come if you don’t stop...”  
“You can come...”  
“I want to come with you... shit, Keith... I need you...”

Keith took his time, Lance may have played with himself a little, but he didn’t want Lance hurt by his rushing. Raising his knee, Lance rock against Keith’s fingers as Keith mouthed his boyfriend’s neck again. His right hand was curled loosely around Lance’s erection, the sounds his vampire made were better than any lame porno soundtrack. When Lance was like this there seemed like there was nothing between them. The two of them open to the pleasure they felt together. Still, Lance stubbornly refused to come. Body trembling as Keith slid his fingers free, feeling confident he’d prepped Lance enough with his saliva and fingers. His own dick ached fiercely, bowed up to smear cum across his stomach as he tried to contain himself  
“Babe?”  
“Fuck me... please... please, Keith... I need to come... please...”  
“Slowly or hard and fast?”  
Lance’s hips were still rocking, Keith’s thumb pressing against his lover’s slit. He loved the way Lance whined at as the rubbed against the tip  
“Hard... god... I need you in me... it hurts without you in me...”  
“I’m not going to last long”  
Lance shook his head, sounding about ready to burst into tears from how pent up he was  
“I don’t care... I need you... please...”

Neither of them lasted. Lance came as Keith sank in, Keith coming on his third thrust. It was mortifying, the hunter continuing to ride Lance through his orgasm even if he’d blown his load so soon. Lance’s knees started to give, Keith pulling him up from being bent down with his hands on the sofa arm. Drawing out, he guided Lance to the sofa, tugging him into his lap as he rutted his spent erection against his boyfriend’s arse. Lance was still horny. Turning he kissed Keith deeply, Keith returning the kiss as he pretended not to be exhausted. 

Making out sloppily on the sofa, they moved to Lance laying out beneath him. Soft and pliant beneath him, Keith had no trouble burying himself back inside his lover’s wet warmth. Spreading his legs wide, Lance blushed at him as Keith drank in the view. The way Lance covered his mouth with the back of his hand. The way his little moans came out muffled as he tried not to let himself seem completely blissed out. The sound of the wetness. The bounce of Lance’s tummy. This was his. Lance was his. His family. He and their twins. The four of them connected by blood forever.

Pulling Lance’s hand away from his mouth, Keith interlaced their fingers, locking eyes as Lance blushed harder. He was too cute. Too cute and too precious. Feeling Lance tense around him, Keith came the next moment as Lance’s cum splattered on his swollen belly. Drained from two orgasms, Lance’s eyes fluttered closed, asleep before Keith’s high could pass. Even if Keith wanted to be the gentleman Lance deserved, the way Lance held his hand made it impossible to let go. Literally. He had a hold on Keith’s hand that Keith couldn’t slip his fingers free from. Finding himself stuck and stick, also one handed, perhaps it was a good thing Lance fallen asleep right away so he didn’t have to see Keith nearly fall off the sofa as pulled out. The sofa was a mess. A sticky mess in more ways than one... and Keith had kind of given himself a cramp across his chest saving himself from falling. Zero grace.

With no way to detangle and no wish to wake Lance from the nap he needed, someone out there was looking out for them. Keith able to pull the blanket off the back of the sofa to cover them as he climbed carefully up by Lance’s side in the tiny arse gap between his pregnant boyfriend and the sofa’s edge. Of course Lance was his family. He’d always be his family. If their relationship didn’t last, or things fizzled out, Lance would still be his family and his home. 

*  
Hip bumping Keith, Lance couldn’t stop blushing as he sliced the carrots for dinner. His boyfriend was hovering. They’d fallen asleep on the sofa, not waking until the sun had set. Keith taking care of him as they peeled themselves off the sofa, his boyfriend supporting him up to the bathroom where he helped him clean up. Lance returning to the amazing sex with a blow job in the shower. Keith always came to his rescue. He’d needed time to decompress after his sisters left and explaining it to Keith, his love had been nothing but overly understanding.

When clothes seemed too much effort, they’d both opened for underwear and shirts. Keith sending him to kitchen ahead of him, Lance pleasantly surprised his boyfriend thought to clean up the sofa from... their activities. Vee was so stupid to think Keith could hurt him. Keith held his heart. His heart and his soul. Everyday he got to wake up to Keith, even the morning after milk or an unrelated potent fart, was a blessing.

“Why, Mister McClain, did you just hip bump me?”  
“Maybe?”  
Keith lightly hip bumped him back, Lance biting to keep his lip from laughing. As it was, Keith was murdering the potatoes for dinner. Not that they were making anything fancy. Steak and veggies was pretty unfancy  
“I’m pretty sure you did”  
“Where’s your proof?”  
“You’re saying my word isn’t enough?”

Lance faked offence. Laying his knife down, he turned to Keith, leaning lightly on the counter  
“Me. No. I would never say that”  
Placing his knife down, Keith then turned to him, crossing his arms as he did, huffing with a pout   
“Then we seemed to be at an ends. How can I possibly convince you?”  
“You could kiss me?”

Keith pulled him up close, groping him as he put the absolute worst southern accent on  
“Why, I do think you might just be the prettiest little thing in this here kitchen. Are you sure you want to be seen kissin’ a man like me?”  
Lance howled with laughter, slinging his arms over Keith’s shoulders. Keith would never be the king of accents. The vampire was laughing so hard he wasn’t sure he wasn’t about to pee himself. Catching Keith’s eye as he tried to stop his laughter, Lance ducked his head to at least pretend he had a chance at composing himself   
“Is that a no?”  
Lance almost missed the accent as he raised his back up  
“I don’t know. What will be left of my reputation if I’m seen kissing such a grizzled and manly man?”  
“Maybe it’ll go up a few pegs?”

Lance gaped. He’d had the most craptastic time with his sisters, that maybe wasn’t as craptastic as his overwhelmed emotions thought it was. He shouldn’t be finding everything so damn funny, especially when his ego took a slight hit. Keith stared down at him, forcing himself cross eyed and making Lance laugh again   
“Babe? Babe, you laughing at me?”  
Oh god. He really was going to wet himself if Keith kept this up. His boyfriend was such an idiot. Breaking away from Keith, Lance fanned his face  
“Time out. Time out... I need air”

Keith’s humour dropped, his boyfriend didn’t seem to know what to do   
“Are you okay?”  
“If you make me laugh any harder I’m going to pee my pants. Your accents are terrible”  
“I’ve been told. Still, a fine young man like yourself shouldn’t be associatin’ with the likes of me”  
Lance shook his head, putting his own terrible accent on he really needed to per  
“If there’s one thing I absolutely know, it’s that I want to be associatin’ with you. The second thing I know is that you best be having them there potatoes cut up by the time I get back”  
“Where are you going?”  
“To pee. I mean, I could take a lesson from Kosmo, but I don’t want to pee on the floor”  
“Please don’t. With how clumsy you are, you’d probably slip”  
“Nah, you’d catch me”  
“Every damn time, Little Mister”

*  
Settling down to dinner, Matt and Rieva came home as Lance was slicing his steak. Kosmo watching every move from the floor, Blue watching every move from the kitchen counter where she knew she wasn’t supposed to be. Keith had said they were a family. Lance already felt it, yet it meant the world to hear Keith tell him. Getting in just before the rain started pouring down, Rieva grumbled about the rain. She’d seemed to settle down, and thanks to Keith’s love Lance felt more grounded too.

“Something smells good”  
Walking into the kitchen, Matt eyed their dinner hungrily  
“Sorry, we only cooked for us”  
He’d thought they’d eat all of Pidge’s food before she kicked the pair of them out. Lance had heard Keith opening the windows in the living area so his scent should have faded by now   
“Ignore him. He’s already had six cups of instant noodles, and a whole 3 litres of vanilla ice cream”  
Matt pouted at Rieva scolding him. This domesticness felt nice   
“I was hungry”  
“You’re always hungry. You seem in a much happier mood, Lance”

Lance blushed. He really was. And not just from the sex or the nap, but the playful banter that came with teaching Keith how to mash potato properly with butter and powdered milk  
“We had a talk. It was good. I suppose we should have another one now you’re home”  
Laying down his knife, Keith placed his hand on Lance’s  
“We don’t have to if you’re not ready”  
This was why he loved his boyfriend. That was Keith talk for “yeah, they did, but if Lance felt the time was right”  
“It’s fine. Should I make you guys something to eat?”  
Rieva dropped a kiss on the top of his head as she moved past him towards the coffee machine. Being part of a pack was nice  
“No, I’ll make us all something to drink. You enjoy your dinner”

Rieva filled them in on their favourite Gremlin who was gushing over VOLTRON. Lance sorely wished she’d chosen another job, but working at VOLTRON would bring her under another level of protection as not just his friend but an employee. Sitting down, Matt still had his eyes on Lance’s steak, which Lance wasn’t going to share as Keith had helped with the meal  
“I’m doing better guys. I’m sorry about my sisters and not handling it very well. I’m sorry my ego flared up and set yours off too”

Rieva shook her head, her cup resting against her chin  
“It’s fine. As long as you’re okay now. It couldn’t have been easy telling your sisters to forget you”  
That was like a nail to the heart, though Lance appreciated her bluntness  
“No. Not particularly, but none of us would have been happy to leave things in limbo”  
Matt side-eyed his girlfriend   
“I thought Rieva was going to go Rachel”  
So did Lance. Rieva exceptionally protective, they’d both snarled and barked at the sound of Lance’s car. Rieva was only acting in the interest of her pregnant and distressed pack mate  
“I thought you both were going to go Hunk and Keith”  
Rieva sighed deeply. Lance knew she was sorry, but Keith needed to hear it in order to clear up any potential misunderstandings  
“I’m sorry for that. Lance was too kind to them. If they were part of my pack I would have banished them”

Lance didn’t think he’d been kind. He’d been a bit of basket case with that weird laughter. He’d driven his sisters permanently from his life with his words, despite promising to organise sending those photos to Veronica  
“At the end of the day they’ve lost Mami too. At least we... we don’t have to worry about Luis coming... and Rachel didn’t take anything”  
Keith squeezed his hand firmly, his boyfriend’s voice soft yet firm  
“You haven’t done anything wrong”  
“I told them to go because I can’t keep yo-yoing back and forth with the feelings. I feel really selfish for pushing them away”  
“You’re not selfish”

Setting his fork down, Lance turned his other hand over to hold Keith’s   
“I appreciate you saying that, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel bad. I know we fell apart as siblings... It... felt so final today, but then it didn’t when I was thinking about Veronica and I’m being lame because that part of me that always longed for a big family reunion was snuffed out all over again with the reminder Mami’s not to keep us connected anymore. I felt like I lost my whole family all over again. With how Rachel... how she reacted to me... I wish I could get her disgust out of my head. I wished Sendak had torn my throat out. There was that feeling like if I died everyone around me would be instantly happy and relieved of a burden”

Keith squeezed his hand, Lance knew he’d hurt Keith deeply with his words. Keith tried and tried so damn hard to understand and be there. He knew those feelings very intimately and knew sometimes they came from nowhere over the tiniest things  
“Babe, none of us think you’re a burden. I... don’t want to imagine a world without you”  
Keith would mourn him so deeply his soul would fracture. Lance never wanted him to experience even a drop of that pain   
“I’m not going to act on these feelings. I’m so disappointed. Luis called the police rather than acting like a mature adult. Swirn only checked our bedroom upstairs. Rieva, which rooms did Bakku check?”

Lance knew he’d been in shock with the time spent in his and Keith’s bedroom possibly a lot shorter than it felt   
“Living area and bathroom. He tried your office door, but stopped when he heard your steps. Rachel tried to take your silver tray off the mantle, she placed it down when I growled”  
Lance had hoped Vee was supporting her. Vee would have been so hurt to know Rachel was trying to fund her alternative lifestyle by stealing his shit. The tray had been picked up cheaply at second hand shop as it was, not worth more than $20  
“Thanks. I realised today this is the most lived in the house has ever been. I’ve got blood bags everywhere, my injections and needles everywhere, enough blankets to smother the stench of a corpse on my bed, and a cow in the laundry”

Keith gave Lance a scowl that told him to cut he fake smile on his lips. Lance couldn’t help but try smile through the pain and hope the tears wanting to form would go away. Rieva saw what he was getting at. It was becoming less and less a family home, or rather, a mortal human friendly home. None of his needles were left around, but that wasn’t the point. He wanted Pidge and Hunk to feel completely here, the same with Shay. They shouldn’t be opening the fridge to bags of blood he’d only taken a sip or two out of   
“It’s a good thing none of that was seen. Perhaps we should clean up tomorrow afternoon?”  
“Yeah. I’d like that. And I’d like to put the fly screen door up for the nursery. I want to get used to the feel of it before the twins are born”

Keith squeezed his hand again. His boyfriend wanted a solid door for the nursery. Lance loved the idea of a fly screen door where they’d be able to hear the twins and the see them without opening the door and risking waking them on bad nights. He’d found the idea on a parenting page as he tried to brush up on his creative side for designing the nursery layout. Despite having practiced family law for so long, Lance found himself shocked when he saw that tickling children was now labelled as abuse. Keith would tickle him until Lance was begging him to stop, so he understood that reasoning, yet it’d served to remind him again how out of touch he was  
“Matt’s volunteered to hold the door in place while I screw it in place”

Matt picked his mug of coffee up, draining it one go, before putting the mug back down with a solid thud. Pushing his chair back, Matt carried a sadness that ebbed into his tone, Lance knowing it all about the steak despite Matt saying nothing remotely steak like   
“I do believe that’s Uncle Shiro’s job. I’m not dumb enough to risk hanging the door on a angle. Lance would murder me for ruining his house and dreams”  
“I’d only murder you a little bit. Plus, I don’t trust any of you to hang a door properly, and I need to disable the internal lock. That reminds me too, Kosmo needs to go to the vet and we need to call the vet out to drench Kalternecker. I’d like to get her teeth checked and order some hay in for her and the garden. Do need more flea and wormer control?”

Matt stared with a glassy look in his eyes. Lance internally sighing. For once it’d be nice to be surprised by the other’s remembering things that needed to be done  
“I don’t know. You usually have that in your office. Kosmo’s not going to be a happy boy”  
“You should have seen him today with Matt. We were both dumped in favour of Matt, he seemed in awe of him”  
Kosmo and Blue had been really cute cuddled up with the two werewolves. Today had definitely been a day made for cuddles instead of confrontation. He wished he taken photos for Keith   
“What can I say? I’m awesome”  
“As long as you’re not leading our son astray”  
“They were both very well behaved, but Kosmo’s starting to pull on his halter”  
Keith had done all Kosmo’s training himself. But if he was staying home with Lance, Lance needed to be more proactive with disciplining Kosmo   
“That’s because he’s a whore for treats. No self control, mum spoiled him too much”

Speaking of Krolia, Lance had to wonder if Keith had talked to her after he’d forced her to come visit to discuss the trip to see his father. Family was a tender topic, Lance definitely knew he was going to start crying again if he let himself think about Vee more and more. He just felt that she wanted him to reach out, yet years and years of absence made that particular act hard. He’d tried to sever ties today, truly wishing they’d be happy and never come back again. He couldn’t make them happy. Heaven only knew how hard he’d tried over the years. Rachel had so many issues that he prayed Veronica would be able to help her through, so him reaching out might lead to Rachel relapsing... but at the same time, he couldn’t deny Vee photos of their Mami. Mami wouldn’t like it if he did, and it felt like it’d be another thing that’d they hold over him if he didn’t. Family was a hard thing.

“Lance? You okay?”  
Keith had a worried look on his face. Lance giving a small shake of his head as he forced a smile that didn’t feel quite so fake when he was staring at Keith  
“Yeah. I got caught up thinking about Vee again. Sorry, I’m mostly okayish. Totally distracted but you know...”  
Rieva asked  
“Will you contact them?”  
“I think I’ll send Veronica the photos. Not... for her sake alone, but for her daughters. Mami was proud of them and I don’t want them to forget her. Besides, Keith helped me remember the really important thing. I do have a family. Hell, we’ve got a whole pack to support us. I’ll have to ask Coran if he can pull the data off my phone even when it’s smashed”  
“Do you want me to take a look? As long as it’s not too broken I might be able to salvage something”

Lance didn’t want to tell Matt no. Sometimes I was easy to forget he was an absolute technical wizard. Unless Pidge was there and the pair of them were off speaking what may as well be another language. Only, the phone was designed by Coran, or for Coran, with Blade technology. He didn’t want to accidentally get Matt into trouble  
“It’s cool if you don’t, just thought I would offer”  
His expression must have showed. He’d managed to hurt Matt’s feelings without meaning to  
“I was thinking how it’s Blade tech. I don’t want you to get into trouble by helping me”  
“The Blades totally owe us for Rieva rallying the pack to bring down Zarkon and Honerva”  
Lance shook his head. The Blades were a bunch of weirdos with their own rules   
“That’s beside the point. You’re family, I don’t want them thinking we’re scheming something. I’m enjoying not having death hanging over my head”

Matt nodded, thankfully understanding that it really wasn’t personal  
“Us too. Seeing you’re not going to feed us, I’m going to become one with the sofa. What about you, babe?”  
“I want to finish my book tonight. Will you two join us in the living room?”  
That’d be nice and all, but Lance wanted sleep and cuddles with Keith when they’d finished their dinner and the dishes were done   
“No offence guys, but I think I’m going to take Keith up to bed when we’re done. Today’s totally drained me”  
“That’s okay. I’m glad you recognise us as family. We’ll always be a pack, don’t forget that”  
Lance smiled warmly at Rieva. She probably hadn’t noticed but her English was so much better now, plus she didn’t seem to struggle to find the right word for what she wanted to as much as before. He was grateful to have her around   
“I won’t. It really means a lot to have you guys here. I don’t think I would have handled today quite so well if you two hadn’t behaved”  
“Yeah, if you call Rieva scaring Rachel behaving. I nearly turned back laughing when Rachel put two and two together”  
“And I nearly slapped her for the way she spoke to Lance. I do not see how you and Miriam can be so lovely when she...”

Lance didn’t want to hear the rest of what Rieva thought. Rachel was still his sister and she’d been through so much  
“Guys. I know you want to support me, but they’re still... I don’t want to talk about them like that. Rachel went through the worst of it. She was still at home when I was going through puberty. Ego’s during puberty aren’t fun at all”  
Rieva nodded. Yeah. She got it. It wasn’t enough to be a mess of hormones, but a mess of hormones with an ego... it fucking sucked   
“I remember that too well. Call us if you need us”  
“I will. Thanks, guys”

Left alone again, Lance moved his chair closer to Keith, waiting until the TV was turned on before humming softly. This was nice. Being with Keith was nice   
“Yes?”  
“Just thinking I love you”  
“I love you, too. I’m sorry if I upset you being mad at your sisters”  
“I get it. You know what I’ve been through and want me to be happy. I never thought they’d show up with the cops... and I’m not that okay with talking about them in a mean way”  
“You don’t have to explain. I don’t get it. I mean, I do but mostly I don’t because Shiro’s the closest thing to a real brother I’ve ever had, but we didn’t grow up together”  
“I think you’ve grown up plenty. But it is different. I remembered today why I got into family law, after seeing my own family falling apart at the seams. Part of it was penance, trying to make up for existing, and part of it was that I didn’t want kids to suffer going through parents splitting and violence. Even now I can still remember some of the fights Mami and Papi got into. Papi tried to understand in his own way but it was hard on him and Mami. The idea of never hearing about them hurts, but I have you, and I have everyone else and I need to keep reminding myself that I don’t have to keep apologising”

Keith moved to kiss his cheek, his smile loving as his eyes seemed to sparkle with happiness   
“Even if I nearly make you wet yourself?”  
“Dude, I don’t think you understand what it’s like. All I wanted to do was keep laughing at your bad accent”  
“My accent was amazing”  
“Amazingly bad... I love how you make me laugh”  
Keith snorted  
“You’re about the only person that finds me funny”  
Nah. That wasn’t true, Keith was hilarious. Especially with that awful accent that worked like magic on him  
“That’s their loss. I told my sister’s I’m pregnant. I mean, I can’t hide it, and even if it makes people awkward as long as you’re okay with it, I’m going keep working at being okay with it. These cramps suck, but we’ve made it over the halfway point, so it’s okay to believe it’s going to be okay, right?”

Lance had no idea that Braxton-Hicks would initially feel as weird as they did. They hurt a little, but were more weird. Reading about something was way different to going through it. In a way it’d been liberating to say it out loud. Almost like announcing he’d never be as happy as he was now with Keith and his family. That was kind of true. He’d been happier when Mami was alive, but there was no limitation of grief, and when he was down, he had Keith to kiss away his pain.

“Yeah. As long as you learn how to take it easy”  
Fuck, he loved Keith. Teasing and all  
“Rude. I was taking it easy today. Babe, you should have seen it. Blue and Kosmo were curled up with Matt and Rieva. I wish I’d gotten a photo of it”  
“That would have been pretty cute. Where were you in all this cuddling?”  
“Leaning against Rieva, reading to her. We had kind of a doggo spa day. I groomed her and Matt, and Kosmo and Blue. Then I made the most of having trouble werewolves to use hot water bottles”  
“Babe, I don’t think you actually know how to take it easy. I’ve had my suspicions for a while now, but the point of taking it easy is to do nothing”

Keith couldn’t talk, he was literally the worst of them all at sitting still. Besides, it’d been bonding time for their little pack, the only thing that would have made it even better was if Keith had been home  
“It was fun grooming Matt and Rieva. They malt so much that I had enough hair to give Matt a a full beard. Thanks for helping out Hunk today”  
“They’ve done a lot for me so it was kind of the least I could do. You’re right though, I’m ready for bed”  
“Wanna skip dessert and go upstairs instead?”

Lance hadn’t meant it as flirty as it sounded. Keith had helped him through his not-heat, and deserved some proper pampering   
“Why there, sir, are you propositioning little old me?”  
Lance groaned as the accent came out again. His boyfriend was such an idiot   
“I was thinking of getting on top of you and giving you a massage”  
“Or, I could give you a massage”  
“As tempting as that is, I’ll take a rain check on it. You’ve spent the day working hard, I want to make you feel relaxed”  
“I’m relaxed when I’m with you”  
“Then think about relaxed you’re going to be afterwards”  
“I’m going to be asleep”  
“I’m down for that. Let’s finish dinner already so I can throw it all back up”  
“That doesn’t sound romantic when you put it that way”  
Lance wrinkled his nose. Vomiting was not romantic   
“It’s not, but it was fun cooking with you beside me. We make a good team”  
Lance meant it sincerely. Keith had come a long way in his kitchen skills... even with the potato massacre   
“The best team of all, babe”


	164. Chapter 164

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I got abused at work today by the guy who does the morning shift for asking him to use the sales book a different way (designed and colour coded for my boss who’s stressed enough setting up his second store and tax purposes). He was swearing loudly and abusive right in front of a customer, and I nearly burst into tears. I don’t like being bossy, even when the owner of the store left me in charge, and basically he said I was petty and wanted to know if I was taking money from the till and that was why I didn’t want him balancing it... which I do at the end of the day when I sent daily totals to my boss. I went into full panic mode as it’s not my money so I want to account for everything...
> 
> So have some soft boys to soothe the soul and I hope your day has been a zillion times better than mine. 😘 thank you all for taking time to read our idiot soft boys.

164

They’d forgotten the others were coming to stay. By “others” Lance meant Shiro and Curtis, who’d volunteered to help with the nursery. Lance shaken when he realised he’d truly let it slip his mind that they’d be coming. It truly terrified him to think he’d forgotten something so important. One moment he was messaging in group chat, and an a hour later Shiro, Curtis, and Krolia were at his front door. Shiro bringing him a very melted milkshake that’s been jokingly complaining about craving in their group chat. With the three of them already there, Lance let the others know to come around when they were ready. Keith reluctant to get out of bed, so Lance had dragged him out for extended sleepy cuddles in the shower.

With a team of “capable” hunters to help, the boxes were moved out the nursery, along with the chest of drawers and cloths were laid for painting. Pretty soon Lance learned that Shiro and Keith shouldn’t be trusted with roller brushes on poles. The top mouldings ending up with the off-white they’d chosen as the base colour for three of the walls. The fourth wall was going to be painted in two tones of lavender with vertical slim silver lines Lance wanted to run along the top near the moulding. He had mdf stars and animals he wanted to stick to the wall once he’d seen how it looked painted. 

Making a competition of painting, the two brothers didn’t care for technique when it came to covering more surface area than the other. Krolia found it all hilarious, she was sitting on the paint can of purple, with her feet on the back up can of blue, declaring herself supervisors. Lance didn’t doubt her skills as a hunter, he did however doubt her home handyman skills. None of them were allowed to even think about touching his drill kit or the fly wire door. Nor where they allowed to touch the curtain rod.

As Lance threaded the curtain on, he’d had enough of the cramping that’d been happening since he’d woken up. His hips felt especially sore, the vampire regretting not taking Keith up on that massage. Threading the curtain on the rod was the least active activity he could currently do, other than the other activity he was secretly doing which was watching Curtis.

Curtis’s curse. Lance couldn’t help but think of it as he tried to slide the fabric of the curtain as naturally as he could as to not make a scene. His friend had spent the last minute staring into space, eyes blank and body tense. Lance knew Curtis had more and more of these moments, so the sooner the demon was out of him the better, yet he didn’t know what to do when his friend’s whole aura seemed to shift. He wanted Curtis to make a joke or at least laugh at how badly Shiro and Keith were at painting. Lance didn’t hold high hopes for putting the nursery furniture together with the brothers’ lacking handyman skills.

Turning to catch his eye, Keith had paint splattered across his face and fringe. Lance letting out a chuckle at the sight of him  
“Babe, you’re supposed to be getting the paint on the wall, not on you”  
“It’s not my fault it’s so runny”  
“It’s paint. It’s a liquid, being runny comes with the whole paint thing. You guys are awful at this”  
Shiro chuckled as Keith ducked his head  
“Ahhh, but is there not paint on the wall?”  
“And the ceiling, and the floor, and the moulding... You guys are lucky there’s a tin of white in the laundry for mistakes like this. All I can give you guys is an “A” for effort”  
“Says the guy who’s been working on the curtains the whole time we’ve been painting”

Lance cocked his head  
“Is that what you guys have been doing? I thought you were both making a mess”  
Shiro was also covered in paint. He’d managed to get it up his arms and down his front as if he’d tipped paint down there on purpose. Wielding his roller brush, Shiro poked Keith in the arm with it, Keith immediate retaliating by rolling paint down Shiro’s leg. Raising an eyebrow, Shiro looked down at his little brother   
“Really?”  
“Yep. You heard Lance, you’re ruining the nursery”  
“I’m doing better than you!”  
“You missed a spot”  
“I did not!”  
“Did too!”

With that Keith brought the roller up, rolling paint on Shiro’s face  
“There, much better”  
“Geez, thanks. You missed a spot too”  
Keith stepped back, roller raised and ready   
“No I didn’t”  
“Sure you did!”  
When Shiro jabbed Keith with the roller, Keith stumbled back into Curtis. Snapped out of his “trance”, the former hunter acted before any of them could, Keith spun and slammed up against the nursery wall as Curtis’s fingers tightened around his neck, slamming Keith against the wall again as they all moved. It only lasted for a moment before Curtis came too, shaking hard as he let go of Keith. The curtain slipping from Lance’s hold as he instinctively rushed to Keith’s side, pulling his boyfriend against him as Shiro wrapped his arm around Curtis   
“I...”

Keith coughed as he held his hand to his throat. He hadn’t been held hard, yet he’d hit the wall hard enough to break the gyprock panelling with his head. The sound. God. The sound of it. Lance was instantly scared. Terrified. This was something Curtis couldn’t control, yet he’d never been violent like this  
“It’s... okay... let’s take... a break...”  
“That’s a good idea. Curtis, let’s head down stairs? Get something to drink?”  
“I’m sorry”  
Curtis sounded completely gutted. Lance closing his eyes so he wasn’t staring at his friend through tears. He was making his scary face. Body trembling as he held Keith forcibly against him, body ever so slightly turned to put himself between Keith and Curtis. Behind Shiro and Curtis Krolia hovered, her hand on her knife. Was that why she’d come? Because Curtis had gotten so much worse since Lance had seen him a few days ago?

Keith continued to cough as Shiro led Curtis from the room. With the pair gone he disregarded Krolia in favour of moving to examine Keith’s neck. Red marks marred his lover’s smooth light skin. His ego wanted blood for this. Shiro having taken Curtis from the room hadn’t quelled that feeling as his undead heart raced   
“I’m... okay. He caught me off guard”  
“Let me look?”  
Keith nodded, tilting his head up for Lance to run his fingers over the marks. The grip would bruise in a couple of days, but there was no instant bruising  
“I want you to ice it, and the back of your head. You hit the wall pretty solidly, so you need to tell me if you’re concussed”  
“I don’t think I am”  
“If you get a a headache or dizzy or any of those symptoms I want you to tell me right away”  
“I think the bun took most of the impact. Are you okay?”  
“I’m not the one who got smashed against a wall by a demon. I hate to say this, but we can’t let Curtis postpone getting that demon out any longer”

That meant changing their travel plans. Shiro would want to be close to Curtis and who knew what would happen trying to summon out a demon. Keith nodded then winced, he’d definitely felt the blow more than he was showing  
“Yeah. For his sake. He’ll be cut up about this”  
“Yeah. I want you to sit down for a bit while you ice your neck and throat. Krolia, can you dump the paint stuff in the laundry I’ll soak it once Keith is settled”

Drawing attention to fact he strongly felt this was the hunter was here would only hurt Keith’s feelings further. The nursery was kind of a huge deal for them. Lance had planned to have the first coat of off white done and drying while he worked on the two shades of lavender and silver stripes. The hope was to have the painting down and focus on decorating and furniture tomorrow now he knew Shiro and Curtis planned to stay the night.

“Sure thing. Keith, are you sure you’re okay?”  
Keith rolled his eyes at his mother  
“It’s not like it hasn’t happened before. I’m fine, so you can take your hand off your knife now”  
“Good to know. I know Curtis’s status has deteriorated, yet I didn’t think this much. I’ll call Coran and let him know what transpired here”

The best thing they could do for Curtis was show him it wasn’t a big deal, and that the wall could be fixed. Lance’s ego was pissed as heck over their lover being hurt in their own home. By focusing on Keith, not that he wasn’t going to anyway, it’d give his ego a bit of time to calm back down  
“And I’ll make a list for the local hardware store. I’m going to need some new gyprock”  
“You can fix a wall?”  
Krolia sounded impressed, Lance resisted rolling his eyes as Keith had done. Of course he could. Not to brag but he was extremely handy  
“I redid the house myself. All the walls and that. I left the plumbing and electrical to experts, but I can do most things here fine”  
“Nice to know my son’s going to be marry such a handy man. Maybe you’ll wear off on him”  
“Keith’s fine the way he is. I might have to feel threatened if he got even manlier”  
Lance threw a wink in Keith’s direction, Keith groaning at him. 

*  
Curtis was upset as Lance imagined he would be. He apologised profusely to Keith who waved it off. Shiro didn’t leave Curtis’s side, trailing everywhere after him until Curtis blew up and told him to quit it. The tension seemed to linger all day between the pair, especially during lunch where Curtis wouldn’t look at his boyfriend at all.

By the time lunch had finally finished, Lance was desperate for a nap and the cramping feeling to never come back. If fake contractions hurt, he imagine the real ones were going to be about as fun as being flogged with barbed cat of nine-tails. Lance understood Shay was curious, though initially a little weirded out by the fact he was pregnant, she did seem to ask him more questions than he knew what to do with as she loosened up. Lance would have been happy to help her understand if he hadn’t been totally wiped from everything in the morning. He still owed his best Bud an explanation over his sisters coming to Garrison, and refused to take a nap until he knew Keith really wasn’t concussed. 

Settling down in the living room, things felt strange without Pidge, Matt, and Rieva, there. Lance had heard Krolia explaining the situation to Coran, he’d been right about her mostly being there to watch over Curtis, though she did gush over how the boys were putting the nursery together. Coran probably gushed just as badly. His adopted uncle had a bad habit of pushing the more serious matters aside in favour of cute and happy things. Cuddling into Keith, his boyfriend’s neck was still red. Poor Hunk and Shay had no clue what they’d walked into, and it wasn’t fair on them for everyone to be acting so warily. Lance knew Shay had more questions, despite being tired, it’d give them all something to talk about that wasn’t Curtis’s “episode”.

“Shay, is there anything else you want to know? I mean, I know this all very very new to you, so I’m sure you must have more questions”  
Shay giggled  
“You know I do. I’m still trying to figure out how you look so young”  
Lance shot Shay finger guns, trying hard to lighten everyone’s mood  
“A great skin care regime and being dead will do that”  
Shay giggled again. Thank the Lord for Shay. Her and Hunk were definitely going to get married and have adorable babies  
“I’m not sure I like the dead bit, but you look killer for a corpse”  
“Don’t I know it! Maybe not right now, I’m fat”

Keith hushed him  
“You’re not fat, you’re pregnant”  
Tell that to his belly... He felt all frumpy   
“I’m a little bit fat”  
“You’re a little not fat”  
Shay leaned forward, getting into position for her barrage of questions   
“Keith is right, you don’t look fat. Okay, I know you explained, but you’re a super special vampire right? Is this a pop-culture thing? Magical powers from dating a human? Ooooh, does Keith have powers?!”  
“Keith is human, but he does have powers”  
Shiro’s eyes went wide, alarmed as he looked at his brother. Keith confused as he scrunched up his brow  
“I do?”  
“Yep. You make me laugh like there’s no tomorrow”

If that wasn’t a a super power, it needed to be. Lance liked to think he’d been the funny one until Keith came along. Now Keith had all Lance’s dad jokes memorised. If there wasn’t humour or love a relationship couldn’t last  
“I’m glad I have my uses”  
“You’re very useful. I mean, look at the coffee table. It was you who made me pick a new one”  
“Because I broke the last one. And the toaster”  
“I’m still bitter about that toaster. I really liked it”  
“I tried to replace it”  
Lance chuckled as he squeezed Keith’s hand  
“I know. Anyway, no. Keith has no super powers like that from being with me. He’s completely human and I love him the way he is”

Shay tilted her head, next question already prepared  
“Then is hard? I mean, do you drink his blood? And does it make him horny like in the movies?”  
Hunk blushed hard at his girlfriend’s question, Lance shaking his head with a smile  
“No. It’s nothing like the movies. I wouldn’t drink Keith’s blood if I had the choice. I do, but only very very small amounts for the sake of the pregnancy, but I prefer blood bags”  
Shay paled a little. He knew it was gross, ego mildly offended she looked sickly when she was the one asking the questions   
“Then have you fed off many humans? You must have, right? Have you ever killed a human?”

Lance’s chest tightened. It was a reasonable question. Still, it felt like Shay would believe him if he said he’d slaughter a hundred humans and felt no regrets. Hunk leaping to his defence   
“Babe! I told you Lance isn’t like that”  
“I’m just trying to understand”  
“Lance wouldn’t hurt any of us. He isn’t like that, right, bro?”  
There was something in Hunk’s tone that he took wrong. Tears welling up fast as he tried to wipe them away before he started crying  
“No. Not a human. I’ve only fed off Keith because I have to. I know I’m a monster but part of me is still human”

Shay immediately picked up on the tension at her question  
“I didn’t... I’m sorry, I’m curious”  
“No. No. I told you to ask. Keith might be the hunter, but we both want humans protected from vampires. Vampires aren’t a good species. We have egos. Our egos are like that little voice in the back of your head that you wish you could act on. Say a customer came in and all you wanted to do was hit them for being rude. Our egos make that more or less the likely outcome. They crave power. Anything they think of an insult gets blown out of proportion. I struggled with my ego for 37 years before I met Keith, and even then it isn’t until recently that my ego slowly became more settled. My ego adores and is proud of Keith. We both love him very much and would be lost without him”  
Keith groaned at him in embarrassment   
“Babe, you’re being embarrassing”  
“I can’t help it. I love you. It’s not like everyone here doesn’t know we’re that grossly in love couple. I’m proud to be your boyfriend”

Keith opened his mouth, a small squeal coming out before he promptly shut it again and hung his head. Hunk laughed at the pair of them  
“Man, I think you broke him”  
“Mmm. Still true though. Anyone who knows us knows that if you really want to get under my skin and upset my ego you go for the people I love. Do that and you’re going to get a whole lot more than just a scary vampire face”  
Hunk nodded, smiling fondly  
“Same with us, Bud. I mean, we probably can’t do much against the forces of the undead, but we love you”  
“And I love you guys. Seriously, Shay knowing just makes things better. I’m so sorry for all the times I had to lie to you. It sucked and Hunk wanted to tell you so badly”

Shay didn’t return the love the way Hunk had, she was channeling Pidge all the way, though her tone softer than Pidge’s usual loud and loveable brashness  
“Your face changes? I mean, you look so normal that I’m still trying to figure this out. The only thing weird about you is that you’re pregnant. I can’t see how you could possibly hide it all when you look like us”  
“Yeah. I get all scary when my egos upset or my friends are threatened. My nails and teeth grow, and my face gets all weird and evil looking”  
Hunk nodded quickly, adding to explanation   
“Don’t forget you turn into a bat. He does. You should see him as a bat, he’s the cutest little agent of darkness with his little chubby belly and beady eyes”

Ahhh. The days of being a bat. When things were simpler and he could spend all his time in Keith’s arms avoiding being smited by Blue  
“Can you turn into a bat now?”  
Lance shook his head at Shay  
“Our twins are human. If I turn, they wouldn’t and I’d be pretty much ripped apart by the size of them”  
Shay clicked her fingers, not seeming too worried about the mental images of him torn apart   
“Oh! That reminds me, how do you give birth? Is this your first pregnancy?”  
“Yeah. At this stage I’m going to have a c-section. I never had fresh human blood before Keith’s and it kind of brought the rest of my vampire powers to light. I assume other male breeders go through the same thing. Being a vampire they can survive having their stomachs torn open. I’m biologically male so I’ve had a few issues with the pregnancy. Pretty much a guy with a womb. Plus, I’ll be at VOLTRON when I give birth. My blood is dangerous and we don’t know how my ego will react, so it’ll be much safer there where they can take the twins away from me if they have to”

Shay gave a very strained and half hearted laugh. Lance hadn’t even talked to Keith about that particular fear in detail   
“That sounds depressing. I mean, birth is a bit icky but I don’t get how you can be calm about having them taken away so soon”  
He was not calm. He was being realistic and honest... aaaand trying not to be crushed by thought of not being able to hold his babies with Keith right there by his side   
“If I lose too much blood or my ego flares, I would honestly prefer it that way until I’ve calmed again. Keith and the health of our twins is my number one priority”

Shay nodded quickly  
“I see how that makes sense. Okay, I have another question but is it okay to ask Curtis?”  
All eyes went to Curtis, his bad mood still on display though Lance did feel like maybe Shay engaging with him had made him a teeny bit happier   
“Sure”  
“Are your horns heavy? You see them in movies and things and I always wonder if they’re super heavy or if you have trouble balancing your head because of it”  
“My horns are light to me. I would say those in the movies would have a difficult time as they are not a physical part of their body. They’re not particularly troublesome”  
“Really? I guess I didn’t really think about the mechanics of how you’d wear them compared to being part of you. Do you and Lance still get along?”

Curtis’s eyed flicked in his direction, Lance confident in his reply   
“Yep. He’s like my bestie when it comes to watching our shows together. He calls me up and we talk as we watch. He and Shiro are god parents to our twins. I mean, sure he’d cursed, but I don’t care. He is who is and he’s a good guy. There’s not a lot I wouldn’t do for him. He’s definitely part of the family”  
Curtis seemed worried, if not hurt, by the confidence in Lance’s tone. It had to be so hard for him, and for Shiro. He’d lost his first love to insanity and now his boyfriend was exhibiting some of the same symptoms. Shiro was so damn strong to be able to keep going. Being a carer came with so much stress, that he knew from looking after Mami and from how stressed Keith was trying to take care of him.

Keith backed him up  
“He’s right. Curtis is family. Plus, he’s the only one who seems to understand when Lance is moping over fictional characters”  
Lance huffed  
“I don’t “mope”. I wallow. Let a man have his shows”  
Keith poked him in the ribs   
“I don’t stop you watching them”  
Lance nodding. He had such a wonderful boyfriend who let him indulge in bad TV dramas   
“This is true. Oh, there’s a new documentary series up on unexplained disappearances I want to watch. We should totally do that tonight. I have to wait until we get the supplies for the nursery and seeing we’re all here it’d be nice”

“Were you guys working on the nursery? I did wonder why Keith and Shiro were covered in paint”  
Lance sighed deeply, thinking about that top moulding that needed repainting  
“The pair of them were having a competition over who could paint a wall the fastest then decided they needed to paint each other”  
“It’s not my fault Shiro missed a spot”  
“I didn’t. If I remember right, that was all on you”  
“Keep this up and you’ll wake up covered in paint”  
“Oh, yeah. Bring it on, kiddo”

Lance sighed again  
“No paint on the bedding. You guys aren’t the ones who have to try get it out. If you need to settle your sibling squabbling you can go town for me and pick up the things I wanted”  
Keith agreeing so readily seemed like a trap  
“I’ll behave, if Shiro does”  
“Mhmm. I’ll believe it when I see it”

Shiro faked offence, the two brothers seemed to share one brain cell when it came things like this. Lance still had his moments when he was jealous of their bond, especially after seeing his sisters, but that Keith and Shiro could joke with him meant a lot. The two brothers needed each other, especially when it came to the stresses of looking after their respective boyfriends. It was a shame their “fight” had broken up before it’d really begun  
“What’s that supposed to mean?”  
“It means anyone can tell you two are brothers... and I have to pee again. Hunk, make sure they don’t get up to trouble while I’m gone. You really can’t take your eyes off this pair”  
Hunk gulped as he pointed to himself  
“What am I supposed to do against two hunters?”  
“Dude, you’re the ray of sunshine of our group. They’re gonna listen to you”  
“I don’t know, man”  
Lance knew. Disappointing Hunk was as bad a kicking a puppy. No one wanted to disappoint the big guy  
“Good thing I do. Right, try not to miss me too much. I’ll be right back, guys”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this household we love Shay.


	165. Chapter 165

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peanut Butter Brother Time

165

Crawling into bed at the end of the day, Lance felt emotionally tender. Curtis had another episode. When he’d gone to the bathroom, he’d been startled by his friend standing there, seeming lost and confused as to why he was no longer in the living room. Curtis wanted to go back to Platt. Nothing Lance said seemed to make his friend feel any better, if anything he wondered if he was the reason Curtis’s demon side seemed so moody. 

“Babe?”  
Keith had all but died when he’d collapsed on his side of the bed, making it seem like the biggest effort ever to get under the covers and hold his arm out for Lance to crawl into his hold. Resting his head against Keith’s chest, Lance let out a deep sigh. Wrapping his arm around him, Keith tilted his head up to kiss Lance on the top of his head  
“You’re still worrying about Curtis”  
“I am. It’s not fair”  
Being half cursed seemed much better than this. Lance wondered how a fragile human body could contain both Curtis’s spirit and a demon. The mental strength to contain both had to be taxing  
“No. It’s not fair at all”  
“I think I upset him earlier”  
“You mean before...”

They’d been talking, Lance trying so hard to make Curtis see that he didn’t blame him for anything the demon had done. Yeah, he couldn’t stop himself getting upset that nursery wall was broken seeing it was the nursery, but better a broken wall than to lose a friend over this. Then Curtis had snapped. He’d gone to attack him, Lance fast and strong enough to block the move before anything could happen. Curtis sent falling on his as he’d kicked him. The ruckus in the hall summoning their friends. Lance trying to lie that Curtis had tripped, but Curtis had yelled at them all to leave him alone before stalking out the house. Shiro jogging after him as Krolia came to Lance’s side and “support him” back to the living room. Hunk and Shay had left, the number of explanations he owed his friend only growing. Which really sucked as Lance didn’t believe Curtis would go them seeing they were harmless humans. Keith’s actions, though playful, could be seen as an attack. His actions... maybe a personal attack? Or at least to the demon   
“Yeah. He wanted to go back to Platt and I didn’t want him to”

A broken wall could be fixed. Lance had broken through the wall tripping on the stairs more times than his pride would let him admit. Keith sighed softly as he wriggled down a little, moving his free hand up to rest under his head   
“Shiro did mention Curtis seemed to be blacking out more, but he wasn’t like this at the apartment”  
“No. I wonder if Coran put some kind of magic in place in the apartment to keep Curtis anchored”  
There were any number of factors as to why the demon was upset. The apartment was a small confined place with limited entrances and exits. The house was big, filled with the scents of their friends, two werewolves, and that of a vampire. Keith’s voice tumbled as he mumbled   
“I don’t know. I don’t know what to do. Shiro loved Adam so much, and now Curtis is hurting. I don’t know what to do”

Keith had such a kind heart. Not too long ago Curtis would have been collateral damage if that meant protecting Shiro’s life. Now Keith knew how to let people in, he didn’t know how to love his brother and not rush in head first to protect him  
“We could lie?”  
“Hmm?”  
“Come up with a reason why we need to be in Platt? Until the summoning?”  
Lying sucked. It hurt and it sucked. Yet a gentle lie might be the only way to get Keith on the inside where he could help his brother  
“I don’t want you near VOLTRON when they try summon the demon out. The bastard’s fucking strong”  
Lance snorted as he rubbed his cheek against Keith’s chest  
“He is a demon. I suppose it comes with the territory. Maybe that’s what’s wrong? Curtis isn’t in what he considers his territory?”  
“I don’t know. I really don’t know what to do. Do you think he’d hurt Shiro? Even by accident?”  
“I don’t know about demon egos. It’s possible the demon sees Shiro as a mate and is reluctant to let go of him and the human world. I’m sorry, babe. I really have no idea. I though trying to reassure him would help but I only made him madder. If you can stay with Shiro for a bit, I think it’d really help him”

Keith’s fingers came to play with the stray ends of Lance’s hair, his boyfriend sighing heavily. Yep. Lance felt every bit of the sigh as he fought his drooping eyelids   
“I don’t want to leave you here”  
“Your brother needs you”  
“So do you. Plus, I’m tired of Platt. I like it out here in our house better than being in the city”  
“I’ll remember to tell Shiro how awful of a housemate he is”  
“Ha ha. You know what I mean”  
“I do. But I’ve been back and forth between here and Platt for years, no like you”  
“Will I even be able to help if I go to Platt? What if Curtis thinks I don’t trust him with Shiro?”  
“I hate to break it to you, babe, but I think he thinks none of us trust him, despite what we say”

Falling silent, Lance couldn’t fight the need for sleep. Milliseconds away from it, he jumped a little as Keith broke the silence   
“I don’t know what to do”  
“You could ask Coran if you can go back to work early?”  
“Ugh. I don’t want to go back to work”  
Lance turned his head, letting his chin dig into Keith’s chest, fingertips tracing no real pattern over Keith’s side   
“I know. You’ve become so lazy... and I’ve become so spoilt. If we lie about the twins to Curtis I feel like that’d be super cruel. After everything that happened, he’d be so worried about me. I don’t think I can do that to him. Maybe we could say you wanted to talk to Krolia? That’s all I’ve got. You’re either there to talk to her, or you’re there to work”

Keith leaned up again, to kiss him on the cheek this time  
“I could take your phone up there. But that would only give me a few hours in Platt”  
A few hours were better than no hours, and Lance did trust Keith completely with his phone. He could stay behind, so it wouldn’t seem like some kind of intervention   
“If you had Shiro being Curtis to VOLTRON, I’m sure Coran would be able to give him some kind of task that’d give you two a chance to talk. I hate all this deception. I want to be there for both of them”  
“We could tell them the truth? That we want to be there for them?”  
“Shiro would insist he can handle this”  
“Why don’t you wake him up?”

Shiro and Curtis were spending the night in the living room, Krolia sleeping in the office, where she was forbidden from snooping  
“And say what?”  
“That you’re his brother and you want him to know he can lean on you? Like any relationship we’re caught up in each other and that isn’t a bad thing... sometimes it nice to hear that someone’s there for you”  
“What if I upset Curtis?”  
“Matt and Rieva are right downstairs. Should he have another episode, they’re there. They won’t hurt him because they care for him too”  
“It sounds to me like you don’t care about the house as much as you let on”

Keith knew he was fiercely house proud. His boyfriend trying to tease him into worrying less  
“Rude. I do care. You know I care”  
“Says the guy who was riding the chair arm yesterday”  
“Says the guy who didn’t clean up everything...”  
“I tried. It’s not my fault you were horny”  
“I’m pretty sure it is when you’re the only one I’m horny for”  
Keith chuckled   
“That’s fair. I still don’t know what to do”  
“Go talk to Shiro. Maybe he can tell you what he really needs help with right now?”  
“That means getting up, and you look ready to sleep for a week”

That’d be nice. Keith would panic... so he couldn’t... Maybe he should aim for a nap in his death soil to perk him back up? He’d been feeling pretty fat and flat today   
“Oh, trust me, I missed not having my nap. There’s tired and there’s “I’m about to pass out”. I’m totally about to pass out, babe”  
“You okay?”  
“Mmm. Just sleepy. I couldn’t sleep earlier because I couldn’t calm down until I knew you weren’t concussed”  
“I said I wasn’t”  
“That sounds like something who’s concussed would say”  
“Idiot. Do you really think talking with Shiro is the right move?”  
“Yeah, babe. I do. Don’t worry, I promise to be snoring by the time you come back”  
“Oh, I know you will. You’ll be all spread across the bed, snoring your head off... belly and boobs out without a care”  
“Shut up. I can’t help it”  
“I know. Alright. I’m going to go talk to Shiro. Don’t blame me if he yells”  
“Mmm. I love you, and I’m going to yell at both of you if you wake me up. Growing babies is exhausting”  
“Harder than making cupcakes?”  
“You, sir, have no idea. Gimme a kiss”

Keith rolled him back on their bed, his boyfriend peppering kisses to Lance’s lips until he wrinkled his face up trying not to laugh as he pushed Keith away  
“Okay! Okay! Go already. I want my sleep”  
Keith faked drawing away from him, before leaning in to kiss Lance’s forehead   
“I love you, babe. I’ll be back soon”

*  
Lance was too tempting. The moment Keith’s feet hit the cold wood flooring, he wanted to climb back into bed and keep kissing his boyfriend until they both fell asleep. His damn throat still hurt from the morning, definitely slightly swollen and in that awkward stage where it wasn’t swollen enough to be bothered about it in a medical treatment sense, yet not not swollen enough that it wasn’t annoying every-time he swallowed. Lance would worry needlessly if he knew. Grabbing Lance’s robe from the back of the bedroom door, Keith wrapped himself up in it before borrowing his boyfriend’s matching slippers. If Keith from this time last year could only see him now, he’d never believe it.

Shuffling down to the living room, Keith poked his head in. He couldn’t actually see anything, the house too damn dark at night for that, so blindly he continued on to the kitchen. Flicking the light on, he nearly screeched at the sight of his mother playing on her phone. His heart racing as he glared at her  
“What are you doing up?”  
“Couldn’t sleep. I could ask you the same thing. I thought you went to bed”  
“I did, now I’m getting a drink of water”

Krolia snorted at him, turning off her phone screen and placing the device on the kitchen table  
“You’re a terrible liar. You couldn’t stop thinking about Shiro”  
“Maybe. You are too”  
“I know I am. How are you feeling?”  
“My head hurts and my throat feels like shit”  
“To be expected. Curtis did slam you against the wall quite hard”  
“He didn’t mean to. You only came because of Curtis, didn’t you?”

Krolia sighed at him, opting for honesty that Keith hadn’t expected   
“Yes and no. Coran asked me to keep an eye on Curtis, but I also wanted to be here to see the nursery. It reminded me when we were planning yours. Things have changed a lot since then”  
Keith didn’t know what to make of that. He only knew what that he’d been utterly clueless about things and if not for Lance, he’d be useless. Moving to the sink, he snagged his coffee mug, filling it with cold water out of the tap  
“Is Lance okay? I noticed he seemed in pain today”

Downing half the mug, Keith turned the tap off, then turned to lean against the counter  
“Coran says because his body is so sensitive to things that he’s feeling the pain of the false contractions”  
“I remember the first time I felt them. Your dad panicked. He wanted to take me to hospital because he thought you were coming too soon. Do you and Lance had a plan for when he does go into labour?”  
“I think Coran wants him to stay about two weeks before he’s due if he makes it that far. If there’s another complication, he wants to deliver them early”  
“I’m sorry it’s not going smoothly. Is there any way I can help?”

What was Krolia supposed to do help? There was nothing they could do that they weren’t already doing   
“It’s fine. Coran’s managing that side of things and Lance had a bunch of injections so his body doesn’t start feeding off the twins”  
“Are you planning on having more kids in the future?”  
“It depends on Lance. And how this pregnancy goes. If he doesn’t want to, then we won’t. It’s not like I’m the one doing all the hard work”  
“Lance may be, but you are too. You’re their father, and you’re taking care of him the best you can. It’s not easy”  
“No, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Oh, and thanks for complicating things. Our whole friends group has this idea I’m going to propose”

Krolia laughing wasn’t what he expected, though with her he really should have  
“Sorry. I guess I’m a little impatient. Miriam and I talked a lot about it”  
Keith wasn’t surprised, but with Shiro on his mind, he couldn’t handle letting his thoughts linger on how much he missed Mami   
“You think?”  
“Well, it’s not only from a romance point of view that I’m thinking. If you two were to wed, he’d have access to a pay out if you were injured on the job”

Her words cut deep. His almost instinctive fear of failing her bubbling up to the surface  
“Thanks, mum. Way to have faith in me”  
“It’s not just that. He’s more likely to be left alone too, and he’d have greater protection”  
“Coran’s enough. Besides, I can do my job just fine”  
“I know you can. Have you two come up with names yet?”  
Keith rolled his eyes   
“Tell me when we’ve had a chance? I’ve been working most days on my bike and Lance wants to concentrate on staying on top of his health”  
“Krolia is a great name”

Ugh. He’d heard the same thing from all of their friends  
“I’ll add it to the list. So far it consists of all our friends”  
“Ah, but I should get preferential treatment as your mother”  
“Pretty sure you had preferential treatment when you named me. Besides, Lance and I want to wait. We want to be surprised when the twins come”  
“Oh, you will be. Labour isn’t as painful as it seems on TV but the pressure to push, that’s the worst bit. I’ve had period cramps worse than contractions”  
“And I didn’t need to know that”  
“Have you watched any birthing videos? Does Lance know if he really does want a c-section?”

Keith couldn’t do it. Nope. He knew he was slightly prudish but he didn’t want to see the intimate bits and pieces of strangers being stretched and torn. He didn’t know what to do with a vagina, let alone one pushing a kid out. He felt icky like he was invading their privacy even if he didn’t understand at all why people would flock to watch it. There was no way he was going there  
“Mum, it’s either a c-section or they live in there forever”  
“And you’re going to be in the delivery room?”  
“Where else am I supposed to be?”  
“Just asking. Sheesh, let me be excited over my grandma duties”  
“I’ll let you be excited when they’re actually here. Anyway, I didn’t come down for a free counselling session over Lance giving birth. I want to be there for Shiro, but I don’t know what to do”

Krolia rolled her eyes at him, grabbing her cup of coffee as she did  
“Have you tried talking to him?”  
“I was going to talk to him, but I found a crazy woman in my kitchen and wound up talking to her instead”  
Krolia frowned at him  
“Your kitchen?”  
“Fine, Lance’s kitchen”  
Was it Lance’s house still? Or was it their house? Or was it just “the house”. Lance owned it, Keith’s name appearing no where on the deed to the property. If he was going to be with Lance forever, as he planned, was that something they had to do?

“Oh-oh, you’re making a face. What did I do now?”  
“Nothing. I was thinking about Lance”  
“When aren’t you thinking about Lance?”  
“When I’m trying to figure out how to help my brother!”  
He had the capability of thinking about things other than his boyfriend. Everyone seemed to think he had this one track mind that purely revolved around Lance every moment of every day  
“No need to snap. Look, my advice is that you talk to Shiro. He spends the most time with Curtis out of all us. He knows what he needs help with. It’s like him coming to you to ask how to help you and Lance. He needs to know what to do and who better to tell him than both of you?”  
“Like I said, I was going to, then I ended up talking to you”  
“Then go talk to him”  
“Fine. I will”  
“Good”  
“Good. Yeah”

Fuck if that hadn’t just confused his poor sleepy brain. He’d been content falling into bed with Lance, telling himself he’d finally have time to think then, only when he had all he wanted to do was sleep because thinking actually seemed to hurt his head. Curtis’s strength had been no joke. He’d must have had his head slammed into things a thousand times by now, and it never felt any better for it.

“Fuck!”  
Now he had to get Shiro to both wake up, and to get him alone. His mother hummed at his small outburst   
“Hmm?”  
“I have to wake him up if I want to talk to him”  
“You’ll find Shiro’s already awake. He’s had a few sleepless nights”  
“He slept fine when we were there”  
“Probably because he knew Lance has the strength to subdue Curtis if something were to happen. Coran said he felt that Lance could”  
“Lance has enough troubles with his strength, he doesn’t need to be using too much at once”  
“I’m simply saying he is strong”  
“So? Matt and Rieva are right there down the hall. The two of them should stand a chance”

Keith didn’t get what Krolia meant. Matt and Rieva were there friends. Did Krolia think that Shiro trusted Lance more than them, or that he’d go easier on Curtis than the pair of them? Great. Now he was doubting things  
“You know you’re not helping things. I think I’m more confused than when you started talking”  
“I’m simply saying things as I see them”  
“Well either say these simple things simply or make more sense”  
Keith replayed the sentence in his head, trying to figure out if he’d said the right thing the way he’d wanted to. This was why Lance did the thinking for the both of them   
“If you want my opinion I feel Shiro would trust Lance more with Curtis’s life than with Matt and Rieva due to their pack instincts. A glance tells you that Rieva would readily spill blood to protect Lance and the twins”  
“And you couldn’t have said it like that to begin with”  
“I thought I did”

Keith let out a frustrated groan, turning to put his glass in the sink as he did  
“You didn’t”  
“I’m sure I did. Maybe you’re thinking so much so that you’ve blown up your brain cells”  
“Mum!”  
Krolia chuckled happily   
“Don’t be like that. Being your mum means I can tease you”  
“I’d rather you didn’t”  
“Even if it’s meant with love?”

Love. Things were easier when he didn’t have so many people he loved... yet knowing love, he realised how empty his life had been in so many ways. Shiro had fixed his broken heart the best he could. Comforted and guided him. There was no one else he’d want as a big brother. Still, Mami gave him the courage to see that he worthy of the love of his mother. God. He missed Mami’s wisdom and guidance so much  
“Especially if it’s meant with love. You said you talked to Mami, before she died... Do you think she was happy with Lance? I mean, I know she would but, but I think Lance would like to hear it from you”  
“We spoke a bit before I headed to join the mission. I know Lance’s family kicked up some kind of shit over her rings, but Miriam wanted you to have them both to give to Lance when the time was right. She was proud to know you, and had a few things to say about how she wished you’d come into his life sooner. I’m sorry, I know you’re going to be mad, but she told me a lot about you and how gentle you seemed despite being awkward at first. She was happy with Lance, though she missed you terribly. She never lost hope in you coming back to be with Lance”

Keith took a long and shaky breath, gripping the counter as he slowly released it. The world didn’t deserve Mami and her love  
“I miss her. Lance took me to her grave. I didn’t know what to say. I don’t know what to say to dad”  
“He adored you. You don’t have to say anything if you don’t feel like it. You can be there and see his grave, or you can be there and remember he always loved you”  
“I don’t really remember him and what I think I remember I don’t know if it’s real or if I’ve tricked myself into believing that my thoughts are memories”  
“He loved you. When you were a baby, he’d spend hours cradling you. You’d cry and cry when he wasn’t. There’s no particular way you have to feel about things. You won’t know how you feel until you’re standing in front his grave”  
“Mum, if you knew... why didn’t you tell me sooner?”  
“I did think to include it in the letter I wrote to you, but... maybe selfishly I wanted you to ask me to go with you to see him. I don’t know if I have the courage to go alone”

Keith wrapped his arms around himself. Krolia wanted to go with him. Keith couldn’t quite remember who was doing what and coming for the trip with him  
“Shiro’s supposed to be coming. I can’t ask him to come when he should be with Curtis. I’m worried about Lance, too. His pregnancy is stable right now. I’m scared we’ll be too far from help if something happens”  
“Then why don’t you postpone it?”  
Keith didn’t want to. Not after waiting years, but what was the point of taking his lover to meet his father if Lance couldn’t be there. The same went for Shiro, he couldn’t introduce his brother if his brother wasn’t there  
“I’ve waited years to find his grave. I don’t even remember the place we grew up, other than dad’s shack. Do you know if it’s still standing?”  
“I own the deed to the land, I brought it when... your father passed, but no. I haven’t been there in some time”

Krolia wanted him to ask her, but Keith couldn’t ask until he knew what was going to happen with his brother. He felt he still needed that buffer between him and his mother, lest they get into an argument and stop talking for another 20ish years  
“I’m only going to work this out talking to Shiro”  
“That’s what I’ve been saying. Have a good talk and a think. There’s still hours until morning”  
“Yeah. Night, mum”  
“Night, Keith”

*  
Keith felt foolish as he stood at the doorway to the living room and called out to Shiro that he wanted to talk in a whisper yell. Of course his mother was right. Shiro was awake, his brother letting out a muffled curse as he kicked what Keith assumed to be the coffee table trying to sneak out the room. Following him out to the back door, the motion sensor flicked on, blinding both of them momentarily. The light spilling from the kitchen barely registered in the darkness of the rest house.

Keith regretted not bring his phone, the chances of cow crap too high to risk sitting in the grass, leaving them to sit on the paving which really wasn’t the same  
“Keith?”  
Dropping his head against his brother’s shoulder, the cold was already seeping through his underwear and Lance’s robe  
“I want to help and I don’t know how”  
“Help with what, kiddo?”  
“Curtis. I know he isn’t okay. I know he’s getting worse. I’m worried about you and I want to help, but I don’t know how”

“I don’t know how to help Curtis either”

The omission by his brother hung in the air. Keith knew that feeling sucked hard. Lance suffered so much and he didn’t know if he really did make things better the way Lance claimed he did  
“We don’t want to postpone getting the demon out of him”  
Shiro snarked, taking the words wrong  
“I know he gave you a scare, but...”  
“That’s not it. I mean, yeah, he did, but for his sake I want to get this demon out of him already. He must be going through so much right now. And you. I know... you went through a lot with me, stuff I didn’t even realise. I want you to get your happy ending too, you know?”

Wrapping his arm around him, Shiro rested his head on Keith’s as he got comfortable  
“Who said you could go grow up on me like this?”  
“Pretty sure you’re to blame”  
“I wouldn’t say it was me”  
“I would. That’s why I want to help. Lance wants to help too. Mum called Coran today, I think she told him we should summon out the demon as soon as possible... but he’s your boyfriend. I don’t know what you’re going through”  
“Keith, I think you’re just about the only person who does. Today’s the second time he’s been violent. The first time he threw a glass across the apartment when I asked him why the tap was running. I sure know how to pick them”  
“You love Curtis. He loves you too. A lot of things Lance said made sense to me. About maybe the demon has it’s own ego. It’s sharing a body with Curtis and the strain has to be next level on both of them. What can we do to help?”

Keith felt something wet on his scalp. It took him a long moment and a half to click. Oh... Shiro was crying. His brother’s body barely shook, the shivers running through him easily mistaken for shivering in the cold  
“You’re my brother, and my family. Whatever you need, I want to be here for you. Expect if you need to practice your awful jokes because they’re awful, you can borrow Lance for that”  
“I like to think I’m hilarious”  
“I know you do. What do we do now? Lance is totally up for a little lie if you need some time or some help”  
“I can’t run from this”  
“It’s not running, it’s relying on us. None of want Curtis feeling bad for things he can’t control”  
“We were supposed to be postponing the summoning to see your dad”  
“I know, and I don’t want to not go see him now I know where he is. I also want my brother there with me”  
“That means delaying either the summoning or the trip”  
“Maybe... we should go after the summoning? Take Curtis with us and give him a few days to get used to everything?”  
“Coran needs to keep him for observation. We don’t know what messing with his soul will do. For all the shit we’ve hunted, this is still out there. Talking about demons and souls”  
“Technically Coran and Allura are both fae which means they’re technically demons...”

Both brothers fell silent as they considered that fact. Keith knew Coran was powerful as fuck. Humanity was lucky to have him on their side. The same went with Allura. She could be scary as hell when she was angry. Shiro hugged him tighter  
“I don’t know. I don’t know how Lance can be so calm after today. I know Curtis didn’t trip but he still tried to cover for him. Even after what happened to the nursery wall”  
“With the amount of time Lance has tripped on the stairs, he’s a total pro at fixing the walls”  
“I don’t know if you’re bragging or if you wish Lance wasn’t quite so clumsy”  
“I thought it was the glasses but he’s just as clumsy without them. It’s like he enjoys randomly attacking things with his head”  
“He gets that from you. How’s your head feeling?”  
“Sore. You’d think it’d be harder after all the times I got hit there”  
“If it’s still sore we should probably have Coran check you out”  
“Nah, it’ll be fine. We still haven’t decided what to do”  
“I was looking forward to seeing the nursery painted”

So was Keith. Once the paint was up they could work on the furniture. Once the furniture was together that’d be a huge weight off Lance’s mind. He’d clear forgotten about his brother coming to help in the wake of Lance’s sisters popping up  
“You know... if you’re awake and I’m awake... we could finish that competition”  
“You mean the one where I totally won for the most paint on the wall? It’s the middle of the night”  
“And? I’m pretty sure Lance would have done all his home repairs whenever the fuck he felt like it”  
“You want to paint the nursery?”

Keith didn’t know what to do. Shiro was crying, and he couldn’t fix that pain for him. Lance had been right though, though it wasn’t that unusual and his advice directed towards Curtis. Shiro also needed to see that a broken wall could be fixed and that in the scheme of things it wasn’t something worth tears over. While Lance had wanted to do the nursery together, he doubted his boyfriend would mind terribly if they finished the job they’d started that morning   
“Nah, I want to finish kicking your old arse”  
“My old arse? Says the man dating a vampire”  
“Lance is timeless. Plus, he’s said it before and I think it’s kind of maybe true, that he feels some of his mental growth was stunted by turning so young. Like, the only old man thing about him is he love of lawnmowers and evenly cut grass”  
“He does love lawn. How does he feel about bush?”

Keith shoved Shiro back playfully  
“That’s... no! Shiro, no”  
Shiro chuckled  
“It was begging to be said”  
“No, it really wasn’t. God, you’re making me think about that pick up line”  
“Which one?”  
There was only one he could think of off the top of his head  
“Fallen over a stump lately? How about a root?”  
“No thanks. I’m taken”  
Keith realised he’d walked right into that one, groaning at his brother. Why did he do this to himself? Why did Shiro have to be so damn weird?


	166. Chapter 166

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this household we also stan Krolia trying her hardest to be the mum she always wanted to be. 
> 
> On an unrelated note, I dropped my phone and it died. I've ordered a new one, but updates may be slower as I have to post using my desktop.

166

Waking up in the stupidly early hours of the morning, Lance crept around his house as secretly as he could. The shock of not waking up to Keith was shoved aside by the dire need to pee, then throw up. Hearing far too much, when he was far too sleepy, Lance knew he should have tried not to listen to Shiro and Keith as they bickered while painting the nursery. He couldn’t deny part of it was to distract himself from how much he hated throwing up and wanted to concentrate on something much more happier than the wet hacking noises he was making. Painting the nursery was supposed to be his and Keith’s job, yet Shiro sorely needed Keith time and Keith most definitely needed time with his brother, so he could forgive the pair of idiots for painting in the middle of the night.

Creeping along the hallway, he muffled a curse as he tripped on one of the boxes from the nursery, still his movements until he was sure neither brother had noticed. For someone who knew he really should leave the pair alone, he also totally wanted to spy on them and make sure they were doing a good job... Inch by inch the vampire made his way to the open door. Judging by the music playing, Shiro had gotten his way as the songs were all from his youth, not Keith’s.

Peaking around the corner, Lance smiled at the sight of the pair of idiots. Keith was up on Shiro’s shoulders, trying to cover up the mess they’d made of the top moulding. Shiro directed by Keith as he painted. Lance half wished they had surveillance in the nursery because the pair of them were being too damn cute. They’d painted the three walls, leaving the space Lance would have to cut out free enough that it wouldn’t look awkward when the spot was painted to hide the repair. They made such a good team. Shiro had painted down his face again, but he was smiling happily as he teased Keith over dribbling, asking if he needed a bib. 

Laughing hard at his brother, Keith nearly fell off Shiro’s shoulders, Lance moving instinctively to catch him, stopping himself a couple of steps into the nursery. Fuck. He’d messed up. He was supposed to be spying, not interrupting   
“Lance?”  
Preoccupied with not sticking the paintbrush in Shiro’s hair, Keith dropped it as his head snapped up. His boyfriend looked very much like a deer in the headlights as he swallowed hard, before almost nervously starting   
“I can explain...”  
Lance held his hands up. He wasn’t trying to ruin the moment, not anymore than he had done  
“Sorry, I heard the music and saw the light on”  
“Oh... Me and Shiro were...”  
“Painting the nursery. I noticed. Don’t stop on my account”

Keith slid himself down Shiro’s back, Lance kicking himself for acting without thinking  
“I’m not... I mean...”  
His boyfriend was attempting to apologise. Lance wasn’t having it  
“Babe, seriously, it’s fine. I’m going to head back to bed, you two don’t let me stop you”  
“I mean... are you sure?”  
“You’re the one who said I was in charge of the back wall, I totally trust you guys. Plus, you haven’t done a bad job”  
Shiro cleared his throat  
“I didn’t mean to upset you. If you’d really rather...”  
Oh Lordy, not Shiro too  
“Guys, not mad at all. I was up anyway, and now I’m going to be down again. Gotta try fit in some sleep before I have to pee again. Take your time, just don’t go falling off Shiro’s shoulders. I don’t have workers comp for improvised ladders made from older brothers. Hell, I don’t have workers comp at all”

Both brothers relaxed, Lance waving them goodbye as he headed back to his room. He could hear them discussing whether to continue or not, hoping they would and that Keith would drag him off to see the job they’d done in the morning. When he’d lived alone it wasn’t unusual for him to paint or remodel in the middle of the night when the whim took him. Keith was working hard to be a good dad, but to Lance, his boyfriend already was. The vampire hoped that his boyfriend knew he appreciated everything he did for the three of them, though maybe he’d make extra sure between the sheets come morning.

*  
Keith and Shiro didn’t sleep. Lance woke to find Keith’s side of their bed empty, more than once as he got up to pee then go back to bed. When it rolled around to being a semi decent time to climb up, he’d found both brothers conked out in the nursery. Keith asleep with his head on Shiro’s shoulder, paint rollers lying next to them. Carefully he lifted Shiro first, finding him much heavier than he thought he be as he carried him to his and Keith’s bed, because he knew his boyfriend would freak about him trying to carry Shiro downstairs. Coming back for Keith, he tucked both brothers in next to each other, then set the alarm on his phone for lunch time. Keith had roused a little in his arms, Lance stealing a kiss before assuring him he loved him and he needed a few hours of proper sleep.

Being the earliest riser came with one severe disadvantage. Nobody was awake to tell him not to go where he’d find something he really didn’t want to see. His kitchen looked as if a bomb had gone off. Blood smeared across the table and counters, his medication bottles smashed in the sink. Glasses randomly placed around the space, the window open, plates broke on the counter. The smell of so much blood sent his ego into overdrive as Lance held his stomach, gutted at the sight before him. Blue was shut in a cupboard, meowing mournfully until Lance gathered her out and into his arms. He’d checked on his way past the living room. Curtis seemed asleep, totally dead to the world and like there was no way he could have possibly been responsible for the mess. Lance couldn’t even try to blame it on raccoons, there weren’t any in the area, and Curtis’s scent hung so strongly in the air. 

How was he supposed to tell Curtis? Curtis was one of his best friends. He wanted everything to appear as normal as possibly, but what he’d woken up to left him crying as Blue to tried to escape his tears. He couldn’t deal with everything and have everything appearing normal by the time the others woke. Rieva and Matt would both be mad. Rieva probably madder than he’d ever seen her before. She’d taken on her own role as his protector. Her seeing the destruction caused would send her ego into a fit of rage he honestly feared. His best boy Kosmo hadn’t come to greet him, leaving him with a terrible fear something had been done to him.

Creeping into Matt and Rieva’s room, relief flooded him when he found Kosmo sleeping on the end of the bed. His fur son thudding his tail as he whined at him. Yeah. He got it. Curtis had accidentally scared their fur babies. For now it was safer to leave Kosmo there and Blue with him, despite not wanting to let his precious princess go. Placing Blue down, she let out a “rowr” as she raced across the floor then leapt light on the bed, immediately bunting into Kosmo’s boof head, happy to be reunited with her doggo. Closing the door almost silently, Lance kept his steps light, feeling like an intruder in his own home as he headed to his office.

Krolia had left the door unlocked, making access easy. Slipping into the room, Lance didn’t want to disturb her, but right now he needed someone vaguely more adult than him. His Mami had covered up plenty of times he’d lost his temper thanks to his ego, or thrown up in fear, or had torn through his room to make sure nothing bad was hiding in the shadows. Curtis wasn’t his child, yet he knew how broken hearted he’d be. Maybe acting like nothing was wrong was the wrong move? All he wanted to do was be a good friend.

Shaking Krolia’s shoulder, Krolia roused easily. Lance jumping back as the woman clutched at her chest  
“Holy fuck! Jesus, Lance... you scared the shit out of me”  
“I’m sorry... Krolia, I need your help... I think I fucked up”  
For a woman who’d just been shaken away and given a miniature heart attack as she was, Krolia was a zillion times better at waking up than Keith was. Instantly alert, she pushed back the blankets   
“Lance, are you okay?”  
There didn’t seem to be the right word to describe how unokay he felt. Her asking served to make him cry harder. The majority of his medication was ruined. He only had what was upstairs now, or what he’d left in his office.

Moving from the single bed, Krolia wrapped her arm around him  
“Whoa. You need to calm down... Whatever happened to make you so upset? Here, sit down and tell me”  
Lance shook his head. If he sat he’d only risk the chance of Curtis getting up for a glass of water and seeing the carnage  
“Can you come with me?”  
“Ive got to be honest, I’d rather you sit. You’re kind of scaring me”  
“I’m sorry. I don’t know who to ask and I need help right now”  
“Is it the twins? Are you in pain?”  
“It’s not... it’s easier to show you”  
“Okay, lead the way”

Returning to the kitchen, Krolia stalled in the doorway as Lance walked back into his messed up kitchen. Having been in there before, he didn’t think to check the floor, discovering the hard way that there were shattered bottles on the floor too. Whimpering at the unexpected pain, Krolia was by his side in a moment, pulling out the closest chair to force him to sit. Dropping a kiss on the top of his head, for a moment it felt like his Mami was the one there coming to his rescue   
“Stay here and don’t move. I’ll get my boots. Here, put this against your foot to stem the bleeding. Can you feel if there’s any glass still in there?”  
“I think it is”

Taking the tea towel from Krolia, Lance was thankful that he remained pretty flexible despite the lack of yoga he’d done of late. Pulling out the base of a broken vial from his foot, he threw it into the sink to join the rest before holding the tea towel over the wound. He’d have to tell Shiro about this. Shiro would be devastated too. Matt and Rieva must have had their noise cancelling headphones on and missed the sounds. He had no excuse. There’d been a time when the smallest sound would have woken him. Sleeping in a bed filled with Keith’s scent calmed his ego too much, now this was the price of it. To tell Shiro felt likes betrayal. He felt like that kid running to a teacher to dob in another kid over something that had happened some time ago. 

When Krolia came back, she draped one of the blankets from his bed over his shaking shoulders. The tears wouldn’t stop. His foot seemed a far cry pain wise when it came to the emotional pain he felt. His house was his haven. His safe place. A place he filled with love. Three times in the last 24 hours had that been disturbed, all by Curtis who couldn’t even help it. Things well and truly sucked. He needed to get up and help Krolia, but all he wanted to do was cry over the unfairness of the situation  
“I’ll start by sweeping the floor. Can I get you anything?”  
“I should help”  
“I’m not letting you help when you’re in no condition. I know you’ve had complications. For now you should work on settling your emotions”

Krolia was right. He knew his fangs were poking out and his nails clawed. She was right in all the ways he needed right now  
“Can... would you maybe please make me a cup of tea?”  
Krolia’s skills in the kitchen didn’t exist. He knew that, yet it wasn’t like she could go wrong. Mami always settled him down with a cup of tea. The liquid itself coming second to its scent, a scent he’d always associate with Coran and his mother  
“I can do that. You’ll have to tell me how you like it”  
“White, one sugar, please”  
“Okay”

There was more to that reply that went unsaid. Krolia would call Coran once the evidence was dealt with. He’d need to ask for more medication. Lance knew he was leaking pheromones all over the place, that the stress was bad for the pregnancy, yet Krolia didn’t seem to scent him. Keith would have been able to tell in an instant something was wrong from his scent alone. His body felt slightly flushed, but the deep heavy depressed feeling of the situation seemed to be currently squashing down those particular needs for now. Maybe he should be the one to call Coran? To explain things from his point of view so Coran wouldn’t be too harsh on Curtis. No. Coran wouldn’t be too hard on Curtis. Coran had probably seen so much worse in his long, long, life. His life and the life’s of their friends was probably just a drop in the ocean compared to everything Coran had done in his time.

“Here’s your tea. I’m starting to feel like a real mum. First Keith, and now you”  
Krolia seemed pleased as she passed Lance his tea, he’d been so in his head he’d barely noticed her make it  
“You talked to Keith?”  
“A bit. He was angsting over how to wake Shiro to talk to him”  
Lance stared down at his tea. Krolia had put the milk straight in so the colour was a sad off white. Still, he appreciated it as he breathed in deeply trying to focus on the scent of the tea instead of the blood   
“Oh. Yeah. He does that. He still says he’s bad with words... he’s really not. He’s just carrying the trauma still of when people dismissed him without listening. Sometimes he doesn’t know just how much he says with the things he doesn’t say”  
“He told me I wasn’t making sense”  
Lance could imagine. By default Krolia was quite brash, though she did have her secretive ways about her  
“I’m sorry for waking you up. I didn’t... I mean, I could have cleaned this place up, but... Did I do the right thing? Not making a fuss? Or did I hurt Curtis more by downplaying it”

Krolia hummed as she looked around at the mess  
“You were trying to help a friend”  
“I know. He did so much for me. He’s done so much for me. He tried to stand up protect me... I hate that he... that he probably hates himself so much right now. I know what it’s like to lose control of your body, but my pain isn’t his and I can’t understand his pain. It’s funny. I spent years alone. In the past this wouldn’t have bothered me. I would have cleaned it up and not said anything to anyone. I don’t know how to explain to Keith that I’m nearly out of medication again”  
“He’ll understand. He’s very understanding when it comes to you”  
“I know. I know I burden him by being like this”  
“Keith would be sad to hear that”  
“I know that too. I mean, I know being a carer is hard. Watching the person you care for change more and more each day”  
“Things well get better. I remember how hormonal I felt when pregnant with Keith. The worries of bring him into this world. The worries over my limitation of what I could do to protect him. His father was a mess. The slightest pain or discomfort and he panicked”

Lance snorted with a shake of his head. Like father like son. He loved Keith beyond measurable amounts and words. A single touch could settle his thoughts. A single smile left him all goopy inside. Absolutely anything Keith wanted, Lance wanted to be the one to give it to him. He wanted to continue to grow beside Keith. To nurture their relationship and grow with him. To face all the good and bad times together. He was now hiding one of those bad times from him. Keith needed rest, obviously. Falling asleep with Shiro beside him, the two must have had a good talk. If he told Keith later, he’d be upset he didn’t come to him right away, like how he hadn’t called when his sisters came to see him. The movies never showed how hard being with someone and planning to be with them forever was. Keith would get all moody when Lance pointed out that he needed the rest.

“Krolia, I’ll be back in a minute”  
He couldn’t hide this from Keith. Keith needed to know that Lance knew he could turn to him, no matter the situation. Shiro really needed Keith’s support right now, and it’d be better for Keith to know the truth before they told Shiro  
“Okay, but before you go, where’s the broom?”  
“In the laundry. The dust pan is there too”  
“Alrighty. You leave this to me. Wow, I even sound like a proper mother”  
Krolia was a proper mother in her own way. She was certainly filling in the gaps of longing for maternal comfort after Mami passed in her own special Krolia way  
“You are a proper mother. I won’t be too long”

Trudging up the stairs, Lance cursed them mentally. Today there seemed to be twice as many as there actually were, his back complaining as he straightened up, before promptly half slouching, trying to find that sweet spot where his muscles didn’t want to spasm. Yeah, he was round for his weekage. He felt he seemed rounder than Google showed he should be, but as long as that wasn’t hurting the twins he’d have to bare with it. Shuffling to his room, he found Keith and Shiro where he’d left them. Anxiety over what to say bubbled up, but now he’d made his mind up to tell Keith, he couldn’t turn and head back down those damn stairs empty handed.

Opting to sit on the bed next to his boyfriend, Lance stole a kiss. Keith looked so peaceful, adding to the guilt he already felt about waking him. Opting against shaking him awake and making him panic, Lance nuzzled into Keith’s cheek, pressing kisses to the soft skin brushing against his lips  
“Babe, babe, I need you to wake up for me”

Keith was horrible at waking up, unless he either woke up naturally or he woke up with Lance straddling his lap for morning kisses and something more if they were in the mood  
“Babe, please. I need you to wake up now”  
Nosing a little harder, his boyfriend groaned at him sleepily  
“Keith, I need you to wake up for me”  
“Sleeeping”  
“I know. I know but I need you to get up like right now”  
The next groan Keith gave had no English translation   
“I know. I need your help”

That seemed to work. Confused purple eyes squinting at him as Lance pulled back enough that Keith could see his face  
“Babe?”  
“Something happened. I need you to come with me”  
“Wha... babies?”  
Right. Keith had no clue why his precious sleep was being disturbed  
“No. No, I’m okay. I just... I really need you to come with me right now”  
“Whaaa... Shiro?”  
Lance had the unfair advantage of knowing about the shit storm in his kitchen, that and being more awake than asleep   
“He’s right here in bed, but... he can’t see this”  
“Your scent... somethings...”  
Yeah. His scent was doing its own thing, his eyes were filled with tears and the position hurt his back. Lance already knew he was far from fighting form  
“I’ll explain, but... it’s easier to show you... I... I need you to come with me”

Getting Keith moving, his boyfriend was more of a hazard than the damn stairs. His boyfriend tripping on his own feet, leading Lance to catch him as he half leapt down, whimpering as his feet his the floor. With the shock shooting straight up his back, and his healing foot that he’d kind of half forgotten from his back pain, the landing was about as rad as the mess waiting. Yeah. Have a baby they said. It’ll all work out, they said. They didn’t warn him about all the hard work in the middle of it all  
“Babe?”  
Lance was holding Keith to hold himself up far more than Keith was holding him for the same reason  
“I’m okay... my back’s sore, but I need to show you”  
“You’re making me worried”

For Keith to have such a grasp on the English language his boyfriend must be internally freaking. Lance hadn’t exactly eased any of his worries  
“I’m okay... physically, I’m okay. It’s Krolia... something happened. Not to her, but she’s helping and I... I need you right now”  
Straightening himself, Keith moved from his side to standing in front of him. Moving to cup Lance’s cheek, it was more like a light slap as Keith sleepily tried to coordinate himself  
“Babe, you’re worrying me. Just... tell me what happened”  
“Curtis... he... well, it’s easier if I show you. It’s in the kitchen. Everyone’s alright, but... I’m... kind of... right now I need you to help me out because I’m out of my depth”  
Keith’s “galaxy eyes” softened, nodding immediately   
“Okay. Whatever it is, it’ll be okay”  
“I really hope so... try not to freak out too much. The others are sleeping”

Keith went in front of him, Lance bumping into him when his boyfriend suddenly stopped  
“What the fuck?!”  
Lance flinched. Yeah. This wasn’t good. Not only was Keith blinded by the kitchen lights, he was forced to see pretty much the same things Lance had... other than the floor. Krolia hadn’t done a bad job of sweeping up the worst of it. Taking a deep breath, all his words came out like word vomit, seeking reassurance that he’d done the right thing by waking Keith and Krolia for help  
“I woke up and the kitchen was like this. I didn’t want to wake you up but I didn’t want to hide this from you and I didn’t want you to feel like I was hiding things. I know you barely slept, and I know I woke mum up first, but I... This is my fault and I... I kind of really need you to help because I’m too freaked to adult right now”

“Keith! We meet again. Make yourself useful and get Lance sitting down again. Then you can start on the table while I start on sink”  
Right. Blood on his table... Krolia seemed happy to have a helper that wasn’t him. It seemed his boyfriend had bonded more with Krolia during whatever talk they’d had. Lance had his own questions for Krolia, namely did she know about the ring box Keith kept in his drawer and what the fuck it meant for their relationship. Lance thought they’d agreed to wait, now had this additional little voice in his head telling him he should snoop and find out more. Having his boyfriend in the same space calmed his ego, letting him refocus on what needed to happen next  
“You need to be careful getting blood out of wood. It would have already stained. Grab some paper towels to mop it up, then we’ll need to clean up what’s left as carefully as possible. We can cover the stain with a table cloth”  
“Oh, great thinking! You really did snag a great man. Lance, I want you to sit back down again and finish that cup of tea. You’re still in shock”

He had to admit that he most certainly was still in shock. Keith sighing heavily as he looked to the floor  
“Am I going to get glass in my feet?”  
“Like Lance did? He really should be off his feet right now”  
As Keith turned to him, Lance raised his hands in surrender  
“I know. I’ll sit. I got the glass out and tossed it in the sink...”  
“Why was there glass on the floor to begin with?”  
Moving his left hand to the back of his head, he scratched his hair nervously   
“Uh, well, you know...”  
“Curtis smashed his medication”  
“He did what?!”

Dobbed in by Krolia, Keith was instantly furious at the news. Lance had been trying to figure the right way to ease into the conversation, this was not it  
“I have a few vials... you should probably leave the ones in the sink. My blood’s in there and we can’t risk infection”  
“Right now I don’t give a fuck. Go back to bed, babe. We’ll fucking deal with this”  
“But you’ve been up all night painting”  
“And we’ll deal with this right now. Go lay down”  
Lance was kind of unimpressed  
“I can help”  
“Babe, seriously, I’m about to lose my temper. You need that medication and he fucking knows if”  
Bursting into tears again, Lance wept for his friend  
“He can’t help it. You’ve seen what happens when I act out of ego. Hating him for this is as good as hating me”

Keith sighed, Lance drawn against him as his boyfriend kissed his hair, before relying  
“I don’t hate him. I’m mad at the situation. This isn’t what I wanted to wake up to, but I’m glad you came and got me”  
“I wanted you to know I rely on you. That I know I can rely on you”  
“I know, babe. Can you please let me and mum handle this?”  
“I can help. This is my house”  
“I know it is, but this isn’t our first time cleaning up blood. You resting right now, is going to help me concentrate on getting this cleaned up”  
“I don’t want to be a burden”  
“Babe, you’re not a burden. I don’t want to lash out and I don’t want to say something to hurt you. Why don’t you wait in the office until we’re done? I promise I’ll come get you when this is cleaned up”  
“But...”  
“Babe, please?”

Lance couldn’t say no to Keith asking. He felt completely useless. He wanted Curtis to be happy. He wanted Keith to understand. He knew how Keith got when he was cranky, that meant he wanted to be there for him to help him through those feelings. But, if he was in the way...   
“Okay. I trust you”  
“And I love you”  
“I love you, too. I’ll be in the office. I’m not up for the stairs right now”  
In the office he could listen to what was happening. He’d have to content himself with that   
“Okay. This shouldn’t take long. Then I’ll come cuddle the fuck out of you”  
“You do give the best cuddles”  
“I thought Hunk did?”  
“Mmm... but you’re cuddles are different. I feel bad I woke you”  
“You did the right thing. Now go rest, and don’t think I haven’t forgotten about your foot. I want to take a look at that too”  
“Okay... Thank you”  
“You’re welcome”

Closing the door to the office, Lance locked it behind him. Should Curtis wake up and attempt something, he didn’t know how he’d handle the idea of having to fight his friend. His instincts were such a mess that instead of standing up for himself, his body was telling him to put as much space between him and his friend as he could do nothing could happen to the twins. Sitting on the bed seemed to have an immediate effect. Lance moving to curl up under the covers. He missed his bed with all the blankets and the sense of security they brought, for now though, this was all he could do to feel safe.


	167. Chapter 167

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sighs deeply... I miss my phone

167

Having Coran come, both Lance and Curtis were now asleep on the sofa. With a little quintessence manipulation, Curtis was asleep in moments, Coran feeling it the best option in light of his episode during the night. Lance’s quintessence had been manipulated too, though Coran had done that for pain reasons. Massaging Lance’s lower back, the sounds the vampire made verged on pornographic as the pain was eased leaving Lance falling asleep naturally against him. Keith cuddling him close, knowing he was going to be sad about Curtis leaving with Shiro and Coran after what Lance would deem a short visit. It was enough to make a man’s head ache, though that might also be due to a lack of sleep and paint fumes from getting a bit carried away with his brother and their quest for perfectly painted walls.

Sitting on the coffee table, Shiro had his head in his hands. Matt hadn’t teased him at all, and without Matt’s teasing things felt tense. Keith wished he knew how to break the tension, yet he also knew Shiro might just snap if one of them tried to. Rieva had gone for a run to work off her anger over the situation. Like him, she wasn’t so much mad at Curtis, just more shocked none of them had heard him make such a mess. The blood had stained, ruining Lance’s kitchen table. Lance assured him it’d happened before and he’d take care of it, but they wouldn’t have to take care of it if the demon wasn’t so close to the surface thanks to fucking Honerva. She was just the gift that kept on giving, even from the grave.

Curtis blamed himself entirely, yet remembered nothing about being in the kitchen and destroying anything. Krolia had it from Lance, but everything in the fridge had been coated with blood, the only things surviving were the things inside the containers. Forgetting that she’d made Lance a cup of tea, his boyfriend was spared as Keith’s caffeine-deprived brain had him scull back the tea. It wasn’t until he’d drained the mug that he found it was both tea and salt had been added instead of sugar. His mother needed reading lessons from what he could tell. The sugar lived in the sugar canister that clearly read “Sugar”. She would have had to move away from the sugar to find the cooking salt in the spice rack. Keith couldn’t be completely angry at her. She’d totally stepped up. Calmly they’d cleaned the kitchen too as close to Lance’s standards as they could get it, happily pottering around in a way that reminded him of Mami. When he thought like that, it only made sense that Lance would turn to her for maternal comfort. Part of him absolutely hated cleaning up Curtis’s mess, but for him to be there doing it really did show him that Lance could turn to him and that’s all he wanted.

“We should leave”  
Shiro’s words hurt. His brother sounded defeated. Manipulating Curtis’s quintessence had been at Curtis’s request. The man didn’t trust himself to be awake, though Lance kept trying to tell him that these things happen. Matt backed him up over how easy it was to let your ego slip and do something you didn’t mean to, but for Curtis, it seemed to be the ultimate betrayal to ever do anything against Lance. Lance hadn’t had the best start with Curtis, they both thought the other one hated them and Keith clearly remembered how upset that made his boyfriend. Now the pair were as thick as thieves. They’d both tried to protect each other in an impossible situation. A situation he still hadn’t brought any closer to a resolution for Lance as he still hadn’t let him go to the house. 

Maybe it was the time with his mum spent cleaning, but it stirred up the memory of his first kill. He’d wanted to go back. He’d forgotten about it seeing how many times he’d had to kill since. Or maybe it was the way Lance looked at his kitchen once it’d been cleaned, relief like a burden lifted making his boyfriend smile.

“I think that is a very good idea number one. To think the demon would act so violently in the presence of kin. Had I known, I would have come myself with you”  
Keith didn’t get the “kin” bit. Was it because demons came from hell and Lance had a close connection with the darkness and death? Sighing to himself more than anything, he replied   
“You didn’t. None of us did. Look, Lance gets it, and if he wasn’t pregnant I would be okay with you guys staying... but when I think about him hurting Lance I can’t. Not just because of Lance and our twins, but because Curtis would never forgive himself. I’m sorry, Shiro. You’ve been so patient with Lance...”  
“I get it. I wouldn’t want a demon around my pregnant boyfriend either”

Shiro sounded bitter, Keith’s heart hurting a fresh for his brother   
“It’s not... you guys are never not welcome here. Curtis isn’t in a good place mentally and I don’t want him going through something worse. Coran, will the summoning still happen?”  
“Three days time. I’ve cleared the lowest level of VOLTRON. The seals and charms are in place, yet there’s an ingredient or two that are still brewing”  
“Can we be there?”  
Coran shook his head  
“I’m sorry. The only ones allowed in the chamber will be Allura, myself, Curtis and Shiro”  
His brother hadn’t told him that bit  
“Shiro?”  
“He will anchor Curtis’s soul to the realm as the demon is summoned. For someone like you and Lance to be there would upset your bonds with each other. You may stay on an upper floor during the summoning, but I cannot allow you down to that level”  
“Is that because you keep saying Lance and I are soulmates?”  
“Yes. Your souls are so tightly linked it is very remarkable. I do not take manipulating his quintessence today lightly. Even though it alleviated his pain, there is still a slight disturbance. You surely noticed the physical changes you have gone through by his side”  
“The physical?”  
“Increased stamina. Overly protective. You notice his scent that others would miss. The love you share is woven down to the base of your very being. All of you are remarkably connected with your quintessence. Even you Shiro. The demon’s own quintessence is leaking freely. We will grasp it by this quintessence and pull it into our plain before banishment to the demon realm”

Hang on  
“Is it safe to do that? Won’t Shiro be hurt?”  
Coran huffed, hand coming up to brush his long orange hair back from his face with a smirk  
“A low-level demon holds nothing against a fae”  
Did Coran just totally brag about being a fae? Keith didn’t know what to say about that. Coran was cooky and hooky, but all he ever bragged about was Allura and Lance... and his adventures in his youth  
“No need to stare, number two! We’ll get this pesky demon dealt with, then start planning the wedding!”  
“Who’s wedding? What?”  
“Shiro’s and Curtis’s of course! Now, we really should leave. I estimate Curtis won’t rouse for several more hours, plenty of time to get located in VOLTRON, all nice and snug as a bug. Oh, I have something for Lance the next time you two pop in!”

Coran stated Shiro’s sudden upcoming wedding with such certainty that Shiro gaped at him. Keith felt like saying “Welcome to the club”, where all their friends were off in la-la land and people suddenly got married after ridiculously short spans of dating. Instead, the hunter carefully shook Lance’s shoulder  
“Babe, Shiro and Curtis are leaving. You wanna say bye, right?”  
Lance nodded as he yawned. His boyfriend tangling himself in the blanket as he moved suddenly to hug Shiro, half falling off the sofa as he did. Sucking his lips in, Keith bit the top one lightly to keep from laughing as Lance all but climbed up Shiro’s legs before wrapping his arms around his waist. Shiro’s expression was a kind of resigned sigh if a sigh could be an expression   
“Lance?”  
“He’ll be alright... I’m not mad at him, but if you need anything you better call me or I’m going to be sad”

Shiro’s moves were jerky as he placed his hand on Lance’s shoulder  
“I’m sorry...”  
“Don’t you dare apologise. He didn’t mean to and I won’t have anyone saying he did on purpose. We’re a pack and our pack mate just needs a little more attention right now”  
Shiro tilted his head, Keith snorting at his brother who seemed a few moments behind as his brain short-circuited over “wedding”  
“He means we’re family. And family rely on each other. He’s right though. If you don’t ask for help or call me, I’m throwing all your bobbleheads out”

That got Shiro kicked into gear. Sliding his hand down, his brother leaned forward to hug Lance the best he could  
“Thank you”  
“Curtis is “Dude-bro” for life. So are you. I wish you guys could have stayed longer, but right now Curtis can’t handle the stress and paranoia. Make sure you tell him I won’t watch any of our shows without him. We’re going to have a marathon once that demon fucks off”  
Shiro chuckled  
“I’ll be sure to”  
“And make sure he knows that I’m not mad. I know I told him and I’ll keep telling him, but it’s really important you remind him that none of us are. I know from personal experience”  
“I’ll make sure he knows”  
“And make sure you eat. And shower. And sleep. And call Keith. Like three times a day”  
Lance was getting bossy in all the right ways. His tone taking on the tone he usually used when scolding them for their misbehaviour  
“I will. You make sure you get some rest”  
“I’m gonna. Gonna make Keith take a nap too. I want to work on the nursery with you guys properly... and get photos of uncle Shiro hard at work”  
“Sounds good, kiddo. We’ll see you in a few days”  
“I really wish you didn’t have to go”  
“I know. Next time we’ll stay longer”  
“Good. Okay, babe, I think I’m stuck between your brother’s legs”

That wasn’t happening. Lance was his boyfriend and he wasn’t sharing. Shuffling forward on the sofa, Keith pulled on Lance’s shoulders, Lance letting himself be pulled up as he put a little vampire strength in it, winding up in Keith’s lap suddenly. Leaning back, Lance sighed at him  
“Sorry. My strength is playing up again”  
“Don’t be sorry. Aren’t you going to say goodbye to the others?”  
“Yeah. Thanks for coming out Coran, and Krolia, thanks for helping with the kitchen. You’re welcome to come stay any time you want to”  
“Don’t tell her that, she might never leave”  
Lance giggled at him. His boyfriend was definitely the wrong side of sleepy  
“That’s okay with me. She’s part of our pack too. And so’s Coran”  
Patting Lance’s leg, Keith felt he should probably be polite   
“I know. Let me up and I’ll show them to the door”  
“No need, number two. We’ll see ourselves out. Make sure you two take it easy. You’ll be back at work next week, and I’m afraid you’ll have to hit the ground running”  
Keith groaned deeply. Work. Ugh. Lance shook his head at him  
“None of that. I’m proud of you, babe. The world needs a hot grizzled manly hunter out there”

With his heart going stupid, Keith blushed hard. Mouth opening and closing as he didn’t know what to say. He was having a thought and having a thought that meant having to do a thing that wasn’t doing the do. He just knew it felt like the right thing to do... but first he needed to do the sleep. 

*  
“Baaaaabe. Babe, wake up...”  
Scrunching his eyes tightly closed, Keith tried not to be awake. He’d been awake with his eyes closed for a little while now. Hand resting on Lance’s belly as his boyfriend kissed his cheek. Tomorrow was the doing day. Feeling Lance’s hand slide down to his underwear, being awake didn’t seem like such a bad idea anymore. Wrapping his arm around Lance, he hugged his boyfriend close, Lance laughing softly at him   
“Having fun?”  
“Mmm... I want to suck your dick. But only if you’re down for that”  
“I think I’m up for that”

They’d both felt down with Shiro, Curtis, Krolia, and Coran leaving. Rieva apologised for her aggression, but the mood kind of felt sombre all day. Writing off the day they’d gotten pizza from Sal’s before both couples curled up in the living room for some mindless TV in the middle of the night. The following morning Lance was on the phone to Hunk when Keith finally forced himself out of bed. Somehow the pair had managed to spend the last two hours on the phone. Hunk had everything explained to him, Lance’s mood much better for it. Their walking ray of sunshine had brought comfort food, the day spent having some seriously serious gaming in which Lance took no prisoners murdering zombies, while Keith seemed to only get himself murdered in-game. Keith knew most of it was for his benefit, seeing he really couldn’t stop thinking about Shiro, and appreciated the thought. Thinking about what he had planned, Keith had coaxed Lance to bed early, now he seemed to be paying the price.

Smiling at him, Lance moved to straddle his waist. Normally he was the one initiating things when Lance wasn’t in heat, but Lance could be a horny little shit and he loved when he was. God. This was most definitely the best way to wake up. Moving his hands to his boyfriend’s hips, Lance leaned down to kiss him, Keith having to lean up thanks to his boyfriend’s belly. Deciding three quick pecks were enough, his boyfriend drew back with a smirk. Running his finger down Keith’s chest, Lance pouted at him  
“Babe, if I told you you had a nice body, would you hold it against me?”  
“I don’t know... Are you a parking ticket? Because you’ve got fine written all over you”  
“I hope you know CPR, you’re taking my breath away”  
“Babe, you’re already dead”

Lance sighed as he shook his head, that pout coming back   
“Here I was trying to be alluring. Now you’re saying I’m a stiff with a stiffy?”  
“Yep... but your arse is seriously out of this world”  
“Keep that up and you’re going the right way for a spanked bottom, Keith Kogane”  
Raising an eyebrow, he could kind of support that  
“Do you promise?”  
“What am I going to do with you?”  
“Suck me off?”  
“Maybe I’ll eat you out... take my time to enjoy this meal beneath me”  
“Oh, so now I’m a snack?”  
“I’ll snack on you!”

Leaning down, Lance bared his fangs. Keith laughing as his boyfriend pretended to be a mindless vampire, nomming at thin air  
“Babe! Babe... I thought you wanted to be sexy”  
Pulling back, Lance nodded at him. Keith trying to compose himself   
“I do. I’ve wanted to do this for a while now”  
“What?”  
“This. Us. You beneath me...”  
Oh. Keith blinked, not sure he was getting what Lance wasn’t saying. Did his boyfriend want to fuck him and was settling with sucking him off? Or was Lance content with sucking him off? He didn’t bottom because he didn’t enjoy the sensation. Lance was pretty content bottoming... more than content, yet he also knew his boyfriend had other needs. Not to just be fucked but to be the one doing the fucking. That’s why the pocket pussy lived within hands reach. It was their compromise. Silently agreed upon to help Lance cope with his vampire ego’s desire to be on top.

“Babe, there’s no need to look so confused. If you’re not into it, that’s fine”  
“No. No... I’m definitely into it, and I’d like to be in you... I just... Do you want me to do anything?”  
His words failed to say what he wanted them to say  
“I want to touch you. That’s what I want”  
“But what about you?”  
“I want tonight to be about you. I want you to fall apart and I want to taste you...”

Keith liked it when pleasure was a two-way street. Sometimes it was about just scratching that itch, yet even then they never left each other wanting. He didn’t feel ashamed in loving Lance, nor ashamed of loving Lance. Unlike Coran, he couldn’t believe in soulmates. But he did believe that Lance was the only one he wanted for the rest of his life. And shit if his brainpower hadn’t shorted out at his boyfriend’s words  
“I better not keep you waiting then”  
“Thanks for the meal!”  
His boyfriend was an idiot.

His boyfriend was an idiot with a very skilled mouth... and Keith was an idiot lost to his skills. Tearing off Keith’s underwear, literally, Lance hooked his legs over his shoulders and buried himself between them without a moment's hesitation. Lance might be a good God-fearing vampire, but the things he did were utterly sinful. Starting off by sucking him, Keith moaned as Lance hollowed his cheeks, taking him right to the base like he was born to. His lover’s hands on his legs, lulling him into total bliss before his eyes were shooting wide at the thumb rubbing against his opening. Chuckling around his dick, his boyfriend pulled off leaving a trail of saliva and precum the tip of Keith erection to Lance’s perfect little lips  
“Relax for me, baby. I’m going to eat you out”  
That didn’t require a thumb there. For a moment Keith wondered if he should maybe be ashamed with his legs hanging open, leaving everything on display... but this was Lance, who’d seen it all before. With a single stiff nod of permission, his boyfriend smiled down at him  
“Don’t worry, babe. I’m going to eat you out then suck you off for dessert. You taste so fucking good... just relax for me and let me take care of you... look at you... you’re so damn beautiful, babe”

Fisting their sheets, Keith lost it. The heat pooled in his belly was bordering painful. His dick dribbling precum that pooled at the bend of his body. Lance’s tongue working the taunt rim of his opening, no where he ever expected to enjoy a tongue so much. The pleasure building so badly that he knew a single touch against his straining erection would have him coming apart. This was what Lance did to him. He drew out all his deepest carnal desires and stripped his human form to that of the hungry beast inside. Damn... that tongue... he didn’t care that Lance’s teeth would occasionally press against his skin when that tongue was magical  
“Babe... fuck... I want to come”

The hunger in Lance’s eyes sent a shiver down his spine as his boyfriend pulled back  
“You can come any time you want”  
He was wired too, but that wiring wasn’t quite there with being eaten out tonight. Underneath the fog in his brain, he kept thinking about Lance’s needs. His wishes... how maybe if his tongue felt so fucking good that he could cry, then maybe something bigger wouldn’t be bad  
“I want you...”  
“You want me to do what?”  
“Touch me more...”  
Lance nodded, moving Keith’s legs apart a little more before sinking his mouth back over Keith’s dick. Keith’s hand shot to grab Lance by the hair. The muscles of his inside thighs and stomach jumping and twitching as he tried not to come  
“Not like that... in me... I want to... try”

Lance backed off completely. Keith’s orgasm still so damn close that it hurt, but his boyfriend’s behaviour had him confused. Did Lance not want to try... that?  
“Babe?”  
“Sorry... I’m... you want to...?”  
“I know you get urges too...”  
Those were the wrong words. Lance immediately frowning at him. Why did his scent have to be damn addictive? And so very telling?  
“I want to make you feel good... I don’t want you forcing yourself because you somehow think I want it”  
“It’s not that... I think I want to try that again with you”

Lance didn’t seem convinced. Running his hands down Keith’s thighs, the movement nearly pushed him to come  
“Not tonight. Tonight is about you”  
“I think...”  
“No more thinking. Let me make you come”  
“But...”  
“I know what you like, babe. Let me make you come in my mouth”  
Shifting back, Lance lifted his legs again, sinking down around Keith’s erection with his eyes closed. He only got as far as drawing back before Keith was coming. Orgasm smashing through him as his toes curled as he grunted in pleasure. 

Sucking him dry, Lance used his tongue to make sure he was completely clean before lowering his shaking legs. Climbing up to slump beside him, Keith’s chest heaved as he caught his breath, totally ready for a nap now. Staring at the ceiling, his left hand came up rest on his chest, heart racing like he’d run a marathon  
“Shit... that... mouth of yours...”  
Lance snorted at him, his baby bump pressing against the hunter’s arm. His bump... he loved that bump  
“Feel good?”  
“Criminally”  
Lance sighed lightly as he kissed Keith’s shoulder  
“I love you. You’re the most beautiful man I’ve ever met”

Moving his arm, Keith wasn’t sure what he was trying to do with it seeing it was trapped against him. His hand brushed over Lance’s tenting sweats, but his boyfriend didn’t react   
“Lay back...”  
“‘Nah, I’m okay like this”  
Lance was turning down a blow job? Not to brag but his boyfriend loved his blow jobs  
“Babe...?”  
“Not tonight. Tonight I wanted to touch you”  
“Maybe I want to touch you?”  
“It’s fine. I want to snuggle with you”

Okay. He could snuggle... he could also down a litre of water right about now. He was thirsty as heck  
“I’m thirsty... I don’t know if my legs are going to hold me up”  
“I can get you some water... I don’t mind. Actually, hold on and I’ll be right back”  
Walking around with an erection didn’t feel great. Keith had plenty of experience with that... as Lance moved away from him, Keith propped himself up. He didn’t want to force Lance into anything, but he didn’t know why he didn’t want him to touch him too. His lover hadn’t even taken his pants off. Even when Keith’s lavished attention on Lance’s body, his boyfriend then insisted on lavishing him as much in return... unless he’d fallen asleep right after coming. Now he had a conundrum and no dust bunnies to run the wheel until a logical thought was churned out.

Coming back to bed, Lance smiled at him as he passed him the glass of water. Keith had heard the toilet flush, his boyfriend never got a break from having to pee  
“Thanks, babe”  
“You’re welcome”  
Leaning over, Lance kissed his forehead. Keith very much nakedly on display, yet Lance wasn’t looking. Getting up from the side of the bed, his boyfriend walked around, rather than simply climbing over him to get to his side. Pulling the covers up, he left Keith to cool. Still heated and sweaty from being blown into the next dimension. Wriggling himself into place, Lance wrapped his arm around him. 

Placing the glass on the bedside table, Keith slid down into his spot, kissing the top of Lance’s head  
“You good, babe?”  
“Mhmm... brushed my teeth”  
Lance tilted his head up, blowing across Keith’s face, before nuzzling into his chest  
“See, minty fresh”  
“I can tell... you sure you’re okay?”  
“Mhmm...”

Keith tried to let it slide, but he couldn’t  
“Babe... why didn’t you want to do me?”  
Lance sighed at him, fingers sliding up to sit lightly curled on Keith’s stomach  
“I wanted to make you feel good. You don’t like bottoming and that’s okay”  
“But I wanted to try it”  
“And I wanted to focus on making you feel good... did I not make you feel good?”  
Shit. Abort. Things were going sideways  
“No. No, babe. It felt very very good. It felt so good that I thought maybe I wouldn’t mind something bigger”  
“Mmm, I know one finger is your limit... I don’t mind”  
“But you didn’t want me to...”  
“Keith, I love you. I love you and I’m sleepy. I wanted to touch you. I wanted to make you feel every bit as loved as you are”  
“But I love sucking your dick”  
Lance sighed at him again. “Eloquence” his middle name. Frustratingly loving boyfriends were frustrating  
“Maybe I wanted to touch you, and wanted to make you feel good beneath me”  
“That sounds kind of like you wanted to”  
“Then you’re hearing wrong. I love you”  
Okay. Lance was lucky he was ready for a nap or they’d totally be talking about this  
“I love you, too”


	168. Chapter 168

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo my new phone should be here next weeeeeeek

168

When Keith woke Lance wasn’t in their bed. Dragging himself out of bed seemed like so much effort when his boyfriend wasn’t there to latch onto. Stumbling to the bathroom, he re-emerged as sleepy as ever a few minutes later, Lance wasn’t in there and all he wanted was his morning cuddles.

Navigating his way downstairs, the smell of pancakes was in the air. Pancakes and coffee. Lance didn’t like the smell of coffee anymore, but he did seem to be throwing up less so that was a win. Making for the kitchen, he ignore Matt and Rieva as he wrapped his arms around Lance, nuzzling into his shoulder as boyfriend laughed  
“Good morning, sleepyhead”  
“Mhnmb”  
Turning to kiss his hair, his boyfriend was cooking on the stovetop. Keith knew for safety reasons he should let go, but cuddles  
“I know. Your coffees on the table. These’ll be done in a minute”  
“Mmm”

Remaining latched to Lance, his boyfriend turned the stovetop off, moving he fry pan out the way before directing Keith to sit, a kiss pressed to his lips, then to his hair  
“Drink your coffee, babe”  
“Coffee...”  
“Yep. Pidge and Hunk already said they’d be over soon. Something about you planning something?”  
“Mmm...”  
Letting out another affectionate laugh, Lance moved behind him, looping his arms around him as kissing his hair  
“It’s okay, you don’t have to human yet”

Two coffees later and he could do the brain. Matt and Rieva were making plans for a date night, which suited Keith just fine. He had ideas of his own, namely talking to Lance about what happened last night. He kind of felt bad melting with pleasure when he hadn’t returned the favour. And if Lance was having impulse control issues, and did want to... well... he wanted to know. Even if it’d have to wait all day thanks to his plans. Tomorrow they’d be going to Platt, to be there for Curtis and Shiro, but Lance had no idea that he wanted to take him there today for a totally different reason that he’d organised with Pidge and Hunk.

When their friends arrived, Keith headed back upstairs. Sitting on their bed, he opened their drawer of toys, pulling out the smallest butt plug they had. His butt clenched at the idea of it, but he wanted to want this for Lance who was already doing so much as it was. His mind was made up. How uncomfortable could one small plug be?

The answer turned out to be a lot. Touching himself in the shower, it didn’t feel as good as when Lance touched him. He loved Lance’s touches. Hands that could kill showed him such love, and warmth, despite Lance’s naturally cold body temperature. Pushing the plug in place. Keith grit his teeth as his body tried to nope at the intrusion. Lance’s tongue and fingers were far better than the cold toy, but if today went the way he wanted he wanted to surprise his boyfriend.

*  
Lance was confused. Keith had come down from showering seeming uncomfortable. He hadn’t thought he’d hurt his boyfriend the previous night, yet the slightest slouch had Keith shooting back up straight. The more he pondered it, the less he got it. Maybe the angle from eating Keith out had irritated his boyfriend’s back? Then shouldn’t he have been showing symptoms as he clung to him? Then there was the fact the whole drive Keith seemed to be squirming. A drive he was clueless over. If something had happened with Curtis than Keith should have told him... If they were visiting Mami, he didn’t know why his boyfriend was being so secretive about it... and he didn’t know why Pidge and Hunk were being suspiciously quiet about the trip. He’d seen them exchanging glances in the rearview mirror, both looked concerned. When they hit the city Pidge started giving Keith directions, there seemed to be a clear location in his boyfriend’s mind, but he had no idea what and couldn’t rid himself of the deep frown on his face. He just didn’t get why he was the last one to know what was happening.

Pulling up in front of a very run-down house, Keith let out a heavy sigh as he turned off the car. Lance holding his tongue as stared up at the place. The vibe from the street was awful. The yard chocked with weeds in various stages of life and death. Thick boards had been nailed to the windows both inside and up, with graffiti spotted across the front. Please for the love of God, don’t tell him Keith had bought a house  
“Babe. I... Okay...”  
Now Keith had his heart sinking. Lance could only pray harder that Keith hadn’t bought the house. He hated it. He didn’t even want to know what could have been going through his boyfriend’s mind when it came to the place. They had a perfectly good house as it was.

Keith took a deep breath, before letting it out slowly  
“Okay. Okay. I know I shouldn’t have sprung this on you, but... I was thinking and... this is the house”  
He could see it was a house. He had two very much working eyes. He hadn’t been wearing his glasses as much, but he did have a spare set in the glove box. What did Keith expect him to say? In the back, Pidge let out a sigh over Lance’s not answering immediately   
“Keith, you’ve got to tell him properly. Lance, this is the house Sendak kept you guys in. Keith said you wanted to see it, so I pulled up the data about it. If you don’t want to go in, you don’t have to. Honestly, I think this is a terrible idea but he seemed to think you needed this”

Oh thank God for that. Wait. Keith had brought him to the house. Keith who would rather burn the whole thing down and never go near the place again, had brought him here  
“This... house?”  
Reaching over, Keith took his hand in his. His thumb rubbing the back of Lance’s hand  
“I’m sorry. I know... we don’t have to go in if you don’t want to. If you’re not ready, that’s okay too”  
So that was why Keith was being weird? He was worrying over him? This... he’d been completely blindsided by this. This was that house. No wonder he loathed it already. He felt sick at the thought of stepping foot in there, but he’d wanted this for so long, and he was safe with Keith there  
“No. I want to see it”  
“Okay. We’ll take it slow and go at your pace. If you want to leave at any time at all, I’m not going to be mad. You don’t have to worry about that. Don’t push yourself”  
“I know”

Pidge had lifted the key from work, letting them into the musty space. She said she lifted it, but knowing her she would have asked Coran for it, rather than risk her brand new job which she seemed to love. Not that Lance doubted she would. She had access to cutting edge technology and Coran would be happy to provide her with anything she needed writhing reason. Leaning against Keith, Keith held his hand firmly as Pidge turned the key. The security was laughable, then again, a bunch of vampires could easily overpower any foe that came knocking. Immediately the scent of mould and blood wafted out the house, Lance covering his nose  
“Babe?!”  
“I’m okay. Let the house air a moment, it needs it”

He needed a moment too. Death lingered on the property, Narti not the only one to die there. Pulling out her camera, Pidge fiddled with it, Keith scolding her  
“This isn’t a hunt, Pidge. We don’t need the camera”  
Pidge looked to Lance who gave a nod  
“It’s not for us. It’s for the others”  
“Coran said not to touch anything, and if you get a weird feeling to leave. There’s supposed to be traces of magic here”  
That didn’t surprise Lance at all. Sendak was a giant arsehole who’d stop at nothing when it came to having more power. Plus, he’d kept Lotor’s witches relatively subdued  
“Let Keith go first. I don’t hear anything, but I don’t want to take any chances”

Plunging into the house, Lance kept his arms around himself in a self hug. The place was freezing. Evil seemed to ooze from the walls themselves. Built across two above-ground levels, they went up first. Lance taking it nearly as slow as Hunk who seemed ready to faint on the spot. Catching himself remembering what happened, his breathing hitched at the memories of Curtis being hurt and the way Sendak snapped his arm like it was nothing   
“Lance?”  
“It’s okay... I need to see this place”  
Keith didn’t seem convinced, but he did fall back to Lance’s side  
“Remember, as slow as you need. And if you need to go, that’s okay too”  
“I need this”

Finding the room he’d been held in nearly broke him. Without the presence of others in the house the room seemed so thoroughly depressing. He could make out the marks where his chains had rubbed. The bed looked as tiny as he remembered it. There was blood on the wall where Lotor had been chained up   
“They kept me up here... with the others... They gave me food and blood pills, so I wouldn’t go crazy but I wouldn’t have any strength either. Zethrid made it bearable. She kept making jokes, and really seemed to like my hair... but all I wanted was to come home”

As his knees sagged, Keith caught him. Lance hiding his face against his boyfriend’s neck. The room was empty. Sendak and his men gone. There was nothing there that could hurt him anymore   
“We should go”  
“No! No... please... I just need a moment”  
Keith was shaking as hard as he was. He knew his boyfriend was shaking from the rage he felt over Lance being taken and hurt. Placing his hand on Lance’s lower back, Lance flinched away immediately, remembering the feel of the cattle prod. His boyfriend’s expression devastated as he realised he’d must have done something wrong   
“Sorry. I’m sorry...”  
Pidge lowered her camera. The pity in her eyes stirring up his anxiety and memory of his fears that his friends had all laughed behind his back  
“Why don’t we move onto the next room? Is there anywhere, in particular, you want to see?”  
Pidge wasn’t laughing. No one was laughing. No one was laughing... just a little bit more   
“The living area and the basement. Lotor killed Narti in the living area for betraying him... and they... kept the others in the basement... we were in the basement. People died here... god... I feel it...”

Where Curtis had been thrown into the wall had cracked under the impact. Lance swaying again as he heard the echo of the impact. The scent of vampires was so much stronger on the first floor than he’d noticed. Flies buzzed in the house. Light filtered through the beams, making for a super unpleasant experience. His body wouldn’t stop shaking. Their twins doing somersaults with enough agitation it felt like they knew what was happening. It hurt. His whole body felt so damn heavy. The feeling in his bones was as if he was under the spell of Sendak’s ego, being attacked by whatever remnants had been left behind. The other vampires' scent so pungent here it bordered on smelling fresh, though that was impossible. 

Throwing up in his mouth, Lance swallowed hard as he stared at where Narti’s body had lain. No longer there, he felt a sense of relief she hadn’t been left to rot in a place like this. Hunk inched his way closer. His scent was something Lance could latch onto. He nearly physically latched onto his friend when Hunk went to raise a hand to his arm, only to let it drop   
“Lance, Bud, you don’t look so good”  
“Lotor killed Narti here... he killed her... she sold the rights to sell us to Sendak. He must have offered to pardon her... and Lotor just killed her dead. Her blood was on him... she stood no chance... I... I don’t know what to feel”  
“It’s okay to feel sad, man. She was a human”

She was. She’d had any chance of redemption taken from her when Lotor killed her on the spot. Acxa, Ezor, and Zethrid, lost a friend they called a sister   
“But she sold us! She made me leave! She took me away from Keith! She took me away from you! Curtis could have died... She had to know Honerva wouldn’t welcome her back. She had to...”  
He was angry. That was the feeling he couldn’t name that had started festering in his belly. Angry. Angry they’d come in and turned his life upside down.

And he was lashing out in anger. Moving faster than his friends could keep up, Lance flipped the sofa with a growl. He wasn’t like them. He didn’t want this curse. He didn’t want this dark evil power that lurked inside him. He didn’t want the feeling of Narti’s death hovering beyond what he could see. Crouching down, he buried his face in his hands, screaming at the whole situation. Screaming for all the times he’d wanted to scream but feared the cattle prod. Screaming without a single sound coming out. Coming to him, Keith ignored his flaring ego and anger. His boyfriend squatting down in front of him, hands sure as he pushed Lance’s from his face and cupped his cheeks  
“They’re gone. They’re gone, baby. No ones ever going to get hurt in this house again”  
“They took me and I couldn’t... my plans didn’t work. I just wanted to come home but they wouldn’t let me come home”  
“I know. I know you did. And all we wanted was to find you. We didn’t stop wanting to find you”  
“I hate them... but I don’t understand. I’m supposed to be a vampire but I don’t understand them. Why do they have to hurt people?”  
“Sendak was insane. You felt his ego, babe. He was old and all the things that made him human died in him a long long time ago”  
“I just wanted to come home. I tried to be good...”  
“You did so good. You did. If you hadn’t stopped the truck, then he would have gotten away”  
“I hurt people”  
“They weren’t human any more, babe. They weren’t. I think we should go”

Lance sniffled as he shook his head. He wasn’t crying a river of pity, he... he guessed he felt... weird? His body wanted to go. His ego wanted to destroy. He wanted to see the basement. But he also didn’t like what he was showing his friends. He had to see the basement. Those three key points had to be empty. He had to know no one was there  
“Basement”  
“Babe...”  
“I need to see it... I need to... then we’ll go but I need to see it”  
“You’re not okay. You’re barely still on your feet”  
“I need it. I don’t want to keep these feelings of fear”  
“Okay. Okay. Can you stand?”  
“Yeah...”  
“Okay, the basement and then we go”  
“Okay”

The basement seemed untouched by whichever hunters came to secure the house. The door busted, the room was cold and damp. Ridiculously traces of orange were still in the air  
“They kept you guys in there?”  
Pidge was curious. She’d kept it down quite well... he’d probably scared her though, as well as Hunk. Who went around flipping sofas with one hand to vent their frustration?  
“Lead and electricity. Touching the bars not only burnt the skin but the zap was solid. In the roof is a gas set up where they kept the gas that knocked the others out when Lotor was brought in...”  
“They kept dad and Matt in here?”  
“Yeah... I... I kept thinking if we broke the beams we could collapse the floor, or we could pull the set up out of the roof and... and if... if I wasn’t pregnant we could get out if could turn into a bat... or if Matt could shift we could probably break out, but Shiro said we had to wait. Then I... started to try to really focus on everything, but the lack of blood made it hard... I was so tired. And cold...”

Lance jerked his head as he heard Keith sniffle. His boyfriend’s hands balled into fists. They should go. All this was reminding Keith of was him feeling useless as they searched. Lance wanted to see the gas set up for himself, see the electrical box for their cage. That would be selfish. He wasn’t the only one experiencing painful emotions. His friends were reliving the memories of him gone, coupled with new memories of seeing the place he’d been held. Pidge had been critical in getting Krolia and Keith to him as fast as possible, while he’d been useless. The vampire’s stomach churned. What he’d been hoping for he’d already gotten. The house was empty, completely devoid of habitation. There were no vampires lurking here and no prey captured. Any longer would be too cruel  
“Let’s go”

None of them spoke on the way out. The freshness of the day a slap to the senses. The warmth of the sun did little to chase away the suffocating feeling of lingering death, Lance’s skin-crawling with imagined filth. The house was as evil as it occupants had been. Suited for monsters that walked around in human skin. As Keith’s hand brushed his, Lance pulled away in momentary fear. Keith needed to be held right now, but Lance was too raw to give him what he needed. His arm felt stiff as he reached his hand out to take Keith’s in his. His other hand was on his belly, the twins hadn’t settled at all. Would it have felt like this to return to the shed? This weird feeling like the storm hadn’t yet passed though the skies were clear. He’d always sympathised with the victims he’d helped, and wasn’t sure he could count himself as courageous like them. He’d seen the dungeon floor, though this time he’d felt barely little. Not like at the zoo. Did that make him weird? Was his emotions some how broken?

Behind him Pidge closed the door solidly, the key sliding into the lock and lock ticking over. It was just a house now. Everything to fear was gone   
“I don’t know about you guys, but I could go for ice cream. Wanna come back to my office?”  
No. He really didn’t want to go from here to VOLTRON. He wanted... something that wasn’t that   
“I’ll drop you guys off there. Right now I want to be alone with Lance for a bit”  
Thank god Keith was saying it. That clicked as the something he wanted. A shower to wash off the filth that wasn’t there and Keith to cuddle away the pain the visit had dredged up  
“Lance?”  
Humming, Lance made a conscious effort to involved himself in the conversation   
“Can we go back to the apartment for a bit? I need to lay down”  
“Are you feeling okay? Are you in pain again?”  
Not the pain Keith meant. The house... he didn’t know if he did feel better for being there and needed to do a think about it   
“No. The cupcakes are bashing up my insides again”  
“Okay. Are you guys okay with hanging at VOLTRON for a bit?”

Pidge made a noise that sounded suspiciously like she’d just blown a raspberry at Keith   
“We’ll be fine. I have so much I want to show Hunk”  
“Yeah, man. We’ll be okay”  
He really should have said something more. Done something more for his friends who’d come with him  
“Thanks, guys. We’ve got Kosmo and Blue to feed so we’ll drive back down to Garrison a bit later”  
Kosmo cuddles sounded good too. Blue was being a bit of a diva since the kitchen incident, he wanted to be home for her sake. A lot of people thought animals dumb, but Blue was his loyal girl to the end of time   
“That’s cool, just shoot us a message when you’re ready. Okay, the door’s locked again, let’s get away from this shit hole. I wonder if the neighbour would notice if I set off a small nuclear explosion and disposed of the house in the middle of the night?”

Feeling three sets of eyes on him, Lance pulled up the best joking tone he could  
“They’d probably thank you for raising property values to the neighbourhood. This front yard isn’t doing any of the houses on the street any favours”  
Pidge took the joke and continued   
“I know right! I mean, I bet if we left you alone with the yard we’d come back to you trimming the lawn uniformly with scissors”  
“Nah, you’d come back to the house on fire. I’m okay, guys. I am. It’s a relief to know no one else is in there or being help captive. I am however exhausted. And now I want strawberry ice cream”  
“Oooh! Slushie spiders! Keith, we’ve got to make a stop on the way back to VOLTRON. This is an absolute one hundred per cent necessity. Slushies make everything better”  
Lance forced a huff  
“The truth comes out. You couldn’t stand the fact Garrison only has two flavours. I’m onto you, oh great Gremlin”

Stepping down the front steps in front of them, Pidge sighed dramatically   
“Coran won’t let me put a slushie machine in my office... Apparently, I don’t need one and shouldn’t have one so close to sensitive electronics. Like no shit. What does he think I’m going to do? Pour raspberry slushie over my motherboard so it runs faster? I’m not 4”  
“I feel like that story is based too much in fact”  
“Shut up. Let’s get going already. Ugh. This house is gross and I hate it. Hunk, tell me you hate the house”  
Hunk still hovered slightly behind them  
“Oh, yeah. No. I hate it. I feel violated from walking around in it... Were there ghosts there? I feel like there were ghosts there... I don’t have a spirit attached to me, do I?”  
“Nah, buddy. You’re all good”

Things didn’t work that was as far as Lance knew. He’d never seen death clinging to a person that wasn’t their own closeness to death   
“Are you sure? Because I don’t think I’ve stopped shaking. Am I meant to be still shaking?”  
With three friends all shaking, Pidge pushed harder, trying to relieve all their stresses and distracted them. His little Pidgeon was far too strong a force  
“Dude, Lance is our personal ghost sensor. If he says your good, you’re good. Now let’s goooo. I want my ice cream and my slushie... and to run simulations over the best way to bring this piece of shit house down”  
“Okay, but Keith’s paying. I don’t have my wallet”  
Pidge clapped her hands together, bouncing on the spot. Lance envied that she could turn to sugar for comfort when all sugar did was turn on him  
“Keith, you’re the best! I’ll even get lactose free just for you!”


	169. Chapter 169

169

Somehow they hadn’t ended up going to VOLTRON or to the apartment. Lance kind of grateful, though the car ride home didn’t agree with him, and he found himself unable to doze off no matter how hard he tried. Showering in his own shower was far better. Keith letting him do his thing, until he got too worried and came to make sure Lance wasn’t trying to scrub his skin raw. Sitting on their bed, his boyfriend dried his hair for him. Lance leaning into his touch gratefully. Hunk and Pidge had hung around for a bit, Lance apologising to the pair of them as they both tried to reassure him that it was okay. Humming as he let his head drop back, Lance stared up at Keith who smiled down at him   
“Feeling better?”  
“Much. I’m sorry for how I reacted at the house”

Dropping a kiss on his lips, Keith’s smile wavered as he mumbled   
“I should have told you ahead of time”  
“No. You wanted to do the right thing by me. I’m sorry for how it made you feel to be there. I know it hurt like hell and brought up so much stuff for you”  
“Not as much as it did for you”  
“Don’t sell your feelings short. That place carries pain for all of us. I don’t even know if I feel better for being there or not. There was so much evil in this place, now it feels weird that it’s empty”  
“You don’t have to explain if you’re not ready”

Staring into Keith’s eyes, Lance could truly get lost in them. His boyfriend was so handsome and caring  
“I know I don’t. You know I don’t forget and being there I feel like I saw it all over again. But it was better this time because you were there so I knew nothing could actually hurt me”  
“I should have been there”  
“No. No, babe. I’m so fucking glad you didn’t have to go through that. You being on the outside gave me hope of coming home to you. Wherever you are, that’s my home”

Settling back against Keith, his boyfriend’s hands rested on his belly. The silence comfortable as they basked in being with each other  
“I can feel them”  
“They’ve been pretty active today”  
“Aren’t they always”  
“Yeah... They get that from their daddy”  
“I feel like we’re going to be making that joke a lot once they’re older”  
“An infinite loop of “go ask your dad”. Keith, I really couldn’t ask for a better partner. You know that right? That I’m proud to be with you. And I’m proud that you’re their father”  
Keith nosed at his neck as he sighed  
“I don’t know why”  
“Because I believe in you. Through all the ups and downs, you’re my rock. I know caring for me is hard... but you do it anyway. I never thought I’d find love like I’ve found with you”  
“I never thought I would either. You should have some blood before you fall asleep”

That reminded Lance, he still owed Keith an apology  
“Yeah, but first, I’m sorry for last night. I didn’t mean to hurt your back. I wanted to make you feel amazing”  
Keith groaned at him, not what Lance expected from his apology  
“Babe?”  
“It wasn’t you... I... Don’t laugh at me”  
Lance wasn’t laughing?  
“Okay?”  
“I wanted to do something nice for you. And... Fuck. This is embarrassing”  
“Did you shave? Is it shaving rash?”  
Lance liked to keep himself trimmed and plucked. Not bare, but also not wild and untamed down there. Ingrown hairs could hurt, especially along the underwear line   
“No. God. Okay. I-put-the-smallest-plug-in-and-it’s-been-rubbing-and-poking-all-day”

Keith word vomited out what he’d done in a shamed rush. Lance first shocked, then sympathetic, then shocked again. Keith wasn’t letting this go. He didn’t want to pressure his boyfriend, no matter what his urges wanted from him  
“Babe... Are you still thinking about last night?”  
“Kind of hard not to...”  
With a butt plug in. It explained so much. Keith wincing. Unable to sit still. The stiffness as he walked. Keith was such an idiot. Lance didn’t want to act on his urges because he knew Keith didn’t enjoy bottoming like he did. His urges were mostly from the fact he couldn’t spoon around Keith the way he used to. He missed those time. Even when Keith would complain that he was almost always the small spoon, Lance loved curling around him as if to protect him from bad dreams and painful memories.

Placing his hands over Keith’s, Lance rubbed the side of his face against Keith’s hair  
“I know you said you were okay with it, but I don’t want you pushing yourself into discomfort because you think that’s what I want”  
“I want to... do the things you like to do to”  
His boyfriend was still mumbling. His little anger loaf had turning into a mumbling loaf  
“I’m happy with how things are between us. Please tell me you’ve taken the plug out”  
“No...”  
“Babe. Okay. No. You don’t have to use the plug. You don’t have to worry about hurting my feelings because I love the things you do with that dick of yours. Even if you meant it as a nice surprise, it’s not nice thinking about you in discomfort”  
“But... I wanted to try... last night... I thought maybe I wouldn’t mind because you’re... really skilled”

Being in a same sex relationship with Keith usually meant making sure he kept down their clean. Poop happened. He got over it. Keith probably felt like he needed to crap all day with that plug up him  
“Take the plug out”  
“But... I want to try”  
“If you really want to try, we’ll work up to it”  
“You wore a plug for me”  
That was different. He’d been alone at their house. Not walking around and driving  
“I’m used to the feel of you now. Remember the first time we had sex? It felt awful and you had to jerk me off, but more than that, my body has different cravings to yours. You’re fine the way you are. Our sex life is fine the way it is. I know you didn’t get it, but last night I did what I wanted to do. I wanted you to feel good”  
“I like it when we feel good together”  
“I felt good too. Don’t worry about that”  
“You didn’t even let me get you off”

Lance groaned. Keith was such a generous lover. He went at it one hundred percent and then some  
“I didn’t want to. I was giving in to some vampire urge. I was giving in to wanting to taste you”  
“So we can’t... do the do?”  
“We can, but when you’re really ready and when you really want to. I want you to want it for you, not because you think I want it from you”  
“I just want to make you happy”  
Lance’s heart melted  
“Oh, babe. Hey, you make so beyond happy by you being you”  
“But I know you get urges too. I know you want to fuck me sometimes”  
“I won’t deny I do. But I also love the feeling of having you inside of me. That feeling like we’re one. Even when it’s just an itch to scratch, or we’re both a bit eh, I love it because it’s you”  
“So if I said I want to pin you to our bed right now, what would you say?”  
“I’d say I wouldn’t have it any other way”  
“Then can I pin you to our bed?”

Keith was placing emphasis on the word “our”. Lance having another revelation. He was so used to referring to things in the house as his, that maybe he’d made Keith insecure  
“This is our bed. In our home. You are my partner. You’ve probably been overthinking things again, but, babe, this is your home too. Our home. Okay?”  
“How... did you know?”  
“I’m a little stupid at times, but I know you. Plus, Matt and Rieva probably won’t come back at all tonight, which means we can do anything we want”  
Keith nipped at his ear. Hands sliding up to cup Lance’s small breasts. Fuck. They were tender enough without the stimulation   
“Anything?”

Yes. In his own way he was running from the feelings Sendak had dragged up. Anxious for Keith to erase those phantom touches again. Anxious to feel that connection between them and know though shaken they were still here together   
“Anything”  
“Then fuck me on our bed”  
Not this again  
“Keeeeith”  
“I’m serious. I want to try again, and I want to try with you. I want this. I want to feel connected to you like you feel connected to me”  
For a man who was serious, Keith was doing some serious fondling. Lance moaning as he spread his legs a little   
“Babe...”  
“Okay... just... agh... they’re tender...”  
“They’re heavier too... your body’s getting ready to give birth to our babies”  
“It can hold on a few more month... shit... Keith... I’m going to come if you keep playing with them”  
They were tender, his nipples especially so, but Keith’s hands were starting to feel way too good  
“If you want to try... you’re going to have to lay down for me”  
“I think I can do that”

Laying Keith out beneath him, Lance let his hands run over his boyfriend’s toned chest and stomach. A lack of running for their lives had given Keith a little softening of his six pack, his boyfriend very negligent over his training regime, yet still sexy as hell. That Keith wanted this still felt weird. Lance would have been quite content to straddle his boyfriend and ride him, but Keith had tried so hard for him, the least he could do was show him that bottoming didn’t have to feel uncomfortable if he relaxed  
“If you change your mind, you tell me. If it’s too much or hurts, I want you to tell”  
Keith had a grip on the top blanket that told Lance he had some serious doubts about this. His boyfriend’s butt had to be tender from the plug. Unlike him, Keith was completely and totally male. He didn’t get wet, or naturally loosen, like this breeder’s body of his. He also couldn’t heal from tearing the way Lance could. Everything he did he’d do slowly, let Keith’s mind catch up with the touch of his fingers. Other than the nights of the full moon, there was really only very few they’d have this amount of privacy for. Tonight they’d take it slow, then sleep. Tomorrow they both needed to be on top of their game.

Grabbing the lube out the drawer, Lance coaxed onto his side with his knee drawn up. His boyfriend blushing, Lance knowing how exposing the position was thanks to internal examinations and ultrasound wands. Between the crevice of Keith’s cute little but, silver glinted. Keith’s opening already seems slightly puffy from a day of abuse by the surgical steel intrusion   
“If it hurts, tell me. I bet you didn’t use lube, did you?”  
“N-no...”  
“You should always use lube, babe. I’m going to draw the plug out slowly, then lube it up. Close your eyes and relax for me. Don’t worry if you don’t get hard or you think you’re doing something wrong. You’re not... it’s just you and me here”

Pulling on the top of the plug, Keith’s muscles clenched as slowly the handle slid back. Drizzling way too much lube over the metal, Lance gave Keith time to adjust, before slowly sliding the butt plug back in, wanting to make sure Keith was well lubed to easy the removal. Grunting, Keith buried his face against his pillow, trusting Lance to know what to do. His ego wanted to pounce, without giving Keith time to adjust, but Lance refused to let it. This was new to Keith. He wasn’t in heat, nor were they in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. They were in their bed, with Lance already trying to figure out the best way to make Keith feel good and give him what he wanted, when he had this belly of his to consider.

“Babe?”  
Having paused as he thought, Lance ran his hand over Keith’s hip. Keith would worry about the amount of thinking he was doing   
“Just giving you some time to adjust”  
“I don’t need time”  
“You’re butt is gonna hurt a whole lot more if you don’t trust me”  
“It feels sticky”  
“That’d be the lube”  
“Feels weird...”  
“Tell me if it feels that way when I start moving the plug”  
“Okay...”

Keith’s moans didn’t sound like moans of pleasure. Slipping the butt plug finally free, his boyfriend let out a shaky breath that sounded like a breath of relief   
“Do you want to stop?”  
“Feels... weird down there”  
Lance snorted without meaning too  
“You feeling empty, babe?”  
“A little”  
“I always feel empty when you pull out... do you want to change position?”  
“Can we kiss?”  
Too cute. Keith was too cute  
“You’re going to have to come up here if you want kisses. I already don’t know how we’re going to make this work around my belly”  
If he let go of his ego, his ego would figure it out. But if he let go of his ego, he could hurt his lover and that’d only make them both stress  
“Should I ride you?”  
“That’d be too deep for you to take right away”  
“I can take it”  
“Why don’t we stop thinking so much and just fool around? This isn’t going to be that good if we keep thinking too much”  
“Last night felt good...”  
“You want to eat you out?”  
“I don’t know how to make this work... I want to make this work”

Lance called a time out. Keith being upset was the last thing he wanted. Climbing up to lay facing Keith, his boyfriend bit his lip  
“Hey, you”  
“Why isn’t this working”  
Leaning in, Lance nuzzled into Keith’s face. His boyfriend was too fucking special  
“Keith, I don’t care”  
“I do. I want to do this”  
Lance stroked Keith’s hair back from his face, thumb coming to rest on his boyfriend’s temple   
“I know, but if it’s not working, it’s not working. I want you to feel amazing. Now, I believe the love of my life wanted kisses”  
“I’m sorry. I feel like I stuffed up”  
“You sir, have not stuffed anything up. That offer for anything still stands... kisses, blow job, face riding... we’ll just figure out how to do more later”  
“I really liked the way you ate me out”  
“Mmmm. I think with some kisses I might be up for a repeat performance”

Changing tactics worked better for them. Laying back on their bed with their blankets balled in place to help support his body and lift his hips, Keith straddled his face. The lube didn’t taste that great, but Keith was more relaxed and less hesitant when Lance started teasing him with his thumb as well as his tongue. Loose from remaining stretched a stupidly long amount of time, it made for an easier starting point. It was also easier for him with Keith holding his own weight over him.

Cautiously, Lance focused on fingering Keith with his thumb, his boyfriend tensing a little, but too relaxed from pleasure to tense completely. Taking the chance, Lance replaced his thumb with two fingers, unlike popular media’s portrayal, finding the prostate wasn’t like hunting for gold. Lance knew Keith’s body so well that he knew he was rubbing against Keith’s sweet spot before the first moan fell panted from his boyfriend’s lips. Good. Keith was feeling good. That’s what he wanted. If Keith wanted to go through with this, he needed to be feeling good  
“Shiiiiiit...”  
“You can touch yourself, babe. It’s allowed to feel good”  
Keith knew how good it could feel. Lance usually limited it to a single finger working inside Keith as he blew him. Maybe he’d been showing Keith for some time now how could it be, but Keith had been conquered by nerves and built it up in his head so much he didn’t remember?  
“It’s...”  
Keith didn’t have the words. His hand going to his dick  
“Chase the feeling, babe”

When Keith started rocking into his fist, Lance moved to thrusting his fingers, twisting and scissoring his lover. He’d worked Keith to where he felt Keith could take a third finger, but he wanted Keith to still feel in control. He wanted Keith to tell him what he wanted, but also knew that was unlikely as Keith was about to come. No sooner had he had the thought, his boyfriend uttered a deep and stuttered groan, coming across Lance’s chest and belly as his knees gave out a little. Swapping back to rubbing, Keith made a whimpered sound, hips stuttering as he jerked the last drops from his spent erection. Lance’s own dick felt neglected, twitching and oozing as it was forced to wait patiently. Keith made him feel like a teenager again. Sex with him so addictive he couldn’t get enough, yet he was still just as content on the nights where they snuggled instead.

“Babe... I want to...”  
Slurring slightly, Keith must have had one hell of an orgasm  
“You sure?”  
“Mmmm... fuck... feels too much but I want more...”  
Lance’s ego was instantly stroked. They’d done a good job  
“Let me stretch you more”  
“More?!”  
Not to brag but he was bigger than two fingers. Lance tried not to laugh at the squeak in Keith’s voice   
“Scooch forward for me...”

Keith was unsure of what to do, even as he seated himself in Lance’s lap. Letting Keith guide himself, Lance cursed his swollen belly being in the way. Keith had his bottom lip trapped firmly between his teeth, slipping as he tried to line himself up. Lance’s hands rested on his hips  
“Take it slow babe, keep breathing”  
Keith didn’t take it slow, eyes widening as his weight dropped  
“Fuck!”  
Fuck was right indeed. Keith felt so fucking warm and tight around him. Lance nearly coming on the spot   
“B-babe?”  
“Gimme... a tick. You’re fucking massive”  
Any slower and they were going to go backwards. His ego wanting to take control. Keith seemed to think half a moment was a moment, groaning as he raised his hips and Lance bit through his lip  
“Fuck... how do you make it look easy... I can’t... keep myself up”  
Keith looked debauched. He smelt of sweat and sex. Hooded purple eyes blackened with lust. Okay. He’d been patient enough  
“Let me do it”  
Keith nodded, Lance taking his weight in his hands with ease.

Building up from a slow and careful pace, Lance panted in pleasure. Keith limp as he fucked up into him. His boyfriend steadying himself with his hands on his bouncing belly. Keith felt fucking amazing. So warm and responsive. Submissive and pliant. His ego kept him from coming too soon, Keith at his mercy as his self control slipped. Pants turning to growls, thrusts turning desperate until his release hit him like a truck, Keith held down as Lance paint his walls white, nasally whimpers accompanying shudders. Fuck. Fuck... just... fuck... god... Keith was... Keith was too good to him. God... he wanted to marry this man and put a ring on it... and not just his ring on him. Fuck... Shit. Keith. Fuck...

Catching his slip of control. Lance freaked a little. Pulling out of Keith, his boyfriend found himself from Lance’s lap to beside him in a heartbeat. Keith blinking in confusion as Lance kissed him, not thinking about the blood smearing across his boyfriend’s lips. He felt guilty as hell. Head dropping to Keith’s chest  
“Babe?”  
“Are you okay? I lost control. I didn’t mean to lose control... did I hurt you?”  
“I’m okay...”  
“I got...”  
“Babe, I’m okay”  
“But...”  
“I’m okay... I might not be walking straight tomorrow, but I’m okay”  
“Did you...”  
“I jerked myself off... must have been an amazing orgasm if you didn’t notice”  
“But...”

Keith chuckled at him, hand coming up to clumsily pat Lance on the head   
“I’m okay... you really looked into it... I got off more watching that face of yours...”  
“I wanted to keep control”  
“Babe, it’s okay. I feel thoroughly and completely fucked... best two minutes of bottoming of my life”  
Lance groaned. He was a horny idiot. Of course time was different for him. He was lost in the act completely. The wet slapping of skin, the way Keith contracted around him. How tight his boyfriend was and how good he took his dick...  
“Did I hurt you?”  
“Nope”  
“Are you sure?”  
“You were into it, but you weren’t hurting me. I think maybe I could get used to it, but it’s going to take some time”  
“I’m sorry... I wanted to take it slow but I get too horny”  
“Babe, I couldn’t be happier that I make you horny. We need a bath”  
“Mmm... can I carry you?”  
“You might have to. I feel my heart in my arse”  
Lance was disappointed he’d missed Keith coming again... and disappointed he’d pretty much humped his boyfriend like a rabbit on speed. At least his ego recognised Keith was only human and hadn’t pushed him to his limits  
“Okay, I’ll get the bath ready then come back...”

Lance went to pull away, but Keith didn’t let go of him  
“You’re forgetting something”  
“I am?”  
“My kisses”  
He couldn’t forget that. Kissing Keith, he didn’t get away with one kiss, but several slow ones. Arousal simmering in his belly, as his mind whispered how good it’d feel to have Keith buried inside him. His body was such a slut for the man he loved.

This was proven as their bath turned into sex... then slow cuddly sex sometime before the mornings light crept through the windows.


	170. Chapter 170

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance was having a preeeeeeeetty nice time with Keith...

170

Lance lavished Keith with extra attention as they got ready for the day ahead. Today was finally the day that Curtis was freed from his curse. Waking feeling ill, Lance kept it to himself. Keith was fighting his own dose of anxiety, coupled with lingering pain from bottoming though that had been a good 15 hours ago now. Making extra coffee, Lance had cooked a few of Curtis’s favourite foods, and comfort food for Shiro, assuming being an anchor for his boyfriend’s soul would be quite taxing on their friend. They weren’t allowed on the same floor as their friends, so Pidge and Hunk were coming with them to Platt, told by Coran to be a few hours late.

When Hunk picked them up, Lance was glad he was the one driving. Keith had hit that angry stage of anxiety, a little snappy and overly apologetic. Lance unable to keep from thinking about the house and Curtis on the drive. Hunk trying to cheer them up as he and Pidge talked tech. The house was clearly an unsaid no go topic for the day. Plans shifting to making the most of the road trip down to see Keith’s father once Curtis was up for it. Keith barely contributed. Lance ignoring safety in favour of sitting in the middle back seat with just a lap belt to be able to hold Keith close to him. Honestly having so much in his head distracted from the discomfort in his belly. A growing feeling something was wrong left him teary, though he knew he’d done everything he was supposed to be doing to keep the pregnancy progressing smoothly.

Parking in the staff parking under Pidge’s direction, Lance was hit with vertigo as he climbed from Hunk’s car, resulting in him tripping on his own feet as his left ankle rolled. Something felt very wrong. Again, he knew it was his anxiety blowing things out of proportion... Embarrassingly, Lance found himself on all fours throwing up. Keith yelling his name as if he’d been shot or stabbed, and not something as damn common as him falling over. Grabbing him around the shoulders, Lance hacked, spitting in his puddle of mess with his nose scrunched up  
“Babe?!”  
“I’m okay...”  
“You collapsed. Do you have a fever?”  
Keith smacked him in the head as he tried to check. Lance sighing heavily  
“I’m fine. I tripped...”  
“You...”  
“I tripped. I’m okay”  
Ugh. Stupid ankles. It didn’t matter how fast and how strong you were, ankles would get you every time   
“We should get Coran to check you”  
“Babe, I’m okay... help me up”

Keith hovered. Hunk hovered. Pidge had a bounce in her step as she led them to her office. Everything within VOLTRON was running smoothly. People going about their jobs. No blaring alarms. No one was hurt. No big bad jumped out them. He was being stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. The only thing around to fear was Lance and his paranoia... and his paranoid anger loaf who’d made Hunk carry the picnic basket, then started “helping” him along as if he was old and decrepit, reducing him to shuffling along. Thank god no one else was there to fuss, his anxiety hadn’t settled as it was, now it’d decided to kick into overdrive there’d be no settling it until Keith finally stopped fussing and they could see their friends again.

*  
Keith couldn’t stop thinking about Shiro. He hadn’t called him. He hadn’t wished him good luck today. He’d said nothing to his brother and he hoped his brother took it to mean he trusted things to go smoothly, and not that he was giving up before things had started.

Settling in Pidge’s office, she shared her space with three other technicians. Keith would have gotten lost if he hadn’t been following her as she confidently led them to the lab. With his arm around Lance, he found himself torn between who to fret over more. His boyfriend who’d fallen over and then promptly thrown up, or Shiro who would acting as Curtis’s anchor right about now. Thank fuck that the fellow lab techs weren’t in at the moment, because he wasn’t sure he could keep his damn temper in check over the situation. He didn’t blame Lance for throwing up. It’d been a while since it’d happened outside... His boyfriend had spent the morning trying his hardest to be reassuring, but when his rock started crumbling, Keith didn’t know what to do. Lance kept him grounded. Lance had to be okay. Plus Lance had totally nailed him the night before and he worried the slip of his ego had somehow upset the twins. Keith had been swept up in Lance’s scent and the way his boyfriend’s body moved. He’d rushed in, over sensitised and flipped some kind of switch inside Lance. He didn’t regret it. Even with his vampire side showing, Lance hadn’t hurt him. His grip firm, without being painful, pleasure pounded into him until he had to touch himself for relief.

Now Lance was sitting in a chair Pidge stole from another technicians desk, his boyfriend rubbing his stomach as their little gremlin grabbed a case for him to rest his feet on. Keith had seen plenty of those cases before. Normally they contained things that someone shouldn’t be putting their feet on. “Dusting” her hands off, Pidge beamed  
“Okie dokie, guys. Lance has decided he needed the royal treatment, but do you guys want to see my lab?”

Pidge and Hunk had showed they were there for them, by being physically there for them. Pidge was keeping them smiling, as she’d done at the house, using her “gremlin powers” as a force for good. Going to the house had been a sobering experience for them, and Keith had let his duties as the cool mature older friend slide by providing very little comfort to her, despite the fact both her brother and father had been held there. Leaning back in his chair, Lance nominated him  
“Keith would love to. I’m going to chill here and be pregnant. Maybe think about breaking into the locker room and appropriating some toothpaste... the options are endless”

Pidge poked Lance in the back of the head, Lance swatting at her hand. How could the pair of them act so normal? Hunk seemed the only one worried outwardly. Lance letting Pidge tease him only served to annoy Keith. His boyfriend might be clumsy, yet he felt there was more going on with Lance that what met the eye  
“If you’re feeling that much better, you can come on the tour too”  
“I’m busy growing two humans at the moment...”  
“You’re on a roller chair. Hunk can drive you”  
“Piiiiidge, I promise I’ll listen, but I’m not feeling great. Show Keith and Hunk around, brag about your job. You deserve it”

There was no one there that Keith trusted Lance’s health too. Allura helping in the summoning ritual, and Keith now realising he hadn’t been worried about the two faes. He should be worried. A demon against Coran and Allura... That wasn’t as simple as a werewolf with a cavity. They could be seriously hurt if the summoning went wrong. Catching him staring, Lance held his hand out of him, Keith moving to automatically grip it  
“I’m going to be okay. You’re not leaving me. You’re not leaving the room. It’s all psychosomatic from what I can tell”  
“So something is wrong...”

He’d known it. He fucking knew it. Now Lance was admitting it so it had to be true  
“Just a little pain in my stomach, and a little bit of dizziness. I’m fine now I’m sitting”  
“You should have told me”  
“I know. But I’m in the best place I can be and I’m like pretty sure that maybe it’s because I’m worrying about our friends. They’re going to be okay. Coran knows what he’s doing. They’re going to be okay and we’re all going to in relief once it’s over, you’ll see”  
“But what if something’s wrong?”  
“The most important thing we can do is be calm. Go check out the tech. I packed my phone, so maybe Pidge can play with that?”

Keith had forgotten about Lance’s phone. His head felt foggy from the moment he’d woken up. Too many thoughts were taxing his brainpower. Crossing her arms, Pidge huffed  
“I do not play. You guys should appreciate my genius”  
“Trust me, Pidgeon, we do. Hunk, Bud. It’s all going to be okay. You’re allowed to be here, so you don’t have to be nervous. Kolivan isn’t here to kidnap you guys, and Coran loves you. I’m sure that engineering side of you is dying to tinker. You’ve already signed a non-disclosure, and as your amazing legal advisor I’m telling you it’s totally fine to relax”

Hunk worried his pointer fingers together   
“I’m worried about you. Oh, man. I said it. Dude, are you sure you’re okay being here... You’re pregnant and pregnant people should be resting and we went to the house and you didn’t look very well then and...”  
Lance gently interrupted Hunk  
“Sunshine of my life, all bromo and no homo, I’m okay. You don’t need to worry. I’m older than you, remember, plus I’m a vampire. A little trip isn’t going to hurt the babies. My stomach didn’t even touch the ground. Go forth and tinker. Maybe you can swipe something useful?”

Lance liked to think he was magically easing everyone, but Keith could tell differently. He felt it, that Lance wasn’t being completely honest, yet Lance did like to stress and worry too much... He felt kind of weird being in the labs without being at work. He’d start back tomorrow, provided everything went well today. Lance had probably already thought about that too. His boyfriend being so thoroughly himself by trying his hardest to support him. Leaning down, Keith kissed the top of Lance’s head. He was being silly. He was letting his anxieties blow things out of proportion  
“I’m sorry. I’m not handling this very well”  
“Babe, none of us are. But we’re all not handling it well together. We’re a pack remember, it’s natural we’re worried for our family. Now, give me a kiss...”

Keith did as he was told, Lance smiling at him toothily, before continuing   
“... and don’t go touching anything”  
“Why not? You said Hunk could”  
“Because Hunk could probably rebuild anything he broke. We have to face it, babe, we’re a little bit dumb when compared to these two. Not that you are dumb. I have no doubt you could rebuild any weapon you get your hands on, I’m just saying there’s no way I could fix a microscope if I broke it”  
Keith got it. He was no wiz when it came to tech   
“That’s true. We’ll be... somewhere in here if you need me, call me”  
Lance slowly rubbed the underside of his swell  
“You know I will. Me and our cupcakes are just going to chill”

*  
Not knowing how long the summoning would take, the wait dragged on. Keith had taken to borrowing a roller chair, keeping himself preoccupied as Pidge worked on Lance’s phone with Hunk. Rolling over to his boyfriend, Lance raised his leg, pushing lightly and sending him rolling across the room. Yeah. They’d hit that level of boredom. “Running” back across the room on his tiptoes, Pidge pushed her chair back to stop him  
“If you two keep this up, I’m going to evict you”

Lance sighed at Pidge, pulling himself up in his chair  
“Don’t get snappy at him”  
“Then don’t get mad when your phone explodes!”  
Lance rolled his eyes, not phased by an angry Pidge   
“Is it just me, or does our gremlin sound like she needs another dose of coffee?”  
Coffee sounded great. Plus it’d give him something to do with his hands  
“I’ll go!”

Pidge huffed at Keith’s enthusiasm at leaving. He could have brought Kosmo and taken him for a walk while they waited   
“Say how you really feel. You’re supposed to be helping me with the interface”  
“I can’t help you until we get there”  
Lance wheeled himself over to Hunk  
“Hunk, the coffee nerds are fighting. Want to come get the coffee with me?”  
Hunk nodded, playing along as he whispered loudly  
“They’re scary when they fight”  
“I know. I’m surprised Pidge hasn’t invented a Roomba that knives ankles when someone gets between her and coffee”  
“Man, don’t go giving her ideas!”

Pidge pushed her chair back, crashing lightly into Lance and Hunk  
“You two suck. I hope you both know that”  
Lance raised his hand to ruffle her hair  
“So Pidgeon doesn’t want a coffee? I guess I shouldn’t get cookies either”  
“If you dare come back without cookies, I will end you”  
“Many have tried. I’m having cupcakes with the last hunter who came to do just that. You might be a gremlin, but you’re facing a creature of the night”  
Pidge sighed at Lance   
“You’re a dramatic arsehole, you know that, right?”  
“I have been told my arsehole is very dramatic and I don’t even know what that was. Hunk, do you want to come for the walk?”  
“Sure... are you up for walking? Shouldn’t you be resting?”  
“I’ve rested and I need to pee. Besides, Keith is cranky. He needs sugar and caffeine”  
Keith scowled at the pair of them. He should be the one going for coffee, not his pregnant lover  
“Why don’t I get to go?”  
“Because Pidge might need your help. We’ll be back soon, babe”

Wheeling herself back to her desk, Pidge mocked him  
“Yeah, babe. He’ll be back soon, babe. Don’t worry, babe”  
Pidge could pull off being a summoned demon with ease. Keith glad she was using her powers for good instead of running a top class criminal racket   
“You’re evil”  
“I know”  
“Guys, we’re all family and we all love each other. We’ll be back soon. Babe, it’s okay. I love you and I promise I’ll get your order right”  
“I know you will. Love you, too. Make sure Hunk doesn’t get lost”  
What the heck was that? “Make sure Hunk doesn’t get lost”? What a time to be awkward... Lance snorted   
“Pfft. I’ll make him hold my hand and look both ways before crossing the road”

Hunk groaned at them  
“Why am I being treated like a kid?”  
Lance smiled happily at Hunk  
“Because you’re our Hunk and we love you. Pidge, do you want any real food?”  
“Nope. I’ve got my own fridge with adult food and everything. You two losers go get the coffee already”  
“Ma’am, yes, Ma’am”  
Lance shot Pidge a sloppy salute, Pidge over exaggerating rolling her eyes at him  
“Go already! Keith, why do you put up with him?”  
“Because I love him”  
“Acceptable answer. Okay, come over here and pretend to make yourself useful”

*  
The bad feeling Lance had hadn’t left. Leaving VOLTRON the world felt warmer. The sunshine and busy streets distracting with their overness. So many people were talking he couldn’t narrow in on one particular sound. With each step away from the building, he felt better. The pains in his stomach hadn’t abated at all. Yet if something was wrong, all he could do was wait for Coran as it was. Noticing his distracted mood, Hunk held his hand, Lance smiling and he shook his head when it first slipped into his.

Unable to stop from over-ordering, Hunk was on coffee carrying duty, as Lance carried the two bags from the bakery back. The pain now starting to get to the point when he had to slow down and rest every few metres. Reminding himself he only had to make back to the next block, he tried his hardest to ignore it. It’d pass. It’d pass and the twins would be okay. He didn’t so much care for himself, he’d heal, but them... He couldn’t lose them. He’d give himself an hour. If things hadn’t improved in an hour he’d head down to the infirmary and let them poke at him.

Hunk noticed the stops, the big man slowing to a snail's pace to match his. Making their way through the bookshop and into the elevator, Lance dropped the bags as he grunted, staggering into the elevator wall. Something was wrong. Something was very very wrong. These... this felt like... his fake contractions but a hundred times worse  
“Lance!”  
“Call... Keith...”  
Gripping his stomach with one hand, Lance held himself up, bent over with his hand against the elevator walls. A second wave of pain made him moan in misery  
“Fuck, okay, okay, okay. It’s only a little further...”

Wetness trickled down his legs, Lance immediately panicking at the warmth  
“Call Keith!”  
Behind him Hunk had hit the button down to the labs, the elevator doors sliding shut. They’d only just started moving when the elevator shuddered, some kind of barely audible boom causing it to shudder around them as it came to a stop. Shit. This couldn’t be good  
“I can’t get through to Keith. The call won’t connect!”  
“What do you mean you can’t reach... agh!”  
Gripping his stomach, Lance’s knees bent, nearly buckling under the pain. A wave of something evil seemed to tear through the air, the hairs on his skin standing upright as his body erupted into goosebumps  
“It says no signal! What do I do?!”

Hunk was freaking out. Lance was freaking out. He hated being trapped. He hated elevators but knew the doors would open, so ignored the discomfort of being in one. Above the lights flickered, red replacing bright white light as an alarm started ringing. Something had gone wrong. Something had gone wrong with the summoning. That was the only thing Lance could think of... fuck... fuck it hurt... it hurt so much his head dropped as he swore violently in time with the wave of pain  
“Fuuuuuck!”  
This couldn’t be happening. He’d done everything right. Every demand placed on him, he’d done it. He’d stabbed himself over and over with those damn injections. He’d drunk Keith’s blood. He’d eaten until he started to hate food.

Coming to his side, Hunk had set the tray of coffees down. Placing his hand on Lance’s lower back, he leaned around him  
“Lance? What do I do?”  
“Hunk, I need... need you to check... if I’m bleeding...”  
“Wha...”  
“Just put your hand on my arse and tell me if you see blood”  
Hunk moved, his moved hesitant as he pulled down the back of Lance’s pants exposing his underwear. Thank god for elastic maternity pants  
“N-no...”  
Okay. Okay. That was good. Forcing down a deep lungful of air through his nose Lance released it slowly through his mouth  
“I think I’m in labour. The summoning’s gone wrong... I need you to check the elevator doors. See if you can get them open”  
It didn’t matter what floor they were on. Coran had built the place with a labyrinth of hidden stairs. If they could get out, they could get help. He could send Hunk through the car park to call Krolia, Matt and Rieva  
“On it... Dude, do you want to sit? I don’t know what to do...”  
Poor Hunk. Lance had to keep strong for him, but fuck... He needed Coran, like right now!  
“No... no... standing... is better... fuck... fucking fuckery fuck...”


	171. Chapter 171

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone else remember when this was going to be 55k?

171

“Working” beside Pidge, Pidge had borrowed his work phone to download the coding to her computer. Keith reluctant to let the device go, but useless at the tech side of things so could only follow her lead on these kinds of things. Distracted by thoughts of Lance, Keith knew he was being a little pathetic missing his boyfriend who’d only gone to get coffee.

“Dude, you’re breathing in my space”  
“Should I hold my breath?”  
Keith rolled his chair back, leaning back and poking Pidge with his foot when she sighed at him  
“I won’t stop you if you want to”  
“Harsh. I’m wounded”  
“You’ve spent too much time around Lance... How is Lance?”  
Keith saw that sideways less than sneaky misdirect   
“He’s been up and down”  
“He didn’t seem okay”  
“He’s been better. I think he’ll feel better when the summoning is over and we have Curtis back”  
“I think we’ll all feel better when that happens. Matt told me what happened”  
Of course Matt had  
“He was pretty shaken by it, but he doesn’t blame Curtis”

Pidge sighed, turning her chair to him  
“Keith, did we do the right thing? Taking him to the house. I saw the look on your face and I don’t know what to think”  
“Lance says he doesn’t know if he feels better or not... You... you were key to getting him back. While I was useless”  
“You were pretty useless but that’s because you’re a hands on kind of guy. It’s weird... He’s like so much older but he doesn’t act like he used to. Lance used to be so adult. Like, he was taking care of us. He always kept his needs and wants well hidden. I realised how much he spoilt me. How much he went along with me and Hunk. That he protected us and we didn’t even know it. I want to help, but I don’t know where to start”

Keith found himself hugging Pidge who seemed a little confused before hugging him back  
“He makes it hard because he’s fiercely independent, but he knows you’re there for him”  
“I want to be there for you too”  
He didn’t make that exactly easy  
“Lance says I’m an anger loaf...”  
“He calls me his anger muffin”  
“Shiro‘s a croissant from memory. The twins are cupcakes”  
“Aren’t they big enough to be baguettes now?”

Drawing away from each other, Keith snorted at Pidge   
“I’m not sure. Lance said a rutabaga, but I don’t know what that is”  
Pidge turned her nose up, face wrinkled in disgust   
“It’s a vegetable. A disgusting vegetable that should be left in the ground”  
Keith frowned deeply. His twins were perfect. They weren’t vegetables... and if they were, at least they weren’t broccoli   
“Careful there, you’re insulting my kids”  
Pidge rolled her eyes, kicking his shin as she did  
“Can’t half tell you’re going to be a dad. Which totally reminds me, I’ve ordered you two your baby shower present because you’re both idiots. They should be here in like a few days, then it’ll take a couple of days of tinkering”  
“I thought we said we had everything we needed...”  
“Nope. You don’t”

Keith didn’t know what the hell they could be missing. The boxes from the furniture still sat in the hallway, with the hallway pretty much full... sooo... how much more could they need or even fit into their house?  
“How much more does a baby need?”  
“I don’t know? A stroller? Krolia’s getting you car seats... because, you know, you kind of need them. You can’t just drive around with an unsecured baby. I’ve seen your driving”  
Oh. Ooooh. Oh. Yeah. They hadn’t thought about the “get the baby home” part of things. Pidge cackled at the look on his face  
“See! Shay and Hunk got you something too... Shiro’s been too busy with Curtis so I look the liberty of lifting his credit card. He can thank me later”

Keith was somewhat scared of Pidge’s criminal mind. He’d have to tell Shiro. Keith had no idea when she’d had the chance... unless his brother left his wallet in his locker... Having Shiro and Pidge working together without him there threw him for a loop as he realised   
“Have I told you how happy I am that you’re not a bad guy?”  
“You have, but feel free to praise me more”  
Chuckling at Pidge, he’d missed her. February had been a month where he’d felt just about every moment of it. They’d had very few days where they didn’t have to go somewhere or do something. Now he’d be back at work and his schedule up in the air again  
“Lance would tell me off for stroking your ego. We should go see or a movie something while we’re in Platt. You, me, Hunk and Lance”  
“That sounds good. When do you start back?”  
“When the summoning is over and Shiro’s okay”  
“I’ll make a note of it and see when we both have time off. It’s been ages since we went to the movies with Lance”  
“It’s been a crazy past few months”  
“Amen to that. The guys are taking forever...”

Pidge was cut off as the sound of something booming echoed through the lab. The building seemed to shudder, Keith falling off his chair as he did  
“What the fuck was that?!”  
“I don’t know!”  
That couldn’t be good  
“I’ll check the hall”  
“I’ll pull up the security feed”

Opening the door, the corridor outside was cut. Thick white walls in place as if they’d always been there. Holy fuck... Keith had never seen it, but the first thing that came to mind was a lockdown  
“Ugh, Pidge... We’re locked in”  
“Gimme a moment!”  
Above him the hallway lights flickered, before bathing the world in red. An alarm sounding. Something had gone wrong with the summoning. It had to have. There was no other reason. Shit! Lance... Hopefully he and Hunk weren’t back yet. He needed to call them, let them know something happened... Fuck. Fuck! He should have been there with Shiro. Shit...

“Keith, get back here!”  
Leaving the lab door open, Keith jogged over to Pidge  
“What is it?”  
“There’s no phone service. I’ve got into the security system. The whole place is in lock down. I’m trying to keep the feed, but I’m being booted as I type. It’s the summoning, isn’t it?”  
“It has to be. Coran said it’d take a while, but something must have happened. Is there any way you get me down there?”  
“If I can clear the walls I should be able to get you to the elevator”  
“Can you lift specific ones? I need to get to my locker”  
“I’ll try. Shit, whoever programmed this knew what they’re doing. See if you can find service while I work”

Keith snatched his phone up, despite being issued by the Blades, the top showed no signal. Ignore it, he tried Lance’s normal phone, the call not even ringing before he was back to looking at his boyfriend’s number   
“Do you have any weapons in here? I don’t care if they’re experimental, we need to be prepared in case the demon got loose”  
“Can’t talk! Have a look!”  
Pidge was typing furiously on her keyboard. Keith casting a glance around the lab. There had to be something there. The case. The case Lance had his feet on. It was as good as any place to start.

Opening the case, it contained a modified sniper rifle with a digital connection display. He’d never handled a gun like it before, but he felt better for having his hands on it  
“Do you know what this does?”  
Pidge didn’t have the luxury of turning to look to the weapon, her fingers moving way too fast  
“What’s it look like?”  
“A sniper rifle with some kind of display screen”  
“That’s up from R and D. It’s supposed to shoot a concentrated beam of UV light, but I haven’t been able to test it yet”  
Oookay. Not so handy against a demon, but handy if a hoard of vampires decided to drop by unannounced. 

“Fuck! Shit... Keith, you’re going to want to take a look at this!”  
Moving beside Pidge, Keith’s heart dropped. Hunk and Lance were in the building... six different feeds were on the screen, Pidge targeting the one that caught her attention, still typing in a seperate black window thing that he had no idea about   
“Have we got audio?”  
“We’ve barely got this. Shit... Lance doesn’t look good”

Hunched over heavily, Lance was gripping the elevator wall. His other hand on his stomach, but his face wasn’t visible. From his body language, Keith knew something was up. Watching Hunk move to Lance’s side, the pair exchanged words, Hunk checking down the back of Lance’s pants sending him into fresh panic   
“We need comms. Can you hack the elevator?”  
“Let me work on getting audio up and running”

The building shook again. Which had to be impossible. The place was designed for containment. The amount of power it would take... Pidge was doing all she could, but he needed to get to Lance. Then again, he couldn’t leave Pidge on her own  
“Go check the other desks. I need another monitor. See if you can find anything useful”  
Her blunt tone was filled with anger. He knew that tone too well, it came from being frustrated. He’d be practically sabotaging her attempts to figure out what was happening if he tried to help.

Following Pidge’s orders, Keith retrieved the monitor for her, plugging it in as she directed. He’d found nothing good on the desks, apart from two ear pieces though was unsure if they’d work. If Pidge could get them going, he could follow her instructions once she’d pulled up the building schematics and worked out how to get these walls down  
“Keith, I’ve got audio for the elevator”  
“Can they hear us?”  
“Not yet. I’ve got to find the programming code in all this junk!”  
“Play it”

On the screen Hunk had moved back to Lance’s side. Lance still hunched over. Dread creeping up his throat like a bouquet of rose thorns as his boyfriend’s voice came through   
“Fuck... fucking... fuuuuck”  
“Just keep breathing”  
Lance snapped at Hunk, his face finally visible to the screen. His boyfriend wearing his scary face  
“You still can’t reach Keith!?”  
“Nope... I can’t get the doors open...”  
“Damn... dammity damn”  
“How far apart are the contractions?”  
“Still pretty far... it’s the lingering pain...”

Contractions... No. No... it was too soon  
“Keith...”  
“I know. I need to get to Lance”  
Pidge panicked hard  
“I don’t know how long it’ll take to get the walls up!”  
On the screen Lance felt for Hunk’s hand, grabbing it in his before falling against their friend   
“Hunk...”  
“I’ve got you, man. I’ve got you. Here, you should sit...”  
“If I get the doors open... you... have to go for help...”  
“I’m not about to leave you”  
“The summonings gone wrong... I can feel it! My ego... my ego is mad..”  
“Lance...”  
“Please... please... I don’t want to hurt you”

Keith’s heart was racing. Things had... How could... What the...  
“What do I do?”  
“Can you get the doors open?”  
“Not without risking dropping the elevator. It’s on its own system. Coran must have designed it for containment... to protect staff if something bad came”  
Keith heard himself snap  
“Something bad has come! There’s a fucking demon and Lance is losing the twins!”  
“Don’t yell at me! I’m working as fast as I can!”  
He deserved that.

“Hunk, I’m going to open the doors... I don’t know how long I can keep them open, if I push you through, you should make it okay...”  
“I’m not leaving”  
“You have to! I can’t protect you like this!”  
“I...”  
“Hunk, you’re strong. You’re strong and I know you can do this. Find a landline”  
“There has to be...”  
“I’m not leaving you. We’ll get the doors open and we’ll go together. If we can’t go out the doors then... then we’ll go through the hatch!”  
“You don’t understand... I feel it... the demons aura... it won’t stop at just destroying this place... I can’t let it hurt you”  
“Stop being stubborn! We’ll work this out!”

Lance broke down into sobs as he clung to Hunk  
“I’m sorry!”  
“It’s okay, Bud. But you need to calm down for me...”  
“I need Keith...”  
“I know. We’ll work it out. How do we get the doors open”  
“I’ll pry them open. We can’t... be the only ones trapped...”

Lance brought up a good point. Dozens of people worked behind the scenes. They’d probably had training in what to do during a lock down, if Coran had remembered to tell them  
“I’m on it. I can’t get a visual on the floor where Shiro is... He’ll be okay, won’t he?”  
“Yeah. Yeah. If the demon wanted to hurt him, it’s had its chance...”  
Plus Coran and Allura were there. Keith couldn’t help but feel if Pidge concentrated on just one project they’d be making more progress, but he wasn’t the one who made the tech side of things happen so had no right to boss her around.

It was an anxious wait. Keith didn’t take his eyes off Lance. Whatever he was feeling had upset his ego. Hunk was in a dangerous situation. Lance was likely to lose it if his ego thought Keith was in danger  
“Okay. I’ve stopped the coding for the lockdown. And I’ve sent a virus through the system. It’ll concentrate on that, giving me time to do what I need to get the elevator comms on”  
“Do it”  
“I am. Fuck, when this is over, I’m doing to punch whoever coded this in the dick. These encryptions are no joke. Thankfully I’ve got more access than I should after what happened with Sendak. Coran hasn’t changed his passwords”

Coran would have changed the access if it hadn’t been Pidge. They were all proud of her, slightly scared of her, but she had her heart in the right place. She’d amazing all of them with finely honed skills. Keith seeing all the good in her that Lance bragged about  
“He trusts you. Lance has been bragging about how smart you are for years”  
“He does that...”  
“He’ll be okay”  
“I should be saying that to you”  
“I have to believe he’ll be okay. He has to be. If his ego is upset, that could be... that could be stressing the twins. He can’t be in labour”  
“Keith”  
“He can’t be. He’s done everything he’s supposed to. How long until we get comms?”  
Pidge swallowed hard, both she and Keith knew they were hoping too much for things to work out unnaturally smoothly  
“A little while. It’s not like in the movies. I have figure all this out on the go”  
“You can do it. I know you can”

*  
Lance focused on his breathing. Slowly In and slowly out. His ego was getting madder by the minute. The foul black aura felt more and more sinister. Like the evil was creeping up the elevator shaft. He’d cried until his ego riled up. His tears drying up as he struggled to keep breathing. His priority was Hunk. He had to protect Hunk. And protect him from himself. His nails had grown out, the doors looking pretty damn tempting. But he was trying his hardest not to lose it at the situation.

“Guys?! Guys, can you hear us?!”  
Lance jumped at the sound of Pidge’s unexpected voice. Hunk scrambled off the floor, rushing to the intercom that hadn’t been working so far  
“Pidge?!”  
“Hunk! Oh my god! Are you guys okay?!”  
“I’m okay! But Lance... Pidge, is Keith there?”  
“I’m here, Hunk. We’ve got you guys on screen. Lance, I see you”  
Keith wasn’t hurt. Keith was with Pidge. His ego relieved. The darkness hadn’t swallowed Keith   
“Keith, Lance is having cramps”  
“We know. Coran’s got audio in there. It took a little bit to get it up on this end. We can’t get to you guys. They’ve dropped these walls in place... We can probably go up through the vents, can you guys get into the vents?”

Lance mentally sighed at his boyfriend. Like his pregnant arse was going to fit in any vent   
“Don’t bother with the vents. Are you guys still in Pidge’s lab?”  
“Lance, you need to speak up!”  
He wasn’t speaking up? Hunk passed his question on   
“He asked if you guys are still in Pidge’s lab”  
“Yeah. Pidge is doing tech stuff”  
“Don’t suppose she can get these doors open?”  
“She doesn’t want to risk dropping the elevator. Lance, she says don’t touch the doors until she sees the emergency stop coding”

Fucking great. Trapped in a metal box dangled over a demon...  
“Keith, the summoning went wrong. I felt a wave of this... this darkness. Stay where you are”  
“I’m not going anywhere until Pidge gets the lockdown reversed”  
“Babe, listen to me. If the summoning went wrong, there are three demons down there. You can’t take on three demons alone. Pidge, focus on the elevator. I need to get Hunk out of here safely. Coran has stairs all over this place. He wouldn’t trap his workers without a way for staff to evacuate safely. Have you got eyes on the bottom level?”  
“No, Lance. Are you okay? We saw what happened...”  
“It’s the summoning... We need to get out of here in case we need to drop the elevator”

Lance wasn’t giving up on his friends. He couldn’t give up on them. If the demon was lose, they needed to limit the ways it could escape. Had Hunk not been with him, he could have popped open the hatch and checked his options. Not that he was risking himself or his pregnancy, he could take full responsibility for his actions when he only had himself to consider. Rubbing his tender belly, he would have headed for help for them first, because that’s what Keith would want. The labs were some of the safest places in VOLTRON. They had to be. The technology there was sensitive and secretive. They couldn’t have a rampaging werewolf armed with tech. A vampire with a gun... actually, the vampire could do more damage without it.

“What do you mean drop the elevator?!”  
Pidge yelled into the comms, Lance drawing himself up. Standing felt better than sitting. He only sat because Hunk told him to  
“If we’re operating under the assumption the worst case scenario has happened, we need to limit the number of ways the demon could exit. We don’t know if it can maintain a corporeal form in our plain of existence. Coran would have set up charms and sigils to hold it, but it holds a vast amount of power. That’s why the ritual was going to take a while. Right now, you two need to remain safe in the labs. Those walls would be built to withstand both vampires and werewolves. It worries me that so much dark energy feels to be coming up the shaft. I know you don’t want us opening the doors, but I can’t stay in here, and Hunk wouldn’t survive if the elevator plummeted. Can you find out how much power the facility is operating on?”  
“I think we’re on reserve power. We’ve got the same red light you do. And the same alarm”  
“Is there anyway to tell what floor were on?”  
“No. Not without getting the doors open and I fear that’ll cause the elevator to drop. We think Coran put extra safety measures in, on the off chance he had to keep whatever inside contained”  
“That sounds logical. Fuck... okay... I’m going to check the doors on our side”  
“Lance!”

Lance wanted to reassure Keith. Hearing his voice made him feel so much safer. His ego was still fighting for dominance, but his ego also respected Keith and would follow Keith’s lead  
“Let me look. Worst comes to worst Pidge can talk me through ripping apart the circuit panel”  
“You could drop it!”  
“And we could drop waiting here. Curtis’s curse affects electrical flow. We’re in a box powered by electrics”  
“Babe...”  
“I know you’re scared. I’m scared too. But I’m not... I’m not going to risk them. I’m not going to risk not seeing you again. I know this place... if we can get out, we’ll work on coming to you”  
“You’re in labour!”  
“I don’t know for sure...”  
“Don’t lie to me!”  
“I’m not... it hurts... it hurts so much that I want to scream, but my ego is taking over. You know I only have so long before I lose it. Right now, you’re calming it. I believe in you, babe. Put your head together with Pidge. You’re both crazy smart and have totally different skills, but together you can work this out”  
Keith’s voice trembled as he replied  
“I’m scared...”  
“Me too. Stay strong for me?”  
“You’re an idiot...”  
“I know, but I’m your idiot. We’re two halves of the same idiot. Pidge, don’t reverse the lock down completely. We can’t let the demon out. Hunk, stay close bud, just in case we need to jump”  
Hunk shook his head, hands up. Lance sympathising with all his best friend was going through. He didn’t want to jump. He didn’t want to put any more pressure on his body than he had to  
“I’d rather not jump”  
“Neither do I”

*  
Watching Lance dig his nails between the doors of the elevator, Keith stopped breathing. He knew Lance wanted to keep hearing his voice, but his plan was stupid. If the elevator fell, there was no way to know how far down it’d go before stopping, if it stopped at all  
“I can’t watch. I can’t. Why couldn’t he wait?!”  
Because Lance had a point. The demon couldn’t be let into their world. Hunting vampires and werewolves was hard enough as it was. Keith had no idea how to track a demon, let alone contain one. That a group of novice werewolves summoned one was bad enough.

“If anyone can get Hunk out safely, it’s Lance. His ego is nothing like you’ve ever seen”  
“Have you?”  
“A little of it. He and Matt had this fight when Matt first moved in. It was crazy”  
Crazy scary. Lance’s ego was crazy. He had to trust that it’d continue to see Hunk as a friend, and that Hunk wouldn’t upset it by accident. With a creak, then a scream of metal, the doors inched open. Lance panting as he held them, head dropping forward  
“Babe?!”  
“It’s okay! Just... okay! Hunk, take a look!”

They couldn’t see what Hunk was looking at  
“Guys! Tell us what’s happening!”  
“We’re slightly above the reception!”  
Two floors up. Only two floors were between them Lance growled, the strain obvious as his face scrunched up  
“Hunk, once I get this wide enough, you go. I’ll follow you”  
“But...”  
“I’m faster and I’m stronger than you. The elevator is starting to shake. These doors are heavy...”  
“Lance, let it go!”  
Lance shook his head at Pidge   
“I’ve got this! Hunk, get ready!”

Lance strained, his growls turning into a yell as he got the door wider. Hunk feeling the need to grab the two bags of shopping from the floor   
“Ready?”  
“I don’t know man... I don’t think I can...”  
Sticking his leg up, Lance held his hand out to Hunk  
“Too bad, bro! We’re moving!”

One moment Hunk was there, the next he was being propelled forward out of camera view. Lance throwing himself after him  
“Hunk!”  
Pidge screamed Hunk’s name as the elevator doors snapped shut behind the pair. Their view of them cut off. They hadn’t thought about that...  
“Holy fuck... they made it!”  
Holy fuck, yeah, that sounded about right  
“Can we see the reception?”  
“Yep! And even better, if the landlines are working, we can call them!”  
“I bet you never thought you’d be saying that”  
Not with all the shit Pidge have Lance over his landline  
“I may have to admit antique technology has it uses”  
“Admit it, you want a corded phone for your birthday”  
Pidge glared daggers at him  
“Shut up. Like you’re that much older than me”  
“I’m old enough to know having a landline comes in handy”  
Landlines were much less complicated than mobile phones. You put the number in and it rang. No accidentally pressing buttons on the side of your phone or on a screen  
“Shut up and call reception already. It’s hash-zero-three”


	172. Chapter 172

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 😨😨😨

172

Sprawled across Hunk, Lance could have laughed. They’d made it. They’d broken the rules of all bad horror movies and hadn’t smartly stayed trapped until help came. They’d made it and the elevator hadn’t dropped. No decapitation. No vivisection. But his damn wings had come out, and Hunk was visibly scared of him. He could see himself reflected in his eyes, all vampiry and not presentable at all. He’d really liked this shirt too. This in built bra business was great. Climbing up, Lance reached his hand out, Hunk letting himself be pulled to his feet before taking half a step back. It was disheartening   
“I know. I’m all scary right now”  
“A bit... You didn’t give me enough warning”  
“If I’d warned you, you would have tensed and hurt yourself when we hit the floor. Are you okay?”  
“Yeah... yeah... Holy shit, we’re actually out of the elevator”  
“Yep. It looks like the staff already left... I’ve never been here with an empty reception before”

As with the elevator, the reception was bathed red. Lance really hating how it gave the impression blood had splattered everywhere. Red was not a calming colour. He’d have to talk to Coran about changing it to light pink or something as innocent. Looking down the hallways, they were blocked off by what looked like walls. This must have been what Keith meant. Grabbing his stomach as pain flared again, he bit his lip as he hissed. He’d lied to spare Keith’s feelings. He felt incredibly tender and it’d taken too much energy to get the damn doors open. 

“Lance!”  
Lance was not having a fun time. Knowing he’d cut himself off from hearing Keith’s voice, he felt like crying. This pain he didn’t feel equipped to handle without his boyfriend   
“I’m definitely not enjoying this...”  
“You need to sit down. I know you want to be all brave right now, but I’m putting my foot down”  
Lance scoffed at Hunk, his ego a wanker  
“I’m a vampire, don’t think you know better than me”  
“You’re not yourself. You lied to Keith and we both know it. You need to rest”  
“We need to keep moving”

Hunk threw his hands in the air  
“Stop it! You’re not okay! I won’t watch as you lose the twins! I won’t. Either you listen to me, or we can’t be friends! Now, you’re going to sit down and I’m going to try accessing the network from the reception terminal”  
Lance blinked at Hunk. Hunk was “Hulking” out on him. Scary mad Hunk was both scary and mad. Very few times had he seen Hunk like this... His ego was angry, but his heart hurt with the shame of knowing Hunk only wanted to help and he was being a douche. He deserved a dick punch   
“You’re right. I’m sorry... I don’t feel good”  
“No shit. Now sit. I’ll get you some water”  
“Standing hurts less”  
“Then lean against the desk”

Lance sucked his cheeks in. Pressing his lips tightly together so he didn’t laugh in the face of being scolded. Hunk wanted to help. He had to show him though he looked scary, he wouldn’t leap on him and drain him like a blood bag  
“Can you help?”  
“Sure, man... Just stop making me worry”  
“I’m...”  
Behind the reception desk, the phone began ringing  
“That’ll be Pidge...”  
Hunk ignored it, coming to his side to support Lance’s weight   
“She can wait until your resting. Seriously, were you always that strong? Those doors looked heavy”  
“Would you believe I’m actually pretty week right now”  
“You’re overpowered. You know you’re overpowered right”  
“I’ve been nerfed. Taken out by... fucking contractions...”  
“Oh, man! You don’t need to push do you?!”  
“Not yet... it’s too soon”  
“You can’t stop them if they want to come”  
“I’m going to hold my legs together and keep them in there as long as I possibly can”  
“Man, it doesn’t work like that”  
He could clench with the best of them. By breathing through his nose, he’d picked up the fact he’d wet himself at some point... he had no shame left  
“It’s going to have to. I want the drugs and I want Keith...”  
“I can’t do either”  
“But you can do you... I’m going to be angry if Coran forgot to warn us that these doors could drop, and everything down there is fine”  
“Does it feel fine?”  
“Going by my gut feeling, that would be a no”

He’d gone there. Let a vampire have his deflective humour. Other than his good looks, that’s all he had. Leaning against the reception counter, Lance grabbed the phone up, annoyed by the constant ringing   
“Hello, this is team... Lunk? Or is Hance? Lunce? This is team “Stiff and the Chef”. How may I direct your call today?”  
“What took you so long to answer?!”  
“Ah, hello there, Keith. What a pleasure. You’ll be pleased to know we’re okay. Hunk’s about to get started on the computer, and I think I’ve figure out how to put you on speaker... if I hang up, call me back. I’ve never been a great receptionist”  
Keith sighed heavily in the phone line. Lance pressing the button that said speaker and set the handset down  
“You had me worried”

Good. He hadn’t hung up on Keith. Pidge could hear them both, so she and Hunk would be able to techno babble  
“I know”  
“No, you don’t know. What happened?! Are you okay?”  
“I landed on Hunk. We didn’t get hurt”  
“Lance has batted out! He’s got his wings out!”  
Dobber. Hunk returned the scowl Lance shot his was he settled in front of the computer   
“Fuck. Babe... I know how much energy that takes out of you”  
“I’m not rushing to try the walls. I see what you mean now. The reception is cut off”  
“Is there anyone there? Pidge is changing camera angle”  
“No. I’m going to assume Coran either trained his staff in these kinds of drills, or he had limited staff knowing he was summoning a demon”

Two long moments passed before Keith sighed into the phone   
“Babe. What aren’t you telling me? I can hear your ego and if your wings are out, you’re stressing out”  
Damn, Keith was good   
“It’s... okay, I’m still... cramping. I’m not bleeding... but I definitely need a different pair of pants  
“Lance!”  
“I know. That’s why I’m not going to push myself any further now we’re out the elevator”  
“We need to get you out of here. We need proper help”  
“I know. Okay, I know. You freaking out won’t make us get out of here any faster”

In the background Pidge squabbled with Keith for the phone  
“Lance, are your contractions coming regularly or spastically?”  
“Uh... whenever they feel like it. They don’t feel like fake contractions”  
“Google says real contractions should come regularly like a regular time apart”  
“You’ve got Google?”  
“I downloaded some stuff on pregnancy so I’d understand”  
God. He loved Pidge. His ego pleased their friends cared so much about the twins  
“Pidge...”  
“I want you to time them for me. We’ll need all the data we can get”  
“I don’t know... they hurt like fuck”  
“Worse than a noogie?”  
Pidge was so innocent   
“Think period cramp with razor blades”  
“Okay. That... that doesn’t sound fun... and I don’t think they’re supposed to feel like that. Does it feel like when you had your bleed?”  
“I... Coran saw to that pretty fast, it... started when we got inside and... again when we were coming back from the coffee shop”  
“I think the quintessence or magic or whatever is affecting you because you’re not human. I didn’t feel anything before the walls came down”  
“I did. It felt... bad”

Keith came back over the line  
“Babe, I want you to sit down. Hunk, you take care of him. You’re in charge. Lance, I know you’re egos riled up, but you don’t have the extra energy for those wings”  
Lance’s bottom lip quivered. He was making Keith mad at him  
“If I could put them away, I would have”  
“I know. Hunk, is there any way you can do something or your end?”  
“I’m locked out. I’m trying to get in”  
Pidge called out   
“Let me look. I should be able to get in because I’m already logged in! Keith’s gonna talk to Lance now. Lance, take it off speaker. I need to concentrate”

Figuring out how to take it off speaker wasn’t as easy as pressing the speaker button. He managed to hang up, before Keith called him back  
“Babe?”  
“I’m here”  
Privacy would have been nice, but Hunk couldn’t hear Keith so Lance would have to make do with semi privacy   
“How bad?”  
“Not good”  
“Shit”  
Lance nodded. Yep. That summed it up nicely  
“Pretty much”  
“Okay. Babe, I’m not mad at you. Okay. I’m not mad”  
“I am. I thought I was... I was being paranoid. I’ve been doing everything”  
Keith’s voice was soothing. Lance longed to cuddle into him  
“I know you have. I know”  
“I told Hunk they’re staying in there”

Keith snorted  
“Good. They’re not going anywhere ahead of time”  
“You should tell them that”  
“I am. I’m telling you and we’re working as fast as we can”  
“I know. Do you think Curtis’s demon was reacting to my ego?”  
“I don’t see why it would. We were fine in Platt”  
“But Platt is your home... Maybe the demon didn’t like me being friends with Shiro”  
Lance sniffled. His ego was being hit by his human emotions  
“Then it’s an idiot. It’d be lucky to have you as a friend”  
“You’re just saying that because you’re dating me”  
“I seem to remember you taking in two strangers before we were dating”  
“You wanted to shoot me”  
“I thought you were bad, and then you went and turned out to be a good person”  
“I scared Hunk”  
“Oh, hey. That was your ego. But don’t you ever scare me like that again. And don’t go opening elevator doors like that again”  
“I won’t. I don’t have the strength”

Keith went quiet as he processed what was said. Sadly the hunter mumbled into the phone   
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do”  
“I don’t know either. Coran normally pops up to fix everything”  
“That he does. I’d sit through a dozen of his stories to see you right now”  
Looking down at his hands, his clawed fingernails were slowly retracting. Nothing calmed like Keith   
“So would I... he talks about the past a lot more now”  
“Yeah?”  
“Yeah. He was my therapist for a bit... but he didn’t tell me much about that stuff”  
“I think it’d make him the skeevy uncle if he did”  
“You can’t call Coran “skeevy””

Coran would have had a heart attack on the spot, or at least a fair amount of damage to his soul. Prim and proper, solving each problem with one cup of tea at a time, that was Coran... most of the time...  
“I’m just saying that he probably didn’t because you kept yourself so guarded”  
That was true. It was still a fight to go against years of self imposed training. Love had drawn him out of his shell. Platonic love for Pidge and Hunk. True love with Keith. The love and patience of a mother from Mami  
“Until you came along. All I could do before was stay on the outside”  
“Being on the outside is overrated”

Sadness bubbled up. Lance not entirely sure what he was sad over now. He ached to be with Keith...  
“That’s true. Babe, we never did paint the rest of the nursery”  
“That’s because Shiro fell asleep. You know, Pidge totally called out us out earlier”  
“She did?”  
“She reminded me we didn’t get a pram or car seats”  
“I didn’t think about that”  
He’d only thought of how to make their home as comfortable as possible for their twins   
“I didn’t either. Mum’s getting us car seats”  
“Is that because of her driving?”  
“I’m not about to disagree. Are you sitting down yet?”  
“It hurts less to stand”  
“Did you take your shoes off?”  
“How am I supposed to reach without you?”  
“Carefully?”

Lance chuckled into the phone. He was acting like a nutter, still, everything he said Keith seemed to have a quick comeback for  
“I’m too fat for that. I’m grateful yoga pants are stretchy”  
“They do make your arse look good”  
“I know. I liked this shirt”  
“We’ll get you a new one when we get out of here”  
Lance nodded, wiping his nose with the back of his hand, voice cracking as he smiled  
“I’d like that. Coran’s probably going to keep me in again”  
“Then we’ll stage a break out”  
Coran would shoot them. Heck, Shiro might even kneecap them for trying   
“Will you throw me over your shoulder and make a run for it?”  
“Nah, princess carry all the way, just like the diva you are”  
“Hey, Keith. I really love you”  
“I love you too, babe. We’re coming for you guys”  
“I know you are. You always do”  
“What can I say? I’m a sucker for a blood sucker”

In the background Pidge was groaning at the pair of them. Lance laughing at Keith’s bad joke startled Hunk, who raised an eyebrow   
“Hunk’s looking at me like I’m weird”  
“You are. All our friends are. Oh, Pidge says the twins have now become baguettes”  
“Baguettes are pretty big... I don’t want to give birth to a foot long sub”  
“That’s be a really long shit and stuff”  
“I think it’d be worse than a dick punch”  
His arse firmly noped that idea  
“I’m ready to dick punch Coran if he forgot to tell us this was going to happen”  
“I had the same thought. God. I’m terrible”  
“We’re both as bad as each other”  
“Maybe it’s a soulmate thing?”  
“So that’s my super power? I can tell Shay I’m like the superhero of dick punches?”  
“I think she’d laugh way too hard if you did”  
“Probably. Have you sat down yet?”  
“No... I don’t want to put the phone down”  
“I don’t want you to either...”  
“I won’t... Have you guys got us on camera?”  
“Pidge has two monitors and I have no idea what’s happening on either of them”  
“That sounds about right for her. I’m glad the internal line still works”  
“I found some Blade comms, but I think all outgoing signals are jammed”  
“Coran does own the whole block”  
“Then he can afford to give me a pay rise for dealing with this shit”  
“We are pretty broke”  
“But we’re rich on love”

“Keith, put the phone on speaker!”  
“You hear that?”  
Pidge sounded grumpy   
“Our gremlin being cranky?”  
“Yeah. Are you okay to do that?”  
“I’ve got it... lemme push the button”  
Lance pressed speaker, managing to get it right again  
“Okay, you’re on speaker, Pidge”  
“Good! Hunk, help, they’re being romantic!”  
“I know. I don’t know what Keith is saying, but it’s calming Lance down”  
“They’re being all gross”  
“Love isn’t gross”  
“Because you and Shay are mental for each other. I’ll take my electronics instead. Now, I’m hooked up to your computer. Coran’s password works for everything”  
“So it should work on here?”  
“I’d say so. You ready?”  
“Give it to me”  
“It’s all one word. Coran-the-galant”  
What the heck? Coran’s password involved himself? Then again, it was so weird that it was perfect. No one would think that Coran’s password was himself   
“Pidge?”  
“Don’t ask me. Maybe he had dreams of a sweeping red cape and slaying evil hoards”  
“But... that?”  
“Dude. I know you already changed your passwords to do with Shay”

Hunk blushed furiously, hissing  
“Pidge!”  
“I’m just saying. Are you in yet?”  
“I’m getting there”  
“Then hurry up. I don’t know how long I can listen to Keith and Lance”  
Lance huffed  
“I don’t know what you’re complaining about”  
“You two being gross. Can’t you... I don’t know... do something useful like brainstorm how to stop a demon”  
“We don’t know how”  
“Well that doesn’t help. What if it’s on the loose?!”  
“Then we have to get to Coran and Allura as soon as possible”  
“Says the man who chose now to be in not labour”  
“I can’t help it!”  
“Pidge, stop teasing Lance. He only just started looking human again”  
“That’s because he’s got a big gay crush on Keith”  
“Is it still a crush if they’re dating?”  
“I don’t know. I assume so”  
“Good to know. Okay, I’m in”  
“Great. I’ll wait for you”  
“What are we concentrating on?”  
“Getting the doors to the stairs up. Keith needs to get to his locker, and Lance needs to get to the infirmary”  
“On it. I’ll work on this hallway, you do yours”  
“Like I need you to tell me that. Oh, be careful of the encryption, it’s not Pidge level but it’s good”  
“I can’t wait to see. Double or single?”  
“Single and rolling”  
“Damn”  
“Yep”  
“I wouldn’t mind meeting whoever wrote the code”  
“I know, right? I’m going in!”

*  
Keith could have kissed Pidge. Getting the walls up meant they couldn’t do anything about the lights and alarms, but they could leave the corridor. Selecting each door individually, she’d cleared through the staircase, going halves with Hunk for the floor between them. She would have brought the whole computer set up with her if she could. With comms not working, and there no way in hell Keith was leaving her behind, Keith dragged out the lab hoping he was guiding her the right way.

He wasn’t. Pidge had to guide him as she chided him for being lost. It was easier for them to get to Hunk and Lance than it was for Lance and Hunk to come to them, despite them being on the lower level. Keeping his sniper rifle up, he swept through the halls as they walked. The few staff they did pass seemed perplexed that this wasn’t a drill. Apparently Coran was one for drills at all kinds of odd hours. He was going to have to talk to him about that. It’d happened so many times that Coran’s staff was becoming immune. With his heart hammering, his head was filled with Lance. Get Lance, get to the infirmary, go from there. The three stages to his plan played on a loop in his head.

By the time they reached the main level, Keith had lost all patience. Running up the stairs, Pidge panted and cursed behind him, vowing death on those who invented physical exercise. Once in the hallways, he knew the way to both their friends. Leaving Pidge behind, he ran along the hall, smacking into the reception desk because he’d forgotten stopping was a thing  
“Keith! Bud! I’m so glad you’re here!”  
Hunk stood, eyes filling with tears. The words heartfelt... and kind of ignored. Rushing around the desk, he threw himself down to sit beside Lance. His boyfriend’s wings still out, and his colour deathly  
“Lance?”

Tapping Lance’s cheek, Lance roused. How could Hunk let him sleep!? Sleep wasn’t good if Lance had started losing blood  
“K-Keith?”  
Realising he was real, Lance threw his arms around him. Keith falling on his arse with the impact  
“I’ve got you. I’ve got you, babe. I’ve got you. You’re okay”  
“I was scared!”  
Keith chuckled. Lance had his moments, but he’d also had his moments where he’d taken charge. His boyfriend’s brain never shut up  
“I know. How do you feel? Does it still hurt?”  
“Yes... I don’t want to lose them”  
“I know. Hunk, can you get the doors open to Coran’s office?”  
“I’m working on it, but his and Allura’s office have an extra layer of security”

Reaching the desk, Pidge had both hands on her sides as she panted  
“Oh, don’t worry about me, I’ve done all the hard work... I’m just... going to die now...”  
“I need your help with this encryption. If we lift these four doors we’ll clear the way to Coran’s office without opening the stairs to the car park”  
Pidge groaned, moving around the reception desk as she did  
“I demand a pay rise... no one said running... was going to happen”

Leaving Pidge and Hunk to nerd, Keith pulled Lance up against him. His boyfriend’s legs over his left leg as he nosed his hair. His left hand rested on Lance’s belly  
“Have they been moving?”  
“Not as much today... I don’t want to lose them”  
“You won’t. You’re not going to”  
“I’m sorry... we need to be focusing on Shiro. We need to get to them. It feels like something’s really wrong”  
“Coran can handle it. Allura is scary when she’s mad. Can you image how scary she’d be if a demon insulted her?”  
“Very... shit... it hurts”  
“I know. Keep breathing for me”  
“I have been”  
“Good. Good. You’ll be okay”

Lance sniffled sadly, whimpering as he hid his face with his forehead against Keith’s  
“I wet myself...”  
“I think that’s kind of perfectly okay given things”  
“It’s embarrassing”  
“It’s not like you’ve had access to a bathroom in the last two hours”  
“Is that how long it’s been? It feels so much longer”  
“You guys were trapped in the elevator for awhile...”  
“I don’t like them”  
“I’m not feeling too love towards them”  
“It felt like it was going to fall and we were going to be eaten by the darkness”  
“I’m sorry. I should have...”  
“Don’t. We were getting coffee, like we’ve done dozens of times”  
“Still”  
“No. No. You came to our rescue again. You and Pidge make a great team. I was useless”  
“So was I”  
“You calmed me down”  
“Really?”

Lance sniffled loudly, nodding as he did  
“Yeah. Yeah, you did. This feeling’s really upset my ego. I watched my own nails shrink as you talked to me”  
“I’m glad your ego thinks so highly of me”  
“So am I... Keith, what do we do if the twins aren’t okay? What if this was what Allura saw? Me losing them... Shiro in pain? We thought it was us...”  
That fucking prophecy. Keith knew it’d come back to bite them on the arse, but Allura had never mentioned the rest of all of this  
“I... I don’t know. I don’t know how to get to him”  
“If I was alone I could try the shaft? I’ve done it before...”  
Keith shook his head immediately. This wasn’t like the mines in Garrison  
“No. I am not letting you go down there alone. Either we all go or we all stay, or we all escape. There’s no in between’s or maybe’s”  
“Once we’ve hit Coran’s office, we should get down to my lab”  
“Coran’s office?”  
Oh. Yeah... Lance probably wasn’t thinking straight  
“We’ll get you some blood”  
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea when my ego is flaring”  
“You need your strength, babe”  
“You’re the one always rescuing me. Maybe I am a princess after all. You’re my knight in not so shining armour, Keith Kogane”  
“And you’re my idiot crumpet”  
“Says the anger loaf”  
Keith nodded with a smile on his lips, agreeing completely. He’s taken absolutely any teasing from Lance because Lance had taught how to tease with love not malice  
“Says the anger loaf”


	173. Chapter 173

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 🙄🙄
> 
> Having no phone has driven me mental... Not being able to finish this is driving me crazy.... I'm yellin at the void here

173

Getting Lance fed, and cleaned up the best they could for the moment, Keith carried his boyfriend the best he could around his wings. They made it hard. Catching on him, the walls, and anything else that didn’t seem remotely close enough yet still managed to scrape against them. He let Lance do the stairs on his own, but between the hallways was out of the question. Armed with blood and pilfered medical supplies, the walls had started sliding back into place, barely giving them enough time to make one last desperate bolt for Pidge’s lab before they were locked down again. 

Pidge was swearing up a storm. Hunk initially lost as what to do as he raided the food Lance had spent the morning making. Pidge was straight into the sugar. Keith grabbing two muffins for him and Lance. Lance’s colour looked better for having drunk, but his boyfriend’s pain hadn’t eased up. Sitting on the floor of the lab, Keith was facing his boyfriend with his legs over Lance’s, the vampire sitting with his back to the wall, hands on his stomach as he worried his lip  
“You should eat”  
“I’ll throw it back up”  
“You still need the calories for the twins”

Reluctantly Lance took the muffin from him  
“I made these for Curtis. Apple and cinnamon like he likes”  
“I don’t know you managed to make so much. I swear I was in the kitchen with you and I didn’t see you baking”  
Lance snorted  
“You were waking up still. How are you feeling? I mean, I wasn’t gentle last night”  
For all the running around he was doing, Keith supposed the adrenaline was keeping the pain down  
“I’m okay”  
“I know how bad it can hurt your hips”  
“I’m fine. Though, I might have taken that rain check if I knew we were going to be running around like this today”  
“Mmm... I know what you mean. Right now I don’t know if I want to bolt for freedom, or run all the way downstairs and flying karate kick the demon in the face”  
“You can do that?”  
Lance shrugged  
“I’ve never tried before”  
“Maybe we’ll keep that as back up option”

Feeling useless again, Keith picked at his muffin. Now he’d stopped running his head was throbbing. Occasionally he could feel a light kick or a tiny bit of movement from their twins, but seeing they were usually pretty active he didn’t mention it so as to not worry Lance. Pidge and Hunk had given them a little privacy in Coran’s office. Keith getting Lance’s shoes off and his boyfriend freed from his underwear, before using paper towel to clean what he could. Now Lance was underwear free and still damn arsed, but it as damp as before  
“Babe, I know you’re overthinking”  
“I know I am too”  
“All we can do is leave it to Pidge and Hunk”  
“I know. It’s just... we didn’t go to the infirmary. We should have gone there”  
“We ran out of time”  
“You need help”  
“We’ll go when the walls come up again...”

They’d been in a such rush to get to Pidge’s lab that Keith forgot to turn down the hall that’d take them to help. He didn’t know how he’d forgotten  
“Stop. Stop worrying. You’re doing everything you know how to do”  
“Is it enough?”  
“For me, you’re more than enough. We have to accept that we’re totally out of our league here. I could lawyer the fuck out the demon, but with computers... there’s too many buttons. You, you’re better at doing the stabbing. We all have our strengths”  
“I’m thinking I need to be more rounded”  
“And I think you are you and you’re perfect that way. Besides, Pidge has lived and breathed technology since she was born. She’s practically at one with it. Hunk can just about put absolutely anything together. When he engineers out, it’s amazing”

Keith sighed, lowering his muffin  
“Is it really okay for me to be like this?”  
“When’s the last time you had to fight a werewolf or vampire with a laptop? You’re fine, babe”  
Their positions had switched. He’d been the one comforting Lance, a little awkward and a lot hoping for the best as he did. Now Lance was here praising him way too much. He’d taken all Keith’s anxieties, kicked them aside and told him he was the hero that was fine the way he was  
“How did this turn to you comforting me?”  
“Easily. I know you’re freaking out of Shiro. I am too. But do you know what I think about when I think about Shiro in danger?”  
“His bobblehead collection?”  
“Nope. How I feel scared for any monsters who piss him off. I think about how unokay he was with us dating initially and I’m like damn, I do not want to be on the other end of him like that with a knife”  
“You really don’t. He once got the jump on a vampire. He literally jumped off the emergency stairs of this apartment building and slammed his knife into their head...”  
Lance gaped   
“Holy bananas... I know you guys are good, but damn!”  
“I know right? I was still training and I thought it was like the coolest thing ever”

A particularly nasty cramp had Lance dropping his muffin. His boyfriend’s hand flew to his belly as he cried out at the pain of it. Keith abandoning his own muffin, as he placed his hands over Lance’s, forcing his fingers to curve down between Lance’s hands and his stomach  
“Breathe through it”  
“I am... shit...”  
The cramp only lasted a moment, Keith feeling how tense his lover’s body went, before slowly relaxing as it passed   
“Good. Deep breaths”  
“I’m breathing. Shit... Please tell me I get drugs when it’s push time for realsies”  
“All the drugs”  
“Excellent... fuck... I need to use the bathroom again”  
“There isn’t one here”  
“I know... it’s like 4 doors down the corridor and to the left... shit... my boobs are leaking... Stupid demons”

Seeing they were useless to Pidge and Hunk, Keith wanted to do something for Lance. He needed Lance to relax and let his wings go back in. The only real form of pain relief he could give Lance was a massage, but his lover wouldn’t be comfortable with him doing that in front of Hunk and Pidge. Keith nearly chuckled to himself at the thought. Here they were, potential demon on the loose and he was planning on massaging his boyfriend. Their lives couldn’t get any weirder  
“Guys, we’re gonna step into the hall for a bit. Don’t let the door close and don’t let it lock”  
He got humming back from the pair of them. Lance stared at him as if he’d grown another head   
“Trust me?”  
“I do”  
“Then let’s get some air”

*  
Led outside by Keith, Lance leaned against the actual wall just around the corner of Pidge’s office. Having his wings out was exhausting. He’d torn through two blood bags to sate his hunger, and despite the situation, he was ready for his afternoon nap. He didn’t know why Keith had brought him away from their friends. He wanted Pidge and Hunk within sight so he knew they were safe.

“Babe, what are doing?”  
“I don’t know how to stop the pain, but I thought if I massaged your lower back it might help”  
God. That sounded heavenly   
“But the demon”  
“We can’t do anything but wait. I can’t take seeing you in pain. Let me do this”  
Keith was never particularly good at waiting. He was doing so well to keep his temper and admit that his limitations   
“You should be conserving your strength”  
“A massage is hardly going to drain me. Are you comfortable like that?”  
“As comfortable as I can be. These wings are a pain”  
“You probably didn’t notice but your scent hasn’t built up. I think your ego’s keeping you too on edge, making your whole body more exhausted”  
That was logical. His body wouldn’t feel safe to be like that when some demon could pounce. Then again, he was mostly a slave to its whims and own desires  
“And you think a massage will help?”  
“It can’t hurt”

Sliding apart the tattered bits of Lance’s shirt, Keith’s hands slid across his skin. His boyfriend starting at the small of his back, where he felt most tense. Almost immediately he felt relief in Keith’s touches. Unable to stop from moaning as Keith worked a knot from his muscles  
“Good?”  
“You wouldn’t believe”  
“Let me know if it’s too much”  
Lance nodded, letting his head dip so the top rested against the wall. Without Pidge and Hunk watching, he kind of felt less embarrassed about the state he was in. His friends wouldn’t judge him, but he did.

Working firmly, Lance stopped trying to hide his moans as Keith moved up and then back down his neck. Between his legs growing wet as his body decided now would be a great time to be horny. This didn’t go unnoticed by Keith, the way his hands massaged Lance’s arse was more than a little suggestive  
“Still feel good?”  
“Fuck, yeah... don’t stop”  
Sliding his hands back up Lance’s shoulders, Keith pressed against him, kissing between his shoulder blades as Lance tried to angle his head to give Keith access to his neck  
“Babe?”  
“I... I’m sorry”  
Instantly Lance felt bad as he caught himself. Pidge and Hunk were working their butts off, and despite the pain he was in, all he wanted was Keith to hurry up  
“Don’t be...”  
“We should stop...”  
“I haven’t done your breasts yet...”

Keith’s hands moved to cup his breasts, Lance groaning as he felt himself leaking against his shirt. The relief felt good...  
“Nipple stimulation and... orgasm... speeds up... labour...”  
“Should I stop?”  
“No... fuck... why am I horny?”  
“I think you want to feel me... our connection... to feel safe”  
“How can I feel safe when... there’s a demon... shiiiiit...”  
“Let me help you relax”  
“But...”  
“Babe, you need to relax...”  
Was this really Keith? Keith who would destroy himself if it meant getting to Shiro faster? Fuck... he was all riled up from the relief and release of endorphins that easing the pain brought  
“I can’t hold it... Keith...”  
“I’ve got you...”

Never did Lance think he’d have sex in the halls at VOLTRON. Keith’s fingers in his mouth to muffle his moans as his boyfriend slowly pumped into him. Coming from Keith’s fingers alone had felt amazing, but this was better. This was their connection. Like they were one and his ego finally stopped being a prissy bitch as they rocked together with Keith’s hands still working his breasts. Building up the pace. Keith sent him crashing into a second orgasm, his lover several moments later coming with a grunted whine.

Sinking down, Lance whimpered, Keith had sunk with him, still buried inside him as Lance’s hands ran down the wall. Licking his lips, he felt bonelessly dumb. Behind him Keith had his forehead resting against the middle of Lance’s back. The pain had added a new layer to things. The feeling baring down on his hips forcibly pushed up with every thrust from Keith. His body felt content. This feeling that only came from Keith... Opening his eyes, Lance found himself staring at his own cum dribbling down the wall. His legs tangled in his pants in a way he didn’t want to risk undoing by himself   
“Your wings... have gone down”  
Craning to look over his shoulder, Lance hadn’t felt them retract. With his ego topped off by a healthy dose of Keith, it must have settled back down and taken his wings with it. He guessed they came out because he knew the dangers of getting Hunk through that small gap when the elevator could drop at any time. 

Keith peppered kisses to his sweaty skin as he lifted him by the hips to slide out. Groaning at the changing in position, Keith kissed his back again in reassurance   
“We’re sluts. It’s official”  
“It’s your wonder dick to blame”  
“I’ll pass your compliments on. Babe... I hate to say it, but I think your shirts ruined”

It was soaked through at the chest. His breasts no longer felt so heavy. Oh... his milk really was coming in... his body was changing again. He hadn’t entertained ideas of breastfeeding. Being pregnant was enough to deal with. Coping with being male for the last 45 years than this whirlwind happening was a hell of a lot. As he started to cry, Keith moved him to sit on the floor, rocking him gently as he kissed his hair  
“You’re okay, babe. You’re okay”  
“What am I even doing? We’re supposed to be finding a way to help our friends”  
“You needed to feel calm and safe...”  
“But... this... I used to be better than this. We’re here fucking when we should be down there helping”  
“We can’t get down there for now. Right now, my priority is you. You feel it. How it feels like we can do anything together. You’re safe. I’ve got you”  
Logically he knew that. He’d made the same damn argument not even ten minutes ago  
“I’m sorry. My boobs are leaking. My ego is finally settled, but... I can’t believe we did that... what am I?”

Keith sighed softly  
“You’re my boyfriend”  
“And he’s your brother. I can’t lose them. I can’t lose the twins. I can’t lose you... I’m so fucking greedy”  
“You’re allowed to be”  
“See! You think I am too! Maybe God hates me more than I thought. Why do I keep... keep stuffing up!?”  
“You didn’t stuff anything up. You needed the release”  
“But... but here? In this place... I should feel safe here!”  
“Babe, you’re reacting to the demon. You tried to calm down but you couldn’t relax because your ego is threatened by the demon’s power. Your wings have gone down, and you’re not as tense as you were. That’s good for you and for the babies”  
“I don’t want to lose them... I’ve never... felt this close to losing them... it hurts so much”  
“I know it does. I know. I shouldn’t have pushed”  
“You just wanted to make me feel safe... I’m... I don’t know what to do about my boobs. I’m sick of damn clothes. I wish I’d called Coran before all of this and knew what the hell was going on”  
“How do you think I feel? I didn’t call Shiro. Now I don’t know if I’ve lost my chance forever”

Lance felt infinitely disgusted at himself for not being kinder to Keith. He’d wanted his boyfriend to take all his pain away, but when he’d tried, he’d gotten mad at him for it. Both orgasms had helped, as had Keith’s massage. All he did was for him   
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry... can we get cleaned up...?”  
“Okay. You know I’m not trying to blame you, don’t you? I easily could have called him this morning”

They’d had the time. Instead they’d basked in each other and being stupidly in love. Lots of kisses and snuggles, lots of pretending only them and their cupcakes existed. He should have had Keith call Curtis. He’d been so busy baking and preparing from when they’d woken up, it’d been too late by the time it came time to   
“I should have made you. He’s your damn brother and all I was thinking about was how much I loved you... I make everything complicated”  
“Enough blaming yourself. You’ll make your wings pop back out and we’ll be back where we started. Let’s use your shirt to clean up. My shirt won’t fit properly but it’s dry and cleanish”  
“I can’t take your shirt”  
“You need to stay warm. The cold isn’t good for you and twins”  
Keith had his jacket on... he could cover himself back up with that... but facing their friends again was daunting   
“It’ll be okay. We don’t need to explain”  
“They’re our friends”  
“Who honestly probably don’t give two shits about what we were doing. They’re in their own little world in there”  
“I feel bad”  
“Don’t. You’ll make me awkward and then I’ll say something stupid”  
“Okay... can you.. can you help me? I don’t... want to look like a mess anymore”  
“Sure thing”

*  
Pidge and Hunk were still working when Keith led Lance back into the lab. Lance’s shirt thrown into the trash after cleaning up his boyfriend. Settling back down where they’d been sitting before, without those damn wings in the way, Lance was sitting between his legs with his head resting against Keith’s shoulder  
“You should eat”  
“I’m too tired”  
“Have some blood then”  
“I’ve had a lot already”  
“I don’t think there’s really a limit”  
“You haven’t seen me when I’ve had too much blood... my ego is nuts. When I drank that mercury I had to have all my blood drained and a fresh lot put in. I guess that the closest thing to being high I can get”

Keith wrinkled his nose at the thought   
“How does that work?”  
“Basically they strap you to a table and pump all the blood out, then when it’s the right time, they pump it back in. It’s happened once or twice. Coran always put up with my moods. It’s like walking on clouds”  
Lance was totally nonchalant about it. Keith didn’t want to think about it. It felt... icky  
“You’re way too casual about this”  
“My body isn’t really human. Plus my ego really likes blood sooooo, it’s not that big of a deal. Besides, this was when you were hiding under the covers thinking you were turning into a vampire”  
“Please don’t remind me that I punch you in the face. It’s bad enough I’ve done it during nightmares”  
“You were doing your job... and nightmares don’t count. You know what I miss the most?”  
“What?”  
“Holding you. Being the big spoon. Being able to know I can protect you from any physical harm”  
“Babe, I’m pretty sure you can still protect me just fine”  
“I don’t know if I can. Everything I second guess or pause about because of the twins. They’re only human. Small and fragile. Kind of like you”

Keith closed his eyes. He wasn’t going to let Lance know he didn’t appreciate being called “Small” and “fragile”. He’d fought his whole life for a place to belong. Never trusting things easily given, and never trusting that people didn’t have another side to them. That Lance was considering and putting their twins first was good. But what else had he been holding back on? He thought his boyfriend was happy with their current life. He thought living with Lance was making as happy as it made Keith   
“I can hear you thinking”  
“I’m trying to work out what... what I’m not doing right. What you’re holding back on”  
“Oh... I just mean, I kind of miss training with you. I miss working with you on your stances and helping you out. That’s the kind of thing I mean. You’re not limiting me or taking anything away from me. I... okay, I didn’t tell you, but only because it wouldn’t change anything. I love you. And you know, once the twins come, we can have that back. So it’s all only temporary”  
“I miss that too. I haven’t trained properly in way too long”  
“That’s because you needed a break. I’m quite confident you can still kick arse”  
“Like I’m sure you could too if you really had to”  
“I don’t know. I feel really weak right now. I should be standing up and working out a plan of action for once those walls come down, but all I want is to be held and this to be over. I want our life back. You going to work. Me texting you at all hours of the morning as I lay in bed and worry. Me fussing over what to wear when I see you. I’ve become a total slob. I don’t know how I’m going to go back to jeans”

Keith nuzzled into Lance’s hair  
“We’ll figure it out”  
“I know. And like I said, I know this all temporary. A blip in the road. I want to carry them as long as I can, and give them the best start in life I can”  
“You will. I can’t believe we didn’t think about a pram or car seats”  
“Ugh. Don’t remind me. I was focused on after they came home. Have you thought of names yet?”  
“Nope. All our friends keep suggesting theirs”  
“I noticed that”  
“Have you thought of names?”  
“One or two. But I want to meet them first...”  
“Maybe it’s something we should still think about?”  
“I’ve got a book of names in my office. We can go through and rule out all the names we hate”  
“And the names of people we don’t like. James is off the list for sure”  
“I thought you were in with the wolf pack now”  
“Only because they’re in awe of you. No offence but Luis is definitely out”

Lance snorted, his hands stilling on his peeking stomach. Tensing for a few moments, Lance then let a long breath as he shook his head   
“None taken. Oh, I knew a Carl in highschool. No to Carl. He was a rich kid with more money than brains”  
Then again, if they were having twin girls, they needed back up names for them... or any idea of a name. Something cute and strong, that would age well and wasn’t weird to spell   
“What about girl names?”  
“I’m clueless”  
“I’m clueless too. I don’t know how girls work”  
“They’re one of the greatest mysteries in the world”  
“That’s true. Oh, Matt and Rieva are definitely not picking names”  
“Nooo. We don’t need them both named Matt and Matthew”

Pidge cleared her throat   
“If you two are done, Hunk and I have something to show you”  
Both men jumped at the sound of her voice. Right. They had an audience to them being “gross” again. Tapping Lance’s leg, his boyfriend groaned at he started climbing up, hand on his belly to keep his balance  
“Dude, is that Keith’s shirt?”  
Lance paused, halfway up. Keith sliding up the wall behind him, placing his hand under Lance’s armpit to pull him up with him. Lance didn’t owe anyone an explanation, nor did he have to be ashamed   
“Yeah. His boobs were leaking so I gave him my shirt”  
“That sucks... Can I get you anything to help? I mean, I know we’re in the lab, but I think there’s some gauze in the stuff we took from Coran’s office”

Lance might have been ashamed, but there was Pidge, trying her hardest to show him that she got that these things happened. It seemed like their little adventure to the corridor went missed   
“I’m okay... um... I’m sorry, it doesn’t really fit”  
Pidge waved her hand at Lance  
“Eh. I love you and all, but your body does nothing for me. I’ve seen Matt shirtless so often I’m immune to my brother’s. Anyway, we’ve got schematics now and a big decision to make”

Hunk kept typing as Pidge pulled up the schematics   
“Okay. So I had to piece this together. Now, I can’t work it out, but it doesn’t look like there’s another way down other than the elevator. Hunk’s got control of the elevator now. We’ll have to enter Coran’s access codes to make it move. The safety switched when it stopped, so we had to override that and then reboot it. So, what we have to do now is decide how to proceed. Something’s drained a lot of power from the facility. Lance mentioned the demon interrupted electrical supply. If the demon got loose, then it may have drawn power from VOLTRON, and that may have triggered the lock down. I can try to reset the grid, but the power might not come back on again. I think we need to check on Coran. Hunk thinks Lance needs to be in the infirmary. Which, he does. So now we don’t know what to do”

Splitting up never went well in the movies. Hunk and Pidge didn’t have years of training under their belts. He could leave them with Lance in the medical wing... but if something happened to him, no one could go for help, or warn them. He didn’t want to leave Lance’s side. Not when things could go from bad to worse, but his brother could be lying down there dying. He needed both of them, and now he had the chance, he couldn’t choose between them both. He didn’t want to make that choice   
“Don’t lift the walls you don’t have to lift. We can’t afford to let the demon out. Keith, you’ve got weapons in your locker, don’t you?”  
“I should have my gun and my knives”  
“Okay. I think that Pidge and Hunk should go. If you two can get out, you can call to let the others know what’s happened. I’ll go with Keith. We’ll get you armed and then I’ll go with you”  
“No”

Lance raised an eyebrow at Keith   
“I’m not risking you and the twins. Coran said it’d be bad for us to be down there”  
“You can’t stand against a demon”  
“And our twins are already in distress”  
“I’m not letting you go fight a demon on your own”  
“You need to go to the medical wing”  
“And I need you in one piece!”  
“So do I! If I lose you... and I lose Shiro... that’s it! Don’t make me fucking choose!”  
“And what if the elevator drops?! How do you think you’re surviving that?! I refuse to pop these two out without their father!”

Lance’s fangs started growing back in, scary face starting to emerge again. He couldn’t stress Lance like this. Maybe... maybe there was like a gap in the summoning and Coran would be able to look at Lance? Yeah, he was being so hopeful he knew he was being delusional  
“And what if our bond breaks?”  
“Then... then we’ll... we’ll learn everything again... I don’t think I’ll ever lose these feelings”  
It hurt Lance would risk it for his sake  
“I don’t want to risk those feelings”  
“Then let me come down with you. Please. I’ll stay in the elevator...”  
Damn it he had no choice. He couldn’t orphan his twins... Hunk could hack the elevator to hold the doors open. Once Lance knew what was happening, he could head back up  
“We should stay together. Pidge, can you clear the walls to the locker room. Hunk, can you take these codes with you? Or do you have to be here?”  
“Uh... um... I need to be able to enter them when you’re in the elevator”  
So he couldn’t come with them... He really needed a babysitter for Lance. He’d have to settle with using the elevator comms. He’d go down with Lance, then send Lance up to the infirmary and medical wing... Pidge could get the walls up and then head to infirmary to meet Lance   
“Pidge, get the doors up. Lance and I will head to the locker room then the elevator. Hunk, you get her out of here when we get down there. Babe...”  
Lance already knew. He had to be good and put the twins first. No combat. No letting his ego out. He was there to observe only  
“I know”  
“Alright”


	174. Chapter 174

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need a nap

174

Lance was finally clean. Clean in and borrowed clothes out of Shiro’s locker. As Keith had changed into his Blade outfit, Lance took the chance to finally clean himself properly. He looked a mess. Face somewhere between normal and scary. He was grateful Shiro had spare clothes and Keith had spare underwear. There’d been a bit of blood, not a lot but a bit. Deep and dark, more like period blood than fresh. It didn’t alleviate his worries. Keith would back out of heading down to see if Shiro if he knew. 

Joining his boyfriend in the locker room, Lance took a second glance at Keith. His boyfriend really did look good in his Blade uniform  
“Better?”  
“You have no idea. I’m going to have Coran installing toilets all over the place when this is done”  
“And the pain?”  
“Still there. I’m less anxious though... which I think is helping. I’m sorry I started crying”  
“You had your reasons”  
“I’m feeling a lot right now. Leaking boobs... didn’t help”

Keith stopped fiddling with his suit, head snapping up  
“Babe...”  
Lance raised his hands as he shook his head. Showered Lance had a back bone. Support Keith   
“It’s okay. I’m okay. Just one more thing on top of everything”  
“You know I don’t mind”  
Self insecurities were cruel. He’d have to explain things to Keith in detail. Maybe it was time book back in for some therapy   
“Yeah. I do. My head is... a mess. It’ll be better when this is over. Do you need help with your onesie?”  
Keith groaned heavily   
“Babe, it’s not a onesie”

Shuffling over, Keith raised his hands out the way as Lance straightened out his collar   
“I know, but the look on your face makes it worth it. Think of it, I’ve got three loves that’ll be in onesies”  
“You’re not funny. Are you sure you want to come down with me? I want you to head to medical wing”  
“I will. I want to make sure that you’re not about to be attacked then I’ll head back up”  
“And you promise?”  
“I do. Pidge is going to keep the doors down until I get there. For safety”  
Keith kissed him on the forehead  
“Okay. You don’t look back. If something happens...”  
“Don’t talk like that. I thought we decided we were all overreacting and Coran’s simply forgotten to tell us”  
“Babe, I’m serious”  
“I know you are. You got knives and your gun?”  
“Yep”  
“Okay then. I guess this is it”  
“I guess so. You tell them all of your symptoms. The moment you get there, you let them help”  
Lance nodded  
“I will. I promise”  
“Let’s do this”

*  
Riding the elevator down was unnerving. Keith kind of felt what Lance was talking about, and Lance’s pain seemed to return double fold. Leaning against the elevator wall, Hunk’s voice came through as he nervously babbled through the comms.

Reaching the bottom seemed to take hours. Finally the metal death trap shuddered to a halt   
“Keith?”  
“We’ve reached the bottom”  
“Okay. I’m going to open the doors now”  
“Got it”  
Sliding his hand up Lance’s back, Lance nodded as he righted himself  
“I know”  
“I’ll be back soon”  
“I know that too. Don’t make this sound like goodbye”  
“As if. I’m not going to orphan our twins today”  
“I’m still aliverish...”  
“You know what I mean”  
“Yeah. Give me kiss?”

The kiss was long and deep. Lance equally trying to convey all his love in it. Breaking the kiss, Keith stared into his boyfriend’s gorgeous eyes  
“I’ll be back soon”  
“I’ll be waiting. Make sure you bring them all back”  
He would if he could, and he’d fight damn hard to keep his word  
“I will. Hunk, open the doors!”  
“On it!”

When the elevator doors open, coldness rushed into the space. Lance’s eyes widening as he stared past him. Terror on his face  
“Babe?!”  
“Shiro... I can see Shiro...”  
Lance shoved past him, rushing out the elevator  
“Lance!”  
“Hold on! Tell Hunk to hold on!”  
Hunk had eyes on them, Keith looking up to the camera. This right here was not the plan   
“Keith?! Keith, what’s going on?!”  
“I don’t know! He said he saw Shiro!”  
“Go after him!”

There was no need. Lance reappearing from the darkened hall. Shiro in his grip as he dragged him under the armpits and into the space. Lance yelling as the darkness seemed to start dwarfing the red light above them   
“Hunk, shut the doors!”  
“Do it!”

The doors seemed to jolt as they slowly closed, cutting the cold feeling by half. Sitting Shiro against the wall, his brother groaned as Lance squatted down beside him with a pained yelp. Blood had dried from a wound on his brother’s scalp. His colour pale, and lips dry. Dropping to crouch in front of his brother, Keith shook Shiro by the shoulder  
“Shiro?!”  
Mumbling a moan, Shiro’s eyes fluttered open  
“Whaa...”  
“You’re safe. We pulled you out. Something went wrong with the summoning and the whole place is in lockdown”  
Groaning, Shiro’s hand went to the gash on his head, wincing as his fingers made contact with the spot   
“Shit...”  
“We’ve got to get him up the infirmary. Hunk?!”  
“On it, Bud. Express ride straight there”

Shiro took a long moment to come to his senses  
“You got the elevator working?”  
That was what his brother was worried about right now? Not the demon?!  
“What happened?! What happened to the demon and Curtis?!”  
“Coran pulled it out. He sent me out... it started drawing power... I tried to take the elevator back up, but it wasn’t working”  
Lance stepped in  
“The emergency stop was activated when the place went into lock down. Hunk and Pidge only just got things working again”  
“That explains why nothing happened”

How could Lance and Shiro pull off sounding so calm?! They needed Coran to look at Lance, what about Curtis? How long had Shiro been in the dark like that?  
“What about Allura and Coran?!”  
“They’re with the demon. We drew it out...”  
Confusion wasn’t a good sign. Shiro probably had a concussion. Keith head giving a hard throb in sympathy   
“Are they okay?”  
“I don’t know. There was a boom then the alarm went off. What are you two doing here?”  
Lance’s calm wavered, voice gruff initially as he replied   
“We were waiting with Pidge and Hunk for the summoning to be over. Keith, take a look at this”

Peering over his brother caused Shiro to also peer in the direction of Lance’s gaze. Deep claw marks had made a mess of Shiro’s right arm. Something had been lurking in that dark and the sooner they got back up, the better  
“When did that happen?”  
Lance sighed at Shiro, who couldn’t take his eyes off his arm. Guiding Shiro’s attention back to him with a hand on his cheek, Lance forced a smile for his brother’s sake  
“We’ve got no idea. I bet Curtis will have a few things to say about it”  
“He’ll be mad”  
“Bribe him. Some flowers and chocolates work wonders on romantics. So does beer and pizza”  
“I could go for a beer, right about now. I feel like I saw some weird things, but none of it’s making sense”  
“It’s the demon’s influence. It’s made me sick”  
“But the summoning was going well”

Keith opened his mouth, Lance somehow knowing though not in his direct line of sight. With a slight shake on his head, he killed Keith’s line of questioning before it started  
“Demons are tricky”  
“We got it out... Coran said something... I don’t remember what he said”  
“That’s okay. I’m sure Coran has a handle on it. He’s hella old, and just about the raddest fae around”  
Blinking at Lance, Shiro frowned at him  
“Are those my clothes?”  
“Sorry. I had to change... I had an accident”  
“You’re bleeding...”

Keith’s chest tightened immediately. Blood was the worst of the signs that something was wrong... That’s how it worked. He couldn’t see due Lance’s leg being in the way. He should have kicked him out on the medical floor   
“Nah, man. That’s yours. I could give it back to you, if you want”  
Shiro shook his head with a wince a strained chuckled   
“I still can’t believe you two are here”  
“We totally came to help but, but we are both incredibly useless at technology. Hunk and Pidge are watching over us. They’ve got eyes in here”  
“Should I feel stalked?”  
“This isn’t a bad porno. There will be no hunter-on-hunter-on-pregnant-vampire action in here”  
“I can’t help it that being in an elevator takes it to another level”

Lance cackled with laughter  
“What can I say, it has its ups and downs”  
Shiro snorted. Keith realising he was trapped with the pair of them  
“You and Keith aren’t ghosts right? Tell me you’re not in here trying to lift your spirits”  
“Personally I hate elevators. I’ve been taking steps to avoid them”  
Shiro was chucking now. Keith swore he could Pidge groaning through the comms   
“Good puns are like broken elevators, they never let you down”  
“I wonder if Hunk likes being a dad. I mean, he did raise us after all”

Keith folded his arms, annoyed at the pair of them   
“Are you two done yet?”  
“Sorry, kiddo. Lance just gets me”  
“Lance is getting his butt kicked. And you. You’re not better”  
Shiro sobered  
“I get that I’m in trouble, but what happened?”  
Keith scowled at Lance. He shouldn’t be laughing and joking about stupid things. He wanted to hit both of them   
“He doesn’t appreciate my jokes”  
“Actually...”  
“Actually I’m okay... just feeling that demon. Don’t suppose you know any jokes about that?”  
“Not really”

Pidge’s voice came through the comms  
“Why are demons fat? Because they hate exorcising!”  
Not her too!  
“Pidge. No. That was bad!”  
Keith agreed with Hunk  
“Oh! Why did the demon cross the road? Because the power of Christ compelled him!”  
Lance sighed at Pidge   
“You know better then to mock Christ”  
“I’m sorry but it’s hilarious when they say that in the movies! So soz, not soz!”  
Keith couldn’t cope with them  
“Hunk, how much further?!”  
“I don’t know man, something seems to have slowed the elevator!”  
“Oh! Oh! I’ve got another one! Did you hear about the demon that got arrested?! He was charged with possession!”  
Lance and Shiro both snorted with laughter. Keith began to fear the elevator had delivered him to his personal hell   
“Stop encouraging them!”  
Pidge snickered   
“Okay, I’ve got one more but it’s about vampires”

Shiro and Lance looked at him, Keith caving  
“Fine. Last one”  
“Okay! Right! So my favourite vampire is the Count from Sesame Street. Some people say he doesn’t count, but I swear he does”  
Shiro and Lance started laughing, the sound cutting off as Lance lost his footing, falling on his arse with a yelp. This was what he was afraid of. Well, he couldn’t have seen Lance falling over laughing, but Lance wasn’t as okay as he trying to make Shiro believe  
“Lance!”  
Hunk yelled into the comms. Shiro sobering again. Keith moving on his knees to Lance as Lance pushed himself up  
“Babe. Hey, are you okay?”  
“Ow... fucking... ow”  
“What’s going on?”

Injured Shiro might deserve to stay clueless because he’d able to do nothing but worried, but Keith found himself snapping at his brother  
“The twins are in distress! He decided you were more important than them and forced his way into coming with me!”  
Lance huffed, Keith manoeuvring him so he was sitting back on his heels. One hand on his belly, the other supporting him   
“Don’t yell at Shiro”  
“I’m going to yell because you should have gone straight to the infirmary!”  
“I was going! Fuck... fucking... oh god...”  
“Babe?”  
Lance looked down, not that he could see. Keith could see blood now. Not much, but the saddle of Lance’s borrowed gym sweats were red  
“Hunk! Hunk, we need to be there right now!”  
“A few more minutes!”

“What’s happening?”  
Shiro struggled his way up from leaning against the elevator wall, right arm held to his chest by his left. Keith in panic mode overdrive   
“He’s having a bleed. The demon set off something that set off the twins and we’ve spent the whole fucking day stuck here. The summoning was supposed to be over so Coran could look at Lance... Babe, you’re going to be okay. Okay, can you stand? Shiro, can you help me get him standing?”  
“I’m bleeding...”  
“Yeah. Yeah, you are. It’s going to be okay. Hunk says we’re real close”

Taking Lance by the arms, they pulled him up. Keith swaying as the world span, head throbbing again. Now was not the time for this damn head ache that’d plagued him for days to be acting up. Pidge’s voice came back through again  
“I’ve called down. I’ve explained his symptoms and I’m on the phone right now. They’ve got things ready for Lance. Bring him straight through and we’ll come to you!”  
“Thanks, Pidge! Hear that babe, you’re going to be okay. You’re going to be okay...”  
Lance’s weight was basically supported fully by him and Shiro. Lance shook his head at him   
“I don’t want to have them... it’s too soon”  
“It’ll be okay. Coran will finish up with the demon, and you’ll be okay. You’ll be okay”  
“It hurts...”  
“I know. I know...”  
“No... it like really hurts...”  
“It’ll be okay. It’ll be okay...”

“Guys, I’m opening the doors!”  
Moving Lance into position, Lance had his hands on Keith, claws had torn his Blade suit and scratched his skin. True to his word Hunk opened the doors, true to her word, Pidge had the staff waiting. Helping Lance up onto the gurney, he was stopped as he tried to follow Lance being wheeled away by a team he didn’t recognise. Shiro pulling him to him  
“Let them work”  
“I can’t leave him alone!”  
“Keith, they know what to do”  
“How can they?! Coran knows how to fix this!”  
“And they’ve been trained by him. He and Allura can’t do everything on their own, it takes a team”  
Struggling made Shiro grunt in pain. Seeing Lance taken away blew the thoughts of his brother’s busted arm out his head  
“Shit! You need help...”  
“I mean, some help would be good”  
“Help! My brother needs help!”

Shiro groaned at his yelling. Keith wincing at the sound of his own voice. He didn’t feel his knees giving out, unconscious before he hit the ground.


	175. Chapter 175

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A double update to celebrate having a phone again! I can write again! I mean, I do have the desktop but I can’t exactly carry that around...

175

Laying in the hospital bed, Lance felt like he had every machine known to mankind around him. He hadn’t passed out, but he wished he had as his pants were pulled down and he was examined. Two IV lines were running through his system, drugs mixed with the blood to halt the labour. Nurses checking on him every half hour. Beside him in the visitors chair sat Shiro. Shiro explaining that he was there because Keith, Pidge and Hunk were helping the nursing staff with their systems, Keith being the muscle that Shiro couldn’t be with his busted arm and neatly dressed head-wound. 

Lance wanted to reach out and comfort Shiro who must have been desperately worried about Curtis. Lance was worried and he was on the fuzzy feel good drugs to keep him weakened lest his ego have a fit. Holding Shiro’s good hand, Lance rubbed his thumb back and forth over the hunter’s knuckles. Occasionally Shiro would squeeze his hand, but they’d remained relatively quiet. Lance hoping Keith would be released and running back to him, because he was sure his boyfriend would be better comfort than him to Shiro. All he could do was offer that empty sentiment “that everything would be okay”. The words most people didn’t actually want to hear because it only served to drive the situation home harder. 

Hours must have passed before finally Pidge and Hunk were allowed in. His stomach exposed, covered in a band of sensors that monitored the twins condition. Rushing over to him, Hunk hugged him tightly  
“You had us worried”  
“I know. I had me worried too”  
“Don’t ever do that again”  
“I don’t want to. I’d be quite happy restarting today”  
“You and me both. Are you going to be okay?”  
“They seemed to have stopped the bleeding and the labour... I’m on drugs”  
His voice was slurred, and Lance was pretty sure he’d drooled on himself. Pulling back, Hunk gave him a wobbly smile  
“I can tell”  
“I was only talking to Keith today about I don’t think I’ve ever been high. Like high high. But I think I have”  
“I think you are right now. What happened?!”  
“We pulled Shiro out?”

Pidge appeared beside Hunk  
“He means with Keith”  
Lance blinked, Shiro sighing   
“He’s busy right now with the staff”  
Something went down between the three of them that Lance missed   
“I need a moment”  
Shiro got to his feet, Lance frowning at the man leaving. Maybe he was going to check on Keith? And give him sometime with Pidge and Hunk? Or he could have been overwhelmed because Curtis wasn’t back yet? He didn’t realise he’d said these things out loud until Hunk drew his attention again  
“How do you feel?”  
“Tired. Like super tired... but I can’t sleep until Keith comes back”

Next thing he knew he was being hugged by Hunk again. It took a Herculean effort to lift his hand up to his best friend’s back  
“You and Pidge did so good today. I’m so proud of you two. You’re like the greatest people ever”  
“We should have worked faster...”  
“I’m super duper sure you worked as fast as you could, because you guys are awesome saucem”  
“Dude...”  
Hunk started crying. Lance understood it’d been a long arse day for his best friends   
“It’s okay... I’m okay”  
“We saw Keith collapse and they took you off and then they took him and we weren’t allowed to see you”

Hold up... what? Something happened to Keith? When did that happen?”  
“Keith collapsed?”  
“We don’t know what’s going on. No one will tell us”  
Deep from his memory Lance dredged out  
“He was helping you?”  
“Hunk, Shiro mustn’t have told him”  
Pidge’s voice was soft, nearly drowned out by the way Lance’s heart started racing. Some machine going off at his elevated heart rate  
“What do you mean he collapsed?!”  
“Lance...”  
“No. No... where’s Keith... where’s Keith?!”

Trying to struggled against the wires, nursing staff came in. Pidge and Hunk forced away from him as the nurses words were lost to his panic. Keith hadn’t been hurt. He’d been running around all day. This had to be a mistake  
“Keith?! Keith!”  
“Lance, you need to calm down”  
Lance tried to tear away from the nurse, but couldn’t go anywhere in his drugged up state  
“Keith!”  
“Lance, you’ll bring labour on again if you keep fighting. Keith isn’t here right now”  
“No. No... where is he?! Where is he?!”  
He needed Keith. Keith to hold his hand and listen to his drugged up babble as they waited patiently for Coran and Allura to bring Curtis back up. Something pricked his arm, Lance growling as it did. Nurses were holding down his arm as his body bucked  
“Keith!”

*  
Holding Keith’s hand, Lance was the first one allowed to see him. Coran had no idea the chaos unfolding above him, he and Allura had “quite a time” convincing the demon to leave the physical realm. Apparently it’d become attached to them and was very reluctant to leave, causing chaos that required some demon overload named Bob to be summoned to help deal with it. Whatever. Lance didn’t care. Sitting in the wheelchair, he held Keith’s hand. Keith had some kind of subdural haematoma. They’d rushed him into theatre. He’d over heard the nurses talking about the prognosis, Keith’s left pupil blown, and they were unsure when the bleed began.

With a bandage around his head, and a tube in his throat, they were keeping Keith sedated. Like they’d kept him sedated for a full 8 hours of forced rest. Curtis was unconscious, though Coran assured them all he’d be in tip top shape once he woke and had a good months worth of rest. Nothing had gone right. Or at least that was the feeling Lance had. Seeing Keith like this, he didn’t know how he didn’t know. Like, he was a vampire, blood was his thing, but Keith had been running around with this time bomb in his head. Popping the breaks on the wheelchair on, Krolia let out a broken “oh, god”. Lance felt the same way. By the time Coran and Allura had returned with Curtis, Pidge had contacted Krolia, who’d contacted the few Blades in town, who’d then taken over things with Pidge’s help to bring all systems back on time until Coran returned nearly 26 hours after the summoning began at close to 1am the previous morning.

Lance felt so fucking shitty. He’d been so consumed by his own personal panic he hadn’t seen the signs. Keith had been complaining of a headache for a few days, but he just thought it was not enough sleep. Not some brain bleed. The prognosis terrified him. He didn’t know if Keith was going to wake up. Or if when he did, he’d be his Keith. All he really knew was about strokes. Though along the same lines, they were very different. 

“Lance, he’s going to be okay”  
How could he be okay? This was in his brain! Keith went above and beyond for him, only to be still sleeping off the surgery and anaesthesia. Hooked up to IV’s and oxygen, his boyfriend would have matched the number of machines Lance had waiting for him back in his room. Coming around the chair, Krolia squatted down in front of him, taking his face in her hands. His face might be facing her, but his eyes were on Keith   
“This is Keith. He’s strong. There’s no way my stubborn son is going to miss seeing his twins growing up”  
Hadn’t it been enough losing Mami? Not Keith... He couldn’t lose Keith. He refused to. He was selfish and he needed him. He couldn’t go back to a world without Keith in it  
“Are you in pain?”

His heart was breaking, but that wasn’t what Krolia wanted to know. Numbly he shook his head  
“Okay. Coran said only a short visit today”  
He knew that. Absolutely no walking around or stressful activities. Coran feared Lance’s body had started trying to absorbed the twins from the threat the demon posed to him. That rather than let the twins be food for a rampaging demon, it was better to self abort and try again later. It disgusted him that his ego could flare so much, think it so superior, then betray all that false bravado and act like the twins weren’t the shining hope in Keith’s and Lance’s future. Shiro had cried and cried when Coran was explaining things to him. With no Mami there to hold him, or hold his hand, Shiro seemed to have appointed himself the spot. His future-brother-in-law apologising, though he had no reason too. Promising he’d take care of him. It wasn’t his place to make those sorts of promises. He wasn’t Keith. He didn’t automatically “inherit” Lance like some unclaimed baggage in the case of Keith’s untimely demise.

“How are my two favourite patients doing?”  
Coran had agreed to give them a little bit of time for a private visit. Lance felt he needed to rework his limit as they’d barely been in there all of thirty seconds  
“I think Lance is tired. Maybe we should get him back to his room? You can come back and see Keith after you’ve had some more rest, sweetie”  
Krolia could go be tired by herself. And who was this “sweetie”. Krolia didn’t call people “sweetie”! He’d be happy to be forgotten here so he could stay with Keith   
“That’s to be expected. That ego of yours took quite the unexpected bruising. To think one demon could cause that much chaos. The whole floor will need to be remodelled. We’re very lucky indeed that we finally convinced it to leave, nasty little blighters. Threw the whole complex into lockdown, spread its form through the halls in some kind of temper tantrum. Impervious to normal weaponry. Don’t you worry, we gave it a good thumping”

Krolia sighed heavily at Coran. Neither of them cared about the demon not when Curtis would be okay and Keith was like this  
“That’s all well and fine, but what about my son?”  
“Ah! Right you are. Number two required surgery, as you know he had quite the nasty little bleed. We’ve drained the bleed”  
Lance’s ego has survived the first insult without being ruffled, but having Keith not called by his name. No. No way. Was that all Keith was? A fucking agent with a number and not a name?!   
“He’s not “number two”! He’s Keith. You can at least use his goddamn name!”

Snapping at Coran, Krolia was the one who ended up yelled at in the face. The woman flinching a little, but Lance sincerely didn’t give two shits. Keith was better than being called by a damn number, even if the term was meant with love and endearment. Coran cleared his throat  
“You’re right, Lance. I’m sorry. Keith is a valued member of VOLTRON, and a good man. Unfortunately, during the procedure there was a moment where his brain waves dipped. We are currently monitoring it, yet we have no way of knowing how okay he will be until he wakes up. There was some swelling, normally we wouldn’t medicate him in this manner when dealing with a bleed on the brain. I should be asking you if you feel anything...”

“He feels cold”  
Keith’s hand was warm in his, but that warmth didn’t seem to radiate. He didn’t feel like death. He wasn’t shrouded in the bitterly cold air stealing feeling, but some of his natural warmth seemed be missing around the edges. He wanted to crawl up into Keith’s bed and cuddle him until Keith felt better. But Coran would never allow it  
“You don’t mean...”  
“No. Not like that... he’s not going to die. He’s not allowed to”  
“Phew! You had me worried, boy. Let’s get you back to your room. We can come back by when Keith wakes up. I’ll take you back, Krolia, you may stay with Keith if you’d like”  
“Thanks, Coran. Lance, I’ll let you know the moment Keith wakes”

That’s have to do. Protesting would only lead to sedation. He didn’t want to be sedated. Being held down and forced to sleep made him feel sick to his stomach. He’d rather be awake. Awake and waiting patiently for his boyfriend like a good little vampire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, Lance lived on the edges for so long, he had no clue about sedating a vampire or keeping one sedated. Thanks to Keith he’s learned a heck of a lot about vampires and himself


	176. Chapter 176

176

Keith didn’t wake. Not the next day, not the day after the next day, or the day after that. Bringing him to see Keith, Hunk must have had the timing wrong. His best friend stopping in the hallway, as whoever had visited Keith last hadn’t closed the door properly.

Inside the room Shiro was yelling at Coran. Hunk trying to back pedal, but Lance had heard enough. Coran wasn’t sure Keith would wake back up. The signs weren’t promising. Keith now intubated. Shiro yelling at Coran to fix him, Coran trying to keep the peace while explaining there was nothing he could do that he hadn’t already tried. As Hunk tried to wheel him back, Lance took the wheels of the wheelchair in his hands, propelling himself forward. As Keith’s boyfriend, he deserved to know what the fuck was going on.

Shiro and Coran both stared at him as Lance banged the doorframe. Shiro’s face clouding with guilt, as Coran pushed a fake smile to his lips  
“Lance, my boy. I didn’t think it was time for your visit”  
Lance was done being polite. He was tired. He was agitated. And he refused to be kept out of the loop any more  
“Cut the crap, Coran. Tell me the truth”  
“The truth about what?”  
Lance’s ego nearly had him going Coran’s throat for the cheap trick he’d tried to pull. He felt disgusted Coran would bother trying that with him  
“You don’t think Keith will wake up. I heard you. I heard both of you yelling”  
“Ah, yes... well...”  
“Is he going to wake up, or not?!”

Coran flinched at his angry yell. Shiro startled too, but more willing to be honest. Staring down sadly, his eyes said it all  
“We don’t know. We don’t know why he hadn’t come out of it yet...”  
“There has to be something you can do”  
Shiro cast a glance at Coran, then back to him  
“I’m sorry, Lance. He hasn’t responded to anything they’ve tried”  
“There has to be something!”  
Coran could fix anything except for death, and Keith wasn’t dead! He was right there. Heart rate monitor showing each beat of his heart. Coran shook his head   
“There isn’t... I mean...”  
“Can’t you wake him up?! Can’t you manipulate his quintessence?!”  
“I’ve already tried, my boy. It’s in god’s hands now”

“You said if he turned, he might pull through”  
Lance blinked in shock at Shiro’s suggestion  
“You... what?!”  
“I’m afraid I’ve done all I can do... a bite may turn him, or he might not survive the strain”  
“You can’t fucking turn him! You have to fix him!”  
“I... can’t... I can’t, my boy. I’ve tried. His scans are looking good, but there is a drop in his brainwaves. If this continues, I’m afraid there’ll be nothing we can do. I did find traces of vampire DNA in his, minute, and insignificant, hardly worth mentioning as the number is so low that it wouldn’t have any effect on his current condition”

Lance was taken back  
“So I’m to blame for this? Keith loses his life because I’m a vampire?!”  
“Lance...”  
Tears rolled down his cheek. No one survived a vampires’ “bite” this late in life   
“This is all my fault. He had headaches. Since Curtis slammed him into the nursery wall... and I thought it was stress... I told him to talk to you. He said he was okay. He said he... he said he was okay!”  
“He could be. If he takes the bite”  
Lance shook his head quickly   
“You can’t turn him into a vampire! He won’t survive!”  
Shiro’s voice firmed  
“Not a vampire bite, but possibly a werewolf bite”  
“Keith wouldn’t want that. He wouldn’t... He likes being human”

He’d done all he could dissuade Keith from taking the bite. He loved Keith. He loved everything about him. A bite wasn’t something to take lightly. Shiro clucked his tongue in anger  
“Keith wouldn’t? Or you wouldn’t be able to love him if he wasn’t human?”  
“How dare you?! He had a mental breakdown at the thought of being turned! Now you want to give up on him?!”  
“He either takes the bite or he dies! I don’t care if your ego doesn’t like it, those are the only two options we have!”  
“My fucking ego has nothing to do with this?”  
“Then why won’t you consider the option?!”  
“Because it wouldn’t be Keith’s choice!”  
“That has nothing to do with your past trauma! You can’t take his life away from him!”

“Get the fuck out!”  
Rising to his feet, Lance snarled at Shiro. This had nothing to do with Nyma and Rolo. Keith’s views on vampires and werewolves may have changed, but the instant he knew he’d changed, he’d instantly start second guessing every fibre of his being   
“Lance”  
“No! Get out! Get the fuck out! You’re supposed to his brother! How can you not think about how much he’s going to hate himself after everything he’s been through!”  
“Even if he does, at least he’d be alive! This isn’t a decision I’ve made lightly!”  
“Well right now it seems like you did. Now get out!”  
“You can’t kick me out, I’m his brother!”  
“And I’m his boyfriend! Pregnant with his twins! Did you even know Keith wanted the bite?! That he wanted to do that because he thought it was best?! Did you know?! The bite isn’t a magical cure! He might not survive through the curse taking! He might not even be the same Keith on the other side of it! Insanity, paranoia, rage! He could suffer from any of that!”  
“And he might not! Matt...”  
“So you’ve run behind my back and dragged Matt into this already?! Thanks a fucking lot for letting me know where I fucking stand with you! Now get out!”  
Shiro sighed as he rose his good hand to pinch the bridge of his nose   
“Look, Lance...”  
Snarling, Lance let his ego flare. Claws and fangs exposed as he showed Shiro that ugly side of himself   
“Out of respect I won’t hurt you, but if you don’t get out of this room right now, I can’t guarantee the same for my ego. Now leave!”

Shiro jumped as if startled to see him this angry, or maybe it was at the frostiness in his tone. Lance’s eyes focusing on the pulsing of the man’s jugular. He could hear every beat Shiro’s heart was giving. It’d be so fucking easy. Too fucking easy. He needed Shiro out his sights before he snapped and went him, doing something he knew he’d regret and would haunt him for the rest of his life  
“I’ll be back. Unlike you, I haven’t given up on him”

Shiro swept from the room, Coran meeting Lance’s eyes  
“Lance”  
“Don’t. I don’t want to hear it”  
“My boy...”  
“Coran, I’m warning you, I can’t take what I know you want to say. The other half of my soul is laying right in front of me dying. Keith deserves a life where he isn’t forced to second guess his existence”  
“I understand. Please try to get some rest”

Coran left, leaving only Hunk standing behind him. He had to say something to Hunk, to let him know he wasn’t mad at him, not like he was with Shiro. It occurred to him that Hunk could possibly already know  
“I know you think I’m being selfish. But I can’t...”  
“Should I leave you two alone?”  
“Please”  
Hunk shifted his weight, Lance feeling the impulse to beg for his forgiveness. Keith was Hunk’s friend too. Turning his head, he gazed brokenly at his friend   
“Please don’t hate me... I can’t... I just... can’t”  
“I don’t hate you, man. I can’t hate you”  
God. Hunk was too pure  
“Thank you... I’m sorry”  
“I’m sure it’ll be okay...”  
“I don’t think so... but thank you”

*  
Climbing up to lay next to Keith, Lance pulled the covers up to their shoulders, careful not to disturb any of the sensors connected to his boyfriend’s body. He didn’t know what to do. He needed Keith to wake up and tell him what to do. To kiss the top of his head, as he looped his arms around him and told him how much he loved him. 

The fact there was nothing he could do, they could do... he couldn’t get his mind around it. Coran fixed everything. For the last 38 years, that’s how it’d been. He was hurting, he went to Coran and they figured out to make it better. Listening to Keith’s heart, he couldn’t bare a life where he’d never hear it again. The hiss of the ventilator mocked him with each breath. He loved this stupid idiot bastard with everything. 

Keith was like fire. He hot and ruthless in the wrong conditions. He drew people to him, though he didn’t realise his own warmth. If they’d met sooner, or even later, they wouldn’t be where they were now. He wouldn’t have this gaping hole in his heart that threatened to swallow him whole.

From the man who thought he didn’t deserve friends, that someone too close was bound to turn, Keith had grown. He’d grown and bit by bit he’d opened up his heart. Okay, so it took them like a month to admit they could at least try this dating thing, but all the chances Lance gave Keith to leave, Keith never left. He loved wholly and completely. He’d made friends and come right out his shell. His life tipped upside down, then managed to struggle his way back up right. Lance respected him. He respected the effort that took. He respected the path he walked. He respected his wishes, even when he pushed Keith on them. He respected the way Keith could identify the parts of himself that he felt he was lacking and still followed his heart. 

If the bite was the only thing that could save Keith, he still didn’t know if he could support it. He’d love Keith. He’d always love him. But Keith... having an ego was hard. A newly turned werewolf would identify him as a threat and not a lover. Keith’s whole life would tip upside down again, and Lance didn’t know how they’d ever right it again. A vampire and a werewolf, as a couple, it was never heard of. They killed each other. They always had and always would. When he was with Keith, he could do anything because he felt Keith had his back. Kept him safe. When they snuggled together, the weight of the world lifted, both safe in each other’s arms. What if Keith no longer felt safe in his? What if he no longer felt safe when Keith held him?

Matt and Rieva were so fucking rare. Werewolves who formed a pack with a vampire like him. Werewolves that didn’t hate his existence and supported and comforted him. Matt might have his moments, but to Lance he was his brother. Rieva the sister, and sometimes aunt, that he longed for. He loved the pair of them for who they were, wolf side included.

Then there was Pidge and Hunk. Their human friends. Their human friends who knew Keith was another human, like them, could stand against vampires and werewolves. That someone in their side would be lost. Sure, now Curtis was curse free, he’d be a human by their side, but he wasn’t Keith. Neither was Shiro. Just the thought of him made Lance mad. He hadn’t been fair, but he was big time disappointed in Shiro. It was natural Shiro would want to pursue everything and anything that could bring Keith back to them. But he hadn’t told him. He hadn’t been honest. He’d sat through all Coran had to say about Lance and the pregnancy, then not told him a damn thing. That’s what hurt the most. That honestly hadn’t been a two way street.

If the bite saved Keith... how did they take back those times they wanted to. Take back that life. What happened when Keith transformed under the light of the full moon? What happened to his urges? What happened when they could no longer have sex because it’d become too uncomfortable? Would Keith turn to someone else? A human without the scent of death? Would their bond dissolve like the happiness dangled before them? What was the right move to make? Allura had said “a boy and a girl”. That had to be Hunk and Pidge, when Shiro left the room. “He” could only be Keith. But how did they get that happy ending? How did this fix itself so it’s all alright in the end? What did Krolia tell the Vatican and Blades? Keith had said his mother was skilled at exterminating werewolves. Would her love for Keith waver when he was the same as the people she’s killed?

They’d only just found each other again. They’d met. They’d interacted. But they’d only just become family again. Would Keith even be strong enough to the take the bite if his brainwaves were dipping? Taking a curse wasn’t an easy thing even for someone in peak condition. If he was to fall pregnant again in the future, could Keith love the child if it was part wolf? Would they turn their siblings? Even by accident? Keith would be destroyed if that ever happened. His boyfriend need any more psychological wounds. He needed love and to be loved. 

He was being selfish. Gripping the hospital gown Keith was wearing, Lance nuzzled into Keith’s chest. Shiro was a little annoyingly right. He didn’t have the option to say no when he was turned. Turning someone without permission made him feel sick. How did he turn away from that golden rule of his, and accept it was the only thing to do. So many times he’d failed to help Mami, not risking his blood near her. He’d never have given her the curse, even with a one thousand percent certainty that she’d come through unharmed. How had kept ended up with his DNA in his system and not exhibited any signs of turning? There was no such thing as immunity. Why had Coran mentioned it if it wasn’t some kind of factor contributing to Keith not waking? 

Sighing through his tears, he raised his head to look up at Keith. If Keith would just smile, he’d know everything was alright. Just one smile on those thin lips of his and all this pain would wash away   
“Babe... I know you can’t hear me, but right now, I don’t know what to do. I need you to wake up for me. I need you to wake up for the twins. I can’t raise them without you. I can’t... I can’t lose you, so you have to wake up. You have to wake up and show everyone they’re wrong. Please, Keith. I’m begging you here... I love you, you stupid anger loaf! You can’t do this to me! You can’t! I will never forgive you if you leave me behind! You said we’re family! You’re my family! You’re... my everything”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo originally this was gonna happen when Sendak smacked Keith’s head against the side of the truck...


	177. Chapter 177

177

They were doing this. They were doing this and Lance still couldn’t look his friends in the eye. Keith hadn’t deteriorated further, yet he hadn’t opened those wonderful purple galaxy eyes of his. Coran making a comment about Keith seeming more stable in Lance’s presence, that Lance took with a pinch of salt. That was Coran trying to be nice, not the actual truth. If he was good for Keith, then this wouldn’t have happened.

For the last five days he been by Keith’s side constantly. He’d read to Keith, wipe him down. Moved his arms and legs to prevent blood clots forming. For the last 8 days Keith had kept them waiting. Hunk and Pidge came by to watch Keith sleep and try to distract Lance from watching his boyfriend’s every unmade move. Then Keith did start to deteriorate. Lance forced away from him for an ultrasound, their twins active on the screen. He’d been talking to them a lot too. Telling them about their daddy Keith. Krolia had come and gone every single day. The last time she came she brought with her a plush purple hippopotamus. A remake of the one Keith adored as a child, the original happening to be named “Yorak” or sometimes “Keef”. His boyfriend associating his own name with his precious soft toy, yet too young to make the “th” sound at the time of naming. The story precious. A precious link Lance only knew a little about.

In the time he’d been gone, death had started to creep forward. Not strongly. Not overwhelmingly. Inching in on the edges of the warmth of Keith’s body. The air in the room that much colder by a fraction of a degree that normal people would miss. He’d hit the wall. All the love and care had done nothing. The tears he shed would have filled a river. Their friends worried over how much he talked to Keith as he slept on. They fretted and worried he didn’t rest enough. Lance could only sleep when next to Keith. Every sound seemed to bombard his senses when he closed his eyes. His body wouldn’t relax. He couldn’t relax. Not without his ear against Keith’s chest. Even unconscious Keith drove the bad things away.

Sitting in his wheelchair, Lance wasn’t allowed to stay once the curse started to take. Keith strapped down firmly to bed to stop him from hurting himself. Lance felt betrayed that this was what Shiro had decided for Keith. The man should have been happy. Curtis woke up. But Shiro hadn’t shaved in days, and smelt like he hadn’t been bathing either. Curtis was too weak to be up and moving. His quintessence had taken a huge hit when the demon was forced from his body. Lance had the suspicion Shiro hadn’t told Curtis at of what was going on, or Curtis would be here by his side, agreeing with him that even as an only choice, it was far too extreme.

“I’m going to start now”  
To save a clash between Matt’s and Rieva’s egos, Coran was using wolf blood that he’d gotten from his stash. A random werewolf saving Keith’s life felt worse than if it’d been Matt or Rieva, but he didn’t think his ego could stand the jealousy of using the blood of their friends. The tube in Keith’s throat had to be removed so he wouldn’t choke on it. Lance couldn’t bare to look at his lover, feeling as if they were stealing his choices away. Coming back from this was impossible. Pushing the needle of the syringe into the IV line, pink swirled in the collection chamber  
“This should take a short while to kick in. We’ve introduced the blood slowly to not shock his system”

What a lie. As the pink liquid reached Keith’s veins, there was a long and measured moment before his back arched off the bed, blood starting to spread through his system. An obvious shock, no matter what Coran had said. Lance had always thought he’d stay with Keith through thick and thin, but watching him turn was too much. He knew Keith’s body would start burning up. He’d yell and scream, lost in delusions and madness. Rolling himself backwards, Rieva placed her hand on his shoulder, voice whisper quiet”  
“Lance?”  
“I can’t be here”  
“Okay, let’s go for a little walk”

Rieva “kidnapped him”. Not that Lance wasn’t glad for it. Coran hadn’t forbidden leaving the medical wing, he simply hadn’t because he didn’t want to be any great distance from Keith. Wheeling him into the elevator, Lance closed his eyes, trembling at the memories. He didn’t need his dislike of elevators becoming more, more like a phobia than a general dislike of confinement. Not doing this by halves, he was kidnapped completely. Taken to the staff car park and right to Rieva’s car. He felt horrible. Horrible for not being there to face Keith. None of their friends group were allowed to stay apart from, Allura, Matt and Rieva. Allura had been so deathly pale when he’d finally seen her again. If she’d seen anything, she didn’t say.

Closing his eyes for the drive, Lance couldn’t tell how long they drove with him like that. The greyness of the sky felt like the heavens wanted to rain just for him. Rieva stopped briefly, but as she didn’t try to disturb him, he kept his eyes closed until she came back smelling like flowers.

Taking him to see Mami, Lance didn’t understand what he was doing there until Rieva gently reminded him that though she was gone, there was a lot of things he wanted to tell her right now. He was grateful for that. No judgment. No pushing. No asking why he was so against everything, even if that was a jumble in his head. He tried to walk towards the grave, but Rieva decided it was too far, carrying Lance up against her chest as if it wasn’t a weird thing to do. God. She’d been so right. When they reached Mami’s grave, Rieva tidied the grave up a little as Lance mentally poured his heart out to his mother over everything. Mami would have smacked him and told him to go back to Keith. She would have told him he was being silly and that Keith would love him no matter what form he took. She would have scolded him over the twins too. She didn’t hand knit booties with his Aunty just for him to go and lose them.

“Lance?”  
Sitting beside him, Rieva broke the silence that had held since they’d reach Mami’s grave   
“She’s be mad at me”  
“I’m sure she wouldn’t be”  
“She would. She would have smacked me and sent me straight back”  
“I think she might have understood you couldn’t watch the turn”  
“That’s the worst bit. I must seem awful. Not wanting Keith to turn into a werewolf. I probably sound like I’m yelling out that it’s okay for everyone else to be a wolf but not him”  
“I don’t think that’s the case at all. I think you may have been the only one thinking this through clearly. I never meant to turn Matt and it still weighs on me. All those questions we live with”

Lance hung his head, hands moving from keeping himself up to resting on his belly. He’d gotten bigger again. Even his maternity shirts felt a little snug  
“You did it by accident. I was turned on purpose with no choice. I yelled at Shiro when he pointed out I was letting my trauma get in the way. But I can’t deny it. I made Keith so mad at me by telling him I didn’t want him taking the bite. I didn’t want Keith thinking he had to in order to stay with me. I didn’t want him changing his very existence to be anything more than he was”  
“You’re worrying about your egos not being compatible. It’s a valid worry. Keith will be running in overdrive when he wakes. Everything will be a lot for him”

Rieva seemed the first to say that out loud. To actually say “valid”. The use of the word meant a lot to him. He’d told Keith so many times his feelings were valid and it was okay to feel the way he felt   
“I know that. That’s part of the reason I couldn’t stay. He’s... gonna be so messed up when he opens his eyes. He’s going to smell the stink of death... To not ask him feels like I’ve betrayed our relationship. You know what I mean?”  
“I felt devastated to know I’d turned Matt. I know he can be an idiot, yet he can also be quite soft and charming. He has so much intelligence he doesn’t know what to do with it all”  
“Pidge is like that too. It’s part of the reason she’s so hyperactive at times. Rieva, I saw death starting to take Keith. What if he isn’t our Keith when he wakes up?”

That chain of thought... what a horrible boyfriend he was being to ask that out loud   
“He will be different. We know that. But he’ll adjust with time. Matt and I can help”  
“Won’t Matt feel threatened having another werewolf’s scent around the place?”  
“I’m sure it’s not going to be easy at first, but we knew Keith as a human first so it shouldn’t be too bad in the long run. It’ll be like how we worked it out with you slowly”  
“Matt and I fought. I can’t exactly fight Keith. I can’t drink his blood either. It might affect the twins... I didn’t want to drink his blood in the first place. Then... sometimes it felt really intimate. Keith is going to be upset I won’t drink from him”  
“But he’ll be alive. That’s the main thing. You two can’t work things out if he isn’t here to work things out with”

Lance sighed heavily. Stupid tears. How many more could he possibly have left?  
“Did you know he has a ring box? The police showed me. I haven’t asked him about it. Now, if he were to propose I feel like it would be because he nearly died. I know I want to be with him, but I want to date for a while. I want to build up to that moment. Make happy memories. I don’t know how I missed it. I don’t know how we got here”  
“We missed it too. Being a werewolf isn’t so bad”  
“Keith will be freshly turned. He’s going to have to learn how to control an ego, on top of how to control his strength”  
On top of coping with a pregnant mate that’s a vampire and the change in the dynamic between him and his friends  
“But he has a pack to come home to. He won’t be alone”  
“He’ll be scared when he wakes up. Everything is going to be so much on his sense... that’s if he wakes up”  
“Keith hasn’t let us down before. I can’t say how long it will take. Injecting blood is different to a bite or a scratch. The curse has to take effect first, then he should start improving”

Should was the word of the hour. A lot things should happen. And a lot of things shouldn’t have happened. They’d been all ready to fight a damn demon like they were some kind of superheroes. Instead there was no need, and they’d basically been useless from start to finish.

“Come, we should head back”  
Rieva dusted off her palms, making to move as Lance mumbled  
“I don’t know how to face him”  
“With courage, and love in your heart”  
“I’ll always love Keith”  
“Then you have the answer to all your questions right there”

*  
Armed with courage and love, and the help of Rieva, Lance evicted both Coran and Matt from Keith’s room, ignoring that Shiro had seemed to settle himself down in corridor as Keith’s protector. They’d talk eventually, but for now Keith came first. Leaving him alone with Keith, Lance went to work as his boyfriend writhed in pain. If nesting was a thing werewolves did, then he’d make the best nest ever with the space and resources he had. 

Keith couldn’t be unchained from the bed, so Lance worked fabric in between his wrists and the already padded cuffs. He fought to pull the sheets off the bed, then replaced them with the ones he was supposed to be using. Over Keith’s swapped out pillows he slipped his shirts. The scent would be a lot. Keith had breathed his scent a million times before, but never like this. He hoped that some part of Keith would smell him and know he was safe despite what was happening. He shouldn’t have left. He knew what it was to be alone during the turn. Keith wasn’t alone, but he wasn’t with him. Had Keith cried out of him? No. No. The blood hadn’t been in his system long enough. Lance wasn’t super sure it’d take. Coran said there had to be intent in the blood for a turn to occur. But pumping Keith up with werewolf blood surely had be triggering it and the burning fever that went with it.

Dipping clothes in cool water, Lance did his best to combat Keith’s fever. Come mowing his boyfriend’s scent had started to change, noticeable over the smell of sweat in the room. He hadn’t slept at all. Reading to Keith from Dracula, hoping his boyfriend would find it funny when woke up. Lance had shaken the book the first time he’d read it. Hoping a different ending would fall out. It didn’t. He was all for the good guys, yet it seemed so easy for Dracula to die that it was laughable. The book had also kind of stirred up the desire for a castle of his own, complete with coffin just to make jokes at. 

Pidge had laughed at every vampire movie she’d ever seen, Lance right along with her. Now he felt that a werewolf movie marathon was in their sights, once Keith woke. At least for his birthday Lance could gift him with a cone of shame, seeing he’d never actually gone through with doing that with Matt. He was so thoroughly ready for his happily ever after. Roll on a nice mundane life, where he played housewife raising their twins. He’d been ready for that role, ready for when the time was right and labour would come. Keith holding his hand as he tried not to break it. Keith a mess as he tried to reassure him while Coran cut his stomach open, because neither of them wanted to be down the business end of that. Drugs and a c-section. Two healthy twins that’d be human like their daddy. Life could sincerely go fuck it’s self for this hell of a curve ball.

It took two days for Keith’s fever to break. The third his boyfriend stank of wolf, straining violently against the cuffs, as he growled and snarled without waking. Unable to keep Coran from entering forever, he’d pried open Keith’s eyes to check his pupil reflexes. Purple ringed with yellow irises stared forward without seeing, but Coran prognosed that things were looking up for Keith. They just had to let things continue running their course. Yeah. Like he didn’t already know that. 11 days of Keith sleeping were more than enough. 

Everything Lance did revolved around that room. The bathroom his space for feeding, and for locking himself away when he wanted to cry. A calm scent was the best thing for Keith to wake up to, so he tried to keep calm through it all, even when Keith got violent enough to bend the side bars of the bed. And when he’d thrown up on himself from fever, Lance hadn’t thought twice before cleaning Keith up. Coran said was too much for him, Lance begged to differ. He’d be there for Keith, despite not knowing what lay ahead for the pair of them. He’d always, always be there for Keith, knowing that had their roles been reversed, his boyfriend would have done everything the exact same as Lance was doing now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Rieva. I do. I’m so mad we didn’t get to explore more of Matt’s relationship in the series.


	178. Chapter 178

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The people down the road are currently celebrating a birthday... while I sit at home trying to find a way not to lose my two volunteer jobs at Easter time... seemed grounds enough for a chapter to me 💁🏻♀️

178

12 days after collapsing, Keith finally came back to him. Showing signs of waking, Lance hit the call button, summoning Coran who immediately moved to Keith’s side, Lance forced back for his own safety as no one knew how Keith would react to suddenly being a wolf.

Groaning, Keith tried to pull his hands up, snarling when nothing happened. Slumping down, he let out a long breath. Lance’s gaze remained firmly on Keith’s face. If his boyfriend couldn’t distinguish scents, he hoped seeing him would be enough to reassure Keith  
“Keith?”  
Mental confusion was to be expected. Heck, brain damage possible. Keith tensed at Coran’s voice, yet drifted off before making a verbal reply. Much the day passed with Keith out of it. His eyes opening once or twice to stare up at ceiling, then he’d drift off again.

Verbalness didn’t come until mid-evening. Coran shining a torch in Keith’s eyes, Keith mumbling to “fuck off”, quite slurred but there. Lance laughing in relief. He couldn’t picture a more Keith way to wake up when he’d had his sleep interrupted and not been woken with kisses and promises of coffee. Knowing he should stay back, Lance didn’t. He really couldn’t. Taking Keith’s hand in his, he squeezed slightly too hard, his boyfriend’s eyes fluttering back open to stare directly at him  
“Hey, babe. You’re okay. You’re okay and you’re safe”  
“Lunnnce?”

Lance smiled through his tears as he nodded  
“Yeah, babe. It’s me... I’m here”  
“Smells... bad...”  
The way Keith wrinkled his nose sent Lance’s heart soaring  
“That’s because you’ve never smelt a vampire quite like me”  
“Dun like...”  
Yeah. He got it. He smelt like something dead that Keith would roll around in. He’d have to make it exceptionally clear that peeing on his death soil would not be tolerated  
“I know. Rest some more for me, babe”

Keith was stubborn, his gaze glassy, tugging on his restraints he bared his teeth, showing off his now exceptionally pointed canines  
“Whaaaas wrong with me”  
Shit. His boyfriend must be more aware than Lance thought he was. Smiling, he tried to reassure him. Those cuffs probably had Keith’s brand new ego furious and confused   
“Nothing, babe. Nothing is wrong with you. You’re going to be okay. I love you. Now go to sleep. We’ll talk when you wake. I’m here. I’m not going aware”  
Coran put his hand to Keith’s head, Keith’s eyes starting to droop. Surely Coran’s plan wasn’t to make Keith sleep every time he woke up?  
“Whaaad...s... wrong with me...”  
“Nothing at all. I love you”

Keith dozed for another two hours. Lance didn’t mean to, yet ended up doing the same. He woke to find Keith staring at him intently. Much more lucid than the last time. Lance felt that same heart raising happiness as the first time Keith had opened his eyes on his own  
“Babe?”  
“What did you do me?”  
There was a little slurring but no where near the same amount as when Keith woke before  
“Babe...”

Keith drew his head back, eyes guarded. A quick glance to Keith’s hand confirmed his claws had come through. Keith probably didn’t know what to do with the energy running through his veins or how to control it  
“Somethings wrong with me... what did you do to me!”  
“Keith. You’re okay. You’ve been in a coma, for the week and a bit...”  
His soft and gentle tone was snapped at   
“What did you do to me?!”  
The allegation of him doing something tore Lance’s happiness away. Where the fuck was Coran when he actually needed him?  
“Let me call Coran, he’ll be able to explain”  
“Fuck Coran! What’s wrong with me, Lance!? Why are the light to bright?! Why do you stink?!”

Lance‘s bottom lip trembled, head dropping forwards. He hadn’t wanted this for Keith   
“You had a brain bleed. You nearly died. Coran tried to revive you out of it, but nothing was working...”  
“No... no...”  
Keith had always been smart, even if he didn’t believe it for himself. His eyes went to his hands, then back to Lance, narrowed in anger directly at him  
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to do this. But you were dying...”  
His boyfriend yelling, as Lance winced in guilt  
“You turned me?!”  
“I didn’t...”  
“You fucking turned me?!”

Hyped up on anger, Keith tore the restraints off the bed. His boyfriend shooting forward, to slap him across the face with enough force Lance felt like his brain had been pingponged   
“Get out!”  
“Keith, please...”  
“You broke my trust and you fucking turned me into a monster?! I’d rather be dead!”  
Aggression on the back of a change was to be expected. Keith didn’t mean the words he was saying. His senses overloaded by how huge his world now was. Holding his smarting cheek, Lance started to cry  
“Babe. Please... please listen to me... Coran said he’d tried every other possible way...”  
“Then he should have found another one! Get out! Get out, I don’t want to see you!”

God. He knew Keith would be messed up. He’d found a place to belong and now that place had turned him into this. Stumbling away from the bed, he didn’t move fast enough. Keith’s hands going to the restraint on his left ankle. For all he’d done, now it meant nothing. Keith’s ego didn’t recognise him as friend. Nor did it see him as foe. It saw him as a traitor.

Slipping out Keith’s room, Lance was met by their friends gathered in the corridor. Hunk holding flowers, the first to stand  
“We... heard he was waking up”  
Pidge the first to realise something was wrong. Her eyes filling with guilt as she looked to her lap. Shiro the first to go... there  
“What did Keith say?! Is he okay?!”  
A bitter laugh broke free. He’d fucking told them. He’d told them Keith wouldn’t okay with this. Even if the idiot wanted the bite to stay together, the choice had been forced upon him. Raising his head, he let his hand drop, broken smile on his lips. He took no delight in watching Shiro’s face fall with his words  
“Congratulations, Shiro. He said he didn’t want to see me and that he’d rather be dead. I hope you’re happy with everything you gotten. Coran, he snapped the restraints. I recommend you get in there before he tries to hurt himself”

Brushing past Shiro, the flower Hunk held fell to the floor. Pidge quickly to hug Hunk tight. Curtis comforting Shiro. Matt and Rieva both gazing down at their hands. Funny how no one moved to comfort him. He’d poured every ounce of love into caring for Keith, even when he knew he was being a dick about it, he thought they understood. Walking through the group, he felt drained and done. He’d thought he’d have to walk away alone, until Allura came jogging up to his side, then moved into his path   
“Leave me alone, Allura”  
“I can’t. You’re like a brother to me, Lance... Let me in”  
“I can’t...”  
“Lance”  
“What do you expect me to say? Keith’s finally coherent and the first thing he says is that he should be dead. He... he said I broke his trust”  
Digging the heels of his palms into his eyes, the sadness he felt the others didn’t deserve to see spilled out. Breaking Keith’s trust was what hurt the most. He could understand Keith’s anger, but to think Lance had chosen this. Like he’d been waiting for this to happen, that’s what cut the deepest. Allura didn’t care. Wrapping her arms around him, she kissed his neck  
“The Keith I know wouldn’t mean it. He’s confused and hurting. He needs time”  
“And what am I supposed to do in the mean time?! He hates me!”  
“He doesn’t. You need rest, come with me”  
“I want to go home!”  
“I know, but you’re emotionally exhausted right now. And Keith, he’ll need you when he settles. Come with me to my rooms. If you feel the same after you’ve rested, I’ll come home with you. I’m not leaving you alone, even if you hate me for it”

Lance shook his head at Allura   
“I could never hate you”  
“Then you’ll just have to let me in. Here, raise your head”  
Lance sniffled as he did. Allura blurred into a blob from his tears. Wiping at the stream, she smiled warmly at him  
“That’s better. We’ll work this out together”  
“I don’t see how”  
“It’s always darkest before the dawn. A hot shower and a good meal, things will seem better with some rest”

*  
Allura prepared him a warm bath with bubblegum scented bubbles. Taking his time, the warm water seemed to cool too fast. Keith on his mind, as he had been nonstop. Rieva and Matt would have been there had Keith turned aggressive. Rieva would welcome Keith into their pack. The three of them now sharing something he wasn’t part of. In a world of scents, what if Keith found Matt and Rieva a more attractive match than himself? Matt could be spacey, and horny, but he was good looking in his own way. Rieva was plain beautiful. She was smart and witty. She had a dry sense of humour, and kept herself grounded, though she’d be a femme fatale if she played up her ego. No male wolf could resist her. He was just Lance. A boy from Cuba. With not that much to offer now he was jobless.

Allura had prepared a fluffy robe for him, it waited with a pair of her pink fluffy slippers by the bathroom door. Lance wasn’t sure he deserved such luxuries, but she’d taken his clothes away, not leaving him with much choice in what to wear. Bundling himself up, the fabric smelt of flowers. Kind of nice, and kind of making him long for his mother. Knowing such thoughts would do him no good, he made sure Allura’s bathroom was acceptably clean before letting himself out into the living area. In the small kitchenette, Allura had pulled her hair up, something green being stirred in the bowl in front of her  
“How are you feeling?”

Was it wrong to feel better? He’d known he let himself go looking after Keith, he hadn’t taken the time to enjoy the movement of the twins when he had Keith to think of. It’d been nice to reconnect with the feeling of them moving inside of him. Pressing against the spots his hands laid on  
“I feel bad to say I feel better”  
Allura tilted her head, her smile not waving in the slightest as she scraped the spatula on the side of the bowl  
“You’re allowed to feel better. I’m sorry. I think I messed this up. I was attempting to surprise you”

Shuffling over to her, Lance had no idea what the goop was  
“Should I ask?”  
“I thought perhaps a face mask and some self pampering would help you relax. I’m afraid you’ve started growing a mono-brow”  
“I’m a mess, aren’t I?”  
“Nothing a little self love won’t cure. I’ve got some blood too. Relatively fresh, from this morning”  
Allura’s kindness made him feel shitty  
“I don’t deserve this”  
“I think you do. I heard about what happened while we were dealing with that demon. Everyone has been so worried about you and Keith”  
“They should have been worrying about Keith and Curtis”  
Allura giggled. Lance wasn’t what there was to giggle about  
“Curtis is healing. You haven’t stopped since you woke. Coran was quite frustrated at your stubbornness in taking care of Keith”  
“I can imagine. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he hated me”

Taking his hand in hers, Allura shook her head, scolding him for being stupid   
“Coran would, and could, never hate you. Never. He simply wished you’d rest more”  
“I thought... if I stopped, I’d lose him. I thought that if maybe I was there when he woke he’d be less scared. Like he’d see me and that... would make it okay. You know, maybe he’d listen to me instead of seeing me as a threat. I know it was stupid being a vampire when he’s now a wolf... I feel stupid. I felt like love would conquer all... I... I trusted in our bond”  
“Your bond is still there. You still love him. This will work out, I know it”

Lance sucked his bottom lip, feeling like he was intruding for asking  
“Is that something you saw?”  
Allura’s smile wavered  
“Oh, no. No, I haven’t seen it. I just have faith”  
Damn. Her foreseen futures never seemed to be anything good... much like her attempt at a home made face mask  
“I’m sorry but I’m low on faith right now. I appreciate this though... why don’t I start a new batch from scratch? You’re still recovering too”  
“I must admit, I don’t have the knack for this like you do. Lance, I feel like I’ve been a terrible friend. I must confess I did avoid both you and Keith. I didn’t want to see anything bad”  
“It’s okay. I get it. It’s not something you can control”  
“That doesn’t excuse not being there for you”  
Lance snorted. Allura would have been if she could have been. She’d needed days to recover from the demon incident, plus she was probably running around micromanaging everything to free up Coran’s time  
“I haven’t exactly been the easiest person to be there for. I haven’t even asked about Lotor”

Allura sighed dramatically, Lance feeling the edges of his lips turn up. She continued with her theatrics, playing out his and her part in two different voices  
“You honestly don’t want to know. He’s all like “I’ll come back!”, and I’m all like “You don’t have to!”, and then I find myself missing him. Then he’s all like “I have a good reason”. Does he not think I know that? Don’t mention his terrible tastes in suits! I wonder to myself what I must be thinking?”  
“He tried to do a good thing...”  
“He did, yet, he makes me so mad, I want to stomp my foot and scream”  
“No one’s stopping you”  
“This much is true. If you’re taking care of the face masks, I’ll get that blood out. I hope you’re prepared. I would like one order of a night off with some serious pampering, and no emergencies”  
“You and me both. What are we going to watch?”  
“I have no idea! Ugh! Decisions...”

Lance let her make him smile. Allura was often so calm and composed, to see her like this reminded him of when he was kid  
“Allura, can I do your hair for you?”  
Taking her pony tail in her left hand, Allura looked at the end of it  
“I thought we agreed we were going for self love”  
“I know. You have such beautiful hair, it makes me want to braid it like I used to do for my sisters”  
“In that case I would love it!”  
“Great. Let’s get the prep done and settle back for some serious relaxing”

Settling in to watch a rom-com, Lance liked hanging out with Allura. Face masks came first, then Lance braided Allura’s hair according to a photo she liked on Google. His snacks for the night consisted of blood, and a few handfuls of stolen popcorn and they curled up on the sofa under a bright pink unicorn blanket. He didn’t make the best visitor, needing to pee meant disturbing Allura, but she never made a big deal out of it.

Nearing the end of the first movie, Lance was starting to doze off when there was a knock on Allura’s door. Comfortably warm and settled, the pair of them looked at each other before Lance pulled the “It’s your room” card on her. Allura missed Lotor a lot. Lance had a feeling that she’d come to understand Lotor differently since he actually kind of tried to prove he wasn’t as bad as he led everyone to believe. Sitting up, Lance watched Allura cross the space, able to jog without a heavy belly in the way. Stepping back from the door, Lance watched something white being waved. He could smell Hunk and Pidge there.

Not wanting a fight, he sank lower in the sofa. Hands on his belly to keep himself grounded   
“Pidge! Hunk! What a lovely surprise. What brings the both of you here?”  
“We wanted to see Lance... He’s still here, isn’t he?”  
Allura looked to him. Lance peaking over the back of the sofa  
“He is...”  
“Look, we brought movies and food. We don’t want to fight. We want to see our best friend”

Damn Pidge. He couldn’t be mad at either of them, let alone fight with them when they’d really done nothing wrong  
“I’m not sure...”  
Allura tried her hardest to be polite, but what was the point of having friends if he didn’t make the effort when they’d made the effort to come see him?  
“It’s okay, Allura. They can come on in”

Making a beeline for him, Lance found Allura’s place stolen by her as he copped an armful of Pidge. Two shopping bags hung off each arm, not that that stopped her  
“We thought you might have left”  
“I don’t have my keys”  
“I’m sorry. You know I’m not mad at you, right? Me and Hunk aren’t mad”  
He couldn’t escape. He didn’t want to think. He wanted to enjoy hanging with Allura, and now Pidge and Hunk   
“Pidge, I can’t deal with that right. But I’m not mad at you guys either”

Pidge pulled back, beaming mischievously  
“Good! Now, Hunk and I did the drive around. We’ve got garlic knots, Italian, Chinese, pizza, slushies, and DVD’s”  
“DVD’s are totally old school”  
“I didn’t know if Allura had streaming or not. I forgot to check before we left. Oh my god, you missed the biggest fight too. Curtis called Shiro a “wanker”. He was going to come with us, but Coran said he shouldn’t be leaving the medical ward yet”  
He adored Pidge, but that was one part of her that made him feel bad. She was so fiercely loyal that she found herself “picking sides” when there shouldn’t be sides being chosen   
“Pidge. Shiro’s Keith’s precious brother. This is between me and him. I don’t want you guys being mad at him because of what he did”  
“You’re so mature. I mean...”

Nope. No. He didn’t want this at all  
“Pidge. Please. Right now Allura and I are on a mission not to think about that. I want to focus on me and the twins. Please can we leave Keith moving out to another day?”  
Pidge’s eyes widened in shock  
“He’s moving out?”  
Lance didn’t know. He didn’t want to know. It’d all come down to how much Keith hated him once he calmed down  
“We’re basically over at this point in time... and now I’m about to cry again”  
Pidge shook her head as she started rummaging through one of the bags looped over her left arm. Lance fanned his face, not wanting tears to remove the lingering tingles from the face mask   
“No! Noooo. Please don’t cry. I’m sorry. Here, look, I’ve got chocolate too. It’s the good stuff. Full bars and all”  
“You guys can stay, but... I don’t want to talk about this...”

“Okay! Deal. Allura, is it okay to put stuff on the table? Or are you a sit at the dinner table kind of girl?”  
Allura shrugged. Bouncing back from the arrival of Hunk and Pidge and off to get more bedding... which was pink. Allura really loved pink and pink looked great on her  
“I don’t mind either way”  
“Excellent! Now, what movie do you want to watch? I’ve got horror and I’ve got b-grade horror”  
He liked the rom-com... but the rom-com didn’t like him back. He missed Keith. He wondered what Keith was doing right now. If he was okay. If he and Shiro were talking. Or if Shiro had been yell and growled at too. He didn’t want anything that made him think  
“B-grade”  
“Excellent! It cost me a whole dollar, which we all know means badness guaranteed!”

“You intentionally watch bad movies?”  
Pidge snorted both at the comment and mound of fluffy pink blankets she was carrying over  
“Yeah. That’s the whole point. We act out the stupid bits and we point out the flaws”  
“I‘ve never tried. I hope I won’t annoy you”  
“Allura, you know more than any of us about this creepy stuff. I intend to tap into that wealth of knowledge”  
“I shall try my very hardest. Also, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to give me my spot back. Lance makes the most comfortable of pillows”  
“But you got up”  
“To let you. Would you prefer I asked you to leave?”

Pidge gaped at Allura, before shaking her head in defeat  
“Damn. I never thought you had it in you. Respect, girl. Respect. Hunk, shove, I want to cuddle Lance”  
“No can do. As his official best friend and sunshine of his life, I’ve claimed this spot for Hunk kind”  
Pidge blew a raspberry   
“You both suck. Don’t think I won’t remember this!”  
“You won’t once you get your hands on your slushy”  
Pidge rolled her eyes at Hunk, before sighing heavily at Lance   
“He said I couldn’t have four flavours. I got four flavours. He brought whatever comes next on himself”  
Lance would always stand by the opinion four flavours were too many, yet if it made Pidge happy, than he’d keep that to himself  
“Alright, Gremlin. Let’s get the food out. Then you can have your slushie and we can have a real night in”

“A real night in” that lasted another half an hour for Lance before he fell asleep against Hunk. His best buddy not missing a step by wrapping his arm around him and tucking him up against his side.


	179. Chapter 179

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith is feeling a lot

179

Two days later and Lance had been staying with Allura the whole time. Hunk had assured him that his parents were taking care of Blue and Kosmo for them. The big guy didn’t say much about Shay, yet Lance knew he would have clued her in. Currently he was being “Ridiculous”. Torn between wanting to go back to Garrison, and knowing he couldn’t until he knew Keith had calmed down and was going to be okay. He’d kept his distance. Allura his source of news on the outside world as Pidge and Hunk had to get back to their own lives. That didn’t mean they left him alone. Pidge had brought him his phone, having salvaged as much as she could from the one he’d used in Cuba. Some things were gone, yet the fact that she got anything off the crushed device was a miracle that only she could have pulled off.

This current “ridiculousness” had been brought on by him not going to see Keith. Keith hadn’t asked to see him, as far as he knew, so Lance didn’t want to push his luck. He hadn’t left because he still believed in love, and that somehow Keith would love him again. Their house was filled with reminders of their lives together, a tangled web of pain he didn’t want to have to man up and deal with. Leaving him to stew in his own wallowing, Lance had told Allura he would think about it, as if he’d stopped thinking about, which he most certainly hadn’t. He was due for another scan too. Something else he didn’t want to face without Keith, yet he longed to see his twins. 

Pulled out of his wallowing by a knock on the door, Lance seriously contemplated ignoring it. He only dragged himself off the sofa on the off chance it was some kind of emergency and someone needed Allura urgently. Waddling over to the door, he opened it with a heavy sigh, preparing himself mentally to explain Allura wasn’t there, only when he opened the door, it was Shiro standing on the other side. Immediately Keith’s scent smacked his senses. All “wolfy” and “wet dog”, yet so fucking Keith that his heart started racing. He missed Keith. He missed him even more than he’d missed him in Cuba. They were so close, but so far away that he might as well be on the moon.

Wiping his eyes, Lance didn’t want Shiro to see him crying with longing for Keith   
“What do you want?”  
“I thought we could talk. You haven’t been to see Keith...”  
Right. Shiro wasn’t there to apologise. Crossing his arms in a self hug, his ego wanted to do more than simply slap Shiro and call it even  
“I don’t see how that’s your business”  
“Listen...”  
“No. You listen. I’m trying to focus on my pregnancy, not the fact that my ex boyfriend would rather be dead than be with me. So if this is all you’ve dropped by for, you can go away”

Shiro pinched the bridge of his nose with his right hand. His arm had healed oddly. The colour a deep kind of grey around the wounds, Lance wondered if his side matched, but that was none of his business   
“You’re being unreasonable”  
“Oh. Right. Sure I am. I spent days nursing Keith, knowing he’d be stressed, and scared, and overwhelmed beyond human comprehension when he woke up. I stayed by him, held his hand as the curse kicked in. Changed the clothes he soaked with sweat, cleaned him up when he puked on himself. Trying to befriend his wolf before Keith woke up freaking the fuck out, and then he wakes up tells me I stink, he doesn’t want to see me, that I broke his trust and he wants to die. Of course I’m being unreasonable, I love him!”

Shiro snapped back  
“And you think I don’t? I would do anything to keep him alive. I didn’t make the decision lightly”  
Lance didn’t say he had. They’d had run out of options, but that didn’t make it okay  
“It wasn’t ours to make! He has so much he wanted to accomplish. We wanted our lives back! We were going to work on getting our lives back! Now he has to learn how to be a werewolf and live in fear! He made it seem like I was waiting for this. This chance to turn him into a monster and make him stay by side. Do you know what that feels like? To make him feel like he’s trapped and bound?! I wanted him to wake up... but this... this feels too cruel”

Shiro sighed at him. Lance was sick of the sight of him  
“I came down here because he’s not doing too well. I thought you’d want to see him, but I see you’re already busy”  
“Don’t make it sound like I’ve given up on him. You have no right, Shiro. You should know what it’s like for werewolves and vampires. His instincts and ego are in overdrive. He can hear everything. From the humming of the lights, to the sound of water running from the tap. Even a drip sounds like it’s right next to him. My ego will only upset him more. Now I’d like you to go”  
“We haven’t even talked”  
“There’s not that much to talk about with you. Keith is your brother, you’d do anything for him. I would too, but he is also the love of my life and the father of our twins. Now he’s going to be paranoid that any blood, scratch, or bite could turn them. Even before they’re born. I have to do what’s right for them, before I do what’s right for me”

Shiro went to say something else, but that would only lead to him becoming angrier. Shutting the door in Shiro’s face, the hunter didn’t knock again. How could Shiro think he’d given up. That he wasn’t thinking about Keith. He knew how hard it was for Keith, but Keith had already slapped him. If he lost control, he could hurt the twins. Keith had adored the twins. He’d be hurt deeply to know he’d done something that had hurt them. Storming over to the sofa, Lance threw himself down in a huff, well, he didn’t really throw himself down, instead he lowered himself but promptly began scowling at the world with his arms crossed. Fucking fuck fuck. He’d started swearing so much. Yet fuck was such an easy word to use, and it seemed quite close to describing everything he wanted to say about how he was feeling.

*  
Not even an hour later Lance was headed down to see Keith. He knew it was an awful idea. Probably one of the worst he’d ever had. He couldn’t stop thinking about Keith. He couldn’t stop thinking about his hurt and confusion. Had Shiro manned up and told Keith the decision was made by him? Or did Keith still think Lance made the choice all by himself? He’d only get answers by talking to Keith about it. Shiro was a no go. He wished he could stop being angry at the hunter, but he was too much of a mess that each time he thought of him his ego wanted to make him hurt like they were hurting.

Letting himself into Keith’s room, Keith was on the floor. Curled up in the corner of his room, which had copped the wrath of a fresh turned werewolf. Growling at his presence, Lance’s ego nearly had him growling back. He couldn’t growl at Keith. Keith looked so small. Lance knowing those feelings to a painful degree  
“Keith?”

Raising his head, Keith’s eyes met his. All kinds of emotions washing over his face, before anger set in. He didn’t speak, so Lance grew closer  
“I’m not here to harm you. I know your ego sees me as a threat. But right now, I think you need someone to listen”  
“Fuck off”  
Nope wasn’t happening. Lance drawing closer as Keith growled again  
“Can’t do that. You’re hurting”  
“You did this! All of you did this!”  
“I didn’t want this. Shiro decided it was the only way. I hate that he did this without your consent, but I don’t hate that you’re alive”  
“Sure you do. The moment I’m locked up, you’re off living with Allura! I hate... all of you and I hate this!”

Ignoring Keith’s words and body language. Lance slowly lowered himself to the floor, that seemed to be getting further and further away every day. It was an effort, even for him. Sitting himself in front of Keith, Lance had his secret weapon with him  
“Close your eyes”  
“What?!”  
“Keith, close your eyes. I know you don’t think you can trust me, but close your eyes for a second”  
The fight with his ego was clear as Keith closed his eyes. Lance pulling out his spare of glasses. He couldn’t physically make Keith’s world any smaller, yet he could show him how he’d coped with things for years.

Slipping his glasses onto Keith’s face, Keith growled as his fingers brushed against his boyfriend’s skin  
“It’s okay. Now open them slowly. It’ll be super weird at first, but tell me if this helps”  
Keith opened his eyes slowly, blinking repeatedly as he did. His boyfriend... well, he kind of hoped they were still boyfriends, continued to blink at the change in his vision   
“You see too much. Everything feels over done. The lights are too bright. The colours too vivid. The almost invisible cracks seem to stare at you. But when I wear my glasses, everything past the black edges melts away. I tell myself everything past those lines doesn’t matter. If you stare at them too much, you’ll go cross eyed”

“Why did you come? What are you here for?”  
Keith didn’t take the glasses off, Lance hoping he’d work on focusing on the world through them, at least for now  
“I came because... because I’m lost”  
“You smell of Shiro. He went running to you, didn’t he?”  
“Yeah. He pointed out the obvious. That you’re not okay. How he thought you would be... I don’t know”  
“Like you fucking understand”  
Lance shot Keith an unimpressed look  
“You really want to go there? You want to tell me that I don’t understand? After all I’ve told you. You want me to tell you that no, I don’t know the paranoia. I don’t know how big the world suddenly is. To fall asleep human and wake up having to live the rest of your life being careful. How a bite, a scratch, or your blood could do something you can’t undo. No, Keith. I don’t understand. I don’t understand how my boyfriend was running around with a bleed on his brain that I missed. How I wasn’t there when you collapsed. How my twins nearly lost their father forever, because I didn’t see the signs. I don’t understand why you didn’t wake up from surgery. Why your brain waves kept dropping even though I stayed by your side. I don’t understand why this had happen! How I could be so useless when you needed me! I don’t understand any of it! I don’t and I hate it! I can’t... I can’t be made that you’re alive but I already know you don’t want me anymore. So I can’t understand why I can’t accept that! I stayed! I tried to make you a nest so you’d be safe. So you’d have a safe place to wake up in. I cleaned you. Nursed your fever. Held your hand as your body burned up. I tried everything I knew to make your ego not hate me and you do anyway”

Keith teared up. Hands going to his hair, longer fingers tangling in the wild locks. Keith’s nails had to be scratching up his scalp  
“I can’t do this! I can’t be a werewolf! I can’t... it’s too much. Everything smells. Everything hurts. I can’t think. I can’t calm down. I can’t do this!”  
“That’s because you don’t know how to control your ego yet. You’re freshly turned. The full moon should come soon and your body should feel better for it. They should have known better than to leave you alone. You need someone neutral. Not a vampire or another wolf”  
“So not you?”

He’d be there if Keith thought that best, but Keith had to address the things his ego was making him feel  
“You hate me. You hate my scent. I rile up your ego and you feel nasty things towards me. I smell like death and blood. And your ego is questioning what human you saw in a dead thing like me that you could kill easily and be done with. When you woke up, you told me to go. That you wanted to be dead rather than be alive and with me, like this. I didn’t chose this for you. I love the human Keith I built a life with. I loved him to the point I’d happily die all of for him. You feel like human Keith isn’t in there anymore. You go to pick something up and you break it and you get mad because things used to be a certain way. You’ll feel that for a while. And it’ll suck. And every time you use too much strength you’re going to get mad and broody, and embarrassed. You’re going to say and do things you regret thanks to your ego. You learned to love me and my ego. I can help you, but your ego will prickle if I say the wrong thing. It’ll make you made and feel powerless”

“I don’t want to feel anymore”  
Lance got that. His ego was buzzing. It loved their Keith, yet their Keith had changed and Keith’s ego on edge was pushing his ego and it was a damn mess  
“I haven’t stopped loving you, Keith. I haven’t. I don’t want to deprive you of your twins. You were gone from us for two weeks, and you missed me getting bigger again. If I could take you home, I would, but that wouldn’t work. You need to work on shrinking your world down. Focus on how to do the little stuff again. Learn that you’re still loved, ego and all. You’re thinking how we all loved the old you. But the thing is, we love any version of you, because all people grow and change. That’s a fact of nature. That human Keith still exists in there. But so does human-wolf Keith, and so does werewolf Keith. I still love you, Keith. I will always love you”

“I didn’t think it’d be like this”  
That’s because Keith was too soft. If only this could all be like the first time around when Keith thought he was becoming a vampire  
“I know you wanted the bite. I wanted a life with my human lover. You wanted the bite because you thought we’d have so much longer together. But I know you still had things you wanted to accomplish. And I know you had this forced on you. You don’t have to try to learn how to wolf alone. You have a pack. A pack of good people and good wolves who will be patient with you and guide you. Matt and Rieva can show you how to control your wolf side. You just need to let yourself accept that this happened. It happened in the worst shittiest way, but we love you. Claws, fangs, tail and all. Just don’t be mad at Shiro anymore. He couldn’t lose you”

Keith let his hands drop, staring at his claws  
“How can you say that? Any of that?”  
“I don’t hate Matt or Rieva, do I? None of us hate Matt and Rieva. What makes you different? Nothing. Nothing makes you different. Everything is the worst after the turn. I was out for a month when I turned. Mami was thrown in the deep end, yet she lived and she loved. I will do everything I can to help you. But for now, your ego needs to calm. I should go”

Lance went to move, Keith’s arm shooting out to grab him in a grip that was too hard, not that Keith could tell  
“I’m sorry”  
Lance leaned in. Kissing Keith’s forehead lovingly, he hoped he was conveying the right feelings and that his scent wasn’t too awful  
“Don’t be. Don’t ever be sorry. Not with me. I love you, Keith Kogane. You will get through this. I know you will because you are the second most stubborn person I know. No curse is going to hold you down. Take some time”  
“What if I don’t want to?”  
Then Keith risked insanity by overloading his overloaded senses  
“I promise you I’ll be waiting. We can text. We can talk. We can work on building trust with your ego. One step at a time, babe. As a team”

Purple eyes met his as Lance drew back  
“Do you really still love me?”  
“I do”  
“I said some bad things to you...”  
“You did. But out of anyone, if I didn’t get it, then... I’d be a pretty shit person”  
“I don’t know how you can”  
“I don’t know how you could love a vampire who feeds on human blood, but you came in and swept me up. Told me you loved me. Helped me fix my broken parts”  
“I hit you”  
“Wasn’t the first time”  
“That’s not what I mean. I... think... I hated you”  
“I know. If you don’t want to date, I get it. But I’m not ready to let go of these feelings”  
Keith bit his lip, his canine looked kind of cute. Thicker than his fangs, but not as long  
“What if we can’t fix it?”  
“We won’t know if we don’t try. I believed in our bond. I believed I could hold onto you with love alone, but your condition kept getting worse all of a sudden. I don’t know what our bond is going to feel like now”  
“I don’t want to lose you”

Lance couldn’t have asked for more than those six words. Gently, he cupped Keith’s face. He wanted to kiss him, but Keith’s ego wouldn’t like that  
“You won’t. Not that easily. You’ve put two kids in me. I want them to know their daddy”  
“I didn’t... even asked about them... about you”  
“They’re okay for now. Being near the demon made my body start to abort. Who would have thought the demon could shake my ego that much? I lost a lot of blood in the end, and they had to forcibly stop the labour, then keep me sedated so I didn’t go back into labour. I’m due for a scan in a few days”

Keith muttered sadly  
“I didn’t ask... I was too mad”  
“That doesn’t mean you didn’t care”  
“I don’t know if I did or not”  
Lance firmly told him that was Keith’s ego talking. Things hurt less that way  
“Well you asked now. Coran will know more when I have my scan. If labour starts again, Coran will deliver them early so they’re not in distress again”  
“Do... would you want me there?”  
Keith not being at the birth was not an option. Lance refused to go through contractions alone. He had the right to be screaming his head off like every woman in every movie ever  
“I would. They are yours. Two little cupcakes made by your wonder dick”  
With a new ego, Lance didn’t think about the horny bit, just the angry bit. He could smell the horny edging into Keith’s new scent. He knew horny wolf too well. It was like... super heavy wet dog to him... but not quite the same as when Matt started stinking up the place  
“Your arse feels great around my dick”  
God. Now he was thinking about it... He wanted to kiss Keith super badly as it was  
“My arse is pretty awesome. I’ll see you soon?”  
“Okay... I... don’t hate you”  
“I know. But it’s nice to hear it out loud. You’ll figure this out, Keith. I have complete faith in you”

*  
With a lot of thinking and a lot of deliberating, Lance had decided he should really go home. It’d been fun hanging with Allura at first, but the previous night she’d crawled into his bed, slipping her arm around his stomach, and he’d wanted to throw up. Keith held all rights to snuggling like that. If it wasn’t Keith, he didn’t want to be spooned around. Packing the sum total of his things into an empty shopping bag, Lance arrived early for his appointment in the medical wing 10 minutes early.

What Lance hadn’t factored in was that Keith would be there. Orange earplugs in his ears, glasses still in place, and looking squarely at the bag in Lance’s hands  
“Lance, my boy! You’re early!”  
“I... uh... Hey, Keith”  
Keith could hear him. He knew he could. Noise cancelling headphones were God’s gift to everything supernatural. Ear plugs just didn’t cut it  
“Hey... You... um, said it was okay for me to be here?”

He had? Oh. Fuck. Keith had misunderstood... Shit. He hadn’t wanted to go through the scan alone, and there was no way he could kick Keith out, but he’d thought Keith meant being at the birth. Things seemed maybe too perfect. Keith being there when he needed him... He hoped his face didn’t show his confusion   
“Yeah, of course. I told you, they’re your cupcakes too”  
Keith seemed to slump in relief, if he had a tail Lance would say it would be wagging right about now  
“I wasn’t sure it would be okay”  
“They’re your kids, idiot”  
Coran beamed at the pair of them  
“Excellent. Well, if you’re ready, we’ll have you pop up on the table. Pants down, belly out”  
Anxious and awkward Lance failed as he joked   
“Coran, I know the drill by now. Anyone would think you just want to get my pants down”

The joke did not go over well with Keith. Keith’s head whipping around as he snarled at Coran, fangs all pointy and nails out. Coran raised his hands in surrender  
“I’m simply performing a scan to to ensure the health of your children”  
Keith being... dare he say jealous? did wonders for his faith in their relationship. Keith wouldn’t be jealous if there wasn’t some kind of chance that Keith thought of him as his mate. His pregnant mate and not a walking chew toy. Dropping his head, Keith sighed a heavy sigh   
“I didn’t...”  
“I know, lad. Now, Lance has said it’s perfectly okay for you to be here to see your children. You know, he was frustratingly stubborn. Stayed by your side no matter what. It was truly a lovely thing to see. Brought more than one tear to this old fae’s eyes. Alright, up we go now. Let’s see how these... “cupcakes” are doing. Oooh, 27 weeks, nearly 28, things are getting closer!”

Laying back, Lance had one arm up and behind his head, his other hand rested on the top of his belly. Not in Keith’s hands where it should be. He’d gotten so big that Keith didn’t seem to see anything other than his stomach. Wrinkling his nose at the cold gel, he really wanted to take Keith’s hand. The only thing stopping him was him. Slowly, not to alarm Keith, Lance placed his hand down on the bed next to him. Little finger out for Keith to loop if he wanted   
“Now, boys. Let me see here... Ooooh. Look at them... And we need to a have little listen to their hearts...”

Coran couldn’t simply conduct a scan without being overly emotional. Lance emotional as he stared at the very human bodies floating inside of him. From itty black blobs in a school of fish they’d watch them grow  
“They’re looking good. I was worried this scan would show a decline after that scare you gave us all! I can’t believe one demon threatened an ego to that point! I’ve never seen anything like it my life, before!”  
“Coran, you’re getting off topic. How big are they now?”  
“Ah! I’ve been hitting that old Google. As big as eggplant! Ah, yes, you and Keith do prefer bread related items... I’m not quite sure how to translate”  
“So about as big as foot long sub and a quarter...”  
He’d done googling of his own. Coran stared at him blankly  
“Don’t worry. Keith understands. Can we hear the heartbeats now?”  
“Of course! There isn’t a chance I’d let slip by”

Lance had heard the heartbeats, but this was the first time for Keith with his werewolf senses. Taking the plugs out his ears, Lance watched his boyfriend light up. That little finger no longer poking out alone as his hand went to his. Lance holding on like it was a lifeline for their relationship   
“They... sound healthy”  
There were tears. Tears making Keith’s borrowed glasses fog up. Lifting them, Keith rubbed at his eyes before letting them drop back down  
“Much better than the last scan. All that time resting has been doing you good”  
“You mean all the blood Allura’s been forcing on me. I barely finish one bag and she’s passing me another”

Keith quickly withdrew his hand from Lance’s. Lance kicking himself. He didn’t need to rub it in that he’d been staying Allura   
“You need the energy my boy”  
“There’s energy and there’s pouring blood down my throat”  
“Ah, yes. Well, you gave us all a scare, you can hardly blame us for trying to overcompensate the blood loss”  
Keith looked to him. Coran dobbing him in  
“It wasn’t as bad as when I fell down the stairs. More like a heavy period”  
It wasn’t but Keith had enough to worry about  
“You didn’t tell me”  
Accusation hung in Keith’s tone. When was he supposed to have told him?  
“I told you I bled. I told you my body started to abort. That was two weeks ago, and things are looking better”  
“You don’t trust me”

Lance closed his eyes. He couldn’t look Keith in the face when Keith was angry   
“I do trust you. That’s why I told you what happened. I could get a paper cut and Coran would make it sound like I served my femoral artery. Coran, please tell Keith that the bleed wasn’t as severe as when I fell down the stairs”  
“It was not. Though the twins were highly distressed. We kept Lance in a suspended sedated state. He was incredibly upset to learn of your bleed”  
“I don’t need you both ganging up on me”

Stupid egos. He could feel Keith’s, and it was mad  
“We’re not. Close your eyes. Listen to their heartbeats. They’re okay now”  
“I can hear yours. It’s loud”  
“Loud and slow. I can’t make my own blood cells. A normal human would be deceased with such a low heart rate”  
“It sped up before”  
“It did. I didn’t know if you’d be up for this”  
“You invited me”  
“Because they’re your twins too”  
“So you only invited me because I’m the father?!”  
Lance knew Keith’s ego needed reassurance   
“No. I invited you because I love you. Don’t let your ego cloud you from seeing that. Coran, when does the full moon come?”  
“On Wednesday”  
“Good. His ego will start to settle then, won’t it?”  
“It will. I was thinking perhaps it best you take him home for that”

That felt too soon. Keith wasn’t ready for the big wide world. Matt had a weird advantage of not knowing everything that came with exterminating werewolves and how hated they were. That he’d turned, survived, not murdered a bunch of random people or gone insane was amazing when Lance thought about it   
“Are you sure?”  
“I feel it’ll be less traumatic for it to happen in a familiar environment. Matt and Rieva will watch over him”  
“Keith won’t be able to control himself completely. I don’t want him coming home and being hurt. Or being lost and scared”

“Lance is right. I’ll only be an unwanted burden”  
Lance was not right, because that wasn’t what Lance had said  
“I didn’t say that”  
“You didn’t have to. I’ll be in the way”  
Right. He was going to have to change tactics here  
“It’s not that. Think about if things were different. If I was human coming into your world after being turned. This would be my first full moon. You’d be scared. You’d be praying I didn’t get hurt or get lost. Wondering if I’m safe. Or if I’m bleeding out on the side of the road or some ditch. I’m not trying to say you’re a burden, because you are many, many, many things, Keith, but that is not one of them. Me being scared doesn’t come from not trusting you. It comes from you wandering the streets like Matt and Rieva do. I worry about them too. I worry because I live with hearing too much. And now you live in a world where everything will attack your senses. If you want to come home for the full moon, that’s okay. I just don’t want to see you hurt”  
“I can look after myself”

Oops. He was trying to calm Keith, not make him madder  
“I’m not saying you can’t. I’m trying to say that as someone as an ego, there are things I can’t deny. When you shift into a wolf, there will be things you can’t help but do. And that’s what worries me. Hell. Matt and Rieva wolfed out and stole a cow. You can’t keep perfect control on your ego”  
“You mean the world doesn’t need one more monster”  
Lance stared at Keith until Keith stared back. He wanted his boyfriend to remember this  
“I don’t see a monster when I look at you. That’d be like you saying all you see is a monster in me. I see Keith. Keith who is good, but has had a huge life changing event happen. A little broken and bent around the edges, but still just as handsome and grizzled as before. I will tell you that a million times. You’ll get sick of hearing it over and over, but until you can believe in yourself, I will believe for the both of us”

Keith dropped his gaze  
“How can you sound so sure when your ego puts mine on edge? I don’t like how it makes me feel. I don’t feel like me. I’m not sure I remember what it felt like to be human. I’m... just this... this thing now”  
“Because you are the man I fell in love with. All the ugly sides of me, you’ve seen. Those disgusting things I do. My ego flaring. My heat waves. The times I scared you. You soothed my ego. So many times I tried to deny I had the hots for you. I didn’t think I’d fall this cast or deep. I lied. I ran away. I tried to send you away. I didn’t think a human and a vampire could work. I thought I’d accidentally kill you, or you’d get sick of me and take me on a not so romantic drive to murder me. You are you and you are still in there”  
“I don’t know if I am. I feel angry”  
“Oh, babe. Come on. You’re my anger loaf. My “little broody emo edge lord”. You’re still working through a metric ton of shit”

Keith raised his head again, brow drawn  
“You called me babe”  
“What else should I call you? Daddy? Love of my life? Baby daddy? DILF to be?”  
“I don’t know how that makes me feel”  
Maybe he was being too aggressive? Not being flirty with Keith was damn hard. Maybe he should tone it down until Keith approached him to be boyfriend’s again?  
“Alright. Coran, will you be bringing Keith home?”

Coran finished taking the measurements of the twins. He didn’t know how to tell Keith he was leaving   
“Unless you’d like to pick him. I do feel it’s best I stay the night”  
“Sure. You can sleep in the office. Curtis doesn’t have a room anymore, and the nursery isn’t completed”  
“Excellent. I’ll be sure to bring down this new herbal tea I’ve been working on with Colleen. Wonderful stuff. Very good at alleviating stress”  
“I have to do a food shop on the way home, but I’ll make sure to bake some fresh cookies to go with it. Fresh sheets too”  
“That sounds heavenly. I’d love to see what you have planned for the nursery”  
“Shiro and Keith painted most of the walls. We were putting it together”  
Keith gave a shake of his head, breaking Lance’s heart in two with his reply  
“You can finish it if you want to”

He knew Keith was struggling, but those seven words cancelled out the six from earlier. He didn’t want to finish the nursery without Keith. If he’d wanted to, he would have. He’d thought Keith had misunderstood earlier, now it seemed he’d misunderstood everything and Keith was just simply humouring the incubator of his babies. Not answering, Lance turned his face away from Keith. He really had to stop being dumb.


	180. Chapter 180

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is this coping thing?!

180

Lance cleaned. He cleaned like a vampire possessed. Nothing escaped his cleaning. From the top of the house to the bottom was vacuumed, mopped, scrubbed, washed, packed and organised. He didn’t stop for sleep. The door to the nursery was shut. The room taboo in the household. Every trace of Keith’s scent was washed away. Keith’s things packed up neatly. Some things slightly tear damaged and a photo frame may now be glassless as it’d been hurled out the bedroom window in a fit of anger. Kosmo didn’t escape. He got bathed, groomed, nails clipped, and bedding washed. Blue got extra wet food, plenty of snuggles, and carried around as she protested loudly.

Stripping his bed, he told himself he was being stupid sleeping with so many blankets. He was a grown man, and grown men didn’t act this way. He also didn’t stop limiting his strength. Able to lift most furniture one handed as he vacuumed, then again as he ran the mop over the floor. Frustrated at the lack of speed with human appliances, he’d nearly hurled the washing machine outside in a fit of rage when the rinse cycle took too long. If Keith couldn’t love him any more, he needed to stop relying on him and believing in love like a dumb teen. Show after show was deleted from his watch lists. He’d have deleted the whole section off streaming if he could have. Matt and Rieva were in Platt so Keith could get used to their scents before the moon, leaving him alone, after asking Pidge and Hunk for some space and time to rest up.

Every single particle of his house reminded him of Keith. Every joke they’d shared. Every dumb plan they’d made. The scratches in the floorboards from where Keith tried to kill him. All the good times. By the time he was done, the only scent in the air was the “pine fresh” scent of aerosol disinfectant and cat poop from Blue’s litter tray. When the house was clean, he started baking. In all his cleaning, he’d forgotten Keith’s favourite coffee cup. Seeing it sitting next to the coffee machine, he missed the other half of his soul that didn’t seem to exist any more.

*  
Keith... Keith didn’t know what to make of the world anymore. Fangs. Claws. Yellow eyes. A rage inside him that couldn’t be contained. He didn’t know left from right. Everyone was a foe. Everyone including the one person who absolutely hadn’t been. Lance. Lance who smelt like something he wanted to roll in. Lance who’s egos made him all weird and jumpy, and this weird other messed up self mad for no reason that he could understand. He didn’t know it’d be like this. This... this existence. He didn’t know this and he didn’t know himself anymore.

He was scared. He was scared of the world. He was scared of himself. Lance came and said a lot of things to him, and he didn’t get it. Lance was being kind and sweet, but he was just so angry. He hated this. Lance hated him. Then Lance loved him. Then Lance was leaving. Then Lance wanted him at the scan. Then he didn’t. Then he was gone. And he didn’t get it. He didn’t get why he opened his mouth and said the wrong thing. He’d driven Lance away from him. They’d been so happily in love. Every single touch radiated love. He didn’t really remembered mad at Lance. Coran said that was coma related and okay. He just... didn’t... How could he be around Lance when he was this mad?

Starting small, Keith wasn’t allowed out the medical wing. He’d Shiro twice. The third time he couldn’t look at him. His ego saying some not so nice things about his brother. He got Shiro didn’t want him to die and that he’d thought this Keith’s only chance. But Lance didn’t like him like this. He didn’t like him like this. Everything was too much, but it didn’t stop coming and he didn’t know what to do. He was being too blunt. Krolia had tried to have a conversation with him, but then he’d gotten all cranky and before he knew it he’d broken the hospital table in front of him. He couldn’t do anything right. He just... wanted Lance. He wanted Lance to fix things. To fix him. The furthest he’d gone since turning was down the hall and back again, to get him used to sounds. God. He hated sounds. He didn’t see how he’d ever get used to things he’d never noticed before. As he sat waiting patiently, he could see Coran on the phone outside the room. He looked worried and Keith knew he’d taken the call outside so Keith couldn’t hear what he said. They were probably organising his execution order instead of letting him go see Lance.

Letting himself back into the room, Coran looked upset. He smelt funny. If old man had a scent that smelt slightly like mushrooms were growing on him, that’d be the closest thing to Coran’s scent he could come up with. Sitting down, Coran rested his head in his hands. This was Lance related and Keith fucking knew it. His ego disgustingly annoying. How could it be okay with Lance hurting, and hurting for Lance? How Matt, Rieva, and Lance made a family, he didn’t know  
“What is it? He doesn’t want me there, does he?”

With a pained groan, Coran raised his head. The man seemed as if he hadn’t been sleeping well. Actually, this had to make the top 20 times he’d seen Coran stressing  
“Well. What happened?!”  
Keith had noticed he’d turned into Krolia 2.0 with the bluntness. He could see why werewolves were thought of as dicks, because he felt like a bag of ducks deserving a dick punch   
“I’m sorry, my boy. I think you may have to stay here. Rieva and Matt returned home today... Lance has had a bit of a breakdown”  
What did Lance have to be having a breakdown over?! He wasn’t suddenly a werewolf. There went this stupid poxy new ego of his. He didn’t like it   
“What do you mean?”  
“He’s cleaned the house and shut himself up in his office”  
That didn’t sound that unusual. Lance took pride in his house being neat and organised. Plus Pidge and Hunk would keep him from going too far into his head  
“He left two days ago”

Keith wanted to shut up. Why did he have to be so angry? Why did his ego see Lance hitting the end of his mental rope as weak. Lance wasn’t weak at all. He was strong, kind and very beautiful. Why did every emotion have to be anger. Happy, nope, better glare at the world. Confused, whelp, better snap. Actually angry, here came the growls, snarls, and claws. Lance was beautiful. But suffered from low self esteem and anxiety. He knew that... But how did he know that? He wasn’t Keith anymore. He shouldn’t know things about human Keith’s life.

“Yes. It seems he told Hunk and Pidge he came to rest, cleaned the house, and locked himself away, instead of resting. Rieva said he’s stripped and remade his bed”  
What was wrong with that? That’s what he normally did  
“I must go to him”  
“He’s probably just working”  
“Keith, you misunderstand. Rieva said he’s... not in a good state”  
“Lance loves cleaning”  
“His bed only had one blanket on it. He’d denying himself the comfort of a nest, and gone against his instincts to nest. The staff barely managed to bring him out of labour. He doesn’t know how close he truly came to things being too late. I fear he wishes to do something very stupid. He called Curtis, asking if Curtis had ever heard of vampire returning to being a human”

Why would Lance want to be human again? Okay. Lance had always wanted to be human again. But he couldn’t carry the twins if he was human. His ego didn’t like that. It kind of liked the twins. It was a weird feeling. Like pride and confusion. What did Lance gain from being human. He wouldn’t...  
“He wants to be human again because of me”  
“I fear so. Curtis called Rieva, not knowing she and Matt were returning. They’ve both being commuting for work as it was. Lance feels that you cannot love him because he’s a vampire”  
Keith let out a shaky breath. Ego angry. Him... shaken. That didn’t sound safe or sane. Two weeks was a lifetime when their lives were so messed up..  
“If you’re going to see him, can I come?”

Coran lifted his head  
“I don’t know, my boy. You’re still going through the changes of being turned. Your ego is currently unpredictable...”  
“But Lance is hurting!”  
With a shaky breath, Coran let his head drop again  
“He’s been hurting for a long time. He didn’t wish the turn upon you. He and Shiro haven’t spoken to my knowledge since you woke. He requested we not be mad at Shiro, knowing Shiro was in an impossible situation with me unable to do anything. I tried all I could. But each time I adjusted your quintessence you had a negative effect. Initially when you were comatosed, Lance’s presence kept you stable. You seemed to know he was there, despite that being quite impossible. He made you a nest, gathered things of comfort, trying to make this transition less scary for you. But as strong as he is, he couldn’t help but lose his cool when it came to you. He combatted his depression staying by your side to care for you. He still loves you a great deal. Any actions you perceive were done in pity, were done in with great love and respect. He knew his presence may lead to insanity by overwhelming you with his own ego, that is the sole reason he left. He placed your health and needs above his own... It was agonising to watch”

And what had he done? Lost his cool because he didn’t know why there now felt like were two of him in his body? Told Lance he wanted to die? That he’d rather be dead than with him  
“I hurt him”  
“I spoke with Allura. Lance understands. He too went through the change, though he was much younger and slept longer before waking. Vampires also don’t rely on the first full moon to stabilise their egos. She said Lance was most distraught over having broken your trust in him”

This was what Keith didn’t get. How Lance could love him when he wasn’t Keith anymore. Lance smelt weird, but maybe it wasn’t a bad kind of a weird. It was kind of a weird that made him want to roll around in it  
“Coran. I don’t know. He loved Keith. I’m not Keith anymore”  
Coran chuckled, the sound turning deep into a proper laugh. Trying to recompose himself, the fae wiped at his eyes as Keith clenched his hands, angry automatically  
“Sorry, lad. If you’re not Keith, then I don’t know who you are. Just because you’re now a werewolf doesn’t mean you’ll forget being human, or have a whole new identity. You’re still Keith, you just Keith with a little extra now. Goodness me, don’t tell me you’ve been fighting with your memories. You’re still you, my boy! Yours and Lance’s quintessence are still very much connected. That may have wavered but it’s still there. Fancy thinking you weren’t Keith. That would be like Matt not being Matt. I will say, once the moon passes you will notice I real change in my our ego”

Keith felt like of how Kosmo looked each time he had to scold him. He didn’t know how this worked. All Lance’s explanations on ego seemed lacking, not that Lance hadn’t tried, he’d thought he got. He didn’t. He was so tired of being angry, but was angry at himself for being angry so it was kind of like being stuck in an infuriating loop  
“So I’m still me?”  
He didn’t feel like him. He wouldn’t be so angry at Lance if he was him  
“You are, my boy. I know it’s very scary right now, but things will be better. You managed not to snarl at Matt the last time he visited. That’s excellent progress for a wolf who wasn’t been touched by the moon”  
He hadn’t liked being visited. He felt like a caged animal on display  
“Will this anger ever go away?”  
“With time. Oh, dear. We really must be going to see Lance. Any later and you’ll transform in the car. I’m most anxious to drive again today. I’ve been practicing”

*  
Coran still couldn’t drive. Keith frustrated and feeling quite ill well before leaving city limits. The restlessness he felt seemed to have turned his stomach into a pit of snakes. He could hear the way the car gears screamed in abuse each time Coran tried to change gear. This was not fun. Maybe it’d have been safer for him to stay at VOLTRON for his first full moon. Matt and Rieva always seemed to be particularly horny and energised before it happened, but they weren’t douches to Lance like he’d been. He hadn’t even asked Coran for a phone to talk to Lance, as Lance had suggested he did. The amount of faith a vampire seemed to have in him made his ego go all weird. How was he supposed to be with Lance if he seemed to hate the mere fact his boyfriend existed?

And that was another thing. Were they still boyfriends? Like, boyfriend boyfriends? Or estranged boyfriends? Lance didn’t come see him until Shiro went running to him. His Lance would have flipped the world off and stayed. This Lance wasn’t acting right. Like Lance was mad and he could feel it in the air. He didn’t get it. If this was his Lance, than why did he have to be mean and cruel to feel better? He felt like everyone who’d ever bullied him had taken over his body and now he enjoyed inflicting pain as much he did.

Reaching Lance’s house, things felt stranger than ever. He knew the house. He knew the drive. He knew it, but it was as if he was seeing everything all over again. The sounds of nature made him feel as if he had that chirping arsehole symphony of cicadas playing just for him. He could smell cow shit... something dead... Lance... as well as two werewolves. Lance always said they smelt like wet dog. He supposed there was a definite trace of that. Matt didn’t smell awful, but he did smell like he needed to be on guard around him. Rieva smelt nicer. Like flowers and girly shit... and stuff. Matt was pretty growly too. Apparently sniffing someone’s mate was a no go, even if you’re only trying to tell your ego that they’re not a threat.

Opening the door, Kosmo came bounding out. His precious boy all paws and no grace as he crashed into Keith, knocking him on his arse as he took a paw to his junk  
“Kosmo!”  
Kosmo yipped as he gave exactly zero fucks, pushing Keith down and laying on top of him. What the hell was this? Kosmo had knocked him down in the past, but wasn’t he supposed to be a powerful werewolf now. And why was he laying on him. Coming out the house, Rieva came jogging over, Keith growling at her sending Kosmo bolting away from him with his tails between his legs   
“That’s enough out of you. Coran, thank you for coming. Keith... what are you thinking letting Kosmo climb on you? He’ll never respect you as his owner if you let him boss you around”

Keith spluttered. His ego bruised enough over being taken out Kosmo   
“Me? He knocked me down!”  
Rieva placed her hands on her hips as she stared down at him  
“Because he’s missed his human. He’s been glued to Lance’s side until Lance shut him out the office. Coran, I think it’s best you go see Lance right away. The sun will be setting soon and Keith needs a run down on what to expect”  
Coran took the weirdness in his stride. All their friends were so goddamn weird  
“Right you are, my girl! Matt not here?”  
“He’s around the back trying to stop Lance if he tries to climb out the window. I did tell him Lance was too pregnant to be running off, but you know Matt”  
“I’ll make sure to talk some sense into Lance. You two enjoy your run. Please don’t let Keith do anything stupid”  
“Coran, you know Keith. He and Lance are very stupid”  
Coran winked at the pair of them  
“In all the right ways. Rightyo, I’ll see you two later”

Left with Rieva, Keith continued to stare up at her. He’d only come to see Lance, this whole moon thing made little sense  
“Stop staring. You’ll be changing soon, and I suggest you not do it in the drive way”  
“I’ll be changing?”  
“You’ll be meeting your wolf side tonight. The first step is getting naked”  
Oh no. Not more nudity. He wasn’t okay with the nudity  
“I... uh...”  
Rieva thrust her hand out, wiggling her fingers  
“You can’t deny it. You feel the energy don’t you? We feel it. Like there’s electricity in your body with no where for it to go”  
“How do you know?”

The female werewolf rolled her eyes at him so hard Keith wouldn’t have been surprised if they’d stayed that way  
“I’ve been a werewolf for years now. I think I know when I meet a newly turned wolf. Though you are rather sane so that does make talking easier”  
“I don’t feel very sane”  
“You’d be feeling differently if you weren’t. Tearing at your own skin by now. I was not entirely convinced in Coran’s methods, but you have definitely changed”  
“What methods? He had someone bite me while I was unconscious”  
“He did no such thing. He even chose a different werewolf at the request of Lance, trying to spare you the awkwardness of having one of us sure you. Now, out to the back with you. Unless you want your clothes destroyed when you turn”

Reluctantly Keith took Rieva’s hand. He didn’t feel like he was going to turn into anything. He just felt... cranky. Scowling at Rieva, Rieva ignored his mood, leading him off behind the house.

Matt gave up his window duties when Keith and Rieva came around the corner. Kalternecker letting out a lazy moo, eyeing him with zero interest  
“Keith! Oh, man! Look at you. How do you feel?”  
“Cranky”  
“I remember my first time. Rieva turned me on a moon, so I was lucky there. We’ll have you back to normal soon enough”  
“Matt, be nice. He’s still developing his ego. Keith, how do you feel?”  
“Like I want to punch myself in the dick”  
Rieva giggled at him  
“We’ll the moon is in the sky. But you really do need to strip off. It won’t be long now”  
“Can I not?”  
“And have Lance sew your clothes back together? I think he’s having a hard enough time as it is. The house has never looked cleaner”  
“Lance cleans all the time”  
“Ah, but this time he cleaned Blue’s litter tray twice, before crying when she messed it up a third time. Now, clothes off!”

Keith hid himself behind Lance’s roses to strip. Matt and Rieva not caring as they stripped off in the backyard. Matt scolded for not picking up his clothes. Keith didn’t get how Matt’s ego could take it... and look happy about it. Whistling as he dropped his pants, Keith glared at Rieva who clapped her hands  
“Take it off!”  
“Fuck off”

Matt chuckled at him. Keith wanted to thump him  
“Oooh, this is going to be so much fun. Have you gone over ground rules?”  
Rieva shook her head  
“Not yet. But you can, if you’d like?”  
“Okay, man! Listen up. Rieva is my mate. She sets where we go and how far we go. If we get horny, you go away. I’m not to blame if you come too close to my mate. That’d be like me watching you and Lance have sex... actually, that wouldn’t be too bad, but it’d be more like me being in the middle of it and I’d prefer to keep my balls. You stay with us. If you get lost, stay where you are. We can sniff you out. You don’t come back to the house until the sunrises again. No chasing humans and no going near town. Pack playing is a thing. We fight and we bite, but it’s not to hurt each other. Oh! Don’t wake Lance up. And don’t try to hump a stray dog... What am I forgetting?”  
“The most important thing. You’ll be overwhelmed. You’ll want to run. Let yourself run. It’s good for you. It gets the good feelings going. You’ll only be able to partly control your ego, so you’ll howl and do all sorts of wolf things that you don’t need to be embarrassed about. You’ll probably feel really horny too”

This didn’t sound fun. Rieva and Matt kept staring at him  
“What?”  
“We’re waiting for you to come out of there”  
“I don’t think I want to”  
“Dude, get used to the nudity. Babe, can I shift now?”  
“If you want to. I can watch Keith”  
“As long as that’s all you do”  
Rieva wrapped her arms around Matt, the pair sharing a very passionate kiss. He used to kiss Lance like that. He missed Lance. Why couldn’t Lance be a werewolf? Then he’d be able to be with him... Shifting into a wolf, Keith noticed things he hadn’t noticed before when the pair had turned. Like the way Matt’s bones cracked in a way that sounded like agony. Lance looked so cute when he “batted out”. A little ball of anger that fit nicely under Keith’s chest and fed off his fingers with those razor sharp teeth of his.

Nudging at Rieva’s leg, Rieva ruffled the fur between Matt’s ears  
“I’ll join you soon. Why don’t you race to the back fence and back, warm up a bit for tonight?”  
Matt nudged up into Rieva’s hand, before fixing Keith in the gaze of his yellow eyes. Keith feeling like someone had doused him in cold water. Rieva was Matt’s mate. If he touched her, Matt would tear his throat out. How this was going to be fun, Keith didn’t know.

Uncomfortable being naked, Keith sat on the grass. Blades stabbing into his bare arse as he hugged his knees to his chest and waited for something to happen. His butt felt wet and he didn’t like it. With his keen sense of smell, he knew he wasn’t sitting where Matt had peed. He’d never noticed how much things smelt. From outside he could smell the scent of tea on the air. He’d heard Lance answer the door to Coran. Lance knew he was here, but he hadn’t come out... and Keith didn’t like it  
“Stop thinking. Let the feeling build”

Easy for Rieva to say. She wasn’t stuck in this weird arse situation. Looking back at the house, he wanted Lance to appear in the doorway  
“He won’t come out. It’s safer for him and your twins to stay inside”  
“He doesn’t even want me here”  
Rieva smacked his arm  
“Don’t be stupid”  
“He wanted to know how to be human again. He doesn’t like me like this”  
“He adores you”  
“That’s why I’m here and he couldn’t care less”  
“If you’re going to be like this, I’ll leave you alone for your first turn”  
“No one asked you stay! Go on then”  
“Damn it. We both know I wouldn’t. Being a werewolf isn’t too terrible”  
“Says you”  
“Yes. Says me. Both Matt and I enjoy a relative non limiting normal life. It is possible... oh, I’m going to shift... I can feel the changing coming. It’ll hurt for your first time, but as fast as your body is breaking, it is healing. The more you change your form, the less it’ll hurt”

Rieva shifted into her wolf form, howling at Matt who was running around like an idiot. It disturbed Keith that he could see the pair. Running over to his mate, he tackled Rieva down, Rieva nipping at Matt’s ear, before looking at Keith as if to ask him why he hadn’t turned. How should he know? He was sitting. The slimmest line of red had already disappeared. Maybe he was broken wolf? That’d be hilarious. And just about on par with his life. Opening his mouth to the tell pair to fuck off, he felt the bones in his hands start to shift, horrified as his skin slowly rippled and tuffs to fur pushed through. The pain was immense, yet he couldn’t help but scream when that pain hit his chest and he could literally feel his ribs cracking. Rieva was right. The pain was weird, he could feel it, then came this almost rush of release on its heels.

Turning for the first time took time. His body writhing on the grass before the pain finally left and he was left feeling limp. Looking down to his hands, he saw big black paws. With all the grace of Kosmo after taking a thermometer up the butt, Keith rose to his feet, everything seemed so much bigger, clearer... with a growl, he got that Matt wanted him to follow him. Keith trying to work out how to move his legs. He felt like he looked like one of those cats from the videos where the owner puts cardboard rolls on their legs and they walk funny. He didn’t like it. He swayed like he was drunk. He could smell way too much. The dew on the grass. The birds in the trees... and his hearing... He could hear the TV on in the house, but somehow knew Lance wasn’t watching it. Miserably failing at walking, his legs got tangled and he fell.

Matt didn’t laugh at him. Keith confused by the fellow wolf’s actions as he trotted over started pushing into Keith’s side. Oh. Matt was trying to get him back on his feet... his feet that felt weirdly big. They’d said he’d lose control... was he supposed to be thinking in wolf? Was he thinking in wolf and his brain translating to human? Or was he thinking in wolf and just knew what it meant? Raising his moist nose, he sniffed the air. Something smelt really, really good... and he wanted to pee on it. Growling at him, Matt practically shoved him onto his feet. Keith stretching out each step. He knew how to human walk, but four legs... they didn’t move like his arms and legs. His ego was laughing at him. Mocking him. It was so weird. It didn’t have an actual voice yet he understood it so clearly. He was a wolf. He was a werewolf. Top of the chain. His actions were disgracing himself and the werewolf community.

Not moving fast enough, Matt nipped on his ear. Keith letting out a whine so pathetic he wanted to be scooped up like when Kosmo was a puppy and carried around. He could scent Lance way too clearly. His ego like “Who the fuck is this!?”, while his heart longed to see Lance and show him he’d made it through to this stage. Casting his gaze up to the moon, he really could feel something there. An imaginary tug. Almost as if the moon was so much closer to Earth than it should be. He couldn’t see the craters on the moon, yet it shone pretty damn prettily up there in the blue black inkyness of the sky.

Moving back to his side, Rieva nudged his front foot with her equally wet nose. Matt growling at the pair of them as Keith breathed in her scent. Parts of him were tingling, but not for her. What was this? 30 seconds in and he was horny? Is that what it was always like? He could smell Matt wanted Rieva as badly as Rieva wanted Matt. He wanted to bite Matt, but this was all so weird. Nudging his foot again, Keith took a cautious step forward, stretching out his leg then not sure how to make the rest of his body reach his front paw. The grass was squishy... squishy and he could feel the grains of sand against his paws. He didn’t like it. His body wanted to run, but there he was... not even able to walk. Whining sadly, Rieva huffed, knocking into him, and making him fall back over. Why did he have to have four legs?! No one needed four legs! Is this why octopi had 8. Because four sucked? 

Rieva and Matt ended up boxing him in. Keith moving his legs to match their steps. He felt huge compared to them. Their paws seemed nicer than his huge black ones. His huge black ones just wanted to trip him over... He must have got the hang of it though, before he knew he’d done it, he’d reached the back fencing with the pair of them. Casting a glance back at Lance’s, he could still pick up traces of Lance. He didn’t want to cross the fence line, but his new pack gave him no choice. Rieva going first to show him how it was done, then when he failed and got his legs tangled up again, Matt grabbed him by the scruff and dragged him over the wooden fencing and off towards the wooded area in the distance.


	181. Chapter 181

181

“A whoo whoo whooo...”  
Curled up in his bed, Lance was woken from his dozing by a sad barking. He hadn’t known he’d caused so much trouble for everyone else. He’d put his headphones on, and pulled himself together as he did another 180 over Keith. Breaking down the aspects of Keith’s life and his likes, Lance was trying to work out how to make Keith happy. He’d been deep in thought. He wanted to explore absolutely every avenue. Curtis had his demon summoned out of him. Keith might have a chance. His friend helped confirm there was never going to be a way for him to be human again.

Reading in bed, Lance hadn’t meant to doze. The book was boring as heck, a cheap trashy romance book that made very little sense. Normally a perfect distraction... His brain still excited from the three games of chess he’d played with Coran as they tried to distract themselves from Keith’s first turn.

“A whoo whoo... whoo... whoooo”  
With another mournful howl, Lance placed his book aside with a sigh. He hadn’t meant to shut Kosmo out, or in. He wasn’t sure where the doggo was hiding. If it wasn’t Kosmo it could be Matt. If Matt had lost track of Rieva he tended to act extremely pathetic. Blue was curled on his bed, her tail flicking at the pathetic sound, probably because it interrupted her beauty sleep. He needed to find Kosmo on the off chance he’d gotten out and tried to follow the others. 

Stopping by the bathroom, Lance bundled himself up. Fluffy robe and slippers donned, Lance held his belly for balance, waddling down the stairs with a sign to himself. Coran was sleeping in the office for the night, in case Keith got himself hurt, or he didn’t take the turn well. He felt so fat and unbalanced, carrying not low, but not like high, with Google not exactly giving him a name for looking like a team of basketballs had been breeding in his stomach. With all his amazingly wonderful powers, he didn’t have stretch marks. He wished he did. He wished his belly looked more... pregnant. Not just inflated.

Flicking the switch on for the back, Lance unlocked the back door  
“Kosmo!”  
It was freezing. Pulling the dressing grown around him, he shuffled out on to the paving. Damn fur sons. He could be sleeping. He’d only just peed but the air was making him need to pee again.

“Whooo... whoo. Whoo”

Maybe Kosmo was hurt? The cries reminded him of the times Kosmo thought he’d been abandoned forever by being shut out the bathroom by the big evil door. Following around to the side of the house, Lance wrinkled his nose at the moist grass. Icky. He’d have to wash his feet and his poor slippers  
“Kosmo! Come here, boy!”  
Whistling and clicking, Lance realised the mistakes he’d made as he blinked at the black blob in his yard. Fuck... he didn’t think Keith would be back. He thought he was smelling with from where he’d left his clothes with Matt’s and Rieva’s  
“Keith?”

With a very mournful and sad whimper, Keith rose to his legs shakily. His whole body moved stiffly. Long legs ended in huge paws. Keith pitch black, eyes brilliant yellow. His teeth kind of really scary... but he looked... sad. Where were Matt and Rieva?  
“Keith? Hey, buddy. What are you doing here?”  
Slinking over to him, Keith let out a sad howl that embarrassed wolves everywhere. Sitting down. He stared up at Lance, Lance didn’t know what he was supposed to say or do. This wasn’t good. Keith was supposed to be giving into the pull of the moon. He’d liked to think himself educated enough, until he’d gained two werewolf roommates and he’d learned more than he ever needed to  
“Did you get lost?”  
Keith whined, Lance didn’t speak wolf. Dawn was hours away  
“Okay. I gather you’re not having a fun time”

“A whooooo who whooo”  
Howling, Keith sounded sadder. Reaching his hand out, the wolf sniffed at it before baring his teeth. Had Matt and Rieva ditched Keith? Or had they brought him back because he was hurt and didn’t want to possibly attack Lance so had already left?  
“Okay. No getting too close. Smart one Lance. Go see the fresh turned wolf alone. Of course it wasn’t Kosmo out here. Fucking idiot. You can’t do anything right. Alright, Keith. You come with me with me. Coran is in the office”  
“Whooo...”  
Riiiiight. No. He didn’t speak wolf  
“Keith. I can’t understand you, but I can tell you’re not okay. Come inside, it’s freezing out here”

Keith walked by Lance’s side. Lance trying not to freak out. Keith was hulking. He right out of a movie as some kind of death hound or dark omen. With how stiff Keith watched, he was sure he must have hurt himself. He’d never seen a wolf so stiff, the closest comparison was Keith was walking how Kosmo had after a thermometer to his butt. Maybe Matt... No. He didn’t want to think about Keith moving on and further away from him. He wasn’t suited to him anymore. If Matt and Rieva both felt that way towards Keith, he didn’t stand a chance. It fucking sucked.

Holding the door open for Keith, Keith managed to trip himself over the lip of the step. Lance now certain Keith had hurt himself. No werewolf was this clumsy, turned or not, Keith had spent hours running around as a wolf. His control would be better than this. Leading the way, he knocked on the office door, knowing Coran wouldn’t be sleeping. He just hoped he wasn’t snooping. Coran needn’t have rushed for his sake. He would have emerged from the office eventually. He’d just gotten caught up in his music and trying to make a list of things Keith liked. He was sure Keith would remain in Platt with Shiro for the time being. He was trying to think of how to reintroduce Keith to the things his boyfriend loved  
“Coran, open up. I think Keith’s hurt!”

Coran came bustling wearing a borrowed robe, the same Black one Shiro had borrowed when he and Keith first stayed   
“Lance? Keith... What are you doing here?”  
“He was sitting outside howling. He’s not moving right”  
“Oh, dear! He should be off chasing the moon! Keith, you’d better come in quick. You should be healing by now”  
Keith carefully stepped his way into the room. Actions jolted   
“See what I mean. He’s so stiff”  
“Yes, indeed! It’s remarkable he hasn’t attacked!”  
“I don’t care about remarkable. I’m more worried he’s hurt”

Coran blinked his way out of staring at Keith. Keith’s wolf was bigger than both Rieva’s and Matt’s, but he was thinner, sleeker. His fur black, unlike the mousy brown tones of his friends  
“Can you get up on the bed so we can take a little look?”  
Keith huffed, before making the most awkward effort ever to climb up. He was all legs and zero coordination. Coran taking pity and helping heft Keith’s butt up on the bed with the rest of him. Sitting down, Keith started again with the howling   
“Whooo. Who... whooooooo...”

“See, he sounds bad. I thought I’d shut Kosmo out, or Matt had lost Rieva. Shouldn’t he be violent and angry right about now?”  
“Awhoooooooo”  
Keith didn’t seem to like what he’d said. Lance couldn’t help that he was shocked. Keith was being a total sook and not at all the angry anger loaf he’d been since waking   
“Is that so my boy. Then what happened?”  
“A whoo... whoo... woof!”  
Since Coran asked, he must know how to speak wolf  
“What’s he saying?”  
“I haven’t the foggiest. Let me examine him, why don’t you take a seat. You look awfully uncomfortable”  
That had something to do with the pain in his hips. He’d take a massage right about now  
“Is it safe?”  
“I don’t think he’ll bite. I’ll stop him before any harm can come to you or the twins”

Coran had stopped Matt after he’d torn Lance’s back to shreds... If anyone could, it’d be him. Sitting down in his office chair, Lance winced as he back twinges. Keith giving a loud howl  
“Whoooo!”  
Lance was going to either burst out laughing or be deafened if Keith kept this out. Probably both... Keith sounded very very unwolf like, despite his appearance. He sounded like he had something stuck in his throat or was trying to mimic a wolf’s sounds when all he had was a dog to go off  
“Keith, indoor voice! I’m fine! You don’t have to complain loudly, Coran is going to check you out”  
“A whooo... whoo... whooo... woo”

Lance ducked his head. Keith could understand him. His “howl” a little louder than Kosmo’s whining, but not full volume. It sounded that much more strangled as Keith tried to talk. Was this like when he was a bat? When he’d squeak and chirp hoping to be understood even though he knew he would be? Strangely enough Lance’s ego wasn’t riled up by the wolf like he’d thought it’d be. It was agitated, annoyed, pissed about the cold, but not about Keith. Unlike Keith who’d decided to growl at him. Coran ignored all danger as he sat on the bed next to Keith, holding his hand out for Keith to sniff. Keith seemed insulted by whatever he found on there, wrinkling up his muzzle. For a big bad wolf that took up almost all the bed, he wasn’t acting like he should. His first full moon should mean Keith was mental, near rabid with werewolfy needs. Not sitting in his office looking sad. Matt and Rieva were getting a stern talking to about leaving Keith alone.

“Now, my lad. No biting. I expect you wouldn’t find my blood all that palatable”  
“A whoooo”  
What did Keith have to be afraid of? Coran was a bad arse when he needed to be. He couldn’t take the fae, even if he tried  
“Keith, you don’t have to howl. Coran isn’t going to hurt you. How about this, you nod or you shake your head?”  
“A whooo...?”  
God. He couldn’t help it. A chuckle slipped out, followed by a hiss. Laughing bad  
“I have to pee. I don’t know what’s left to pee, but I have to pee. Should I bring Keith back some water?”  
“Yes, he’s probably quite thirsty. Make sure you leave the door open so he knows it’s you coming”  
Lance grumbled. He wasn’t about to risk being savaged by startling Keith   
“I’m pretty sure I’m the only one here who smells like a walking bone that’s both pregnant and very dead”  
“Right you are, but any suddenness and things could change in an instant”

Heading to the bathroom first, Lance then stopped by the kitchen on the way back. Grabbing out the jar of pickles and a big block of chocolate from the cupboard, he nearly forgot Keith’s water in the need fo satisfy his weird craving. Deciding on a Tipperary container, given it was plastic and less likely for Keith to break while he drank, he carried the lot back to the office where Keith was laying on his back with his legs up. Zero shame right there. No way was Keith coming near him with that between his legs. His nuts were huge, not that Lance wanted to see, but they were impossible to miss. If Keith found himself a wolfy girlfriend she’d be pregnant in no time  
“I brought a bowl. How is he?”

Setting the bowl on the floor, Keith rolled over, giving him an unimpressed look   
“What are you going to do? You don’t have thumbs to hold a glass and you’re not messing up the bed”  
Keith huffed at him. Tail giving a lazy thump   
“I can’t find anything wrong with him. No breaks or blood. Though he is aroused. Perhaps he’s so docile because he already thinks of you as his mate and returned because he misses you”  
“Coran, I’m a vampire. He should be gnawing on my leg by now, not wanting to hump it”

Keith whined loudly, nosing at the blankets as if he wanted to hide his face  
“He has exhibited signs of thinking of you as his mate. First angry you had been spending time with Allura, then over your joke. This is most unexpected. He’s not the first to receive werewolf blood instead of a bite. This is very interesting”  
“Well when you’re done poking at him, he can have a drink and go for another run. He has to work off that energy without destroying my furniture”  
“I want to try something first, if you’re okay with it”

For some reason Lance looked to his pickles and chocolate   
“I’m not sharing”  
“Gracious! No. That combination... I think not. No. I’m interested to see how Keith reacts if I approach you”  
That didn’t sound like a good idea. He didn’t want his craving food spilt in the process  
“Let me put this down first...”  
When Lance turned his back, Coran moved up behind him. Keith leaping off the bed to get between the pair of them so fast that Lance nearly knocked the jar of pickles over. Why did provoking the otherwise docile werewolf seem a good idea?!? As Coran started chuckling, he wanted to hit him. He was jumpy enough without Coran adding to it!

“I hope you proved you point!”  
“I think I have. He’s very protective of you...”  
“Keith’s been protective of me since day one. Well, maybe not day one, but he did try to defend my honour more than once”  
“I must do some further research into this. I mean, naturally I’ve met docile wolves before, even the occasional wolf who’d tolerate a vampire. I wonder if there’s anything in the literature over when werewolves and vampires first fell out...”

Lance had to do a three point turn on the spot seeing Keith wasn’t moving. Lowering himself into his chair, he frowned at the mass of wolf in front of him. He just didn’t get it. Was it in his scent? Rieva had been super attentive to him. Was it in werewolves to protect young, no matter who they belonged too? Nah. That was too optimistic. A female knocked up with a baby that wasn’t her mates could expect aggression. Was it because they were Keith’s scent and somehow he smelt like Keith so Keith knew not to hurt him? That too seemed far too optimistic   
“So basically Keith isn’t hurt. He’s just... lonely? Do we find him a female wolf? I don’t know what to do”

Keith snarled at the mention of a female wolf. His eyes narrowing as he gazed up at Lance   
“Don’t look at me like that. My arse is not taking that... when you’re not human. I don’t know what to do for you...”  
“I think you insulted him”  
“I can see that. Keith, you have to admit, I’m allowed to be confused as fuck. I was expecting a blood thirsty feral beast, not you to be lonely and inside. Could it be because the real full moon is tomorrow?”  
“Possibly. Or the slow release of blood into his system. He has been quite aggressive, as we’ve all noticed”

Lance popped the top on the pickles, nodding because it was true. Keith had been a douche. He got it, but it didn’t make it hurt less if he was completely honest  
“I think he should head back out and make the most of burning up his extra energy”

Popping a pickle in his mouth, he groaned at the bitter taste. Soooo good. He just knew the chocolate with it would make it perfect. Opening the block of chocolate, he was proved right, moaning loudly at the bitter sweet tastes. Rubbing his butt against the floor, he seemed to have flipped on Keith’s horny switch  
“Should I get him a pillow?”  
Coran arched an eyebrow  
“Whatever for?”  
“So he can take care of his urges? I want to help, but that’s a no go. I don’t even know if he likes me that much anymore”  
“He does. He was most concerned. Silly boy thought he was no longer Keith now he had his ego”

Hadn’t Lance told him that he was? Suddenly pickles and chocolate turned to tears. Keith was Keith. He was in there. He just needed to relearn to be himself   
“I’m sorry. I’m having a lot of emotions right now. Keith, I’m not trying to be mean. I don’t know what to do. Matt and Rieva came as a pair and I know they do things when they wolf out... I guess I’m an arsehole for not understanding what it’s like to be a wolf”  
“Whooooooooooo”

Lance shook his head, covering his face as he started crying harder. He wanted his pickles and he wanted to cry, but he couldn’t have both at the same time  
“Perhaps it’s best you head to bed. I can stay with Keith”  
What? Why? He’d been trying to get Keith outside and now he didn’t want him to go, but he also didn’t want to cause a situation where Keith acted out, because it was the natural wolf thing to do, with a possibly dire consequence  
“But he’s meant to be my boyfriend! I told him he was still himself!”  
“Keith will be quite safe with me. I’ll take him for a walk”

If Keith wasn’t hurt, then he had to be having trouble working out how to adjust to four legs... How could keith not walk? Then again, he could barely fly as a bat. His ego secretly laughed at Keith, upsetting Lance further. He felt all flustered over crying, making him cry more. Keith was huge and he couldn’t walk... and he wanted to do the do, but Lance didn’t want to do the do with anyone but Keith, and only when they were stable in their relationship with both of them consenting. Why did Coran have to bring him here when Lance was emotionally ready to see Keith?  
“He can’t even walk... Coran, he can’t walk... How is he going to protect himself? He can’t walk...”  
“He can walk. He simply needs to get used to his body being in a different form. Now, my boy, you head off back upstairs. We’ll soon have Keith adjusted to his new ego and form”

Craning his head back, Keith looked at him, howling mournfully  
“A whooooooooo”  
“I’m not leaving the house. I have to get some sleep, I’ve been busy since I got home. I need to rest for the sake of the twins, and I need to take my pickles and chocolate with me”  
“A... a whoo!”  
“You’ll be okay. You should go run. Trust me when I say you’ll feel better. Rieva and Matt always do”  
Keith didn’t seem convinced   
“Go. Run. Let your ego flare a little. If you’re anxious think of it like training. It’ll be good for you. I’m not trying to make you leave or anything like that, but you can’t pretend you’re not a wolf with wolf urges. That’d be like me trying to live on human food alone. Then in morning you’ll take a shower, clog my drain with mud and grass, but you’ll feel better for it”

Keith huffed, he eyed the bowl on the floor with annoyance. Okay, it was pretty animal like but Keith was an animal right now  
“You’re allowed to act like a wolf. Drinking out a bowl doesn’t make you any less. You’ll be okay. You just have to stop overthinking, which I know is hard for you, but you are who you are. Wolf and... all”  
Yawning, Lance wanted his bed. Now he knew Keith was alright, he’d be able to sleep then talk to Keith about it in the morning. When had he calmed down from sobs? And how did manage to sound calming when Keith was having an internal crisis. God. He needed sleep. He definitely wasn’t thinking straight   
“And with that, off to bed with you”  
“Yeah. I’m going. I’ll see you guys in the morning. Night, babe. Be safe”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 🐺❤️🦇
> 
> Keith is literally the saddest excuse of a werewolf. All he wants is the snuggles... and the leg humps, by mostly the snuggles.
> 
> 🦇❤️🐺


	182. Chapter 182

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m gonna have to write some more chapters. 190 came and they’re only just off to find Keith’s dad’s grave.........................
> 
> Can we skip to the birth now?

182

For the next two days, Keith wolfed out at night... then woke the following morning not remembering anything. He still seemed jittery and on edge. Rieva had said he’d finally got the hang of walking, then running, wolf howls filled the night as the three of them did whatever werewolves did. Keith slept most of the day away, Lance removing his clothes from where he’d packed them, trying to make Keith comfortable. This was hard for him. Keith not remembering coming home and being reassured sucked. They hovered in each other’s space but there were no kisses or words of love. Worst of all was when Lance reacted to Keith’s scent. Getting off seemed like such a chore, and never as good as it felt with Keith.

The day after the third night Keith slept like the dead on the sofa. He hadn’t come to Lance’s room. He didn’t use Lance’s bathroom. There was some kind of clear invisible line there that hurt like all hell, driving him into an anxiety attack over the idea they’d never be able to have what they had again. He felt as if he’d cried a river of tears, crying himself to sleep or passing out from not being able to control his breathing, though that was unlikely. With Keith home, Lance had let Hunk and Pidge know not to come around, of course they insisted on seeing Keith as soon as it was safe. Sending them a photo of Keith sleeping on the sofa, Lance let them know tomorrow should be okay in the group chat, Shay wanting to come too. Maybe it was his way of having back up should things blow up with Keith, but he didn’t know how to close this distance on his own. Keith needed everybody to support him right now. To show him they were all just relieved he was awake and alive. He could wait... no matter how much it sucked.

It was near on the middle of the night that Keith finally roused. Lance in the kitchen, indulging in his need for ice cream and watching cat videos on his phone. Stumbling in, Keith went straight for the coffee machine. Some things never changed. He didn’t seem to notice Lance at first, not until he’d poured his cup of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table. Lance nearly getting up to leave, only stopping himself when he realised Keith was staring at him.

Having to say something, Lance took a deep breath, unable to push that fake smile to his lips. Things weren’t okay and a smile wasn’t going to fool anyone  
“How are feeling?”  
Keith blinked at him, as if he didn’t expect Lance to care and it hurt   
“Um... tired. Thanks for letting me stay”  
“This is your home too, you know”  
“Um... I... uh... feel like we should talk but I don’t know what to say”  
“Neither do I. Do you feel better for having had your first moon?”  
“Actually, yeah. I don’t feel as short tempered”  
“That’s good. That means your ego’s settling”

If someone inserted cricket noises in the silence that followed, it would have been less awkward. They knew how to talk to each other, but both of them seemed to be failing. Keith took a deep sip of his coffee, he must have made it more milk than coffee or he was now impervious to heat. Placing the cup back down, Keith sighed  
“I don’t know what to do”  
“What are you thinking?”  
“Do you still love me?”  
Lance answered instantly. Keith was the foundation of his heart, even if he wasn’t too sure how Keith felt about him now  
“Yes. That hasn’t changed at all”  
“Then do you think we can work this out?”  
“I’d like to try... but no pressure. You’re dealing with so much right now”

Keith sighed. A sigh could be a hundred different sounds, this one sounded sad to him  
“I don’t want to hurt you”  
That sounded like Keith wanted to walk away. Lance waited for the “but” only for it not to come, so he supplied it himself  
“But?”  
“I don’t know. I just... I don’t want to hurt you. I’m scared of this ego thing. I thought I got it... but it really isn’t something that can be explained”  
“No. It isn’t, is it. I don’t know what I can do to help. I love you too much to give up on you, but at the same time, I don’t want you to feel pressured by me”  
“I feel like there’s this thing between us. I hate it. I can’t kiss you. I can’t hold you. I feel like... shit. I’m not blaming you. I know you didn’t want me to turn, yet... I wonder if you were really okay with me dying instead. If that’d been better”

Keith could kindly go fuck himself if he thought so little of Lance. Pushing his chair back, he smooshed the lid back onto the ice cream container, bending the spoon up in it   
“Lance?”  
“Don’t fucking say anything”  
Keith was confused by him snapping. Lance moving to put the ice cream away  
“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

Throwing the freezer door open, Lance jammed the ice cream in. There was enough space in his carefully crafted game of freezer Tetris, Lance too angry to care  
“I don’t know. Tell me, Keith, how could you ever fucking think I would be okay with you being dead?! Do you really think I’m all like “he’s a fucking wolf now, better not give two shits?!”. Is that it? You don’t think I fucking care?! Of course I didn’t want you dead! I love you! You are the other half of my fucking soul! You’re the one who woke up and said you wanted to be dead instead! I watched you laying there, day after day, not fucking waking up! I waited! I begged you to wake up! I was against the turn because it happened without your permission! You think you’re the only one feeling this distance?! I want to kiss you! I want to hug you! I want to tell you I love you! But I don’t know what’s alright and what’s too much!”

Slamming the door closed, the fridge rocked in place  
“You packed my things”  
“I packed them because I thought you’d choose Shiro over me! Because I know egos are messed up! I thought you’d need space or time, and I didn’t want you feeling like you had to pity the poor stupid vampire who prayed for his lover to wake up every single fucking day! If you don’t want to be here, you don’t have to be! If you don’t want to know me or the twins, you can fucking leave! I didn’t give up on you! I was trying to do right by you! Don’t you know being around me could have sent you insane?! Coran could have had to kill you because your ego clashed with mine!”

He’d woken the twins up. An unexpectedly hard kick making him stumble a little and grab for the bench  
“Lance!”  
Fixing Keith in his gaze through teary eyes, Lance shook his head  
“Don’t call my name if you don’t want me! I can’t take this! I’m not that strong and I can’t be mad at you”  
“I didn’t say I didn’t want you”  
“You asked if I still loved you. It’s the same thing! I love you! I haven’t stopped loving you! I don’t care that you’re a werewolf, you’re still the man I love!”

Keith climbed from his chair, acting out a scene that’d happened a thousand times before as he wrapped Lance up in a hug   
“I still love you. But I don’t know how you can accept me. I don’t know how to be a werewolf... I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know who I am any more”  
“You’re still you! Why can’t you see that?! We all still fucking love you! We all still care. We all still want you around... I still want you around! It’s killing me not being about to hold you! Or kiss you! Or tell you I love you!”  
Keith was probably half deafened as Lance wailed. Keith’s scent wasn’t as “wet doggy” as before. He could still pick up his boyfriend’s scent... he knew egos sucked and Keith was thrown in the deep end here, but why couldn’t his love be enough?!  
“I’m sorry...”  
“Don’t apologise! I know I’m overreacting! I know it!”

Keith nuzzled into Lance’s hair, kissing the soft locks  
“I love you, too. I do. That hasn’t changed”  
“Then why is it so hard?!”  
“I don’t know. I don’t want to give up on us”  
“Then tell me what I need to do to make you see I care...”  
“I don’t know. I don’t know how to fix us but I don’t want to lose you either”  
“Then what do we do!? I don’t want to keep missing you even when you’re in the same room as me”  
“I don’t want to keep missing you either. I love you. I know I do. I just don’t get why my ego prickles or gets mad so easily”  
“Because it’s new... I thought I got things after spending so much time with Rieva and Matt, but I can’t seem to... to get it. You said you didn’t like my smell”  
“I didn’t... you smelt... too much. But it’s not so bad now... I kind of want to rub against you”  
“Because I smell like death and animals use dead things to hide their scent”  
“Maybe, but you also smell... like... really good... in a way. I can’t explain it. What do I smell like to you?”

Lance sniffled, his nose all snotty and blocked up. He really wasn’t supposed to be getting too emotional. He’d experienced enough small waves of arousal without hitting that heat stage, and if he did hit that heat stage with Keith, he was worried Keith would freak out   
“You smell... like you. Like wet dog but I can still smell you. It’s gotten stronger... like you’ve been working out and covered in sweat”  
“Is it bad?”  
“No... not bad...”  
“That’s okay then... Fuck, babe. I don’t want to hurt you... I don’t know my limits anymore”  
“Welcome to my world. A tad too much strength and I’ve broken a jar...”  
“Maybe I shouldn’t be opening jars for the time being”  
“It’s probably safest... I think I should go to bed... Too much stress is bad for my body right now”  
“Can I come with you?”

Lance didn’t think that wise but he craved Keith. He craved being held by him. It made him want to chuck all the confusing shit out the window and not think things through   
“Don’t ask me like that. I can’t say no and I don’t know if I should be saying no as your ego forms”  
Keith had calmed down so much. He’d come back that first night, Coran saying he missed Lance, that he missed his mate  
“I get it...”  
No. Now Keith sounded sad... He didn’t want Keith being sad or to be making things harder for the man he loved  
“Can we just... try cuddling?”  
“I’d like to try”  
“Okay... but... um... the bedroom isn’t... how you remember it”  
“That’s okay. I just want to hold you some more. I want my ego to know you mean more to me than it does”  
“Ego doesn’t work like that. Anything can set it off. Sometimes it not even something big”  
“It should. I mean, I want it to settle and know you’re precious to me. I feel like I’m drowning and I don’t know who to turn to”  
“You’re not... you have every single one of us who wants to be there for you. Pidge and Hunk wanted to come around to see you”

The innocent comment set Keith on edge. A low growl coming from the werewolf, followed by a sigh   
“What was that? Why did I growl?”  
“I don’t know... we’ll ask Coran in the morning. He’ll know”  
“I hope so... Can I stay?”  
“This has never not been your home too...”  
“You said I should stay with Shiro...”  
“Because I want to do whatever’s right by you... but I don’t want you to again... not really”  
“Then we’ll talk to Coran in the morning. Do you want to bring the ice cream to bed?”  
“Not really... let’s just... let’s just go and see how it goes”  
“Okay, babe. We’ll work this out”  
Tears rushed to fill Lance’s eyes again   
“God, I hope so”

*  
Keith didn’t know what he expected from being a werewolf, but it wasn’t this. Rieva and Matt had baby sat him through the moon, and now he had to learn how to have everything he wanted in life all over again... and not pop a raging boner while watching Lance sleep. Spooned around him, he’d tilted a little so he wouldn’t be directly stabbing Lance in the arse. Lance had been through a lot. Staying beside him when he’d been in a come. Putting up with his douche of an ego before the full moon. Trying to figure out how to help him and what he needed, while still scared that Keith didn’t have feelings for him anymore. 

Keith hated Lance’s bed. A sheet, then a blanket. That was it. Not two or three blankets under them with another two or three on top of them. It felt barren. His boyfriend was pregnant. That... that meant a lot to him, that he was still Lance’s boyfriend, and hadn’t been dumped because of his arseholic ways. Lance had so much love and so much patience for him. He hadn’t lied when he said things had felt better now the full moon had passed, but he still didn’t feel fully settled. He’d noticed he’d rubbed up against a lot. As if he was trying to drown his scent out. He’d nearly licked his boyfriend’s shoulder, unsure why when he didn’t used to go around licking Lance for no apparent reason.

His new strength scared him. Every time he looked to his hands and found his fingernails were claws instead, he felt fear. Lance laying there felt... like the vampire was being too unguarded. He could tear Lance’s throat out before he’d have time to register what happened. Had Lance worked through this? Was that what he laid awake afraid of when Keith was human? Choosing to love a human had to be hard. He knew it was hard, but it was harder? than he’d known. He could hear Lance’s heart. Feel every single move of their twins inside of him. He could hear Matt going to the toilet. Rieva kissing him. Giggling with him. The privacy thing really was... weird. It’s existed and now it was gone. Would he make Lance happy? Being... a werewolf?

And if he made Lance happy, then would he lose Shiro whom he already hadn’t talked to in days. He knew Shiro acted to save him. He knew that. Yet he did kind of feel violated for not having the choice. And not just because it reminded him that Lance also hadn’t had a choice, but because he’d his brother break a promise from back before they’d met Lance. If they changed, if a hunt went wrong, they both chose death to the curse. That Shiro and Lance were fighting was bad enough. Lance was so close to Curtis and Keith to Shiro. Shiro’s time should be spent with his boyfriend, helping Curtis work through his demons from carrying and actual demon. He didn’t know much about what Curtis was going through, or how he was. 

No. He’d been angry sack of shit. 

Every time he insulted his ego, even mentally, he felt a kind of stab of anger from it. For 28ish years he’d been him. Now he didn’t feel like himself. Coran would be the first offer counselling, yet this seemed a waste if he was going to constantly be picked on by his ego. No wonder most werewolves were douches. Their egos really did pressure them. He didn’t want that. He didn’t want to keep being angry and keep arching up over nothing. Lance let him in, let him those close to their twins, how was Lance not afraid he’d turn them, or hurt them? He’d been afraid to spend too long with Shiro for much the same reasons.

Closing his eyes, Keith snuggled into Lance, wishing his head would shut up. As exhausted as he felt, he also felt a buzz under his skin to get up go running. Somehow the idea of training had lodged itself in his brain. If Coran kept him employed, he’d be a much better hunter in a lot of ways and a lot worse with this scent of his. It’d be easier to scent Shiro up and make believe he was a wolf, but it’d be a dead give away to vampires that they weren’t friendly or naive. That was all provided Shiro still wanted him as a partner. He didn’t know how to fix things with Shiro when things had never been this way between them. Shiro had had to kill Adam when he was a vampire. That was out of mercy. What happened if Keith lost himself to his ego and Shiro was forced to do the same thing? What happened to his family when he was no longer there to take care of them? Did he become a story to them?

*  
Unable to sleep, Keith carefully slipped out from behind Lance. He had too many thoughts and things down south were starting to ache. Jerking off sounded like a chore, but maybe a good orgasm would finally get rid of his thoughts and the pent up sensation. Keeping his steps light, he’d reached the door before he’d known it. This speed thing was no joke. His head still thought he was sitting on the edge of Lance’s bed with him trying to convince himself that jerking off would help settle himself down.

Leaning against the bathroom counter, he’d barely pulled his sweats and underwear down to deal with his issue when Lance came shuffling, catching him holding his dick like a perv. Rubbing sleep out his eyes, Lance mumbled sleepily  
“Keith?”  
“What are you doing awake?!”  
Screeching at Lance might not be the best way to play things cool... but this was Lance’s bathroom and he was panicked. Lance’s eyes widened, a blush appearing on his cheeks as he looked away  
“I’m sorry! I felt you get out of bed and wanted to make sure you were okay! I’ll just... bed... go...”

Keith died a little more on the inside. He loved their sex life. He didn’t feel disgusted or revolted by his needs or Lance’s... now he kind of did. He’d wanted to care of things as quickly and as quietly as he could, then slip back to bed like it’d never happened  
“I...”  
“It’s okay! It’s okay... You do you, boo”  
That seemed to make everything that much worse. He only felt like this because of his ego and because holding Lance felt right to him. It’d been so long since he had. Since they’d had sex. Thinking about Lance only proved to make that need between his legs worse  
“I didn’t... know you were awake. I’ll... uh, take care of this... um... Go back to bed... Yeah, go back to bed and we’ll act like this never happened”

His voice was wobbly, he didn’t want Lance going back to bed, but he also didn’t want to jump Lance’s bones despite what his body was telling him  
“It’s okay. I get it. You have needs”  
Keith didn’t know why Lance sounded so sad about said needs  
“It’s not... I mean... I didn’t want... you thinking you had to take care of things and...”  
His hand was still wrapped around his dick. Why was his hand still wrapped around his dick?!  
“I really do get it. I’ve jerked off too... no big deal... I’ll...”

Keith groaned at the thought. Had Lance fingered himself thinking of him? Had he moaned his name? Cried out for him? Fuck. He wanted to be in Lance. He wanted to bend him over the counter and fuck him until next year   
“Keith?”  
“You... you should go... I don’t think I can hold back”  
Lance smelt so good. He could tell the vampire was turned on by the sight of him. He could smell how pregnant his lover was, and knew that scent would only get sweeter as the pregnancy progressed. Lance being Lance made it so damn hard to be respectful of him and his body when he was this aroused  
“Uh. Yeah... um... I’ll do that. Good night... morning, good morning...”

As Lance climbed into bed, he grumbled about what an idiot he was before groaning deeply. Keith knew he wasn’t supposed to hear Lance scolding himself, but he found it cute. Lance was very cute. Fuck. Why did he have to love someone so cute?!

Jacking off didn’t take long. All he had to do was think of his boyfriend and his hips did the rest. Release felt amazing. Nearly as good as with Lance. If jerking off felt this good, he couldn’t wait to see what being inside Lance would be like. Cleaning up his mess, Keith made sure there was no traces left of the bathroom cupboard before rewashing his hands and heading to bed. Immediately Lance got out the other side. Keith feeling for though he knew he couldn’t reach him, feeling like he needed to apologise seeing his self love session had first happened, then been over in less than a minute  
“I’m sorry... If you want me to go...”  
“I’m going to stop you there. We don’t have to talk about, and right now, I am busting for the toilet. Jerking off happens”  
“But...”  
“It even happens really fast. Don’t let the bed get cold”

Keith’s soul clear left his body to yeet its self out the window. Lance didn’t need to rub it in... Not when Keith would have rather been rubbing it in him. Ugh. Next time he’d just go outside and jerk off where no one would ever catch him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes. Keith is as wolf. He big doggo who doesn’t like wet grass on his feet, or on his butt... and he really needs a rut pillow


	183. Chapter 183

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes I feel I should tag how conversation heavy this fic is

183

The following morning Lance’s house was inundated. Hunk, Shay and Pidge, then Shiro, Curtis, and Krolia. All arriving within an hour of each other. For Keith this was the largest social gathering he’d experienced since turning, and he wasn’t handling it well. Lance watched him jump and flinch. The way he flexed he flexed his hands. The way he looked at Shiro as he struggled internally. He knew Shiro was in their group chat, yet hadn’t thought the man would turn up unannounced, despite the obvious fact he would because he loved Keith. Lance knew his boyfriend was struggling. He knew and he knew Keith wouldn’t turn any of their friends away, so when Keith excused himself to the bathroom, Lance followed.

Heading upstairs, the vampire followed his boyfriend into his room. Keith standing there with his back to him. His breathing uneven, body shaking. He’d either be decked for what he was about to do, or he yelled at, but either was perfectly fine. Coming up to Keith, Lance wrapped his arm around him, turning as he did to stand side on  
“Keith?”  
“I can’t do this”  
“Everything’s getting to you isn’t it? Why don’t we sit down?”

Sighing heavily Keith moved away from him   
“You don’t get it”  
Lance sympathised, voice soft as he tried to show Keith that in some way he did “get it”  
“Your senses are overloaded by the sound of everyone’s voice and their scents. Even for me it gets too much, especially being pregnant. Sometimes the wolf scents get too much, or things get too loud... You know that”  
Snapping back, Keith clenched his hands into fists  
“You don’t get it!”  
Lance’s ego bristled. This was his boyfriend, out of everyone closest to Keith he should be the one best equipped at comforting him  
“Then explain!”

“I don’t want them here! I don’t want them near you!”  
Lance blinked rapidly. Right. Scent. He’d turned to Keith scent to help with all the other smells of the world. Now Keith was learning everyone’s scents again, he was a muddled up from it  
“I get it”  
“No! Stop saying that! You don’t!”  
“I do! Remember all the times I’d borrow your clothes. The way I’d nuzzle into you and breath you in. Your scent brought me safety. You’re meeting everyone again with so many scents around it’s too much. Everything feels like too much”  
“I don’t want them near you! I hate it! I hate and I don’t have the right to hate it! I look at Shiro and want to knock him flat because he upset you! You’re my fucking mate and you stink like everyone else and I... I don’t know how to handle this!”

If Keith truly thought of Lance as his mate... that on top of a fresh turn... Keith had a lot going on   
“Okay. I’m going to help you out. Sit on the end of the bed for me”  
“Why? It’s not like...”  
Lance shut Keith down with a scowl  
“Keith, I’ve been doing this a long time. Let me try something, it should help”  
“I don’t see how it can... They’re supposed to be our friends...”  
“They are... just, close your eyes for a moment”

Keith obeyed, arms cross and stiff as he sat on the end of Lance’s bed. First thing first, the scent issue. Heading to his wardrobe, Lance pulled out one of his hoodies from before his pregnancy. Everything in there smelt of him, so a constant hit should keep Keith calmed and give him something to focus on. Moving back to Keith, Lance couldn’t exactly undress him  
“Open”  
Keith frowned as he opened his eyes  
“What’s that going to do?”  
“Sniff it”  
Still skeptical, Keith took the hoodie, bringing it up to his nose. A few sniffs and he got it  
“It smells like you...”  
“Exactly. There are so many scents in this world that it gets overwhelming. I use your scent to ground me. Sometimes all it takes is a whiff of Matt and Rieva and I throw up. Your scent tells me it’s okay. It’s not an instant cure, but you can focus on it”  
“So I put this on and I’m magically better?”

Lance shook his head  
“Not quite. You’ll still smell a lot, but you called me your mate. Even if you’re working things out, that means you ego recognises me. You still love all our friends, it’s just your ego knows your mate is pregnant and perceives them as a current threat”  
“Meaning I’m stuck being angry”  
“Until your ego learns their scents and that they’re friends you’ll be agitated. It comes with the territory”  
“This sucks”  
It did and it was totally unfair. Keith deserved a happy life filled with love  
“It does. I’m going to say something else too, and you really need to listen to this. No one, absolutely none of our friends, expect you to be doing okay. They’re here because they care about you. Because they know things are all messed up, but they love you and you being a werewolf doesn’t change that, at all. If you need to take a breather, that’s fine. If you’re overwhelmed by scents and can’t work them out, you’re allowed to feel that way. The things you’re feeling, all of it is valid. You are still you, but we can’t deny things have changed. And until you feel settled again, you have all of us to talk to. Scents were hard at first, with the pregnancy, and some days I didn’t want to get out of bed at all. I loved meeting everyone in Cuba, but my ego was still on edge. I didn’t magically get better because that’s not how it happens. I did better because I had someone I truly trusted and relied on. I’m not saying you have to rush to trust. I’m saying that it’s okay for that trust to be low as you work through becoming a werewolf and all it entails. You are important to everyone. You are loved. We are not going to shun you”

Keith’s eyes welled up with tears. Lance wondering if he’d said the wrong thing until Keith buried his face in Lance’s hoody  
“It’s so much. Their voices... I can still hear everything. I can see everything. Everything feels too big”  
“I know. That brings me to my other point. Glasses. I know you probably don’t want to wear them, but they’ve helped me a lot. I only stopped wearing them as much because I knew you were on my side. I thought my life would always be how it was until you came along. I still love you. I still adore you. I haven’t given up”  
“But you stripped your bed. You packed my things...”  
“I did. And I did for a totally selfish reason too. I knew the turn was hard on you. And I couldn’t forgive myself over there not being any other way to keep you alive. Every time I saw something of yours I’d break down because I missed you. I didn’t want to pressure you into coming back to me if that was something you no longer wanted. I picked up your coffee cup and went into a panic attack over the thought of never being able to tell you I love you again. It destroyed me inside not being able to be there because I didn’t want to confuse your ego. Then... then I started to worry. I made you a nest, trying to make you comfortable... I worried I... forced your ego to choose me, because I’m too selfish to let you go”

Keith shook his head at him  
“No... no. I wouldn’t want anyone else as a mate. You’re like... my best friend. I shouldn’t have said you didn’t get it”  
“It’s kind of true. I don’t get it from a werewolf point of view, only my own view and I was turned so young that being like this became the norm. I’ll lend you a pair of glasses. If the others give you shit, I’ll punch them”  
Keith chuckled   
“In the dick?”  
“Depends... I’m saving that and one day I’ll find the perfect person to punch there”  
“I wanted to punch myself there for how I was acting... I hated it. I forgot how much anger wears you down”  
“It does. Do you need anything? Can I get you anything?”  
“No... just... thanks”

Lance kind of wanted Keith to say he wanted a hug, but he wasn’t going to force things. Plus, he still had the previous night’s images of Keith with his dick in his hand, burned into his brain. He’d wanted Keith, but until Keith was ready for more he was going to have to learn to be patient   
“You’re most very welcome. Also, don’t be afraid if the glasses break, they’re only cheap. I must have gone through a hundred pairs as it is”  
“Did you lose them or break them?”  
“I think we both know I broke them. I can’t help it. Everything in this house likes smacking me in the face”  
“Are you sure you don’t love head butting things?”  
Lance hummed, pretending to think about it. He liked this. This talking to Keith  
“Nope, can’t say I enjoy it. Okay, put the hoodie on and I’ll get you those glasses”

*  
Keith felt a bit calmer with Lance’s hoodie on. It smelt good. The soft fabric smelling of flowers and Lance. Coming back down the stairs, he wasn’t so keen on the glasses, but if Lance said they’d help, he’d try them. Lance was right about their being too many scents. Everyone smelt so different. Layer upon layer of complicated smells. 

The biggest problem he was facing was Lance and Shiro not talking. Shiro had acted to save his life, Keith knew that, and knew in an impossible situation he may have very well chosen the same course of action. But the thing was, the more he thought about it the more his ego agreed that they both saw Lance as their mate. That they were on his side through all of this. Lance would be the first to say he didn’t want Keith and Shiro fighting, or the others fighting with Shiro, yet his ego was mad and that bled into how he felt. With Lance being pregnant, he didn’t want him facing Shiro alone, even if it was to resolved the issues between them. Shiro wasn’t about to murder Lance... He knew it. He knew it and truly believed he wouldn’t, but he couldn’t trust himself not to be mad and not to say something he’d never be able to take back.

Like how he’d hurt Lance. He didn’t remember saying he wished he was dead. Or telling Lance he’d broke his trust. That Lance would build him a nest so he’d feel comfortable made his ego ecstatic. He didn’t think Lance had forced him to choose him, not when he’d been so crazy about his boyfriend before all this happened. So many things made sense now. The way Lance had tried to run from this thing between them. Lance respected and treasured him. He’d followed his feelings, now blamed himself for taking away Keith’s human life. That weighed heavily on the werewolf’s shoulders. 

Heading back into the living room, Pidge was trying to tackle a plate of cookies away from Matt. Matt laughing in his sister’s face. How had Matt it through? He hadn’t had all of this. He hadn’t had the support that Keith had. Instead he’d had a crush on a girl who turned him by accident and left him. He’d never leave Lance... yet he didn’t know if staying was a good idea. He didn’t want to keep thinking their friends were somehow going to hurt Lance and the twins. He got why Rieva was so protective of Lance now. Why she was fast to anger when he was upset me why she was so protective. He could smell when Lance was upset. He’d smelt in Lance’s bedroom, and again when he’d yelled at him that he didn’t understand. 

“Keith! Tell Matt he has to share!”  
Keith wished Pidge wouldn’t yell. Not until he’d become accustomed to loud noises. She sounded at least ten times louder to him now, and he’d already had a healthy fear of her before being turned. He envied that Matt could yell at her without hating the sound of his own voice  
“Hunk baked these for all of us! You’re the one who has to share!”  
“Keith! Help a sister out!”

Lance sighed at the squabbling siblings  
“Leave Keith out of this. Matt, give Pidge a cookie. Pidge, you know how much he eats”  
“But he’s already had more of them we have!”  
“No, I haven’t!”  
“Yes, you have!”  
Lance sighed again  
“Guys, stop it. You’re going to give me a headache if you keep yelling”  
It was Keith who was going to get the headache, Lance taking the blame to protect him. As his mate, Keith should be the one taking the blame  
“More like you’re going to give me a headache. Guys... can you maybe not yell? I’m still trying to get used to hearing as much as I do”

Realisation came over Pidge’s face, followed by guilt. Exactly the reason he hadn’t wanted to make a fuss  
“Oh, man! I’m sorry...”  
Keith shook his head. He didn’t want pity or his friends to be anyone other than who they were. Pidge was loud, he liked her being loud, it’d just take time to get used to her being near deafening  
“You don’t need to be sorry... Look, I... um... Had a talk with Lance. I know you guys are worried, but I feel better now the first moon is out the way. I’m just... um... a bit jumpy from all the smells and the noise. I’m sorry if I end up snapping”

Lance’s hand found its way into his, his boyfriend squeezing softly  
“It’s okay. You just admitted something big, and I’m proud of you. Also, guys, Keith and I are going to try keep working things out. We want to stay together, so if he gets a bit growly, it’s because he sees me as his pregnant mate. He’s being screamed at to protect me by his ego”  
Pidge rolled her eyes at them  
“You two are already gross. Keith can’t have changed that much”

Her offhand comment did more for him than Pidge would ever know. She didn’t see him that much differently than before. This wasn’t like finding out Matt was a wolf and Lance was a vampire, she’d been eased into the idea before hand and now she seemed way too okay with   
“He’s changed a bit, but he’s still our Keith, aren’t you babe?”  
“Maybe. Um... I’m not sure...”  
Tugging on his hand, Lance pulled him sideways so he could kiss the side of Keith’s head  
“That’s because you’re overthinking. Now, by my count it’s been at least 20 minutes since I peed last and I’m behind schedule according to my bladder and these two bashing it. You guys better be nice to him, I’m totally going to show you all my scary face if you’re not”

As Lance slipped away from him, Keith wished he hadn’t. He couldn’t avoid everyone forever, nor did he want to. He didn’t want to watch Lance peeing either. He just didn’t want to let him out his sight. Stupid ego was being stupid. As soon as Lance had left the room, Shiro was clearing throat  
“Keith, can I have a word with you?”  
Shiro had definitely waited for Lance to go before asking. If he wanted to talk that was one thing. If he wanted to question why he’d chosen Lance... his brother wasn’t going to like the answer very much. All their friends seemed collectively annoyed, yet none of them saved him. Keith forced to bite down a growl he felt bubbling  
“Okay... Let’s go out the back. Curtis, you coming?”  
Curtis looked to Shiro, he very much looked like he wanted to. Shiro gave the barest shake of his head  
“I’ll stay here... you two have a lot to talk about”

Finally abandoning her cookie quest, Pidge scowled at Shiro   
“If you upset him, we’re all going to be upset”  
“I know. You’ve all made it very clear. I’m going to talk to my brother, and I don’t need you guys automatically assuming the worst in me”  
Hell. Lance had told them not to fight. This must be a huger mess than what he’d believed. Lance was one of the most rational people he knew. He’d hated to see the group like this  
“Pidge, it’s okay. He is my brother, after all”  
“I know he’s your brother, but you’re our brother. Today’s about being happy you’re feeling better... Plus, I’ve got enough tequila to sink a ship, and drinking is always better when you’re happy”  
Matt snorted with a shake of his head  
“My dear sister, don’t ever let Keith have tequila. I made that mistake once and you don’t want to know how it went”  
“Ooooh, I think I do”  
Matt opened his mouth, Rieva elbowing him in the ribs. Thank fuck he’d shut up before recounting one of the most embarrassing moments in Keith’s life   
“You brought that situation entirely upon yourself. Don’t listen to them, Keith. Go talk to Shiro, it’ll do the both of you some good”

Leaving the living room, Keith felt like a book. First he’d been taken out by Lance, then returned. Now he was being taken out by Shiro... Maybe he should start charging rental fees. The werewolf was sure once he was done with Shiro, that Krolia would want to talk to him. Instead of heading out the back, the two of them headed out the front. Blue and Kosmo were already outside. Blue sunning herself in the drive, Kosmo coming bounding as Keith sat down on the front step. He had to wonder if his fur son could smell distress as he seemed to. That’d explain the way Kosmo always seemed to know when Lance needed extra cuddles. Sitting between his legs, Keith ruffled Kosmo’s fur, Kosmo always a slut for pats. Being a werewolf and owning a dog kind of felt weird, yet he’d never give Kosmo up. He loved him too much for that.

Sitting beside him, Shiro reached over to scratch between Kosmo’s ears  
“He’d gotten big”  
“He’s perfect”  
Keith had no idea how big he was a wolf, but if Shiro found Kosmo big, he’d definitely be bigger   
“He is. How are you?”  
So they were jumping right into. He could do that. Kosmo gave him something to keep himself distracted with   
“Better now the first moon has passed”  
“That’s good to hear. You had us all worried, then you took off here without telling us”

Keith didn’t feel guilty for that. Not for leaving. He’d needed to be there for Lance, and that’s what it came down to  
“Coran said it’d be easier if I had space to run around”  
“Ah. I see”  
With Lance trying to “get it”, and Shiro “seeing”, Keith felt tempted to start poking eyes out  
“Yeah. Lance needed me too, so I wanted to be here”  
Shiro sighed at Lance’s name, withdrawing his hand from Kosmo’s head  
“You came back for him?”

Why did his brother sound so surprised?  
“Why wouldn’t I?”  
“Because you’re still healing... Keith, I think it’d be better if you came back home”  
There it was. What Shiro really wanted to say. Kosmo noticing his anger as he laid himself down at Keith’s feet  
“Why?”  
“Because all of this is very new. I understand you feel obligated to Lance, but I’m worried...”  
“Shiro. Stop. Look, I know you turned me with my best interests in mind, but I like being here”  
“Are you sure you do, and that you’re not acting out of obligation?”

If Shiro had been like this, he could see why Lance had a hard time trying to talk to him  
“I admit I’m still confused, but I’m not confused about Lance”  
“Your ego is still forming. I want what’s best for you. If you’re with him, it could send both of you over”  
Angrily, Keith snapped back  
“I see. So you think I can’t be with him because I’m a werewolf now. Thanks for the vote of confidence”  
“That’s not what I’m saying...”  
“Really? Because from where I’m sitting, it sounds a lot like you’re blaming Lance for the situation”  
“Keith...”  
“No. Lance and I aren’t giving up on us. I’m not giving up on the man I love. I know my ego is fucked up, but every time I see you, I get mad at you”  
“You hate me, for turning you. I get it”

Keith’s ego snapped. No one fucking got it. He didn’t get it. So how could they  
“He’s my mate! I know you and he had a fight. But Lance doesn’t want us fighting”  
“Keith, the first thing you did the moment you could was come here. To a place where you have to contend with two werewolves and a vampire. Vampires don’t get along with werewolves”  
“Really? I hadn’t noticed. Matt and Rieva seem to get on with Lance perfectly fine”  
“That’s because they’re used to their egos. You’re not. You’re struggling and you said so yourself. You should come home and let me take care of you”  
“Why? To alleviate the guilt you feel from turning me? I told you I get it. You didn’t want me to die”

Shiro’s tone was pinched. He knew his brother would have agonised over the decision   
“That’s right. I didn’t. I made the choice Lance refused to. He would have rather you died... and I’m the bad guy... all I wanted was for you to live”  
“I’m not mad that you did it”  
“Then why can’t you come home?”  
How was it not obvious?  
“Because... I love Lance. I love you, and you’ll always be my brother, but I think being here is the best thing I can do right now”  
“You’re choosing Lance over me. Keith, he didn’t...”

Keith shook his head. He didn’t want to hear any more bad things about Lance. Not that they were overly bad, but Lance wasn’t here to defend himself and his ego was getting madder by the minute  
“Lance didn’t want me turned. I know he didn’t. I talked to him about getting bitten before, to stay with him longer and he told me I was fine the way I was. He didn’t want this for me. This ego. This being on edge. But what Lance didn’t want the most was me rejecting the curse. Me going crazy and one of you being forced to kill me. He wanted me to be able to choose when the time was right, though if you ask him he’d tell you he was prepared to spend his whole life with me as a human being. I know everyone is being unfair. Lance told them not to be. He didn’t want this rift forming. Shiro, you need to see the truth right now. I’m not okay. I don’t think I can handle the sounds of the city and the scents. It’s too much. Here I have him. I have Matt and Rieva to teach me how to be a wolf. If I wolf out, I have people who can stop me and won’t turn because I’ve lost control. It’s not because I don’t care about you”  
“It’s my fault you turned. I should be...”  
“You should be focusing on Curtis. And making up with Lance. I know he hates fighting with you”

Shiro snorted humourlessly  
“He threw it in my face. When you woke up, he threw it back in my face that you wanted to die. He didn’t do anything...”  
“What did you expect him to do? To turn me into a vampire? Between being a werewolf and a vampire, being a werewolf has to be the better option. Or can’t you care about me the same you used to, now I’m a wolf?”  
Shiro snorted again  
“I asked him the same thing. If he couldn’t love you as a werewolf and that’s why he’d prefer you die”  
“No wonder he’s so mad at you. You know he’d be devastated if I did. He just... he wanted me to come back so badly...”

This was awkward. All Shiro seemed to really talk about was Lance. Not Curtis... his actual boyfriend  
“How’s Curtis?”  
“Up and down. Coran said it’d take some time for his mind to adjust. Why?”  
“He’s your boyfriend and he’s a friend. Do I need a reason to care now?”  
“No. I just... never mind”  
Keith was sick of this. He wanted to have a normal proper conversation with his brother  
“If you have something to say, say it. If you regret making the choice then tell me. You keep talking about Lance and when I try to ask you about Curtis, you brush it aside. I don’t get what you’re thinking when you don’t talk to me”  
“I don’t regret making the choice to save you. What I want is for you to be happy, and it worries me that you’re rushing into things with Lance again”  
Who was rushing? He and Lance had a ton of issues to work out  
“Lance and I aren’t rushing. Last night was the first night he let me sleep next to him again. We’ve barely hugged. Forget kissing and sex stuff... We’re both trying to figure out how to keep things going between us because we love each other”  
“I just don’t want you being hurt”

He was already hurt. He’d been hurt and that’d led to this whole bloody mess. The demon had been contained all along. Lance nearly lost the twins and nearly lost him on top of it. Now he was a werewolf and his own brother hated himself for turning him into one. All Keith wanted was for everyone to act normal, but he couldn’t handle normal right now. He could barely handle whatever he was.

Scratching between Kosmo’s ears, Kosmo thumped his tail lazily. Would he enjoy being a wolf the next time it happened? Would he remember it? He couldn’t be scared of what had happened. That was the new normal, though it did scare him that he didn’t remember  
“Right now, the only thing hurting me, is that you can’t forgive Lance. My ego already thinks of him as my mate and it’s fucking crazy. I have to wear glasses or I see way too much. I’ve got Lance’s hoodie on because everyone smells too much. Look, I know I was a dick when you came to see me. I know because I couldn’t stop the words coming out my mouth. I was so damn angry. All I wanted to do was break things. I can’t take but what I said, and it sounds like a cop out to say it was ego talking. I’m glad I’m not dead. I’m glad I’m going to know my twins, even if that scares me now more than ever. I don’t know how to be a dad and now every action I take has to be careful. It’s almost too much to cope with, then Lance... God. He’s fucking frustrating. He doesn’t hate me. He doesn’t blow up. He’d rather self destruct than hurt me. I know I’m being impatient but I don’t know how to keep my head up when you two aren’t talking. I don’t know a lot of things anymore and half the time I don’t feel like the old me is still in here”

“That’s part of the reason I want to bring you home. I want you to know I’m here for you. I want you to rediscover all those things you love”  
That sounded a lot like Lance. He’d copped a peek at Lance’s white board and print outs. Lance had made all kinds of notes he thought might help Keith and activities he thought might help him adjust to life as a werewolf. For some reason there was a printout of a page about London, with a Chinese menu taped to it. He didn’t get it, and he didn’t want to question it when Lance had put so much work into it.

“I appreciate that. For now, I feel like I need to be here. I couldn’t handle a room filled with our friends. I don’t think I could handle crowds”  
Shiro raised an eyebrow  
“You’ve always been bad with crowds”  
“Ha ha. You’re not very funny”  
Huffing, his brother crossed his arms. Shiro’s wounds from that day still looked bad. Maybe he didn’t want to talk to Curtis about it because Curtis blamed himself too much as it was. They really needed to talk it out... and now he was sounding like Lance. Lance loooooved talking things out   
“I thought I was hilarious”  
“Try harder, old man”  
“Maybe you should accept my sense of humour for a change?”  
“And give into your lameness, I think not”

Some how the tension had started to lift from shoulders. He still wanted very much to hit his brother, but Shiro was trying to make an attempt at normalcy   
“You’ve always been lame, kiddo”  
“I’ll remember that next time I wolf out”  
Shiro’s heart gave a particularly hard thump, interrupting its strong and steady rhythm. Hearing heartbeats... was so weird. Lance’s being so slow in comparison  
“Shiro, don’t be like that”  
“I didn’t say anything”  
“No, but you thought it”  
Keith didn’t want to admit he’d somehow had become a lie detector, not when Shiro had a right to his personal thoughts and feelings  
“The idea of you... It worries me. That someone will label you as a threat and someday they’ll come for you”

Coran couldn’t protect him and Lance forever. He’d assured Lance so many times that he’d be there to protect him, now he’d have to give some real thought to how to protect himself   
“They’d be foolish. Three werewolves, one a hunter, and a vampire. It’s not like the first time we came here”  
“You hated Lance so much. I remember you sulking the whole time because you couldn’t just kill him on the spot”  
“After Adam... Lance was just another vampire that deserved to die. If I’d killed him, I wouldn’t have all of this... I know he’s changed me, but I think in some ways it’s for the better”  
“He’s changed all of us”  
“This is true. Will you talk to him?”

Shiro brought his hands up to scrub at his face  
“I don’t know what to tell him. I was disappointed he’d give up on you so easily. I was disappointed that he didn’t take care of himself after his body started aborting. I was disappointed he spent every moment by your side, but didn’t seem to care that much about Curtis as he never really asked for us to come see you. And it hurt. He was cold as he told me you wanted to die, almost as if he enjoyed knowing how much it hurt me. Your brainwaves were stable initially. You never came out from going under. Then suddenly you got worse. I wondered if he’d given you his blood out of desperation, but Coran said no. He found traces of Lance’s DNA in your blood stream, dead cells... that didn’t turn you. It made no sense but I still wondered if that was why you didn’t wake up”  
“That’s probably because I kissed Lance when his lips were bloody. The way Coran explained it is that there needs to be that intent to turn for the curse to take. Lance never wanted me to turn. He’s probably been beating himself up...”

Stopping mid-sentence, Keith looked back over his shoulder. Shiro frowning as he followed his gaze  
“What is it?  
“Lance and Curtis went out the back to have a talk...”  
“I should...”  
Shiro really shouldn’t. Lance was mid-apology as Curtis tried to stop him. This hearing too much thing sucked  
“Leave them. They need to talk. Sorry, I can’t remember what I was saying”  
“I thought werewolves were like vampires”  
“If we are, then I haven’t really noticed it much... Rieva said she’d tell me more. Apparently werewolves have adapted rapidly in the last hundred or so years, but there’s certain things that are important”  
“Like?”  
“Just because we turn into wolves doesn’t make us like them. We’ve steadily become more human than wolf. Things like that. It’ll be handy to know for future hunts”  
“Then you’re coming back?”

Yeah. Lance had been right about him still needing his job. As long as Shiro was still working, he couldn’t leave his brother to be put in potentially life threatening circumstances   
“Yeah. I mean, it might take a bit longer, but... I need to be doing something. I want to protect my friends and my family, including you. The thought of anything happening to you... I couldn’t stand it if it was caused by my wavering back and forth. I want my kids to not have to worry about werewolves and vampires, or their friends being hurt... This is all subject to whether you and Curtis will let a wolf partner with you”  
“You can’t be any worse than Matt”  
“I don’t know. Matt is like a technical genius”  
“You have your own qualities too”

Keith’s ego growled internally at Shiro. Lance would have jumped in to defend him, telling Shiro how manly and skilled he was. Keith didn’t really know what to defend himself with  
“Thanks. I feel like you just handed me a participant trophy for nothing”  
“Nah, you’re fine. So I really can’t tempt you to come back home?”  
“I’m sorry... but for now, I think this is where I should be. When my ego settles I’ll come stay for a bit... provided things are going well with the twins”  
“Did Lance talk to you about them?”  
“A bit. You know, we still have a nursery to finish”  
“I’m allowed back in there?”  
“I won’t bite...”  
“That’s all I ask. Reckon there’s any cookies left?”  
“You know Hunk. He’ll have three other stashes with him”  
“That’s true...”

The conversation petered off comfortably. He’d talked to his brother and Shiro did seem kind of wanting to make up with Lance... Hopefully they’d make up today. He still had so much to talk to Shiro about, but for now, he was content getting back on even footing with his brother.


	184. Chapter 184

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hunk and Keith are bros for life

184

Three wolves were a nightmare on his household budget. Not feeling particularly like cooking, they’d lived off the extra food Hunk had brought over until that’d run out and Lance had left the shopping to Rieva and Matt. Matt acting as if vegetables had insulted his family, Rieva not buying him a few big blocks of chocolate because too much sugar was bad for the twins. They were both banned now and Lance was having to get creative with stretching every meal as far as he could make it go with rice until he was both apologised to and bribed with chocolate.

Keith had taken over their bedroom. Not that Lance minded, things were still shaky and Keith still getting used to his ego, but their bed was now back to how it was. Blankets upon blankets with more blankets that Keith wasn’t allowed to tamper with because they made it easier for Lance to sleep. He was officially in his third trimester. The idea of giving birth more daunting than ever. Getting out of bed involved a three point turn, and there wasn’t a moment that his hips didn’t hurt with the weight of their foot and a half long subs. In some ways it felt to Lance that he was back at the start of his pregnancy. All he wanted to do was nap. He came out of a nap to pee, then straight back into the next nap. His hours now more nighttime, sleep rhythm out the window. How normal humans coped marvelled him.

It’d been a week and a half since the full moon. Keith had broken three forks, two knives, a cup, a bowl, and a plate, all by accident as he tried to help with the washing up only to use too much strength. His boyfriend felt bad. Insisting he’d replace everything, though Lance had countered that politely. What was the point of getting new things until Keith could control his strength. Currently Keith and Matt were hanging out the washing, while Lance was avoiding Rieva. She’d gone and put ideas in his head, that he now couldn’t get out of his head and seemed to haunt his dreams.

She thought he and Keith should have sex. Lance wanted to wait. But the sexual tension only seemed to be growing. He’d snuck off into the shower in the middle of the night with a vibrator just to keep a level head come morning. Usually he was the one oozing pheromones, yet lately all he smelt was Keith. The second things looked as if they were going to get heated, Lance would pull away, not wanting to force himself on his boyfriend. It was hard. So damn hard. Waking up wet and horny, aching for Keith, only to slip off to the bathroom and take matters into his own hands. Sometimes he couldn’t come, making him feel infinitely worse. If he talked to Keith about things, he felt like he’d be forcing their relationship. Plus Keith was still learning that privacy was a thing of the past now he could hear everything.

All he wanted was to be able to wait until Keith was ready.

“Lance?”  
Hearing Keith call his name, Lance shocked himself as he moaned in response. There was nothing sexy about the sandwich he was currently making to satisfy his cravings. Coughing fakely to clear his throat, he knew he couldn’t take back the sound, but didn’t want to acknowledge it either  
“W-what’s up?”  
“Matt and Rieva are going for a run. They asked if I want to go with them”  
Lance’s silly horny hopes soared, then in the same heartbeat crashed back to reality. Keith needed to be off doing wolf things and getting used to that side of himself. 

Slicing through the tomato he’d been working on, the vampire tried to keep his voice level   
“You should go if you want to. It’ll be good for you”  
“Are you okay? Your scent is all over the place”  
Fuck his scent. Pressing his lips together, Lance hummed instead of replying  
“Mhmm...”  
“If you don’t want me to go...”  
“No! No... shit...”  
He didn’t want to limit Keith. He didn’t want to bind him either... though he kind of did... Angry with himself, he nicked his finger on the knife.

Striding into the kitchen, Keith took him by the wrist, pulling him over to the tap to wash the wound   
“Are you okay?! What’s going on?”  
“Nothing. Sorry. I’m a bit distracted, but you should go. It’ll do you good”  
“If you really mean that, why won’t you look at me?”  
Lance knew the moment he looked Keith in the eyes he’d be well and truly fucked  
“It’s nothing”  
“You can tell me. I’m not going to get mad. If I’ve done something...”  
Stupid Keith and his stupid considerate feelings. The question hurt more than his cut finger and he’d done a pretty good job on that   
“It’s not... it’s fine. I’ve got this, it’s healing already”  
“Lance... Please... I want to know what I did”

God give him strength   
“You haven’t done anything wrong”  
“Then why are you acting like this”  
“Because I’m mad at myself. It’s not you. It’s me. Can you please just let me clean this up myself?”  
Krolia had asked him if he’d had sex with Keith. Lance choking on air. The question coming out of nowhere, making Keith snap as the others laughed. He could feel the warmth of Keith soaking in through where he held his wrist. His damn dick twitching. He knew how good their sex life had been and now he... he wanted to jump Keith’s bones. For no apparent reason, Keith moved behind. His breath tickling Lance’s ear  
“Could it be something else... like maybe your horny?”

Lance shuddered as Keith rutted against him  
“Keeeeith... don’t...”  
“Why not?”  
“Because... I’m... trying to be... respectful”  
“Matt and Rieva won’t care. They’ve already taken Kosmo ahead”  
“So you knew... and you were testing me?”  
“I heard you and Rieva talking. You could have talked to me”  
Turning the tap off, Keith placed his hand on Lance’s belly. Nipping on his ear, Lance closed his eyes as he tried not to be swept alone  
“You’re still healing... we don’t... don’t know... if... Keith...”  
“I want to fuck you. I want to bend you over the kitchen table and fuck you until your fingers break the wood”

Jesus Christ. Werewolf Keith was as much of a slut as drunk Keith. Lance’s ego was all for having attention lavished on him. Some days it was on edge about Keith, but for a vampire, it seemed okay with Keith now the moon had passed and Keith was settling nicely. Sliding his hand down the front of Lance’s yoga pants, Lance’s head lolled back as he moaned  
“Fuuuuck... babe...”  
“Like that?”  
“Mmm... feels... good”  
“Then you’ll like what comes next even more”

Before Lance could ask what came next, Keith pulled his hand away. One moment he’d been at the sink, the next he was laid out on the kitchen table with Keith pulling his pants down. Bent as much as he could be thanks to his belly, the kisses they shared were frantic. Teeth gnashing painfully against teeth. Canines and fangs cutting each other’s lips as Lance moaned. Fuck. He needed this so much. He needed Keith so much. He wanted to feel their bond. He wanted to feel connected. More so then he wanted to be respectful. His overthinking went out the window. He wanted Keith to blow his mind. Nearly a full month without sex left him starved. Fucking Rieva was right, not that he’d tell her.

Keith didn’t seem to care about being patient and taking things slowly. Unable to stop himself, he tore at Lance’s shirt, Lance taking over to strip himself as Keith got the message and pulled his own off  
“Fuck... I want to be in you already”  
Shirts were thrown somewhere. Lance eager for more kisses as Keith fought with his jeans. It frustrated him that he couldn’t help, but his frustrations were rewarded by the strong mind numbing scent of Keith’s arousal. How one man could be so damn sexy annoyed him. Keith’s teeth poked over his lips, hair already mussed...   
“You smell so fucking good. Look at you... I can smell your wetness...”  
“Babe, I get you want to talk sexy, but less talking and more fucking...”

Keith grabbed him by the hips, yanking him to the edge of the table, before Lance was seeing stars. Legs up on Keith’s shoulders, the kisses he’d wanted went out the window as Keith buried his face down there. Fucking hell... the position couldn’t be comfortable for Keith, but his tongue... oh god the things Keith had done with that tongue... now he was... there was no hesitation. No asking. Keith seemed to see right through him and knew what he wanted. Slow and tender could wait for later. Now was about being in the now  
“Keeeith...”

Gripping Keith’s hair, his boyfriend alternated between tonguing him and sucking him off. Lance lasted all of three seconds thrusting thirstily into Keith’s mouth, Keith growling as he swallowed what he could, before pulling back and catching the last pulse on his tongue. They’d barely begun and Lance was wrecked. They definitely shouldn’t be doing this on the kitchen table, but he was definitely going to hit Keith if he suddenly stopped before burying himself balls deep.

“Babe, you ready?”  
Lance opened his eyes. Chest heaving. Legs shaking. Wrecked. But for all the passion, his boyfriend had stopped to ask...   
“Yeah... God, yes. Please, babe. I want to feel you”  
Keith smiled at him. A smile just for him. A smile that he appreciated yet frustrated him because he totally needed Keith to hurry up here  
“You’re so damn pretty”  
Lance deflected. He didn’t want to think about he looked like an already stuffed turkey with his bits and pieces up in the air for further stuffing   
“And you’re horny”  
“My pretty mate... fuck... I don’t know if I can last”  
“I don’t care...”

With Keith being werewolf, Lance let himself feel absolutely everything. Not that he hadn’t before, but each and every time he’d marked Keith he’d felt guilty later. He’d fist the sheets to avoid scratching up Keith’s back... His nails scratched the wood of his table as Keith drove into him enough force that if his hands hadn’t been on Lance’s hips keeping him in place, he probably would have ended up falling off the table backwards. When Keith noticed, he’d made him grab him by the arms, Lance nearly wailing from the relief he felt as he came around Keith. Their bond was still there. That feeling that they were going to be okay. It wasn’t the same. Not in a bad way... just... a different way. But it lacked none of the warmth or glowy feelings that’d been there before. Keith lasting twice as long before he finally came, Lance clenching hard, feeling as if Keith was coming way too much yet didn’t want to waste any of it... not that it would do any good. Keith had long since knocked him up with his wonder sperm.

Carefully pulling out, Keith went into awkward mode. Lance knowing it was because they couldn’t cuddle with his stomach in the way and with him still sprawled across the kitchen table. Reaching a hand out, Lance could definitely go for cuddles and a nap, once they’d cleaned up. He had pretty much no energy left for anything other than being in Keith’s arms   
“Help me up...”  
His boyfriend looked conflicted  
“Keith?”  
“You look tired”  
Yep. He’d called it  
“I am... but I know a certain dark haired man who wants cuddles right now”  
“I should have waited until...”  
“Babe... don’t. That felt amazing... but now I’m stuck and I’m sticky”

Spinning around, it was almost comical as Keith searched for the tea towel beside the sink. Once he’d found it, he turned the taps on too hard, spraying water from the force against the bottom of the sink. Keith clearly couldn’t do the brain... which pleased Lance’s ego. Getting the tea towel damp, Keith then nearly dropped it  
“Babe... I’m okay”  
“I... uh...”  
“Fucked me senseless?”  
“Uh... um... yeah, that”  
Lance hadn’t pointed it out, but since waking from his coma, Keith had started using the word “um” a lot more than he’d used to. He didn’t want to worry him by bringing it up. The brain was a complicated thing. The blood could only do so much...  
“I... um... got carried away”

Struggling to sit himself up, Lance held his arms out, uncomfortable as heck over the cum between his belly and dick. He felt all squishy   
“Hey, come here for a moment”  
There was hesitation in Keith as he came into arms reach. Lance pulling him as close he could with his arms over his shoulders and his feet against the backs of Keith’s knees   
“I’m okay... and you’re okay...”  
“I just realised I didn’t think about the twins... what if I hurt them?”  
“I’m built tougher than that... they’re okay... we’re okay”  
“But... I... um... didn’t think. It felt so good that I...”

His arse was amazing. Keith had told him that many, many times  
“Babe. Hey, no. Whatever you’re thinking, no. I didn’t... tell you I was feeling so pent up because I didn’t want to make you feel rushed or that I wanted anything more than you. Our sex life has always felt good. I like feeling like you wanted me as much as I wanted you”  
Keith sighed softly, almost sounding regretful  
“I’m still horny”  
“Well, it has been a long time since we... did the do... and I’m pretty sure Rieva is currently laughing with Matt about us being horny idiots. I’m sleepy, but I think maybe we could... fool around a little more? In our bed?”  
“You’re sleepy”  
“Slow lazy sex isn’t so bad... especially when my big bad boyfriend is here to carry me up the stairs”  
“Who says I’m carrying you upstairs?”  
Lance shrugged   
“Me. Now. I don’t think I can walk”  
“Are you sure...?”  
“I’m very sure. I’m very sure that you should listen to your pregnant mate and help me clean up before you carry me upstairs and give me so many kisses that I never want to leave our bed again... after I’ve peed”

Keith snorted at his comment. At last. He’d succeed in his mission to drive away Keith’s annoying overthinking   
“You do pee, a lot”  
“I know. It’s like my routine. Nap. Pee. Nap again. Remember to eat. Try to do the right thing. I’ve a very busy vampire”  
“I can tell. Did... did you feel...”  
“Amazing. Our bond felt a little different but I still feel like you’re the only one I could ever be like this with”  
“It felt... warm... and... you felt... amazing. My ego... is happy”  
Given Keith had most likely been horny since the full moon, his ego probably felt great satisfaction in being intimate with their mate   
“It can’t be easy. Having so many new sensations to get used to. But we’re going to be okay”  
“Are you sure I really didn’t hurt the twins?”  
“Babe, they’re fine. Me on the other hand, I’m getting all crusty”  
Keith wrinkled his nose  
“I am too... can we take a bath? I want to take a bath”  
“Can I wash your hair?”  
He missed washing Keith’s hair. He missed the little things like that which all added up to a whole lot of small affectionate moments   
“I’d like that”

*  
Keith felt a Pringle’s ad. He’d popped and he couldn’t stop. His ego relished wrecking Lance. He’d tried to slow himself down when they’d had sex in the kitchen... tried and failed. Lance felt made to fit around him. Not that he hadn’t before, but he’d felt so damn much... a twinge of sadness did come with it. He’d loved Lance so completely as a human. He’d wanted to monopolise him. Now he had to share with his ego that was telling him that he had to take better care of Lance. He didn’t know how to take better care of Lance.

When Lance washed his hair, Keith couldn’t describe the new way he felt about. He’d enjoyed it before, but like with sex, it felt different now. He hadn’t been able to keep himself, reacting that mental fantasy he’d had as he’d first started drying Lance off, only to end up bending him over the bathroom counter and... well... it still hadn’t felt enough. In a lot of ways it felt like when Lance was in heat. His body so willing, and his scent screaming for more... only now, his scent was telling Lance kind of the same things and it felt weird. 

He’d noticed Lance slipping out of bed. Then he’d been unable to not hear what he got up to. When Lance would cry, he’d wanted to go to him, his ego telling him he was a bad person for not going to their boyfriend. He just didn’t know how to settle himself... especially when he’d come twice and felt no signs of fatigue. He didn’t... know what to do with that. It left him with feelings that hurt to try and sort out. That he was being greedy. That he was making Lance feel used without knowing he was being used, even though Keith didn’t really get why he thought Lance was being used when he himself wanted to be intimate with Lance and wasn’t simply going there because Lance was convenient.

Even when they climbed into bed together, Keith couldn’t help but rut against Lance. Lance who desperately needed sleep and cuddles, not another orgasm and a good jabbing. Was he meant to be this horny? Lance was heavily pregnant. He looked ready to give birth as it was. His hips had widened and his stomach sat lower. When Keith watched his love’s stomach, he could see the way the skin moved as their twins moved. Plus Lance had been extra tired lately. Had he been pushing Lance too far and not noticed? Was this why Shiro wanted him home? Because he was bad for his mate? He couldn’t shut his brain up. He didn’t get the whole “mates thing” and Google hadn’t been kind. Werewolf porn was an actual thing. He didn’t want to... be like the wolves in the things online. He cherished Lance. He wasn’t just... someone to sex. 

Sighing against him, Lance had placed Keith’s hand on his stomach, with his own over the top. Keith couldn’t help but squirm. From how hard he’d come, there shouldn’t be anything left down there, but still he wanted Lance so badly he found himself pressing forward to bury himself the best he could into his boyfriend. Lance had moaned. Lance had moaned and his body seemed to think it okay. His boyfriend felt so damn good that it was hard not to hard and rough as he slowly rocked against him. When he’d come, he hadn’t known what to say... Lance sleepily murming not to pull out as he wriggled back against him, falling asleep within moments... without having come. He felt like he belonged in a jail for horny werewolves. His ego would be quite happy if this was how things remained for the foreseeable future, and Lance seemed okay with it, but did that mean he was the only one freaking out here?

*  
Thank god Matt and Rieva had work, and Lance was down for a nap. That’s all Keith could think about as he shut himself in Lance’s office. He’d wanted to go see Coran, but Platt was out of the question for now, so he’d been waiting most of the morning for the house to be clear. He was still unsure that being horny was okay. Lance seemed okay. Very okay seeing he’d woken up to Lance sliding into his lap and a very vigorous round of sex. While Lance might be okay with things, and he’d been very okay with things, he still wanted to know if having sex was okay.

Three cups of coffee and a trip to bathroom later, he’d had the courage to finally call. Using Lance’s landline, he kind of felt weirdly official, kind of like he was ringing up to order one dose of sexual advice. Being Coran, the phone had barely started ringing before it was picked up and dread flooded Keith’s stomach  
“Lance! How are you my boy?! How’s our twins?! How’s our Keith?!”  
Right. Coran was expecting Lance   
“Um... Hey, Coran. It’s Keith...”  
“Keith, my lad! How are you?!”

Keith moved the phone away from his ear. It didn’t matter how many kilometres were between them, Coran was loud  
“I’m sorry to disturb you... I, um... have a question”  
“Pish-posh, disturb away”  
“Okay. I... guess... I was wondering if it’s okay for me to have sex with Lance?”  
Someone shoot him. If the floor could swallow him right now, that’d be great  
“This is not the conversation I expected. Has something happened between the pair of you? Don’t tell me you failed to preform”

Fuck. Of course Coran had no discretion talking about sex. If he started a trip down memory lane, Keith was going to hang up   
“Um... think the other way”  
“You can’t keep your hands off?”  
“Kind of... yeah. My ego wants him all the time and I feel guilty”  
“Keith, you’re a young wolf in your prime! You have a lovely mate, who’s highly compatible with you. These things are to be expected...”  
“That doesn’t make it okay. Lance barely does anything but sleep. He’s exhausted. And I’m not okay with wanting to jump him when he needs his rest!”

There was a pause. Keith praying the pause didn’t lead to a story  
“Ah. Yes. Perhaps I misspoke. What I meant was if Lance was happy and it was consensual...”  
“Lance is too exhausted. I ended up jumping him in the kitchen. Even when he fell asleep, I wanted to keep touching him and I hate it. He needs to rest. How do I curb this?! I don’t want him to feel used but I feel like me not being able to control this is kind of the same as using him. I love him. I don’t want him to just roll over and cater to my needs!”  
“Might I ask how long you’ve been feeling this way?”  
“Yesterday was the first time... since... well...”  
“Ah. Well I do have some idea. It could possibly be because you scent other wolves in the air and wish to stake your claim. It may also be due to this all being very new to you. You were rather horny on your first night of the moon without your mate there”

Keith looked to the ground. No convenient chasm opening to swallow him up  
“I was?”  
“You were. You howled the first night, not at all happy. Now I’m thinking about it, I suspect your ego is trying to bond with Lance as it missed its chance with the moon. Your compatibility is against you here. Vampires don’t naturally bond with werewolves. Lance isn’t a common vampire. His scent is appealing to both vampires and werewolves. You’re trying to appease your mate as your ego thinks it’s done something wrong by not being with him under the moon. Yes. It all makes sense now”  
“I don’t care if it makes sense. I love him. I don’t want to be some kind of rabid animal”  
“You’re not rabid. Your ego is still learning and it’s trying to make it up to Lance. There are plenty of things you can do that will help with the bonding between your egos”  
“Other than sex?”

He wasn’t getting a story? Oh thank god. Lance would have laughed if he’d known he was sitting there listening to Coran’s sex life  
“Other than sex. Grooming. Werewolves have a love of being groomed by their mate. Try small things like massage or brushing his hair. Vampires are quite the divas. The enjoy looking and feeling good. Though it may not be your thing, Lance does enjoy face masks. He and Allura had quite the time relaxing with face masks. Allura was talking for days over how he styled her hair for her”  
“When did that happen?”  
He hadn’t heard about this... or had he and he’d forgotten?  
“Lance had... quite a hard time accepting your anger upon waking. Allura finally able to get through to him. He stubbornly refused to leave you side. That’s not to say he was alone. Pidge and Hunk visited as often as they could... You were quite upset. Accusing him of “shacking up with Allura the moment you were out of the picture”...”

Keith groaned. Recovering Keith was an arsehole  
“He left that out. Coran, I don’t know how to face mask”  
“Ahhh, but you have access to that amazing invention called the internet. Technology these days is truly amazing, back in my youth we’d never have dreamed such a thing. You could try making dinner for him. I suspect he’s working hard to feed the three of you well”  
Keith loved Lance’s cooking, but if he had to have rice again he might murder the two other wolves in the house   
“Rieva and Matt doomed us to rice. They didn’t buy the right amount of chocolate Lance wanted. If I cook, they’ll want me to cook for them. Plus, I think Lance is worried about our finances right now”  
“That boy of ours does have a habit of worrying. If you’d like, I can transfer you through to Allura”

And have Allura knowing he was calling up to discuss his sex life? That was a hard pass  
“No. I... um... guess I was getting too impatient”  
“The most important thing to remember is that Lance loves you. He chose you. If you’re having doubts or urges, you should talk to him. He’s always been a bit uptight about his own urges. I’m sure he understands that right now you’re frisky. He won’t hate you for talking to him”  
“Yeah. You’re probably right. I just didn’t want to worry him...”  
“Is he really that bad?”

Keith knew he was totally dobbing Lance in. His ego wanted to be doing more for Lance, who did so much for him  
“He sleeps more than he’s awake. He still drinks his blood, but I’m worried. I don’t know if he’s trying to catch up on sleep he missed when I was in a coma, or if there’s something I’m not doing for him”  
Coran chuckled  
“He slept plenty by your side. I have a number of cute photos of the pair of you... Has he been having fresh blood?”  
And Keith felt slightly violated. He was in a coma, what possibly possessed Coran to find anything cute about that?  
“I didn’t think about that... I don’t think so”  
“Try get some fresh blood into him. I’m sure he’ll perk back up in no time”  
“Alright. Um... Thanks for listening”  
“Anytime. And you come back to work when you’re ready. My door’s always open”  
“I know. I think I’m going to have Matt train with me... but I do want to come back”  
“I know, my boy, I know. Take care of yourself”  
“Will do. You too”

Keith didn’t know how to go about getting Lance fresh blood. His boyfriend would never ask for it, let alone ask for it from Hunk and Pidge. That was a conversation for another time, for now he had to start looking up face masks and other nice things he could do for Lance. It felt to him like his ego was a dick for putting him in this situation. Naturally he wanted to spoil Lance, even before he’d turned, now he’d be spoiling Lance both because he wanted to and had to. 

Keith had only started logging in when heard Lance calling his name. Rushing out the office, he tripped up the stairs in his hurry, not completely sure why he’d bolted to be by Lance’s side when all Lance had done was call his name. 

Stumbling into their room, Lance was still asleep. Keith’s damn heart racing for nothing. Shifting in his sleep, Lance huffed out his name again. How cute could one man be? Honestly. It really wasn’t fair. Lance was so soft and sweet to him. He was so good to him. And he didn’t do much to show his gratitude. He really needed to do more. Maybe he got Hunk to go food shopping for them? If he had Coran transfer money into Lance’s account, he could see it backfiring and Lance angrily telling him he could take care of his own finances, or likening himself to a whore  
“Nnnngh... I don’t want the purple duck... smells”

Whatever Lance was dreaming about, it couldn’t be too terrible. Unless Lance was being chased by a smell purple duck? Now that he knew Lance wasn’t having a nightmare, he really should go back downstairs and let him rest... but he looked so cute. Keith feared he may be verging on “stalking” by watching Lance sleep. Lance would laugh about it, and it’d be so easy to climb in next to him. Fuck it. He couldn’t stand there and watch Lance sleep forever. He wanted to do something nice for him.

Tiptoeing over, Keith grabbed his phone from the bedside table. Krolia had emptied out his locker for him, other than his weapons. His mother worrying in her own way over how he was coping. He caught her staring at him, making him feel self conscious and wonder if she missed her son and not the werewolf he’d become. She seemed to lighten up when Lance made some lame werewolf joke, that Keith had rolled his eyes at. Teasing preferable to everyone worrying... even if he wasn’t quite ready to laugh as easily as everyone else.

Intending to head downstairs, Keith found himself heading into the nursery on a whim. Not sure why his feet had carried him there until he was staring at the broken gyprock where Curtis had slammed him into the wall. How one tiny action had changed his whole life was mind blowing. How many times had he hit his head, only to be okay? 

He’d been thrown off a goddamn balcony and come off better than he had against the wall in front of him. Curtis blamed himself so much that Keith wanted to cry. 

Lance’s chat with him had assured him that Lance wasn’t mad, yet Keith knew what it was like to be mad at yourself and sorely wish you could go back undo things of the past. He knew Lance had made a list of things he needed to fix the wall, but Keith had no idea where. The nursery still left how it’d been after he and Shiro had stayed up painting. In the back of his mind he remembered telling Lance to finish it himself, and hated himself for it. Lance was waiting for him to be ready, because that’s what his boyfriend did. He solved everyone else’s problems before he tackled his own. Right now he needed to man up and face the problem Rieva and Matt had dumped in their laps as he really couldn’t face another plate of rice.


End file.
